HdG Man Wins Speedboat Race in Qatar

A 27-year-old Havre de Grace man rode the waves to victory recently behind the wheel of a speedboat in the Persian Gulf.

Jimmy Shane charted his way to first place in the Oryx Cup of the UIM World Championship.

The Oryx Cup race brochure states that competitors travel at speeds above 200 mph on a course that is 1.6 to 2.5 miles.

“It’s been a great first season,” Shane told the Qatar Tribune, after leaving five other powerboat racers in his wake on the waters of Doha, Qatar. 

Just last summer, Shane, a 2003 graduate of Havre de Grace High School, swept up a first-place title in a race in Washington State that his family said was just his third competition. Since 2007, Shane had been a backup driver.

Speedboat racing is a passion the Shane family shares. According to Explore Harford, Jimmy's father, Stu Shane, founder of Shane Custom Metal Fabricators, began the tradition when he got into hydroplanes in 1969. Daughter Kelly Shane is also an award-winning racer, the article said.

In his most recent victory, Jimmy Shane drove a hydroplane boat for Graham Trucking, a company out of Washington. 

According to the Qatar Times, Shane and other racers will return to the Doha waters in February for the 2013 Air National Guard H1 Unlimited Championship.