KENNEWICK -- JW Myers got some more seat time Friday in the U-37, although he had N2 violations.
"It's taken me awhile to get used to riding that bike," he said.
Myers is filling in for Jean Theoret, who is still recuperating from flipping the boat July 4 in Madison, Ind.
"I just need to be a better boat driver for this team than I was (at Detroit)," said Myers. "I still need a few more laps. These guys are the best crew I've ever raced with. Jean is here and he's got my back and I've got his."
The crew played a little trick on Myers before he got in the boat the first time Friday.
"I once said that this was a great ride," Myers said. "All I need now is a cupholder."
Myers got in the cockpit, and there it was: a cupholder with his favorite beverage of choice.
Theoret looked inside, saw it and complained.
"They never did that for me!"
Fred Leland's U-100 boat is being sponsored this weekend by Jerry's Tavern in Richland.
The team got out on the river once, only to have driver Greg Hopp shut the boat down before a lap was completed.
"We died out there, so we switched motors so we wouldn't take any chances," Leland said.
One boat that didn't get out on the water was the U-25 Mr. Home Loan presents ServePro of Tri-Cities West.
The boat's owner, Ken Muscatel, said the team forgot a part of the boat back in Seattle.
"It's frustrating, but we'll be out tomorrow," he said.
Muscatel also brought the boat he's leasing from Leland, rather than the one Ron Jones Jr. has rebuilt.
"It's not quite ready," he said. "Almost. It will be ready for Seattle. It's painted purple. It's a big Purple People Eater."
Muscatel helped broker the deal to get the unlimiteds racing in Qatar in November.
"It'll take about a month to ship the boats there, so we'll send them from the East Coast in early October," he said.
What about Somalian pirates?
"They can have (the boats)," he said. "No, they'll be on a really big ship. We're going through the Suez Canal."
Greg Hopp will do battle this weekend against his dad, Jerry Hopp, in the Unlimited Lights.
But it's not the first time they've raced against each other.
"I think we've done it before, but it was our own equipment," said Greg, who watched dad drive around the course. "This will be somebody else's equipment."
Greg estimates it's been six years since they did battle, but he's fuzzy about the results. Then he catches himself.
"I'm pretty certain I won," he said.
Asked how old his dad is, Greg said, "He taught Noah how to build a boat."
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David, running from lane 3, hit the start-finish line almost perfectly and was never threatened after that in the 5-lap final of the Oryx Cup World Championship unlimited hydroplane race Saturday in Doha, Qatar.
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Villwock won for a record ninth time on Mission Bay and as a result his U-96 Spirit of Qatar boat has more wins than any other hull in the sport's history.
Villwock also became the sport's all-time winningest driver earlier this season in Detroit. He has 65 career victories.
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Liddycoat was declared the winner by officials after they reviewed film of the start and saw that drivers Steve David, Dave Villwock and J Michael Kelly had crossed the start line early. Those drivers were given a 1-minute penalty and Liddycoat got his first career victory on the H1 Unlimited tour.
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