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2011 Our Gang Racing Team News

Miss Red Dot Finishes it's Standout Season Early at the Oryx Cup in Doha, Qatar
November 19, 2011, Doha, Qatar - The Our Gang Racing Team came into the Oryx Cup UIM World Championship with high hopes of not only keeping second place in the Air National Guard Series point race but also getting the teams first race victory. Fridays heats started off with Kip Brown driving to a heat victory. The second heat draw was not as good and Kip finished in 4th. At this point the team had dropped to third in points but still within striking distance of the U-1 for second place. Dave Villwock in the Spirit of Qatar had already locked up the championship in the first heat. Saturday's first heat saw the Miss Red Dot win the third heat only to have the win taken away in a referee decision an hour later stating that Kip had jumped the gun by 1/60th of a second.This meant that Kip had to win the next heat to ensure a place in the final. Kip chased down the U-88 Degree Men on the backstretch of lap one and led the race until turn 2 of lap two when the Miss Red Dot went dead in the water from a mechanical issue.

Starting the season Kip Brown had never won a heat of point racing in the unlimited class (he had won a provisional heat to get trailer position in a final). He started out winning 5 of 5 to start the season in Madison and Tri-Ciites, with a podium position at each race, 2nd in Madison and 3rd in Tri-Cities. In between those two races was the Gold Cup in which Cal Phipps drove the Miss Red Dot, winning 2 of 4 prelim heats and a 5th place in the final.The Miss Red Dot lead the points race leaving Detroit all the way up to the final in Tri-Cities when Dave Villwock caught us with his win.

Then came Seattle. Kip drove his pants off in the first heat to get back up to 2nd place in points. The next heat Kip was in lane 3 heading into turn 1 and him and his spotter lost sight of the the U-88 and thought he was clear to move over. Kip washed the U-88 down and then on the next lap ran over the U-88's cowling in the water cutting it in two and leaving chips in our skid fin and holes in our sponson. Kip was disqualified and needing a win in the next heat it was not to be. The Miss Red Dot missed it's first final of the season and fell to 3rd in the point standings.

San Diego was a new day and Kip strung together 3 straight 2nd places in the prelims to get to the final where he held off Steve David in the U-1 Oh Boy Oberto for 2nd place behind the Spirit of Qatar and Dave Villwock. It also put the Miss Red Dot back into 2nd place in the Air National Guard Series points race.

The final race was of course Doha, Qatar. Going dead in the water in the 4th prelim meant the Miss Red Dot was done for the day. Clearly the Miss Red Dot was one of the fastest boats out there on the final day but luck ran out. The Miss Red Dot falls to fifth in the point series at the end of the day. Not how the team had planned and prepared for. It was a disappointing day but a very successful season.

To sum up the season, it was truly a success. The team prepared to step up and compete this season having the best supply of parts since the team was founded. That coupled with fixing the boat's turning problems, this sled became very fast. Kip Brown drove the boat like a seasoned pro and turned heads from the first heat all the way up to his last when he lost power while leading the field. The team is clearly now one of the front runners and looking to prove it next season.

Miss Red Dot Finishes 2nd in Final
September 18, 2011, San Diego, CA - The Our Gang Racing Team was all smiles at the end of the final of the San Diego Bayfair Air National Guard Championship. Kip Brown in the U-17 Miss Red Dot stayed with Dave Villwock in the Spirit of Qatar for the whole race but not enough to catch him. Next came the U-1 Oh Boy! Oberto with Steve David. Kip finished the weekend with 4 straight 2nd place finishes which moves him back into 2nd place in the Air National Guard Series points race with one race to go in Doha, Qatar. The team worked very hard to find more speed after a disappointing 7th in qualifying. It paid off with the their second 2nd place finish in a final for the season. This has been a break out year for the U-17 Miss Red Dot and they look to continue in Doha in November.

Miss Red Dot Finishes 2nd in First Two Heats
September 18, 2011, San Diego, CA - The Our Gang Racing Team's U-17 Miss Red Dot finished the first two heats with two 2nd place finishes. The team is sitting in 3rd in points for the day. Kip Brown ran two strong heats with the U-1. The second heat he finished just back a roostertail at the finish. With the 3rd set of heats and final coming up, Kip is looking to get the Miss Red Dot back into 2nd place in the Air National Guard Series points race.

San Diego Only Days Away.

September 13, 2011, Preston, WA - The Our Gang Racing Team finished preparing the Miss Red Dot for the San Diego race and sent the boat on the road. The team spent the time after the Seattle race repairing the boat from the pounding it took on the first 2/3s of the season. The team is looking to reclaim second place in the Air National Guard Series high points and then challenge for first. A new salt water cowling was created by modifying the back up cowling and building a new salt scoop hoping to protect our turbine engines better. The new starting procedures and overlaps should also help the fleet avoid salt water killing turbines in the next two races. Our Gang's Miss Red Dot heads into the final two races in the best position ever for the team. Check out new pictures in the gallery section.

Tough Weekend for Miss Red Dot, Still in Points Race

August 7, 2011, Seattle, WA - Kip Brown and the Our Gang Racing Team's Miss Red Dot finish a very tough Albert Lee Cup at Seafair still in the points race sitting in third, only 33 points out of 2nd place. After the great start on Saturday, things took a turn for the worse on Sunday. Heat 2 Kip and his radio man both lost track of the U-88 and he cut them off in the first turn. This lead to a disqualification from the heat and a 150 point penalty. Needing a win in heat 3, Kip nailed the start only to have the race stopped because the U-7 went dead in the first turn. On the restart, the turbine went out on Kip during the score up and by the time he relit, he ended up late to the start and had to drive hard to get back in the race. He finished 3rd, but not enough points for final. In the provisional heat (winner gets to be trailer boat in final) Kip battled hard with the U-88 but just could not catch him at the end from the outside. Good news is that the boat is in relatively good shape with some minor repairs heading into San Diego.

Kip Brown Drives Miss Red Dot to 2nd Place in Heat 1A
August 6, 2011, Seattle, WA - Kip Brown grabbed lane 1 from Scott Liddycoat in the U-7 heading into turn 1 just before the 1 min gun and held onto to the start. Kip flew past the start and into turn 1 chasing the U-96. Later in the heat Kip got squeezed in turn 2 just missing the entrance buoy to catch and pass the U-21 for 2nd place. Kip came into the first heat the 6th fastest qualifier after the team experienced fuel flow problems. Tomorrow racing continues with 2 more prelims and the final.

Kip Brown Drives Miss Red Dot to 3rd Place in Final
July 31, 2011, Tri-Cities, WA - Kip Brown got the inside lane on the field in the final, then everyone was too early and had to slow in turn 2 then fly for the start. U-1 lead everyone across the line and Kip came out of turn 1 in second, soon to be over taken by the U-96. Kip held off the rest of the field to finish in 3rd while Dave Villwock in the U-96 caught Steve David in the U-1 to win the Lamb Weston Columbia Cup. Our Gang Racing's U-17 Miss Red Dot came in and worked very hard to defend it's lead in the Air National Guard Series and kept the lead right up to the final. Kip Brown looks to take the lead back next weekend in Seattle. The Miss Red Dot trails the U-96 by 123 points. This season Kip has won every prelim heat he has been in and looks to continue the streak next weekend.

Kip Brown Flies Miss Red Dot to Another Heat Win
July 31, 2011, Tri-Cities, WA - Kip Brown set up in lane 2 with the U-21 and Brian Perkins in lane 1. At the start Kip led the field across the line with Perkins on his hip. Perkins stayed with Kip for a couple laps before Kip spread out to more than a roostertail lead to win the heat. This is Our Gang Racings's and Kip Brown's first perfect preliminary heat run winning all three. Final coming up in an hour.

Kip Brown Nails Start, Drives Miss Red Dot to Heat 2A Win
July 31, 2011, Tri-Cities, WA - Kip Brown schooled the field in what a good start look like and never looked back. At the end of lap one Kip closed the door on the U-11 and drove away from the field. The win keeps the U-17 Miss Red Dot the Air National Guard Series points leader. More racing in the 3rd flight of heats later followed by the final.

Series Leader U-17 Miss Red Dot Wins Heat 1C
July 30, 2011, Tri-Cities, WA - Kip Brown drove the Air National Guard Series points leading U-17 Miss Red Dot to a win in heat 1C. Steve David in the U-1 passed the score up buoy early and received a one lap penalty. This allowed Kip to back off and let him go as Kip leapfrogged the field going up the backstretch but let Steve keep lane 1. Kip lead the heat from the start and was never contested. The Miss Red Dot retained its 40 point lead as Dave Villwock in the U-96 won his heat earlier.

Series Leader U-17 Miss Red Dot 3rd Fastest Qualifier
July 29, 2011, Tri-Cities, WA - Kip Brown drove the Air National Guard Series points leading U-17 Miss Red Dot to the third fastest qualifying time for the Lamb-Weston Columbia Cup. After the first round only the U-96 driven by Dave Villwock was faster with Kip sitting in second place. A second qualifying attempt by Steve David in the U-1 saw him leap from 3rd to 2nd by a few miles an hour. This is the second time this season Kip and the U-17 Miss Red Dot have been the 3rd fastest. Heat racing starts tomorrow sometime in the 3pm hour. The Miss Red Dot drew Heat 1C with the U-1, U-9 & U-25.

U-17 Miss Red Dot High Points Leader
July 10, 2011, Detroit, MI- After two races the Our Gang Racing's U-17 Miss Red Dot is the high points leader for the 2011 Air National Guard H1 Unlimited Hydroplane Series. After a strong showing in both races with a total of 4 heat victories, the U-17 has a 82 point lead over second place
U-96. Kip Brown drove in Madison, IN and Cal Phipps drove in Detroit. The series now heads out west to Tri-Cities, WA where Kip Brown will be back in the cockpit of the Miss Red Dot.

U-17 Miss Red Dot Finishes 5th in Gold Cup
July 10, 2011, Detroit, MI- Cal Phipps drove the U-17 Miss Red Dot to a 5th place finish in the Gold Cup. Cal had his hands full after loosing the front canard. It was a very successful weekend for the Our Gang Racing Team's U-17 Miss Red Dot. Two heat victories and a second and third will keep the team near the top of the national standings. The team will now pack up and head home to Preston, WA. Next race at Tri-Cities WA in a couple weeks.

U-17 Miss Red Dot Wins 3A
July 10, 2011, Detroit, MI- Cal Phipps, filling in for Kip Brown this weekend, drove the U-17 Miss Red Dot to a 1st place finish in 3A after a deck to deck race with the U-88 Degree Mens. J Michael Kelly in the U-88 in lane one took the lead at the start with Cal Phipps chasing in lane 2. The two race deck to deck for 2 laps until on the 3rd lap Cal was able to get a bit of a lead on the backstretch and lead the rest of the way to the finish. Heat 4 coming up later followed by the final.

Cal Phipps driving U-17 Miss Red Dot Finishes 2nd in 2A
July 9, 2011, Detroit, MI- Cal Phipps, filling in for Kip Brown this weekend, drove the U-17 Miss Red Dot to a 2nd place finish in 2A behind the U-96 with Dave Villwock driving. The Miss Red Dot is off to a great start leading the weekend points so far. Racing continues tomorrow with 2 more sets of preliminary heats and then the Gold Cup final.

Cal Phipps driving U-17 Miss Red Dot Wins 1B
July 9, 2011, Detroit, MI- Cal Phipps, filling in for Kip Brown this weekend, drove the U-17 Miss Red Dot to a win in Heat 1B. Both the U-96 and U-5 passed the score up buoy before 1 min. Dave Villwock (correction: the
U-96 had not passed the start line at full speed after the 5 min gun but before the start, you either have to go around which Villwock did or start from the outside) tried to speed around course to catch up and went dead in the water for a DNS. The U-5 started with the other 2 boats but didn't start officially for another lap. That left the U-21 and U-17 to battle it out for the heat win. The U-21 lead the heat for about 3/4 of a lap until Cal Phipps caught him and lead the rest of the way. This is the second straight race for the Our Gang Racing Team's Miss Red Dot winning the first heat. Heat 2 follows later today.

Cal Phipps driving U-17 Miss Red Dot Qualifies 4th
July 8, 2011, Detroit, MI- Cal Phipps, filling in for Kip Brown this weekend, drove the U-17 Miss Red Dot to the 4th fastest time in qualifying. The team worked around some problems and had a solid run, not as fast as they would have liked, but will set the boat up for heat racing starting tomorrow.

Kip Brown driving U-17 Miss Red Dot Finishes 2nd in Final
July 3, 2011, MADISON, IN - Kip Brown drove the U-17 Miss Red Dot to a second place finish in the final. Kip was running third when the U-96 hooked and drifted into the lane of the U-1 and was hit. Officials ruled the U-1 the winner, U-17 second, U-7 third and U-5 fourth with the U-96 disqualified. The second place finish is Kip Brown's best finish in a final and capped off a very successful weekend for the Our Gang Racing Team's U-17 Miss Red Dot with 2 heat victories and the 2nd place in the final.

Our Gang Racing would also like to extend our thoughts and prayers for the rescue workers and their families involved in the crash earlier in the day. These men and women who make up the rescue squads at each race are greatly appreciated by all the race teams, without them we couldn't race.

Check out the gallery on our facebook page from the weekend.

Kip Brown driving U-17 Miss Red Dot Wins Again
July 3, 2011, MADISON, IN - Kip Brown drove the U-17 Miss Red Dot to a second straight heat victory in 2A today to add to his victory yesterday. The U-17 Miss Red Dot has Heat 3C to go at 4:00 pm eastern. Top four boats with points get on the front row for the final at 5:15.

Kip Brown driving U-17 Miss Red Dot Wins Heat 1C
July 2, 2011, MADISON, IN - Kip Brown drove the U-17 Miss Red Dot to a heat victory in his first heat of action today. He lead the whole race and finished with over a half lap lead on the U-7. This was Kip's first unlimited heat race victory (he had won a provisional heat before). Kip finished with the fastest average heat speed of the day at 130.667. Racing continues tomorrow.

Our Gang Racing U-17 Miss Red Dot Third Fastest Qualifier
July 1, 2011, MADISON, IN - Kip Brown drove the U-17 Miss Red Dot to the third fastest qualifying time for the Lucas Oil Indiana Governor's Cup. There are 11 boats in the pits with 8 boats qualified. The 12th boat should be in pits tomorrow for a full field. Racing starts at 2:00 pm eastern.

Tastin' n Racin' pictures added to gallery!
Testing went well at Tastin' n Racin'. The boat ran well and was good practice for the short course in Madison. Now the mad dash to finish our list before the boat leaves in 2 week.

The U-17 Our Gang Racing Hydroplane Finally Home

March 5, 2011, Preston, WA: The U-17 arrived in Preston on Sunday Feb. 27th. The boat sat outside in the snow until the team had a chance to wash it in the rain on Tuesday night. Now the task of getting ready for next season is under way. Currently the team is building a new horizontal wing, assembling a third turbine engine, hull repair, and other assorted chores. Check out the gallery section to see some more images.

Our Gang Racing Receives Two Awards at Annual Banquet
February 26, 2011, Las Vegas, NV: Our Gang racing received the "2010 Website of the Year" for the H1Unlimited racing series. The hard work of webmaster/photographer David Cormier shows in first class website.

I’m not sure whether we adopted Ginger or she adopted us. Ginger has been an integral part of the U-17 Our Gang Racing Team for the past two years and, we hope, for a long time to come. Although her brother, Mike “Spider” Jackson and Ginger, reside in Chicago, our Northwest based team has had the honor of the Jacksons joining us throughout the North America circuit. Ginger reports to the pits at o’dark thirty with the rest of the crew, smile on her face and coffee in her hand. Her day is spent sending facebook updates to our families and fan base, and swapping decals on and off the boat, as we travel from regatta to regatta. Every team needs a Ginger! Hopefully, the Jacksons will be joining us in our international travels as the Unlimited hydroplane circuit continues to expand. We are very proud of Ginger in all that she does for our race team and the sport. Thanks Ginger.

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