The Unlimited Lights - 2005 in Review

By Fred Farley - Unlimited Hydroplane Historian

At the outset of 2005, Greg Hopp faced the most formidable challenge of his racing career.

For two years, Greg and his father, Jerry Hopp, had co-driven MIKE'S HARD LEMONADE/HAPPY GO LUCKY (UL-1) to the National High Point Championship in the Unlimited Light Hydroplane Racing Series. In so doing, the father-and-son team established a standard of excellence that would be difficult to surpass with twelve race victories since 2001.

This year, 2005, would be different. Greg would have to go it alone in the UL-1 cockpit. Jerry's recent twin knee replacement surgery would preclude the elder Hopp from driving for at least the first couple of months of the season.

According to Greg, "I never had any doubts about the boat. The crew worked long and hard to give me a top-of-the-line piece of equipment. It was up to me to do justice to their labors. I knew it wouldn't be easy. In addition to driving the Unlimited Light, I also had the responsibility of an Unlimited ride [with Fred Leland's U-100]."

"We knew Greg had it in him, "Jerry Hopp insisted. "We had won two straight national titles for the team in 2003 and 2004. But because both of us drove, somebody else always won the High Point Driver title. We wanted that for Greg--even though, by mid-season, I was medically cleared to drive and could have stepped in as relief driver if necessary."

For the record, father Jerry did take the UL-1's wheel during the B-Main (which carried no points) at Seattle--and finished in his familiar first-place--to allow Greg to concentrate on an upcoming Unlimited heat with the U-100.

The competition was keen--right down to the last race of the season at Port Angeles, Washington. But Greg Hopp would not be denied. The UL-1's third straight High Point Championship against formidable odds is one of the great sports stories.

Greg and MIKE'S HARD LEMONADE/HAPPY GO LUCKY concluded the 2005 campaign with 8794 accumulated points, just 83 points ahead of Michael Flaherty and MISS BOAT ELECTRIC (UL-72) with 8711 points. Then came Vince Xaudaro and CONOVER INSURANCE (UL-929) with 5791, Harold Mills and MISS RED DOT CORPORATION (UL-40) with 4693, Kevin Aylesworth and FREEDOM RACING (UL-5) with 4328, Paul Droullard and AMERICAN EAGLE (UL-9) with 2157, Steve Hook and MZ. ZIPFIZZ (UL-19) with 2136.

(1) BAKER EQUIPMENT CUP; Issaquah, WA

The Hopp team started the new season on the right foot with a victory on Issaquah's historic Lake Sammamish, a hotbed of inboard hydroplane competition since the 1950s. Greg won both of his preliminary heats in UL-1 and outran Droullard in UL-9, 106.509 miles per hour to 105.572 in the finale.

Flaherty in UL-72 took third, followed by Xaudaro in UL-929 and Joe Turner in BAKER EQUIPMENT SPECIAL (UL-18).

This was the first appearance with UL-72 for Michael Flaherty who was Unlimited Light Rookie of the Year in 2004 with UL-51.

Greg Hopp, co-driving with his Dad, had won the Issaquah race twice before in 2001 and 2003.

(2) THUNDER ON THE OHIO; Evansville, IN

Evansville proved to be a disappointment for the Hopp Racing Team. But Vince Xaudaro couldn't have been happier.

After four years of trying, the "X" man and UL-929 finally pulled down a victory and did so under the aegis of a local sponsor, Holweger Development and Construction, Inc.

Xaudaro averaged 102.662 in the Final Heat, followed by Flaherty in UL-72 at 100.258 and Harold Mills in UL-40 at 96.067.

Since 2001, Vince had accumulated four second-place trophies and five third-place trophies in Unlimited Light competition, but this was his first trip to the top of the podium.

Cal Phipps, piloting Wright Pontiac Cadillac GMC (UL-10) was the apparent winner in the Final Heat but incurred a one-minute penalty and was dropped to fourth-place for bearing out in the turn prior to the start.

An example of UL racing's famed comradeship was witnessed at Evansville. The UL-72 and UL-9 crews helped the UL-5 team after the boat suffered damage and took on water in Heat 2-A. They were able to repair the hole in the left sponson and replace the propeller and engine to enable the UL-5 to start in the Final Heat. They came together so a brother racer could continue in the race rather than sit on the trailer.

Greg Hopp posted the fastest qualifying speed of the week at 117.238 with UL-1 but couldn't start in the Final Heat due to an engine problem. Hopp still maintained a 520-point lead in National Points heading into Valleyfield.

(3) REGATES DE VALLEYFIELD; Valleyfield, Quebec

Despite 20 mile an hour winds, the Hopp Racing Team was back in the winner's circle at the 66th annual Regattes De Valleyfield on the St. Francis River. This was the team's fourteenth career victory--the first at Valleyfield.

Greg Hopp occupied lane-one at the start of the Final Heat with UL-1. It was a very tight first turn but all seven boats emerged unscathed.

Out of turn-one, Patrick Haworth led briefly with the TITLEFLEX SPECIAL (UL-10) but was soon passed by UL-1.

Choppy water accounted for the slower-than-usual speeds. Hopp averaged 82.133 for the Final Heat and Haworth did 79.963. Then came Flaherty in UL-72, Kevin Aylesworth in UL-5, and Mario Maraldo in BABY DOLL III (UL-59).

Before heading west for the fourth stop on the 2005 ULHRS tour at the Tri-Cities, several Unlimited Light teams accepted invitations from the Detroit committee to participate in the O.J. Mulford Silver Cup. A mixed bag of UL, GP, GNH, and NM teams competed for one of power boat racing's most prestigious trophies, which dates back to 1946 when it was won by Lou Fageol in SO-LONG, JR (G-1).

Greg Hopp shared cockpit duties with Brian Perkins in the MIKE'S HARD LEMONADE/HAPPY GO LUCKY (UL-1) and won the race. Maraldo and UL-59 came in second.

Hopp was committed to handling Leland's U-100 in the Gold Cup race that weekend so Perkins helped out by driving the preliminary heats in UL-1.

For many years in Detroit, the Hopp Racing Team has been sponsored by longtime friends Bill and "Happy" Rands. That's where the HAPPY GO LUCKY moniker comes from.

(4) HAPO COMMUNITY THUNDER CUP; Tri-Cities, WA

Michael Flaherty and MISS BOAT ELECTRIC (UL-72) moved to within striking distance of Greg Hopp and UL-1 in the race for National High Points with a victory at Kennewick-Pasco-Richland.

Based upon UL-72's three-heat/1200-point performance on the Columbia River, less than 400 points separated Flaherty and Hopp with four races still to be run on the Unlimited Light Hydroplane Racing Series tour.

Hopp was the apparent winner at the Tri-Cities but was assessed a one-minute penalty for a DMZ violation (driving through the closed portion of the race course) prior to the start. This resulted in Hopp being dropped to fourth-place in the Final Heat in the corrected order of finish.

Still, Greg wowed the huge crowd when his second lap was in excess of 118 miles per hour, which was virtually equal to his qualifying speed.

This was Flaherty's first-ever victory as an Unlimited Light driver and owner Joe Frauenheim's sixteenth since 2000. Michael averaged 113.876 in the Final Heat, compared to 104.238 for second-place Vince Xaudaro in CONOVER INSURANCE (UL-929) and 92.798 for third-place Paul Becker in MISS SOFTWARE PROTOTYPE (UL-14).

(5) GRAHAM TRUCKING CUP; Seattle, WA

No one could complain about the quality of competition witnessed on Lake Washington in 2005! Indeed, the Final Heat of the Graham Trucking Cup was one of the all-time great shoot-outs in Unlimited Lights history.

Greg Hopp's UL-1 and Kevin Aylesworth's UL-5 were never more than a roostertail length apart during the entire 5 miles. Aylesworth, sponsored by VENTURE BANK, was able to close in the corners but Hopp's superior acceleration off the corners made the difference.

UL-1 averaged 111.221 to UL-5's 109.876. Third-place Michael Flaherty checked in at 102.421 with UL-72. This marked the third victory in the past four years at Seattle by the Hopp Racing Team.

Champion racer Chip Hanauer commented on KIRO-TV that Aylesworth squeezed into lane-two between Hopp and Flaherty, prior to the score-up buoy, and they may have traded a little paint.

Hanauer said, no call was deserved and none was made; it was "just good racing".

(6) QUICKSILVER REGATTA; Silverdale, WA

The two top-ranked Unlimited Light drivers--Greg Hopp and Michael Flaherty--continued their season-long battle for national honors at the first annual quicksilver Regatta.

Once again, Hopp's UL-1 came out on top with Flaherty's UL-72 taking second. Greg averaged 112.110 miles per hour to Michael's 110.086 in the Final Heat, followed by Harold Mills in UL-40, Joe Turner in UL-18, and Steve Hook in UL-19.

The Final Heat finish was a reversal of Heat 1-A, held the day before, when Flaherty was able to drive around Hopp from the outside and take the win. This time, there would be no driving around Hopp who powered the UL-1 to a two-roostertail-length victory.

Despite finishing second, Flaherty stayed in the hunt for the National Championship, which appeared headed for a showdown at the last two races of the year.

(7) SAN DIEGO THUNDERBOAT REGATTA; San Diego, CA

Greg Hopp advanced one step closer to notching his first-ever ULHRA High Point Driver title with a win--his fifth of the season--on San Diego's Mission Bay.

Hopp and UL-1 checked in first at 116.887 in the Final Heat, compared to 114.737 for runner-up Paul Droullard and UL-9. Flaherty and UL-72, racing without the team's preferred engine, crossed the starting line first and challenged for several laps but eventually faded to fourth.

Third-place Al Carstensen and BCS RACING ENTERPRISES (UL-6) outran Flaherty over the finish line in a close battle--109.538 miles per hour to 109.531.

A serious accident involving Kevin Aylesworth and the SYCUAN RESORT & CASINO (UL-5) marred the running of the San Diego race. While running side-by-side with Greg Hopp on lap-one of the B-Main, the UL-5 lifted its right sponson and came down on the transom before settling into the water upside down.

The safety canopy saved Aylesworth's life. Kevin was able to free himself from the overturned craft, but he ingested a lot of salt water into his lungs.

Aylesworth was airlifted to a local hospital in critical but stable condition. Thankfully, Kevin recovered completely.

Two days prior to his accident, Aylesworth announced his team's purchase of the entire U-25 racing team equipment inventory from Dr. Ken Muscatel for participation on the 2006 Unlimited hydroplane tour.

(8) STRAIT THUNDER REGATTA; Port Angeles, WA

The headline read, "Flaherty Wins The Race; Hopp Wins The Title"

It was the closest finish in Unlimited Lights history with 83 points deciding the ULHRA Team and Driver titles for 2005. And those extra 83 points were held be Greg Hopp and MIKE'S HARD LEMONADE/HAPPY GO LUCKY.

This marked the third time in as many years that the Championship has been decided at Port Angeles--where Champions are crowned. And this time it went all the way to the Final Heat!

Michael Flaherty knew it would take a virtual perfect weekend to unseat the defending National Champion UL-1. And that's what he and MISS BOAT ELECTRIC did with victories in all four heats and 1600 points.

The only flaw for the UL-72 team was not running a strong qualifying lap, earning only 7 points for seventh-place in qualifying, while Hopp earned 40 points as the top qualifier. That made a gap of 383 points between Greg and Michael heading into Heat One.

Both Hopp and Flaherty won their respective sections of the first heat and the gap remained at 383 points.

Greg then finished second to Michael in each of the next three heats with Flaherty gaining 100 points on Hopp in each one of them. But that wasn't enough for UL-72 to overtake UL-1 and claim the overall season title.

Hopp had a mission, which was to finish no worse than third in the Final Heat. And his strategy worked.

It is interesting to note that UL-72 outscored UL-1 by 40 points on the race course in 2005. However, UL-1 outscored UL-72 by 123 points in season qualifying.

Flaherty averaged 75.408 for the Final Heat in the ocean-like chop of the Strait of Juan De Fuca. Hopp checked in at 74.547.

Harold Mills came in third with MISS RED DOT CORPORATION (UL-40).

Fourth-place at Port Angeles went to a famous name from racing's past: Wil Muncey, Jr., driver of LA CUCARACHA IV (UL-136). A veteran of the ULHRA's "Lighter Than Lights" series, Will made his UL debut at San Diego in 2005 and was voted Unlimited Light Rookie of the Year.

The narrow margin of victory in UL National Points between Greg Hopp and Michael Flaherty reminded old-timers of the sport of a similar down-to-the-wire finish. That was in 1958 between MISS BARDAHL (U-40) and MISS U.S. I (U-2) in the Unlimited Class.

MISS U.S. I, driven by Don Wilson, won the final race of the season on Lake Mead with the Mira Slovak-chauffeured MISS BARDAHL coming in second. But that was enough for MISS BARDAHL to claim the overall title by a mere 6 points.

With five championship trophies and the High Point Driver title on the shelf, Greg Hopp stood at the very top of the racing world at the conclusion of 2005.

"It wasn't my victory; it was a team victory," Greg insisted. "The crew made it possible. I'm just the visual embodiment of their work. Anything that I've done on the race course is a direct tribute to the magic that the crew does on the boat. I couldn't do it without these guys."

With three straight High Point Team titles to their credit, the Hopp Racing Team has no intention of resting on its laurels in 2006. They've acquired the former UL-9 hull, previously owned by Paul Droullard, as their new standard bearer and will keep the veteran UL-1 on ready reserve.

"The competition was tough in 2005," Greg admits. "It will be even tougher in 2006, which is great news for the fans. It will be an exciting season. And we are really going for it!"

As many as seven new teams are expected to join the Unlimited Light family in 2006. These include Mike Webster's UL-2, J. Craig Fletcher's UL-13, Bill Nootenbloom's UL-85, Bob Estes's UL-33, Rick and Shawn Bridgeman's UL-17, Charles Xaudaro's and Ryan Butler's UL-11, and Rod Bourke's UL-62.