Evansville: Saturday summary

Two wins for two young 23-year old drivers from Kent, Wash.

EVANSVILLE--Even though Steve David (Lighthouse Pt., Fla.) in the Oh Boy! Oberto started the day as the top qualifier for the 30th Thunder on the Ohio ABRA unlimited hydroplane race for the first time in the team's history, it became the afternoon of a lifetime for two 23-year old drivers from Kent, Wash.

Brian Perkins (Kent, Wash.,) in his first start as an unlimited driver in Evansville, won his first heat in the sport in the U-50 Spirit of the Navy, benefiting from the fact that David and Jimmy King in the U-3 Master Tire both jumped the gun at the start and allowed Perkins to cruise to the win in elimination heat 1A.

Jean Theoret (Maple Grove, Que.) in the U-37 Miss Beacon Plumbing also went dead in the water, being washed down in turn one by the two gun jumpers but restarted the boat to take second.

In heat 1B, Jeff Bernard (Kent, Wash.) in the U-7 Formulaboats.com battled the former national high point champion and his teammate Mike Allen in the U-5 Formulaboats.com deck-to-deck for one lap before pulling away to take the win. Allen took second while Dave Bryant (Mesa, Ariz.) placed third.

The boats return to the Ohio River course tomorrow for two sets of elimination heats, starting at 10:40 am with the winner take all final at 4:30 pm.

THUNDER ON THE OHIO
Saturday, June 28 Elimination Heats

Heat 1A
1-U-50 Spirit of the Navy, Brian Perkins, Kent, Wash.
2-U-37 Miss Beacon Plumbing, Jean Theoret, Maple Grove, Que.
3-U-6 Oh Boy! Oberto, Steve David, Lighthouse Pt., Fla.
4-U-3 Master Tire, Jimmy King, Richmond, Mich.
DNS-U-25 Jarvis Fire and Water Repair, Ken Muscatel, Seattle, Wash.

Heat 1B
1-U-7 Formulaboats.com, Jeff Bernard, Kent, Wash.
2-U-5 Formulaboats.com, Mike Allen, New Orleans, La.
3-U10 Ahearn Rentals, Dave Bryant, Mesa, Ariz.
DNS- U-13 Graham Trucking, J Michael Kelly, Pullayup, Wash.
DNS- U-100 Mirageboats.com, Greg Hopp, Snohomish, Wash..

-credit: abra