The Madison Courier Saturday, June, 25, 2011
Madison Regatta 2011
Dave Villwock
27
Qatar driver making history with every win
By DAVID CAMPBELL
S
Courier Staff Writer
ometime this year, maybe even next week in Madison, Dave Villwock will become the winningest driver in the history of Unlimited hydroplane racing. And then, the debate will begin: Is Villwock the greatest ever? For his part, Villwock is just interested in racing. Never one to be overly concerned with labels, he is approaching the 2011 season the same as his previous 19 seasons as a driver. “Every year, you just try to do a little better than you did the year before and if you do, you’ll probably be successful,” Villwock said. A record-setting driver in the Limited ranks, Villwock’s first taste of success at the Unlimited level actually came as a crew chief when he oversaw Chip Hanauer’s 1990 World Champion season aboard the Miss Circus Circus. In 1992, Villwock finally got a chance to drive in the Unlimited ranks and impressed right away, steering the Coors’ Dry to victory from lane four at San Diego in his very first race. Villwock has won at least one race in each season since 1996 and in last year’s season finale in Doha, Qatar, he drove the U-96 Spirit of Qatar to his 62nd career win to tie Bill Muncey’s all-time record. Through it all, he has downplayed what it means to catch one of his idols, and to pass former teammate Hanauer in the process. “To even be that close is cool. And to win my 62nd, and the world championship while driving the Qatar boat in front of the Qatari people, you couldn’t set up a better storyline,” Villwock said. “If I get to win another one this year, that would be cool too. I don’t know when or where that will be and certainly its likely. We’re preparing to go as fast as we
can and we’re hoping to go faster than ever before.” Ever since his career began, Villwock has been a polarizing figure. Critics point to the fact that a lion share of his
wins came for the Miss Budweiser and Miss Elam Plus/ Spirit of Qatar teams, two well-heeled operations. Supporters point to Villwock’s abilities as a propeller manufacturer and set-up man for making his rides even better. One thing nobody can argue about is that the man can fly a boat and win. Muncey won 62 races and Hanauer — Muncey’s hand-picked successor — won 61. No other driver had won more than 25 until Villwock came on the scene. “To be even with Bill Muncey in wins and to win as many Gold Cups as he did in the same season was pretty special,” Villwock said of last year. “I don’t know if it means a lot. I was just happy to be in the same club.” The Qatar team has spent the offseason trying to make the circuit’s fastest boat even faster. Villwock was the fastest qualifier at all six races in 2011 but lost the national championship to Steve David and the U-1 Oh Boy! Oberto/Miss Madison after mistakes at Madison and Tri-Cities cost the team valuable points. According to Villwock, making those small little changes can be the difference between winning and losing. “We’re always trying to develop better technically. We’re trying to develop better fins, better propellers, better engines, better nozzles, better atomizers, better everything so we can gain that extra two to five mph,” Villwock said. “If we can do that, we’ll probably be dominate. If we can’t, we won’t. That’s racing.” Of course, the biggest asset the team has is the man in the cockpit. Villwock has never altered his racing style and he doesn’t plan to start now that the record is close at hand. “I’ve always raced with the attitude of ‘refuse to lose,’” he said. “The 62nd win was a matter of refusing to lose. Make them beat you and somehow it works out. But if you choose to lose, you’ll lose.”
Dave Villwock and the Spirit of Qatar pictured ripping off a fast lap at Madison in 2010 (above) and on the victory podium last November in Doha, Qatar, after picking up his 62nd career win to tie Bill Muncey for most wins all-time in Unlimited hydroplane racing. (Photo above by Mark Campbell, photo top by Chris Denslow)