Rookie on the rise: | Jean Theoret, whose brother died racing in 1981, has impressed in his first year driving unlimited hydroplanes.

Owner Bill Wurster calls him "the best driver this sport has ever seen."

Legendary former racer Chip Hanauer calls him "a phenom."

So just imagine the accolades that will come Jean Theoret's way should he ever win an unlimited hydroplane race.

In fact, the 43-year-old rookie driver of Wurster's U-8 Llumar Window Film has completed just one final heat this season, a fifth-place finish at last week's Columbia Cup in the Tri-Cities. For a variety of reasons, the boat didn't finish the first three finals of the year.

But mere numbers don't do justice in illustrating how Theoret has managed to turn the Llumar into maybe the biggest threat to the U-16 Miss Elam and Dave Villwock in this weekend's Chevrolet Cup at Seafair unlimited hydroplane race.

Theoret actually appeared to have the Elam on the ropes last weekend, leading the winner-take-all final heat into the third lap before a ruling came down that he had jumped the gun by about half-a-boat length.

Theoret slowed down a bit, knowing he couldn't win because jumping the gun merits a one-lap penalty. And Villwock, stuck on the outside, was able to run down the Oh Boy! Oberto to get the victory.

But as Theoret brought his boat to the dock, Hanauer was there — getting his first glimpse of Theoret racing unlimiteds — to alternately offer consolation and congratulation.

Hanauer said Theoret had no choice but to take a chance at the starting line against an Elam boat that was undeniably faster.

"He gave it his best shot, and that's all you can ask of a driver," Hanauer said.

Once on the dock, Theoret good-naturedly chalked up the defeat to "driver mistake," displaying another characteristic that has impressed Hanauer and others.

"He's really what the sport needs right now," said Hanauer, who retired with the second-most wins in unlimited history. "He's got an amazing amount of talent, he's got a perfect pedigree and background and he's got the right disposition. He represents the sport really well."

Theoret also has one of the more interesting resumés in recent unlimited history.

He is the first foreigner on the circuit in 44 years — Theoret is from Lery, Quebec, which is near Montreal, and French is his first language.

He also stared down the worst the sport has to offer — the death of his older brother in a race in 1981 — before embarking on his career.

Pierre Theoret, six years older than Jean, was killed while competing in the finals of a Grand Prix race in Saint-Gabriel, Quebec.

During the final heat of what Jean Theoret describes as a "sunny day with maybe a bit too much wind," Pierre's boat tipped and threw him into the water.

Jean Theoret, who built the engine of the boat and was serving on the crew, saw the whole thing.

"That was in the days of no capsules on the boat," Theoret says. "He broke his neck."

Theoret turned to his Christian faith for comfort. "I plan on seeing him again someday," he says.

When he couldn't get the racing bug out of his system, his family gave its approval. It was his father who had gotten his two sons interested in racing when he bought a boat in 1977.

"My father said, 'I want to give you what I gave to Pierre.' Not meaning death, but an opportunity to race," Jean Theoret said. "I thought that was pretty amazing for him, losing a son and not going completely out of it [racing]. It's really a faith thing."

Theoret began racing the same class of Grand Prix boats as his brother in 1983 and quickly became one of the best. He won 43 races, six national titles and in 2000 won the Grand Prix "World Championship."

He named his first child Pierre, 18, after his brother, and recalls him in a prayer before every race.

"I realize more than anybody that it's a dangerous sport, but you could die crossing the road," said Theoret, who owns an excavating business in Lery.

He raced on the Grand Prix circuit until 2001 when the class, which dissolved in 2003, began to disintegrate due to high costs.

"I wondered for years why no [unlimited owner] ever hired him," Hanauer said.

Theoret took matters into his own hands after leaving the Grand Prix circuit, attending a few unlimited races the last two seasons and trying to persuade an owner to give him a chance.

Wurster, needing a driver after the Elam lured away J.W. Myers, became interested, but admits he initially planned to hire Mark Evans before Evans decided not to compete this year.

Wurster's crew — sold by what they saw on a tape Theoret had sent — begged him to consider Theoret. Wurster, though, says he was wary because Theoret had no unlimited experience.

But Theoret won his first heat at Evansville, beating Myers in the Elam and Steve David in the Oberto. Wurster now calls Theoret not only the best driver he has employed since becoming an owner in 1978 but as good as anyone since Hanauer, if not better.

"We wanted to bring in somebody new, somebody young," says Wurster, who is 82. "Turns out the best driver out there was 43 years old."

Bob Condotta: 206-515-5699 or bcondotta@seattletimes.com