Detroit Gold Cup- Bernard hoping for biggest win

by Paul Beitler - www.news-banner.com on 11 Jul 2008 After his first unlimited hydroplane victory last Sunday at the Madison Regatta, Formulaboats.com U-5 driver Jeff Bernard is back in his old stomping grounds preparing for this weekend’s 100th running of the Detroit Gold Cup.

Bernard grew up in Harrison Township, Mich., and moved out to Washington when he was 13 or 14 years old.

Being around unlimited hydroplane racing all of his life, Bernard would love to capture the oldest race in hydroplane racing history.

'I think it’s neat that it’s stuck in one city rather than moving around. They don’t move the Indianapolis 500 and they don’t move the Daytona 500,' said Bernard, who is one of two drivers for the Decatur-based Formulaboats.com Racing Team.

The Gold Cup is the oldest active motorsports trophy in the world, dating back 1904 when it was called the American Power Boat Association Challenge Cup. The very first Gold Cup race was held on the Hudson River in New York and was won by Carl Riotte, who averaged just over 23 miles per hour.

'It’s the biggest race that I’ll ever race at. I grew up here,' said Bernard. 'There’s no race on the circuit that would mean more to go out and win.

'I don’t think there’s any course on the circuit that’s even close to Detroit. Everything is different. You’ve got the river, decent straightaways, a big first turn and a real small turn two,' said Bernard, looking ahead to Friday’s opening day.

In addition to Bernard’s home coming, it also will be a return for team manager Mark Hooton and his wife, Julie, and son, Lee, of Rochester Hills. Lee works on the U-7 crew and Julie is like the 'den mother' of the team.

Jean Theoret, driver of the U-37 Miss Beacon Plumbing boat which won the Thunder on the Ohio two weeks ago, knows first hand what it is like to win the Gold Cup. He did it in 2006.

'It’s the best race that you could win in the world,' said Theoret. 'That will be in my heart for the rest of my life. I won 42 Grand Prixs before that in a Grand Prix boat, but to win the Gold Cup and be the first French-Canadian to win it is a great honor and a great blessing. It’s something that I wish every driver could win once in his lifetime.'

A field of 9 boats is expected, including the U-7 Formulaboats.com hull driven by Mike Allen.

The U-100 Mirageboats.com, driven by Greg Hopp and owned by Fred Leland, withdrew due to severe hull damage suffered at Madison and returned to Washington for repairs.

Dave Villwock and the U-1 Ellestrom Elam Plus, which won the 2007 National High Point Championship and the 2007 Gold Cup, are conspicuous in their absence going into Detroit.

However, that makes the field wide open for the final on Sunday.

'The sport is not losing because Villwock is not there. On the contrary, because of the parity, you have four to five race teams that could win the Gold Cup this year. … I think it’s going to bring a lot more interest into the Gold Cup this year than ever,' said Theoret.

'I’m amazed to see how much the teams have improved, including ourselves, and how much it’s become so close. It’s like qualifying Formula One cars, which qualify on pavement which doesn’t roll. We qualify on water which moves all the time, and we have the wind factor and we have all sorts of stuff that can go on. And to be so close in miles per hour, it’s outstanding.'

For the second year in a row ticket sales are up, said event director Mark Weber.

Hospitality suites are down due to a decline in the economic climate, noted Weber, but sponsorship is up.

'With the fuel costs and everything else, it’s very obvious that people are looking at events and things to do that are close to home and frankly that’s what we are contributing it to,' said Mark Weber.

Weber is one of Bernard’s uncles who is in the sport. Bernard’s mother is a sister to Weber. Bernard also has two other uncles, Mike and Steve Weber, who are associated with unlimited hydroplane racing.

Last weekend was a dream come true for Ted Porter, owner of the U-5 and U-7.

'Getting the trophy handed to us by the Governor of Indiana (Mitch Daniels), it was pretty cool. It was a neat experience and we were definitely loving every minute of it.

'It’s very exciting. Every time you get one of these, whether it’s the Governor’s Cup or the Gold Cup, and you look at the names on there — the history and the heritage. If the trophies could even talk with all the greats who have held them, it’s really neat and it’s somewhat humbling to think that you actually get an opportunity to win something like that.'

Bernard felt very fortunate to come away from Madison with the boat in one piece since the Ohio River was full of floating trees and debris.

The race event was even delayed Sunday because of rising water and debris.

'Everything worked out perfect. It was probably more the rough water and debris that I didn’t N2,' said Bernard looking back to Sunday’s race.

'It was a lucky gamble by Tom Anderson (the U-5 crew chief) and it worked out. It (the U-5) was a lot faster in race water in the final heat than the first heat with the different prop (propeller) selection,' Bernard explained.

Bernard came around the first turn and maneuvered the inside of Steve David, driving the U-6 Oh Boy! Oberto, taking lane two on the outside of his teammate in lane one.

From there on Bernard pulled away from David and Allen, who finished second and third, respectively.

Bernard is now second to David in the National High Points battle, trailing 2,489 to 2,389. Theoret is third with 2,104 points and Allen fourth with 1,902.

Momentum is growing for Bernard and his team.

Bernard has built a comfortable working relationship with Anderson after first getting together in 2006.

'I couldn’t ask for anything better right now. Our relationship is perfect. We’ve got good communication. I can come in and tell him what I want change on the boat, or if I don’t know what to change on the boat he can figure it out by me telling him what the boat is doing. It’s working out real good this year,' said Bernard.

'(The team) just keeps building confidence. After the struggles last year, we’ve got both boats in the finals at both races,' added Bernard. 'Ted just wanted to get a bigger event win and he’s probably still smiling.

'We’re going to try our best to be on our A-game. We’ve got stuff going on this week that hopefully will better prepare us for Detroit.'

APBA Gold Cup Fleet
U-3—Miss Chrysler Jeep, Driver Jimmy King, Owner Ed Cooper
U-5—Formulaboats.com, Driver Jeff Bernard, Owner The Ted Porter Family
U-6—Oh Boy! Oberto, Driver Steve David, Owner The City of Madison, Indiana
U-7—Formulaboats.com, Driver Mike Allen, Owner The Ted Porter Family
U-10—Miss Dover Environmental, Driver David Bryant, Owners Kim and Debbie Gregory
U-13—Miss Detroit Yacht Club/Spirit of Detroit, Driver J. Michael Kelly, Owner Dave Bartush
U-25—Jarvis Fire and Water Repair, Driver and Owner Dr. Ken Muscatel
U-37—Miss Beacon Plumbing, Driver Jean Theoret, Owners Billy and Jane Schumacher
U-50—Michigan Mortgage Presents Spirit of the Navy, Driver David Williams and Brian Perkins, Owner Greg O’Farrell

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