Pico Captures Columbia Cup Miss Budweiser Flips In Finale, Injuring Driver Dave Villwock

Mark Evans drove the PICO American Dream to victory in the Budweiser Columbia Cup Sunday after Miss Budweiser, the top boat on the unlimited hydroplane circuit, flipped in the final heat.

Budweiser driver Dave Villwock was treated at Kennewick General Hospital for a broken right arm, a possible concussion, a bad cut across the top of his right wrist and other injuries. The 42-year-old driver was then flown to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle.

Villwock might be sidelined for the rest of the season, said J Michael Kenyon, a spokesman for the Unlimited Hydroplane Racing Association. There was no immediate word on a replacement driver.

“We’ll know more as soon as the doctors at Harborview get his hand put back together,” Kenyon said. “It was a close call.”

The Bud’s engine was crushed and the cockpit ruined, but owner Bernie Little said another hull, used in three of the four previous races, will be ready in time for the regatta next weekend at Kelowna, British Columbia.

Off to a strong start in clear, calm weather, the Bud shot into the air after the right sponson lifted high while crossing the wake of another boat in the first turn. It fell backwards and onto its top.

The impact knocked the helmet and oxygen mask off Villwock, who was found unconscious in the water. He revived quickly, his pulse appeared to be normal and he told his wife Pam he was OK before being put into an ambulance.

After the wreckage was cleared from the race course on the Columbia River and the winner-take-all championship heat resumed, Evans passed Mark Tate in Close Call and finished with an average speed of 146.489.

Close Call finished second, followed by Mark Weber in Team Stihl, Mike Hanson in DeWalt Tools, Jerry Hale in Red Robin-Miss Exide and Mitch Evans in Appian Jeronimo, which faded in the last lap because of engine trouble.

Mark Evans was driving a hastily patched boat. A propeller blade broke on the PICO during qualifying runs Saturday morning, and the crew had to scramble to replace a strut, repair the hull and install a new propeller.

PICO’s victory ended a record 19 straight heat victories for Miss Budweiser, which had won all four previous regattas this year.