Madison Regatta officials are expecting a total of eight Unlimited hydroplanes when the 2016 H1 Unlimited season-opener kicks off July 1-3 on the Ohio River.



The Regatta received official word from H1 about the boat count on Tuesday. Along with the local U-1 HomeStreet Bank/Miss Madison, the other seven boats expected are: U-5 Graham Trucking, U-9 Red Dot/Les Schwab Tires, U-11 Peters & May, U-16 Miss Elam Plus, U-21 PayneWest Insurance, U-27 Wiggins Racing, and U-99.9 CARSTAR.



A ninth boat, the U-3 Go3Racing, is listed as “questionable.”



“This is the certified list that we got from H1 and that’s what we’re working with,” Madison Regatta President Joe Hertz said on Wednesday. “That’s at least eight boats and that’s a pretty good number. Throw in the Grand National and National Modified class and there will be a lot of action on the water.



The two underclasses will replace the Grand Prix West series that raced in Madison a year ago. Boats in the two classes are smaller than the GPWs, but also use automotive power.



With three classes of boats expected, Hertz said that there will be wall-to-wall racing. The official race schedule, which was released on Wednesday, has racing from nearly 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on both Saturday and Sunday with only the one-hour driver’s autograph session in between.



“This is a crazy schedule. I’m not sure that we’ve ever had a schedule quite like this one,” Hertz said. “There will be non-stop racing on Saturday and Sunday and that is something the fans should enjoy.”







Miss Madison heads west



The newly-painted U-1 HomeStreet Bank/Miss Madison arrived late last night in the Tri-Cities for the series annual spring test on the Columbia River.



The event, which will be held on Friday, June 10 on the Columbia River, also includes the U-5 Graham Trucking, the U-9 Red Dot/Les Schwab Tires, the U-18 Bucket List Racing and the 1977 Atlas Van Lines vintage hull.



In addition of showing off its new look for new sponsor HomeStreet Bank, the Miss Madison will also make a few sponsor stops in the eastern Washington area before heading back home to finish preparing for the season opener.

U-21 gets new sponsor



Go Fast Turn Left Racing announced a partnership with Darrell Strong and Payne West Insurance as the boat’s title sponsors for the 2016 MainSource Bank Indiana Governor’s Cup and HAPO Columbia Cup.



“We’re delighted to have Darrell and Payne West Insurance join the U-21 team for the first two races of the 2016 H1 Unlimited season and looking forward to a great partnership,” team owner Greg O’Farrell said in a statement.



“I’m excited with the opportunity to have our organization represented by a first-rate team and can’t wait for the season opener in Madison,” Strong said.



Go Fast Turn Left Racing was formed in 2005 by father and son Greg and Brian O’Farrell. They started as sponsors of a Fred Leland hull and have subsequently purchased and campaigned three different unlimiteds as owners. Their U-21 hull has consistently improved since debuting in 2009 and begins its eighth season at the 2016 Indiana Governor’s Cup.



PayneWest Insurance was formed in the fall of 2012 with the merging of the Northwest’s two premier insurance advisory firms — Payne Financial Group and Western States Insurance.







Leland Unlimited will be ‘Rocking’ this year



The Leland Unlimited team is reaching back to its roots and bringing back the popular “Miss Rock” name to the boat this season.



Along with primary sponsor CARSTAR, the team will also sport the black, red and yellow colors and name of Seattle area radio station KISW-FM. In addition, driver Kevin Eacret and owner Stacy Briseno announced that they are changing the boat’s number from 100 back to the Miss Rock’s U-99.9.



“It will be a lot of fun to see those colors on the water again. It will bring back a lot of great memories of our years racing with Fred Leland and his team,” said Steve Montgomery, the originator of the original Miss Rock in the 1980’s. “Good luck to Stacy and Kevin and the CARSTAR/Miss ROCK in 2016.”