By: H1 Unlimited
Saturday Heat Recap:
As day two started for the Mercurys Coffee Co presents the APBA Gold Cup at San Diego’s Bayfair, there would be a total of three four-lap heats for teams and drivers to gain points and better understand their preferred positioning for Sunday’s main event.
For heats one and two, it seemed like a repeat of qualifying where the U-91 Miss Goodman Real Estate driven by Andrew Tate secured the inside lane and pulled out to a substantial lead to earn maximum points in both of his heat appearances for the day. The U-11 Miss Mercurys Coffee Co hydroplane driven by Jamie Nilsen was forced to miss both if their heats today due to an engine change that needed to take place.
In the final heat of Saturday afternoon, the U-9 Beacon Plumbing driven by Corey Peabody was looking to capitalize on his points battle with Tate and claim the maximum 400 points for the heat win by lining up on the inside lane, but his teammate in the U-1 Beacon Electric driven by J. Michael Kelly had other ideas. Kelly, the defending APBA Gold Cup Champion and defending National High Points Champion jumped to the lead from the second lane and pulled to a more-than-a-rooster tail lead over Peabody in the four-lap heat to claim the victory on the water. However, a fuel violation was discovered in post-race inspection and Kelly will be credited a DSQ for heat three giving the win and 400 points to Peabody.
The H1 Unlimited hydroplanes will take to the water Sunday for three more heat races before finishing out the 2024 season with the APBA Gold Cup event. Fans can tune in on the H1 Unlimited YouTube channel for live coverage.
Top-Five National High Points following Heat 3
Driver: Boat: Points:
- Andrew Tate U-91 Miss Goodman Real Estate 6,719 points
- Corey Peabody U-9 Beacon Plumbing 5,650 points
- J. Michael Kelly U-1 Beacon Electric 4,555 points
- Dustin Echols U-40 Flav-R-PAC 4,357 points
- Jamie Nilsen U-11 Miss Mercury’s Coffee 3,852 points
Heat 3 Results:
Driver: Boat: Avg. Speed:
- Corey Peabody U-9 Beacon Plumbing 147.634 mph
- Dave Villwock U-27 Apollo Mechanical 142.758 mph
- Dustin Echols U-40 Flav-R-PAC 128.475 mph
- J. Michael Kelly U-1 Beacon Electric DSQ
Heat 2 Results:
Driver: Boat: Avg. Speed:
- Andrew Tate U-91 Miss Goodman Real Estate 151.541 mph
- Corey Peabody U-9 Beacon Plumbing 149.664 mph
- Dustin Echols U-40 Flav-R-PAC 140.063 mph
- Jamie Nilsen U-11 Miss Mercury’s Coffee Did not start
Heat 1 Results:
Driver: Boat: Avg. Speed:
- Andrew Tate U-91 Miss Goodman Real Estate 154.546 mph
- J. Michael Kelly U-1 Beacon Electric 152.796 mph
- Dave Villwock U-27 Apollo Mechanical 139.588 mph
- Jamie Nilsen U-11 Miss Mercury’s Coffee Did not start
