Pursuers of D’Eath in a Hurry : Hydroplanes: If a move is to be made, it had better be this weekend on Mission Bay.

The drivers are calling San Diego’s Budweiser Cup the most important stop in the HFC Hydroplane boat racing series. It is the 10th of 11 on the 1990 tour, and if someone is going to make a move to overtake series points leader Tom D’Eath, it will have to be done on Mission Bay this weekend.

Defending national champion Chip Hanauer, second and 573 points back in the overall standings, said he plans to catch D’Eath Sunday. But don’t expect any drama here until then. The Budweiser Cup will hold time trials today and Saturday, beginning at 9 a.m., but no one will see much of Hanauer and his Miss Circus Circus boat (which set a lap speed record of 158.87 m.p.h. here last year) during qualifying.

“I doubt if we’ll make six runs in two days,” said Hanauer, 36, who last won the San Diego event in 1987 but has won more national championships (four) than any other driver the past 10 years.

“We’ll probably make three,” said George Woods Jr., the 1988 winner and third overall driving Jif Presents Mr. Pringles.

Hanauer and Woods said that unless a racer is new to a course or his boat requires a lot of adjustments, the trials offer no incentives. Many curtail their qualifying activity because of the salt water, which often causes the boats’ turbine engines to fail if they get too wet.

Last February, Hanauer solicited the support of other drivers and made a proposal to institute a points award to the top qualifier for each race.

“If you put up 20-25 points for the top qualifier, you’d set up some great time trials,” he said. “Basically, what it amounts to right now is two days of testing. We don’t want to subject the turbines to the salt water any more than we have to.”

The drivers voted in favor of a time-trials points system and sent their two representatives, Jim Kropfeld and Ron Snyder, before the Unlimited Racing Commission’s Competition Board. But the board, according to Kropfeld, never acted on the proposal.

So with his sights set on Sunday, Hanauer knows a victory in any of the four heatswill bring 400 points. Secon is worth 300 points, third 225 and fourth 169. All of a sudden, 573 doesn’t look that far away for Hanauer.

“It’s a substantial lead, but we have overcome a bigger lead in the past with two events to go,” said Hanauer, currently the winningest active racer with 34 victories.

He also a blew a seemingly insurmountable lead, close to 1,000 points, in 1986 when he failed to qualify in San Diego, raced badly in Las Vegas and saw Kropfeld pass him.

“The unthinkable happened,” he said. “We basically didn’t show up.”

Hanauer will show up Sunday, but you might not see much of him until then.

BUDWEISER CUP FACTS

What: The Budweiser Cup, the 26th anniversary of unlimited hydroplane boats on Mission Bay. It is the 10th of 11 events in the 1990 HFC Hydroplane Series.

When: Today through Sunday.

Purse: $133,000.

Times: Today and Saturday (testing and qualifying): 9 a.m.-5 p.m.; Sunday: opening ceremonies, 11 a.m.; first of three heats, 11:30 a.m.; championship final, 4:10 p.m.

Entrances and viewing locations: Fiesta Island, East Vacation Island and Crown Point Shores.

Tickets: $5 to $12 for general admission.

Boats: Unlimited hydroplanes, powered by automotive, aircraft piston and turbine jet engines, capable of speeds in excess of 200 m.p.h.

Course: The Bill Muncey Memorial Course, 2.5 miles on salt water named in honor of the seven-time national champion and former San Diego resident. Considered the fastest course in the world.

Records: Chip Hanauer set the world qualifying record of 158.297 m.p.h. (two laps) last year in Miss Circus Circus. Single lap record is 158.870 m.p.h. by Hanauer in 1989. Competition lap record is 140.012 m.p.h. by Hanauer in 1983.

Entrants (number, boat name, boat type, driver, hometown): U-01, Miss Budweiser, gas turbine, Tom D’Eath, Fair Haven, Mich.; U-02, Oh Boy! Oberto, gas turbine, Mark Tate, Wayne, Mich.; U-03, Oberto Presents Wild Waves, turbocharged V-12, Mitch Evans, Chelan, Wash.; U-06, Holset/Miss Mazda, turbocharged V-12, Mike Hanson, Madison, Ind.; U-07, Thor Racing, turbocharged V-12, Jerry Hopp, Snohomish, Wash.; U-08, Mr. Pringles, gas turbine, George Woods Jr., Seattle; U-10, Winston Eagle, gas turbine, Jim Kropfeld, Cincinnati; U-19, Speed Sports, Inc., gas turbine, Steve David, Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.; U-31, Miss Circus Circus, gas turbine, Chip Hanauer, Seattle; U-89, Stiles Racing, Rolls Royce Griffon, Rod Zapf, Manhattan Beach.

Series point leaders: 1. D’Eath, 9925; 2. Hanauer, 9352; 3. Woods 7263; 4. Kropfeld, 5428; 5. Tate, 4420.

Points at stake this weekend: 1st, 400; 2nd, 300; 3rd, 225; 4th, 169; 5th, 127; 6th, 95; 7th, 71.