`Mid Michigan Electric Unlimiteds'
Proudly Present 

`The MICHIGAN CUP'
Sponsored by `Fine Design Marine'
N.A.M.B.A. Sanctioned Race
May 30,31- June 1, 2003
Sharp Park,  Lansing Mi. 

2003 NAMBA MICHIGAN CUP HIGHLIGHTS’
 by Ken Joye

This years Michigan Cup race was the absolute best race the `Mid Michigan Electric Unlimiteds’ club have hosted yet.  `The Michigan Cup’ was held at Sharp Park in Lansing Mi., MMEU’s home pond. The weather cooperated for the most of the 3-day event, with some rain on Saturday morning. With 21 classes and 28 racers participating every minute of daylight was needed.

Together with FINE DESIGN MARINE (our title sponsor) this years MMEU Michigan was one of the largest FE events in the history of the hobby. Chris Fine was kind enough to set up a temporary store in the pit area. Many racers took advantage of his vast supply of parts and accessories to make repairs, upgrades or just do a little shopping.

Class sponsors include: Battlepack, FINE DESIGN MARINE, Fullers Fast Electrics, MACH 5 racing, Rum Runner Racing. Door Prize sponsors include: Aeromarine, Climate Models, Fine Design, Skull Caps.com, Powersurge Racing Products, Prop Shop Hobbies, RC Boat Modeler, RC- Hydros, Rum Runner Racing. The `Mid Michigan Electric Unlimiteds’ would like to thank all our dedicated sponsors. Our Michigan Cup sponsors are truly dedicated to the sport and we hope you consider them first when making your next FE purchase.

The MMEU team volunteers were also reason for the success of the Michigan Cup. They worked tirelessly all weekend to ensure the race went smoothly. Becca Hainer worked the C/D stand heats and scoring in close communication with MMEU president Dennis Whitt running the race. John Hainer our MMEU webmaster, ran all the electronics and worked with Ken Joye to setup registration and class scheduling. Terry Davis setup the challenging NAMBA Sprint and Offshore course while Andrew, Joshua Joye, Norm K. and Brandon C. took turns taking video. Tom Costello, Kevin Whitehead and Jay Stolz also were also a big help with setup each day.

Once setup, Fridays schedule was a great warm-up for the busy weekend. The day started with O Sport Hydro and Q Offshore Concours, ballots were entered by people’s choice. With so many beautiful entries for Q it was a tough decision, but Paul Pachmayers meticulously detailed Graupner B28 took Q Offshore honors. Paul also won O Sport Hydro Concours with his highly detailed scale` Unlimited’ shovelnose. Big congrats to Paul and his great looking FE boats.

Crackerbox was a real drivers race. With 6 boats entered a different driver won each heat. Josh Joye took the first heat, Paul Pachmayer took the second heat and Chris fine grabbed the third heat. A good start made all the difference with these closely matched hull combinations.

N1 Mono was a popular class with 13 boats entered we had brake the class brake into 3 mixed flights. In the end, the veterans proved experience pays off, with Chris Fines UFO in 1^st, tied for first with Mark Kennedy in points the lowest time accumulation gave it to Chris, Mark followed in second with MMEUs Dennis Whitt a close 3^rd.

O Sport Hydro had 12 entries and was also broken into 3 mixed flights. The veterans again showed us some of the toughest competition of the day. Can you believe 1^st thru 3^rd all accumulated exactly 1100 points so the finish order was decided with mere seconds between the places. Chris Fine finish 1^st by less than 3 seconds; Brian Vega took 2nd, with Doug Twaits a few seconds behind in 3^rd.

S Hydro turned into a real exhibition of speed. High-Tech rigger designs from Rum Runner and the Fine Design Cat entry showed how sub-minute sprint racing is done. After the roosters cleared the Rum Runner Team proved victorious with Doug Twaits took 1^st, Brian Vega 2nd and Chris Fine 3^rd. Doug also posted the fast time of 53.28 in the first heat. Wow that’s moving!

N2 Offshore class is gaining popularity, with 10 entries and it was divided into 2 mixed flights.  The low profile canopied monos definitely had the advantage, if they stayed in clean water. Doug Twaits captured a staggering 30 laps total for 1^st, Howard Tucker was close behind for 2nd with 28 total laps and Brian Vega took 3^rd with 19.75 total laps.

Q Offshore was a must see class, with 13 entries it was broken into 3 mixed flights. These larger Offshore Cats and Vees competed fiercely, often being bumped and banged right up to the checker flag. With `the best of the best’ competing the FINE DESIGN team managed to sweep the field. Mark Kennedy took first with 32 total laps, Dan Fine followed in 2nd with 28 total laps and Justin Nash nailed 3^rd with 25.25 laps total.

Saturday started out with morning rain, while we waited to race we held P Offshore Concours.  We had quite a few beautifully detailed entries. The racers entered their ballots and MMEUs own Dennis Whitt took the Concours for his beautifully detailed Fiat Uno Offshore. This boat not only looked great but also was a terror on the course. The rain calmed to sprinkles, we started racing with one of our most popular classes.

N2 Mono started the day with 14 entries; it was broken into 3 mixed flights. The BL motors really shined in this very competitive class. Some close racing netted Rum Runners Brian Vega a 1^st with a perfect 1200pts, followed by Allan Nayman in 2nd, and Dennis Whitt in 3^rd.

N2 Hydro entries were also up with 9 boats competing. These little 6 cell rigger powerhouses showed a lot of speed potential with some entries grazing the 1-minute mark. Veteran Doug Twaits showed superior driving and setup skills to take 1^st place, Allan Nayman followed in 2nd and Mark Kennedy placed 3^rd.

Q Mono was comprised of an 8-boat field. The class was split into 2 mixed flights. If you want to see some fast large caliber monos, this is the class. Most racers used the same colorful hulls they used for Q offshore. Chris Fine lead the points with a perfect 1200 score for 1^st, followed by MMEUs own Dennis Whitt 2nd and Terry Davis debuting his new H2O Sidewinder in 3^rd.

Q-Hydro was an 8-boat roostertailfest; with 4 of prop riding riggers in each heat it was a fight to the finish. These larger and faster hulls took precision driving to navigate the tight Sharp Park course. When the mist cleared Ken Joye Larson/Mach 5 rigger took 1^st, Tom Dale followed in second with Steve Reesor nabbing 3^rd. 

P Sport Hydro had a record 13 entries was split into 3 mixed flights. The sweet sight of rooster sporting pickle fork and shovelnose hydros made for some great picture opportunities. It was great to see the new Rum Runner wooden kit shovels making their mark in racing. Doug Twaits didn’t waste any time using his to capture 1^st place. Fine Design Team members Mark Kennedy and Chris Fine captured 2nd and 3^rd respectively. Doug posted the fast time of 104.00 in the last heat of this event.  

P Offshore is the hottest class in offshore racing. The MMEU Michigan Cup is known for tough offshore competition. With 16 entries in P Offshore it was a real struggle to take home wood. Cats and V Hulls duked it out for 4 minutes in 3 mixed flights. When heats were totaled Mark Kennedy took 1^st with 33.25 laps, runner up was Howard Tucker with 30.5 laps followed by MMEU’s Terry Davis with 28.5 brought his H2O sidewinder in for 3^rd.

MMEU offered new class called N2 Sport Hydro for 6 cell sport hydro fans. These boats could be equipped with any 05 style can type brushed motor. With 5 entries they were a real treat to watch. MMEU’s Kevin Whitehead showed superior skill in setup and driving to take first by 25 points from Doug Twits who finished second. Paul Pachmayers detailed shovel went on to take 3^rd. Kevin posted a fast time of 121.00 in the second heat.

Sundays racing was very intense with team and individual Michigan Cup points races coming to a head. O Mono with 10 entries was the first class on the agenda. The class was divided into 2 mixed flights and the windy overcast weather conditions took its toll a number of fast entries. Chris Fine carefully navigated his entry to take 1^st place, followed by Rum Runners Brian Vega in 2nd and Doug Twaits taking 3^rd.

O Hydros 14 entries and were divided into 3 mixed flights. Doug Twaits mastered the course managing to run a sub minute run of 59.61 in traffic on the second heat. Dougs efforts paided off to give him a solid 1^st place with fellow team member Brian Vega runner up in 2nd and Steve Reesor nudging his entry solidly into 3^rd. 

P Mono was another great class to view from the manicured Sharp Park grounds. We had 13 entries in this class and decided to make interesting by creating 2 mixed flights. Carnage was the word that best described the heat racing in P Mono. Racers that didn’t hold their line and drive defensively met with dire consequences. When the bumping and banging was over Chris Fine found his boat in 1^st place. Chris was closely followed by Neil Reesor in 2nd and Paul Pachmayer in 3^rd.

P Hydro had a record 10 entries and posted some of the fastest times of the weekend. Two Rum Runner drivers managed to run just about every heat in the sub one-minute range. Doug’s first heat fast time of 56.43 helped him secure first place in the class, Brian Vega took 2nd place honors and Steve Reesor nestled successfully into 3^rd. It was a Rum Runner team sweep for P Hydro Class.

S Mono class had 7 boats entered and was split into 2 mixed flights mainly because of the larger size of the boats. The expensive high cell count monos are fun to watch tooling around the course. Just don’t get in their way! Dan and Chris Fine finished in 1^st and 2cd consecutively with their bulletproof Aeromarine setups. Ken Joyes race prepped GRX powered Jet Stream finished in respectfully in 3^rd. Chris posted a 113.80 time in his first heat. Very impressive!

LSH again was one of MMEU Mi Cups most popular classes with 13 entries. The class was divided into 3 mixed flights to help keep carnage and confusion down.  The veterans managed to stake their claim on this popular class again. With spec’d 700 power and hull limitations the lead was traded often amongst the best drivers. Doug Twaits had the fastest time of the day in heat 2 with 2.40 seconds. Dougs Rum Runner shovelnose was good enough to earn him 1^st place with a perfect 1200 points. Chris Fine showed he could drive Sport hydros when he landed 2nd and Dan Fine made 3^rd. Competition was real tough in this class, often leaders won by just a boat length or two.

The last class of the day was Unlimited Offshore. Steve Vasdekis had us all intimidated with his 5ft twin BL powered mono entry. Unfortunately the larger hull had a tough time negotiating the tight Sharp Park course. Steve did however take `Best of Show’ for his efforts in demonstrating his incredible monster FE boat package. Unlimited Offshore was won by defending champion Chris Fine, his reliable and precision Aeromarine setups combined with flawless driving made Chris a tough combination to beat. CAFEs Howard Tucker showed how his BL powered Drifter Cat could be run with speed and discipline to finish 2nd. John Hainers beautifully airbrushed GRX powered Bittburger Cat took 3^rd place bragging rights. Dennis Whitt definitely had the fastest combination with his BL powered Titan but was plagued with a few problems negotiating the tough course.

After a long day and weekend of racing scores were tallied and awards were presented to the racers for their valiant efforts. Brian Vega, Doug Twaits, Steve and Neil Reesor of Rum Runner Racing captured the coveted `Michigan Cup’ for Team high points. Chris Fine did a `Fine Job’ of dedicated himself to winning the Michigan Cup Individual High Points Championship.

In closing many new friendships were made and promises were made to return next year. MMEUs `The Michigan Cup’ race continues to be one of the toughest, most challenging NAMBA races on the FE calendar. Please plan on attending next year’s event.

 For pics and Mi Cup info see the MMEU website at http://www.mmeu.com , http://mmeu.com/2003/2003results.htm

2003 MICHIGAN CUP RESULTS