2008 Madison Regatta
Bernard
surprises hometown favorite
for his first Unlimited win
Oh Boy! Oberto places second in close finish
Staff
Report
(July 6, 2008) – Twenty-three-year-old Jeff
Bernard out maneuvered salty veteran Steve David to claim the young
driver’s first ever victory July 6 at the 58th Indiana Governor’s
Cup Madison Regatta and end David’s quest to bring the City of
Madison its first victory since 2003.
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Photo
by Don Ward On
July, 6, Indiana Gov. Mitch |
“I want to say sorry to the fans that their boat
didn’t win,” Bernard of Kent, Wash., said following his surprising
victory. “But I want to remind everyone this is an Indiana boat
as well.”
Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels attended the event and presented Bernard
with the victory trophy. Daniels is only the third sitting governor
to attend the Regatta awards ceremony in its long history.
Bernard’s U-5 Formulaboats.com is based out of Decatur, Ind., located
on Indiana’s northeast corner. The U-3 Cooper’s Motorsports
of Evansville represents a third Indiana-based team competing in the
national Unlimited circuit, sanctioned by the American Boat Racing Association.
Before the young driver claimed victory, he managed to unseat the perennial
favorite U-6 Oh Boy! Oberto driven by David, the Lighthouse Point, Fla.,
native. In the second lap of the five heat winner-take-all race, Bernard
edged past David to claim the lead. After that move, David could do
little to catch the streaking red boat.
Bernard’s teammate and former national champion Mike Allen of New
Orleans piloted the U-7 Formulaboats.com to a third-place finish.
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2008
Madison Regatta 1.
U-5 Formulaboats.com, |
As Bernard was fending off the hard-charging David, he
also contended with rough waters caused by heavy debris in the Ohio
River. Throughout the day, the Unlimited hydroplane fleet was whittled
away by the debris. Despite the obvious hurdles, Bernard managed to
be standing by day’s end.
“We’ve got a boat that can finally run over rough water,”
Bernard said.
While Bernard and his team managed to beat the debris, other drivers
had a much different outlook.
“It is the equivalent of throwing marbles on the Indy 500 track,”
David said earlier in the day. “This was rough day for everyone.”
Earlier in the day, the U-10 Miss Ahern Rentals driven by David Bryant
of Mesa, Ariz., voluntarily withdrew from the field due to the debris.
“We are hearing about solid wood from one end to another on the
river,” Kim Gregory, owner of the U-10, said following the withdrawal.
“We have already lost a rudder. I want to go to the Gold Cup.”
The 100th running of the coveted American Power Boat Association Gold
Cup was held the following week in Detroit.