DATE: Friday, July 11, 1997                 TAG: 9707110840

SECTION: SPORTS                  PAGE: C2   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: BY BOB HUTCHINSON, OUTDOORS EDITOR 

DATELINE: NORFOLK                           LENGTH:   53 lines

HYDROPLANES BACK FOR WEEKEND RACE A STORM CANCELED THE MEMORIAL DAY COMPETITION OF 10 JET-POWERED BOATS.

Ten of the world's fastest boats are poised for something not seen on the East Coast in two decades, an Unlimited-class hydroplane race.

Competition in the Virginia Is For Lovers Cup is scheduled for Saturday and Sunday on Willoughby Bay off Norfolk Naval Base and Norfolk Naval Air Station.

The same 10 boats, capable of speeds in excess of 210 mph, were to have raced Memorial Day weekend. A few craft managed preliminary runs, but the event was blown out when a northeaster blew through.

The boats last raced on the East Coast in 1977 in the President's Cup Regatta on the Potomac River at Washington. Unlimiteds have never raced in Virginia. The race is one of 11 stops on the 1997 Unlimited circuit, which includes events in Detroit, Seattle, Las Vegas, San Diego and Honolulu.

Weekend competition also will include matches between Unlimited Lights, conventional-powered hydros 20 feet long and capable of speeds greater than 125 mph, and 18-foot Jersey Speed Skiffs, which top out at about 80 mph.

Tickets are $7 for Saturday's prelims, $15 for Sunday's finals and $5 for a pit pass. You also can purchase a two-day ticket and pit pass for $20.

Military personnel, their families and senior citizens are eligible for $2 discounts on general admission tickets, as are losing-ticket holders from the various games of the Virginia Lottery.

Tickets will be available at the admission gate, inside Gate 3A on the Naval Air Station. You may also obtain them from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. today at the Virginia Waterfront Box Office, 232 E. Main St., Norfolk.

Those holding tickets from the aborted Memorial Day program will be able to redeem them for new tickets at the Virginia Waterfront Box Office. Tickets may be charged by calling 664-6436. For race and ticket details, call 441-1852.

Gates to the race site will open daily at 9 a.m., when drivers will begin testing their craft. Qualifying heats will be staged later in the day, with the program ending about 4:30 p.m.

The top five Unlimiteds will meet in the finals at 3:40 p.m. Sunday, with the Unlimited Light finals at 3:15 and the Jersey Speed Skiff finals at 10:30 Sunday morning.

Each Unlimited will be given several chances to meet or exceed the 120-mph minimum qualifying speed, which should not be very difficult. The boats have been clocked at straightaway speeds in excess of 210 mph.

The early race favorite is the Miss Budweiser, driven by Dave Villwock of Auburn, Wash., winner of all three Unlimited races this year, including the prestigious Gold Cup on the Detroit River and last week's meet at Madison, Ind.

The race will feature a Virginia-sponsored craft, Team Stihl, piloted by Mark Weber of St. Clair Shores, Mich. Weber was the sport's 1996 co-rookie of the year.

The boat is sponsored by Stihl Inc., a manufacturer of outdoor power equipment with U.S. headquarters in Virginia Beach.

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