Jon maintained his incredible streak of finishes with a third place in Heat 2B due to the U-17 going dead in the water and an N2 violation by Greg Hopp in the U-100.
San Diego: Heat 1B
Jon made up for a sub-par start by gradually overhauling the U-22 of Mike Webster to take a fifth place finish in Heat 1B, extending his string of heat finishes to an outstanding ten in a row.
San Diego: Friday
Images from Friday's action at the Air Guard Championship presented by Degree Men in San Diego
San Diego: First Test Run
Jon got two laps in before bringing the U-37 Degree men back to the dock for some fine tuning. We'll be back on the water at noon...
U-37 leaves for San Diego
The U-37 has left Seattle on the way to the Air Guard Championship Presented by Degree Men in San Diego, with Scott & J-Dub driving...
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Schumacher Racing/Miss Peters & May Have “Get it Done” Attitude
Effort Demonstrates Perfect Sponsor-Race Team Pairing
Split-second timing, quick decision making, strong relationships and a team that identifies resources, pulls together, and does “whatever it takes” to get the job done are important ingredients in both racing and in business. Recently, with international shipping company, Peters & May USA and the Schumacher Racing U-37 Hydroplane team, these components demonstrated how a race team can reflect the philosophy and responsibility of its sponsor.
Miss Peters & May
This year, Peters & May USA assumed title sponsorship of the Schumacher Racing U-37 Hydroplane for the 2010 race season. At the July Gold Cup race in Detroit, Peters & May USA Managing Director David Holley watched in horror along with team owners Bill & Jane Schumacher as their driver J.W. Myers put the U-37 into a seawall at more than 100 mph (avoiding the rest of the race field and crowded pit area). He suffered multiple fractures to his foot and shredded the forward sponsons all the way back to the cockpit.
“What happened after was so analogous to what we do in our business, I was stunned!” said Holley. The Schumachers were able to capitalize on their reputation, relationships, experience and team to find solutions; in this case, a boat, a driver and getting everything race-ready in one week.”
After it was clear that Myers was not seriously injured, though “out of commission” for a time, Schumacher Racing was faced with a decision; and a split one at that, with Bill thinking the season was over, and Jane eager to find a way to keep racing. The team was solidly in Jane’s corner, and she used her sponsor’s influence to seal the deal. “Peters & May is a dynamic company with its heart in our race program. Dave Holley understands the business of boat racing,” she said, “He is an active and involved sponsor and expressed a desire to go forward.”
Holley marveled at how the relationships Schumacher Racing fostered over the years came to the fore. “Both Greg O’Farrell and Fred Leland — competitive team owners mind you – approached the Miss Peters & May crew with offers to lease us a hull. Those offers, according to Jane Schumacher, were extended based as much on the team’s reputation as on the relationships. “These very generous offers were predicated on our reputation. Both Fred and Greg understood that our crew — led by Scott Raney — is so good they needn’t worry about having their equipment wrecked. In fact, the crew would likely make it better,” Schumacher said.
In the same way Peters & May uses its worldwide network of offices and affiliates to solve marine shipping logistics, the Schumacher Racing crew tapped long-time collaborators West Coast Collision Center and Prism Graphic to outfit, rig, paint and brand the “new” U-37, having it race-ready in time for the Tri-Cities race in Kennewick, WA July 23-25. Schumacher Racing also worked with team owner/driver Ken Muscatel to secure the services of veteran driver Jon Zimmerman for the remainder of the season.
Jon Zimmerman(l) & Scott Raney(r) accept the "Light it Up" award
The team was recognized for its efforts by Stream Light Flashlights with its “Light It Up” award that goes to the individual or team whose efforts result in a race’s “brightest moment.”
“It was inspiring to be a part of this herculean effort,” said Holley “Our race team responded in exactly the way our Peters & May team responds on a daily basis. We use our experience, relationships and expertise to deliver solutions to our customers. Fortunately, we do it without a horrific crash as the catalyst!”
Fort Lauderdale, FL: 954-315-3848
Chicago, IL: 847-437-2389
Sam Cole, chairman of U1 Unlimited, feels good about the future of the sport of unlimited hydroplane racing despite the fact there were only four races in the United States this year and one in Qatar that will run Nov. 18-20.
“We have been weathering the recession like the rest of America,” Cole said. “I feel very positive about where we’re headed. I can see us racing on two or three continents in the next couple of years.”
Cole said financial troubles that nearly canceled races in both Seattle and Detroit hurt efforts to expand into new markets or returning to sites that have held races in the past.
“When you have your two oldest sites, Detroit and Seattle, having financial problems, it took away from looking for new sites,” Cole said. “This race was on edge until Albert Lee stepped up. You have to make sure your existing sites are up to snuff first.”
Cole expects five or six races in the U.S. next year and two or three new ones overseas.
“The one fact we can’t hide from is that we’ve raced in 45 different places in the last 25 years,” Cole said. “We have five or six places where it really works. Finding new sites in this day and age is challenging, but we now have international interest.”
Cole said they are in discussions with former sites in San Diego, Evansville and Washington, D.C., along with a couple of other new sites in the southeast United States.
“Unfortunately,” Cole said, “until you have a check, you don’t have a race.”
Cole said that any growth forthcoming will have to be done cautiously.
“We’re not an industry like NASCAR; at least 90 percent of the people on our teams are volunteers,” Cole said. “When you add races and travel internationally you really tax the vacation time of volunteers. We have to grow so that it’s a professional sport again with paid crews and paid people.”
Jon Zimmerman grabbed a fifth place finish in this heat, taking the U-37 into the Consolation Heat to try and make it to the final. This clip contains radio calls from Crew Chief Scott Raney.
Jon Zimmerman won the Consolation Heat to gain entry into the Final Heat. This clip also contains the audio track with radio calls from Crew Chief Scott Raney.
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Heat 3B:
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Consolation Heat:
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Starting from the trailer position is always tough, but Jon Zimmerman kept the U-37 going, finishing in 6th place at Seafair and continuing our unbroken string of nine heat finishes in a row with the Leland hull.
Jon drove the pants off the U-37 with the fastest race laps he drove all weekend to claw his way into the final heat at Seafair. Starting in Lane 2 against Kip Brown in the U-17 and N. Mark Evans in the U-57, he drove around both of them to bring one of the few bright spots of the weekend to the U-37 Miss Peters & May team…
...while son Jack races hydros in their back yard at home.
Kip Brown in the U-17 didn’t leave a lane for the U-37 coming into turn 1, forcing Jon into his roostertail. This clip shows pretty dramatically what happens inside the cockpit.
Sunday started off badly, with damage to the U-37 as a result of Jon getting pinched by the U-17 in Turn 1 on the opening lap. The result was the loss of our main engine due to a broken turbine blade, damage to the rear wing, loss of the mirrors and loss of our onboard cameras.
Results:
1st: U-21
2nd: U-7
3rd: U-1
4th: U-96
5th: U-37
6th: U-17 (penalized for lane violation)
