Hanauer Struggles Into Regatta Final

Eleven years of unlimited hydroplane racing have taught Chip Hanauer a little about how to cope with problems. Saturday at Mission Bay was one big problem.

Hanauer, the defending champion of the Miller High Life Thunderboat Regatta, sizzled in the morning and fizzled in the afternoon. In his first run, he qualified for today’s regatta with a lap of 145.584 m.p.h. But afterward, his Miller High Life boat couldn’t cut the salt and stalled on two subsequent runs. Hanauer said he ran his boat at about 85% of its capabilities, finishing behind the Miss Budweiser (154.242 m.p.h.), Miss Circus Circus (146.939) and Mr. Pringles (146.867 m.p.h.) in the day’s lap standings.

Think Hanauer hasn’t had worse days? Ask him about his first official unlimited hydroplane race in Miami in 1977. Because of his teaching job, Hanauer was given an airplane ticket and told to meet the crew in Miami. The crew drove.

Problem was, the crew’s truck broke down on the way. Hanauer, who had long hair at the time, arrived first. Nobody recognized him, and nobody thought he looked much like a speedboat driver, so he wasn’t given credentials or accommodations. He slept on the beach.

Last night, he probably didn’t sleep much better in his hotel room. He hates going to bed wondering if his boat will run on race day. It makes him uptight. He has lots of highs and lows on race weekends. Saturday, there were mainly lows.

“This is the worst,” he said, looking over the Mission Bay course and shaking his head. “You go to bed (thinking) ‘Am I going to get to race at all?’ ”

That’s tough for someone like Hanauer, who is usually fairly easy-going. His friends barely recognize him on race days. A negative comment brings him down, a positive one lifts his spirits. He’s hard on himself. Everything that goes wrong becomes his fault.

At a race Aug. 7 in Seattle, Hanauer got off to a bad start and lost. After returning to the pits, he apologized to the crew over and over. But when something goes wrong with the boat, he’s always the first one to say “mistakes happen.” He’s aware of his double standard but can’t change.

“I always feel I should be able to overcome any limitations with the boat,” he said. “Even when it’s not my fault, I’ll beat myself up about it.”

Miller High Life owner Fran Muncey, widow of the sport’s all-time winner, Bill Muncey, has seen the change in Hanauer in the six years he has raced for her team. She once hired a psychologist to talk him into calming down for races.

“Sometimes I thought he was going to be physically sick because he would get so caught up in it,” she said. “He’s so intense. He lives it much more than other drivers.”

But Hanauer says he learned a lot from his friendship with Bill Muncey.

“I think what made Bill the great racer that he was is the same thing that killed him,” Hanauer said. “I think Bill, to a degree, felt that if he didn’t win every race, he didn’t deserve to breath the same atmosphere (as everyone else).”

So Hanauer is trying to put racing in perspective. At 34, he’s beginning to look to the future. He has many interests, including golf, skiing and radio and television broadcasting, and realizes he’ll have another career when he retires from driving.

And he’s aware of danger. He still has the desire to win but refuses to let it get in the way of his good judgment. If his boat isn’t safe, he won’t drive.

“It’s not worth it,” he said. “I used to die a small death at each race. It’s not that way anymore. My priorities have changed. I hope there’s more to me than boat racing.”

Other racers, however, respect him for his abilities on the water. Miss Budweiser driver Tom D’Eath, whose boat has run the two most impressive laps so far, knows he’ll have to contend with Hanauer’s driving skills to win.

“He’s really tough,” D’Eath said. “He doesn’t give you any slack whatsoever. He’s the guy to beat.”

Hydroplane Notes

The Budweiser team, in first place in boat points, figures to be a heavy favorite to take today’s championship. Though Miss Budweiser didn’t appear to be running well in its afternoon runs Saturday, crew chief Ron Brown said he has no concerns entering today’s races. . . Mr. Pringles, driven by Scott Pierce, and Miss Circus Circus, a second Fran Muncey boat driven by John Prevost, made strong runs Saturday morning but had problems with the salt water in the afternoon. Miss Circus Circus had a vacuum problem in the engine compartment on its final run that blew a hole in the top of the engine’s cowling. . . Racing starts at 10 a.m. today.