1959 Diamond Cup
Lake Coeur d'Alene, Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, July 19, 1959

Maverick Wins Diamond Cup

Diamonds Aren't Forever [1959] Maverick Wins Diamond Cup Diamond Cup 'One Big Accident' 1959 Diamond Cup - Statistics

The Diamond Cup at Lake Coeur d’Alene, Idaho was full of mishaps; one driver was seriously injured, two drivers bruised, one boat sunk, one damaged. But unlimited hydroplane racing in the last 15 years has been a potentially dangerous sport with the high speed out-running precautions.

In the excited conversations that followed the race Ole Bardahl leveled the most important charge, that water-skiers raised rollers on the south turn where three accidents occurred, and he hinted that rescue work was slow. He announced, with some qualification that he is retiring Miss Bardahl.

In the preliminary heats July 18 there were no serious accidents. In heat 1B Coral Reef’s engine went sour at the starting line and Hawaii Kai died on the second lap. Miss Thriftway beat out Miss Bardahl in the first section.

On July 20 the trouble started on the first running of heat 2-A when Miss Burien spun out, cracked up, flipped driver Bill Brow into the water, and sank in 80 feet of water, badly wrecked. Brow was bruised, not seriously.

Heat 2-A was then rerun. Jack Regas, in third position in Miss Bardahl, the winning driver in last year’s Gold Cup race, holder of the unlimited hydroplane international speed records and driving last year’s unlimited hydro high-point champion, hit some rough water on the forth lap, and Bardahl died. The race was stopped, the position counted.

Regas suffered injury when he was pitched forward as the right sponson of his hydro dug in. He was slapped back in the cockpit when the force of the water slammed part of the dashboard section into him. He suffered a fractured skull, three broken ribs, a broken bone in his right hand, and cuts and bruises. He was unconscious or semi-conscious for days.

Brien Wygle in Hawaii Kai III, who edged out Bill Muncey in Miss Thriftway, won heat 2-B.

The final heat was also scheduled for five laps but it never made it. Norm Evans, driving Miss Spokane, made a beautiful start, with Miss Thriftway, Maverick, Nitrogen, Hawaii Kai and KOLroy following in that order. Miss Spokane’s speed was finally too great for her turning ability on the fourth lap and she spun out on a turn and tossed driver Norm Evans in the drink. Red flares stopped the race for the third time and Evans rescued comparatively unhurt.

For Bill Muncey it was an old story. He won the final heat, but he tied on points with Bill Stead and his Maverick. The times were then compared and Bill Stead, the Nevada ranchman driving for Bill Waggoner, was declared the winner by 1.8 seconds. This cool-headed driver who has always shown great courage and skill has put the Maverick brand on the Diamond Cup for the second successive year.

(Reprinted from Sea and Pacific Motor Boat, September 1959, p.94)

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