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Thread: UIM World Championship Results

  1. #1
    Team Member Master Oil Racing Team's Avatar
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    Default UIM World Championship Results

    Some of you may have seen a post by Mike Ward regarding UIM World Records and also a request for results from a couple of UIM races in 1992. I've been looking up some UIM results for Mike as well, but I have gone as far as I can with the information I have on several of these events. Mike is hoping to have his project complete right after the first of the year. He started working on it many years ago, but a fire at Belgian headquarters destroyed many records. He has been very patient at staying with this project. Maybe some of you might have some of the missing pieces to help Mike out.

    I have all the information on the UIM World Championships for OA, OD and OF held at Phoenix in 1976 except the make of Bill Rucker's and Leif Ahlborg's boats. I think Leif borrowed a boat. I don't remember him shipping one over. Does anyone know what make boat Bill Rucker Sr. is driving?
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    Default More Help Needed

    All these years I thought Bill Rucker was running a Merc deflector, then I spotted this picture. I need to know the manufacturer of this engine. Is it OMC, Crescent ...?
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    Team JDS Jeff Akers's Avatar
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    Default Rucker

    My Brother and I were just talking about Bill Rucker the other day. We think one of the boats I had was origanaly one of Bills. I buoght it from one of the Beogio's (sp)? at J&G marine in Napa CA. The boat in your photo sure looks like it. I'll dig up a pic of it if I can. Cant remember what make it was.
    DeSilva???

    The engine in the photo is an OMC for sure
    Jeff 93-C



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    Default Yeah--I bet you're right

    Thanks Jeff. I keep forgetting about DeSilva making hydros. I was looking at the cowling and was thinking Bellcraft, but I don't ever remember Marcel making a picklefork. Looks to me like an OMC too, but I'm not an expert. When we get confirmation on the hydro, I'll submit it to Mike.



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    Team JDS Jeff Akers's Avatar
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    Default Not the best view but,

    This is the only shot of the boat I could find.
    Still not sure of the make of boat. some one else may be able to help?
    If you look at the front of boat they sure look the same to me, low cockpit sides too. Not sure of the number on the boat in your pic but it looks close though?
    I hope this info helps you and I'm not just clogging up your thread.
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    Jeff 93-C



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    Thumbs up A definite help

    Looks the same to me too Jeff. Thanks. Even the number is close. Bill Rucker's was C-127. I've got a photo of a DeSilva hydro taken at the OLY Pro Nationals in Winona I'll compare it to.



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    Default 75 Stinger

    That OMC pic looks a lot like a OMC 75 Stinger (49 CI Triple). The Stingers had the orange paint on them. I know that is easy to change, as I change all mine as well. But it sure looks a lot like a gas burner converted to Alcohol ?

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    Default Mike Ward--here is some more info

    The UIM OA, OD and OF World Championships were held at Firebird Lake near Phoenix, Arizona February 20-22, 1976. Firebird Lake is on the Maricopa Indian Reservation.

    Position Driver Hometown Points Boat/Motor

    OA 11 drivers in finals

    1. Skip Birbarie Branford, Connecticut 1100 Yale/Konig

    2. Tim Butts Romeo, Michigan 1000 Butts/Konig

    3. Leif Ahlborg Orebro Sweden 678 ? /Konig



    OD 13 boats in finals

    1. Wayne Baldwin Sandia, Texas 1000 Butts/Konig

    2. Charlie Bailey Houston, Texas 800 Butts/Konig

    3. Rex Hall, Jr. Liberty, Missouri 750 R & D/ Konig



    OF 9 boats in finals

    1. Hans G. Krage West Berlin,W. Germany 1025 Konig/Konig

    2. Bill Rucker, Sr. San Lorenzo, California 1025 ? / ?

    3. Rex Hall, Jr. Liberty, Missouri 900 R & D/Konig


    Hans won on time. He had a combination of 30.3 second less than Bill Rucker.


    A couple of interesting items.

    Waldemar Marsalek from Poland was, I believe, the defending OA champ. He was scheduled to compete, but he never showed up. I ran into him at Berlin the next year and asked why he didn't come. He said he was on the plane and ready to leave when the Polish authorities came on board and took him off. Remember, it was before the Communists were overthrown, and all those countries were paranoid. They were afraid for their citizens to go to the West and come back with tales of what they saw.

    I got a PM from Skip Birbarie this morning explaining something Joe Rome or I didn't remember. The Americans had to have an elimination heat to choose the five drivers to represent the USA. The milling area at Firebird Lake was very difficult for good timing on a clock start. With a lot of boats milling you had to keep one eye on the clock and one on the other boats and try to figure out how to be in a decent postition when the one minute gun fired. As a result, there was a lot of gun jumping, and that happened in the elimination heat of OA. Skip Birbarie was among those who jumped and didn't make the finals.

    The Germans were upset because they wanted to run against America's fastest and some of them were among the gun jumpers. The Germans protested, don't remember if it was formal or informal, but it was decided to draw straws for the finals. Skip was getting some coffee when they drew straws and John Yale drew one for himself and one for Skip. To this day Skip thinks John drew a straw for that was good for his own US entry, but gave it to Skip instead.

    I came across some B&W negatives that show Bill Rucker, Sr. in a different rig that the earlier color photos I posted of him testing. Does anyone know how to contact Bill Rucker Jr. to find out what Bill Sr. ran in OF?

    Also, Leif Ahlborg borrowed a boat and ran under his own number 59. Who may know whose boat that was. What was the make? Denny, Craig......?



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    Default

    Thanks for your efforts Wayne. After 15 years I am finally winding down the project which I plan to publish soon. Just a few loose ends to finalise - for example, I am still looking for the 3rd place at the 1977 World OF Championship at Fort Worth!!

    The 600 page book of statistics will be available on CD Rom - planning a publicity blitz in connection with the UIM. Stay tuned!!

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    Default UIM OF Ft Worth 1977

    Mike, I am either a little closer to the answer or a total blank. After looking through the notes I found and what Joe Rome wrote down, there may not BE a third place. Do you show Hans Krage 1st and Dan Kirts 2nd? That was a most unusual race and it may be that only three boats ran. I played phone tag with the only other person that may have been in it that is still around, then I lost his number. I may have found it last night and when I get back Monday, I will call. Here is what I remember.

    There were three unique Konigs. Winner Hans Krage had an inline six, Dan Kirts was driving Marshall Grants Butts with two 500 cc konigs back to back with two driveshafts into a common lower unit. I was driving a Butts with an 850cc Konig we bought from Marshall. It had two rotary valves and four carbs. I actually finished out front, but was ineligible because my engine was a legal OE. I was allowed to run because of the poor showing. I can't remember any other participants so there may have been only us three. Dan Kirts was amazingly fast down the straights, but had a lot of weight hanging on the transom and with all that power, he had to be careful through the turns to save the lower unit. I found some notes from the next race (Eastern Divisionals I think) noting that Dan had not repaired the piston from the OF World Championships.

    I was given the 1100cc win for the Western Division, Hans the OF World Championship, and Dan 2nd place. Since Dan went down, (I don't remember which heat), and myself not officially in the hunt, I believe only two heats were run, and the committee deciding that it was pointless to run the two final heats. I want to get confirmation from Dan next week then I will post that here.

    Still waiting for the rig that Bill Rucker ran in OF at Phoenix in 1976 if anyone knows or can find Bill Rucker Jr to find out.



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