Superboats turn up the heat in the Tropics

by Lauren Brittain on 11 Jul 2014 Bowen’s Big Mango may as well have been missing on the 21st and 22nd of June, with the Superboats taking its place as the town’s main attraction.

The charming Whitsunday town turned on perfect weather all weekend with flat turquoise water and sunny skies, creating ideal racing conditions.

After an exciting start to the series in Newcastle, the teams were eager to tackle the new course at the never before raced venue, for Round Two of the series - the Heli Taxi Bowen Offshore Superboat Race.

An additional two teams entered the championship series. The Phantom race team returned to the SuperCat 400 class renamed as Gasoline Alley. Mazlin Electrical race team moved up to the SuperCat 1000 class, with new Mercury 525hp inboards for what was their first race of the season. Unfortunately due to an electrical fault they were unable to complete the final race.

Providing spectators with a great show, the Superboats blasted around an 8km course within the harbour, with Maritimo Newcastle taking out first place for Pole Position on Saturday and Maritimo Australia taking the title for Round Two, winning both Race One and Race Two on Sunday.

The still water had its fair share of thrills and spills with Supercat 400 competitor, Gasoline Alley, surprising all on-lookers as it led the 600hp class for most of Race One!

International driver, Alex Smith of New Zealand was a hot target in The Loaner as its big brother boat Kwozzy swiped straight over the top of it in the final race. With a crushed body on the left hand side, the 400hp boat was repaired in Townsville just in time for Round Three of the series.

Eighty-eight Offshore race team blew an engine and had mechanical trouble with the other during the final race.

There’s also a reward for the person who finds SUV Dodge Ram’s gearbox that went missing west of the jetty!

Bowen was buzzing, as locals and visitors a like, enjoyed a weekend of free public entertainment including a street festival on Saturday night with market stalls and the Superboats on display in the main street. An amazing air display by a solo Roulette fired up the sky on Saturday and four live bands set off Sunday at the North Queensland Cruising Yacht Club.

Offshore Superboat President, Graham Fraser, said the town and its locals have been hugely supportive of the event and the OSC competitors can’t believe how warmly the locals have welcomed them.

'We’d like to specially thank Mick Boyce from Whitsunday Ag Services who is dedicated to his town and his love of motorsport, for making it happen.'

The Offshore Superboat Championships also appreciate the support from Tourism Bowen and Whitsundays Marketing and Development who have been proactive in promoting the Heli Taxi Bowen Offshore Superboat Race.

After an unbelievable weekend in Bowen, competitors travelled further north to take to the waters in Townsville for back to back racing.

A challenging six km course that can throw up surprises, the 12 teams pushed hard to get maximum points at the half way point of the season.

Staged out of Breakwater Marina, the boats soared along The Strand presenting front row racing action and a close up view of the multi-million dollar on-water display.

It was a case of dominating doubles with Maritimo Australia winning both races in the top division, Supercat Extreme, while Team three took out both races in their Supercat 1000 class. Saracen dominated the Supercat 600 category with two race wins while The Loaner was also two from two in Supercat 400. These teams are also currently in front for championship points.

The boats will take a break before competing in Coffs Harbour on the 31st of August and first of September for Round Four of the Championships.

Be sure to catch all the race action on SBS Speedweek with the North Queensland race rounds airing soon.