Owner: Bill Wurster

By Fred Farley - APBA/HYDRO-PROP/ABRA Unlimited Historian

As the story goes, Bill Wurster was sitting in his pleasure boat tied to the logboom at Lake Washington in 1967, watching the Seattle Seafair hydroplane race. He made a bet with his brother that one day he would pilot one of those awesome machines--an Unlimited hydroplane. That didn't happen for another five years. Wurster initially raced outboards. Then, in 1972, he realized his ambition by qualifying as the rookie driver of Bob Gilliam's VALU-MART (U-21).

Bill captured his first trophy as an Unlimited competitor when he won the Consolation Heat at the 1972 Seafair Regatta. He and the Allison-powered VALU-MART defeated the likes of Jim McCormick in MISS TIMEX and Chuck Hickling in THE SMOOTHER MOVER at 101.887 miles per hour--a respectable speed for an old-style rear-cockpit/forward-engine design race boat. A master of the clock start, Wurster's best finish as a Thunderboat driver was his third-place in the 1977 San Diego race with OH BOY! OBERTO. Bill parted company with Gilliam after 1973 and joined forces with owner Bob Murphy. He went on to see competitive action with KIRBY CLASSIC in 1974 and SUNNY JIM JAM in 1975.

Wurster's Unlimited box score includes a fifth-place in the 1974 APBA Gold Cup at Sand Point in Seattle, a race widely regarded as one of the most destructive in history. Despite the extremely rough water, Bill managed to finish all four 15-mile heats. An Unlimited owner since 1976, Bill combined forces with Doug McIntosh in 1977. Under the banner of Wurmac Racing, they campaigned three different low-budget Unlimiteds on the Thunderboat tour. After retiring as a driver, Wurster hired Offshore racer Bob Maschmedt to take his place in the cockpit. In 1979, he and Bob traveled the circuit with DR. TOYOTA--the former1972 VALU-MART hull--and finished fifth in National High Points.

Bill's team was not a top-dollar operation in the late 1970s. Indeed, Wurster often had to double as his own truck driver as he transported his boat from race to race across the country in those days. Inactive in 1980, Bill upgraded his program and purchased the former turbine-powered U-95--a state-of-the-art hydroplane designed by Ron Jones. In 1981, with rookie Scott Pierce at the wheel, Wurster's reconstituted team finished fourth in National Points and took second in the Silver Cup at Detroit as MISS NORTH TOOL.

A sales executive with the Kirby Vacuum Cleaner Company, Bill diversified his business interests in the early 1980s. He operated a tavern in north Seattle that was known as BILL WURSTER'S ROOSTERTAIL. A fashionable nightspot, which featured a hydroplane motif, the establishment was also known by its nickname as "Bill Rooster's Woostertail." Bill has accumulated six victories as an Unlimited owner. The most popular of these are the 1992 Rainier Cup in Seattle--his hometown; and the 2003 Tri-Cities Columbia Cup with Mark Evans at the wheel. In Seattle (92) Driver George Woods powered THE TIDE to a "come-from-behind" triumph in the Final Heat on that memorable day.

In addition to the '92 victory in Seattle, Wurster and Woods took second-place at Miami, Detroit, the Tri-Cities, and Kansas City en route to placing runner-up to MISS BUDWEISER in National High Points in 1992. Wurster's other wins--all with driver Pierce--include: Miami, Florida (1985) with EXECUTONE; Detroit, Michigan (1987) with MR. PRINGLE'S; Madison, Indiana (1988) with MR. PRINGLE'S; and Miami, Florida (1989) with MR. PRINGLE'S. Bill would very much like to add an APBA Gold Cup to his trophy shelf. It hasn't happened yet. But Wurster's boats have finished second in the race of races no fewer than five times in a row--in 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993, and 1994--with drivers Woods and Nate Brown.

Now in his 83th year, Bill shows no sign of slowing down.

Here's to many more years of Unlimited competition with the inimitable Mr. Wurster!

Team Address

U-8 Racing Team
2819 - 20th Avenue West
Seattle, Washington 98199
206-281-8888 (Office)
206-282-0739 (Fax)
e-mail: richard@kinjamedia.com

Public Relations

Events International, Attn: Thayer Cueter
7305 - 213th Place Southwest, Suite 110
Edmonds, Washington 98026
425-640-0483
e-mail: eventsinter@aol.com