1966 President's Cup
Potomac River, Washington D.C., June 19, 1966
Three Drivers Killed In Hydroplane Race
Washington — (AP) Three drivers were killed in two separate accidents at speeds estimated at more than 150 miles an hour in the President's Cup Regatta for unlimited hydroplanes Sunday.
Dead are Rex Manchester, 39, of Seattle, Wash., runner-up for national honors in 1965; three-time national champion Ron Musson, 38, also of Seattle; and Don Wilson, 37, Palm Beach Fla., a substitute driver.
Manchester, driving Notre Dame, and Wilson, piloting Miss Budweiser, were killed in the championship heat in the approach to the second turn.
Musson had just finished the first lap of an elimination heat when his radically designed Miss Bardahl exploded in front of the judges' stand.
The three vessels were to take part in the B.C. Cup races to be held in Kelowna this summer.
Manchester, who had become tired of running second, said last week he was going to be a winner this season and expected his good fortune to begin with the President's Cup. His prediction came true.
Officials ended the race immediately after the Manchester-Wilson accident and later declared Manchester the winner, based on points earned through the heat preceding the double fatality.
The results of the race with order of finish and points :
1. Notre Dame 800; 2. Miss Budweiser 700; 3. Tahoe Miss, driven by Mira Slovak of Reno, Nev., 600; 4. Gale's Roostertail, Bill Cantrell, Detroit, 525; 5. Miss Chrysler Crew, Bill Sterett, Owensboro, Ky., 495; 6 Miss Lapeer, Warner Gardner; Detroit, 450.
(Reprinted from the Penticton Herald, June 20, 1966)
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