Vella reigns at Penrith

by Bob Wonders on 22 Oct 2008

Theyre off! Nothing gets the adrenalin flowing like a Formula 1 start. SW

Australian Formula I champion Shane Vella well and truly stamped his authority on the F1 Superboats at Penrith last weekend.

Vella’s #61 boat proved unbeatable. Not only winning three from three at Penrith, but now claiming three from three over three rounds of the series.

No one would bet he can’t do the same thing on the Gold Coast on November 1.

Shane Vella proved the hard man to catch at the Penrith round of the Formula 1 Superboats, taking three wins from three starts. - Formula 1 © SW

The Penrith round was almost a disaster for many entrants, with mechanical failures hindering boat after boat.

So many were forced out that the second half of the Sunday racing was an amalgamation of categories, with monohulls doing their best against the F1 and F2 tunnel boats.

Race director Kirk Tsaccounis called 12 Formula I boats to the start line for heat 1, but only seven were ‘up and running’ for the final heat.

There were crashes and roll-overs in nearly every race, but the good news was no injuries. Throughout the program, those dreaded initials, DNF and DNS kept appearing. Altogether there were four DNF (Did Not Finish) and 15 DNS (Did Not Start), the majority due to mechanical problems.

Formula 1 driver Dean Trickey will remember Penrith for all the wrong reasons. His boat flipped when one sponson dug in where it shouldn’t have! - Formula 1 © SW

Vella’s ‘triple’ earned him the maximum 104 points, and takes him to a 406 point total for the series, well ahead of second-placed Craig Truslove (277 points) and Anthony McEnally back in third on 235.

Anthony McEnally at full noise as he claims third place in race three at Penrith during the F1 Superboat Series. - Formula 1 © SW

In Formula 2000, series leader Grant Trask holds an even more dominant lead, his 411 points way out in front of Michael Page (255) and David Wedlock (144).

The Mono Hull Series has served up some close racing and total points to date indicate anyone could emerge victorious. Greg Adams leads on 170 points closely followed by David Ainley (135), Gavin Simmons (128) and Jason Reynolds (127).

All eyes are now focused on the Gold Coast for the next round scheduled for November 1 and 2.

'The final arrangements for the Gold Coast meeting has been an extremely busy time for me,' Kirk Tsaccounis said. 'There are so many details that need to be worked out it’s virtually a full-time job just ensuring one race meeting runs as expected.

'We’ve had some excellent cooperation from the Gold Coast City Council and I can promise the weekend of October 31/November1 and 2 will be a powerboat racing weekend to remember.'

Penrith Results:

Formula 1; Race 1, Shane Vella, 1, Damien McKenzie, 2, Gavin Bricker, 3.
Race 2; Shane Vella, 1, Craig Truslove, 2, Anthony McEnally, 3.
Race 3; Shane Vella, 1, Craig Truslove, 2, Gavin Bricker, 3.

Formula 2000: Race 1, Matt Smith, 1, Grant Trask, 2.
Race 2, Grant Trask, 1, David Wedlock, 2.
Race 3, Grant Trask, 1, David Wedlock, 2, Matt Smith, 3.