Hydroplanes -- Webber, At 33, To Be Youngest On Circuit

As Mark Evans explained, "A boat is such a strange thing to fly, I would venture you need a little more time to learn how to fly a boat." Perhaps there is no better explanation for the lack of young racers on the Unlimited Hydroplane Racing Association circuit.

Evans, who drives the PICO American Dream, was 22 when he first piloted an unlimited hydroplane in a sanctioned regatta in the Tri-Cities in 1979. His younger brother, Mitch, was 19. They are exceptions, "hydro brats" who grew up in the Wenatchee area watching their father, Norm, race.

There are no twenty-somethings, let alone teenagers, driving in the UHRA tour's top flight this year. There haven't been since Mike Hanson, DeWalt Tools driver, made his debut as a 25-year-old in 1986.

Two rookies will make their full-time debuts on the circuit this weekend in Evansville, Ind., but both are veteran drivers. Eatonville resident Rick Christiensen is 42. Mark Webber of St. Clair Shores, Mich., is 33.

Webber will become the youngest unlimited driver; Hanson is next youngest at 36. Webber grew up in a hydro-racing family. His father, Ray, and grandfathers, Jim Edwards and Harold Webber, stretch the family's racing roots back to 1955. Mark Webber has won 10 national championships since 1990, including last season's unlimited-lights title.

Still, no owner had been willing to give Webber a full-time ride.

"I don't really know why," said Webber, who will drive the U-99 Miss Crazy Tomato. "There will be new guys coming up. But nothing is going to replace seat time."

CONSERVATIVE RUNNING

Mike Jones can't afford to make two mistakes during the next seven weeks. The Miss Exide driver is taking two hulls on the six-races-in-seven-weeks stretch that begins this weekend.

Finishing, rather than winning, is his top priority.

"It's going to be a struggle for the underfunded teams or the volunteer teams. There's no way around it," said Jones, whose Seattle-based boat is in eighth place in the standings. "Racing, by nature, is not conservative, but you'll think twice about doing something that will jeopardize the equipment."

The last time six UHRA races were run in seven weeks, in 1979, career-victory leader Bill Muncey won all six with the well-funded Atlas Van Lines team. Don't be surprised if the richer crews of Miss Budweiser, Close Call (formerly Smokin' Joe's) and PICO's American Dream dominate the next six races, Jones said.

THUNDER ISN'T ROLLING

The Ohio River, site of this week's stop, had been a concern because of flooding, but it has receded enough so the regatta can proceed. But ticket sales were about half of normal, as of last Friday.

"I think the sport in general is having some problems competing with other motor sports," said Joe Rood, Evansville's race announcer since 1990. "I think the sport needs to put on a better show for the fans. There just seems to be some apathy with the sport across the country."

This year's race in Kansas City, Mo., was canceled because of lack of money, and organizers of the Tri-Cities ragatta are working to replace $40,000 in sponsorships lost when Boeing, Westinghouse and R.J. Reynolds pulled out.

NOTES

-- Mitch Evans won't race the Appian Jeronimo, which placed second in the Gold Cup regatta in Detroit, until next weekend in Madison, Ind.

"We were going to test (in the Tri-Cities), but the Coast Guard wouldn't let us because the river was so high," said Grant Jensen, Appian's public-relations director. "And we had something set up for Lake Chelan (last Monday and Tuesday), but we had computer and telemetry problems, so we didn't get any of the data we were looking for. So the decision was made that we need to get our systems working before we rush back east."

-- Nearly 300 of the 470 spaces on the logboom have been sold for Seafair (Aug. 8-10). Spaces are $200 to $325, depending on boat size. For a logboom reservation packet, call 206-728-0123, extension 6500. Two-day passes will go on sale July 7 at participating Texaco stations ($20 for two passes).