‘Stinga’ shows its class at Grafton

by Bob Wonders on 14 Oct 2009
Veteran ski racers Greg Houston (driver) and Kevin Boylan (observer) aboard the Force 21 ‘Stinga’ have taken skiers Daniel Campbell and Grant Patterson to a double victory at the 2009 Grafton Bridge to Bridge water ski race.

‘Stinga’ claimed the Superclass event staged on the mighty Clarence River on the Sunday and the previous day had again demonstrated its superiority winning the Superclass Shootout.

Mark Cranny’s ‘Hellrazor’, with Damien Matthews observing and top racers Paul Robertson and Peter Procter ‘out the back’ claimed second place in the major race and third place in the Superclass Shootout.

Noel Griffin, at the wheel of ‘Blazen’, with Bernard Simpson observing and Chris Stout and Grant Turner skiing, was expected to give Superclass a ‘shake ‘on the Sunday after finishing a close second to ‘Stinga’ in the Superclass Shootout.

Unfortunately, the judges did not see eye to eye with the crew and a disqualification occurred for ‘Blazen’ during the main event, but we did not learn what attracted the ire of the judging panel.

It was a real family affair when Don Gulley piloted ‘Merc Force’ into third place in Superclass, with Gerald Gulley observing and Luke and Benjamin Gulley skiing.

The team could only manage fourth in the Superclass Shootout.

Conditions on the Clarence were reported as 'rougher than usual, with a strong breeze, estimated at 25km/hr-plus on the course.

Despite the conditions, most crews managed a good run, and over the two days of racing only eight boats registered the dreaded DNF (Did Not Finish).

The Robertson family, all aboard ‘Firebird’, with John Jnr and Barry Robertson in the boat and Steven and Stephen Robertson skiing, scored a convincing win in Unlimited Inboard Expert, with ‘Elm Street’ (Daniel Time well and Peter Strike) towing Chris Mansfield and Justin Carden claiming second.

‘Sapphire Racing’, Tim Pick ford driving, Andrew Glover observing, towed Aaron Maculate and Jamie Oliver into third.

The famous black livery of Mercury had a meet to remember, dominating the outboard classes.

Mercury-powered rigs won SMOC Expert, MOC Expert, Formula 2 Expert and Unlimited Outboard Expert.

Rod Bickerton, the man behind the highly successful Force Boats, drove one of his creations, ‘Alien Force’, into first place in SMOC Outboard Expert.

Diana Micallef observed for Craig Walker and Matthew Campbell.

It was a ‘hot field’, with 18 crews facing the starter.

‘Mercury Pro XS Racing’, Peter Lewis and David Stoneley aboard brought skiers Steven Young and Glen Hannan into second place with ‘Test Lab’ (Jeff Stubbs and David Males) towing Ann Procter and Darren Reilly home third.

Another Mercury-powered boat, ‘Twisted’, Chris Affoo driving, Phillip Jeffree observing, was a convincing victor in MOC Outboard Expert, the Mercury Pro Max 300X humming sweetly to bring Ben Jeffree and Cameron Mitchell over the line.

The Mercury domination continued in Unlimited Outboard Expert with ‘Ring of Fire’ claiming a 30-second win over ‘2 Wild’.

Both boats were powered by dual Mercury engines, ‘Ring of Fire’ with OptiMax 300XS power and ‘2 Wild’ with 280hp EFI Offshore.

Full results were:

Superclass: ‘Stinga’ 1, ‘Hellrazor’ 2, ‘Merc Force’ 3.

Unlimited Inboard Expert: ‘Firebird’ 1, ‘Elm Street’ 2, ‘Sapphire Racing’ 3.

Under 19 Boys Expert: ‘Aquaholic’ 1, ‘Recoverys Reflection’ 2, ‘Rattle N Hum’ 3.

Under 6.0-litre Inboard Expert: ‘Kryptonite’ 1, ‘Moonshine Racing’ 2, ‘Lightn’ 3.

Unlimited Outboard Expert: ‘Ring of Fire’ 1, ‘2 Wild’ 2.

MOC Outboard Expert: ‘Twisted’ 1, ‘Streamline Boat Covers’ 2, ‘Running Riot’ 3.

SMOC Outboard Expert: ‘Alien Force’ 1, ‘Mercury Pro XS Racing’ 2, ‘Test Lab’ 3.

Stock Inboard Expert: ‘Ski Connection’ 1, ‘Brute Force’ 2, ‘Tantrum’ 3.

Formula 2 Expert: ‘Tuff E Nuff’ 1, ‘Ultimate Force’ 2, ‘Gale Force’ 3.

Under 19 Girls Expert: ‘Team SBR’ 1.

Women Expert: ‘Gun-It’ 1, ‘Smokin Injun’ 2, ‘Sledge Hammer’ 3.

Under 16 Boys Expert: ‘Prime Time’ 1, ‘Pop and Me’ 2, ‘Precision’ 3.

Under 16 Girls Expert: ‘Shot Gun’ 1, ‘Storrrmn’ 2.

Under 13 Years Expert: ‘2 Fast 3’ 1, ‘Good 2 Go’ 2, ‘Robbos’ 3.

70 MPH Expert: ‘Action’ 1, ‘Speed Lab’ 2, ‘Fritz the Cat’ 3.

60 MPH Expert: ‘Broken Arrow’ 1, ‘Hypnotic’ 2, ‘Rough’ 3.

Superclass Shootout: ‘Stinga’ 1, ‘Blazen’ 2, ‘Hellrazor’ 3.

President’s Invitational: ‘Agitator’ 1, ‘Crimsafe Racing’ 2, ‘Elm Street’ 3.

Unlimited Inboard Shootout: ‘Smack That’ 1, ‘Gotta Go’ 2, ‘Juggernaut’ 3.

Unlimited Outboard Shootout: ‘Ring of Fire’ 1, ‘2 Wild’ 2.

Under 8.0-Litre Shootout: ‘ORSM’ 1, ‘Showtime’ 2.

MOC Shootout: ‘Ace Racing’ 1, ‘Twisted’ 2, ‘Streamline Boat Covers’ 3.

Under 19 Boys Shootout: ‘Chief’ 1, ‘Recoverys Reflection’ 2, ‘Ghostrider’ 3.

Under 16 Boys Shootout: ‘Prime Time’ 1, ‘Crunch Time’ 2, ‘Precision’ 3.

Under 16 Girls Shootout: ‘Shotgun’ 1.

Under 13 Years Shootout: ‘Big Loll’ 1, ‘Robbo’s’ 2, ‘Good 2 Go’ 3.

SMOC Shootout: ‘Test Lab’ 1, ‘Mercury Pro XS Racing’ 2, ‘Flashpoint 11’ 3.

Women’s Shootout: ‘Team SBR’ 1, ‘Smokin Injun’ 2, ‘Gun-It’ 3.

F2 Outboard Shootout: ‘Tuff E Nuff’ 1, ‘Gale Force’ 2, ‘Ultimate Force’ 3.

Stock Inboard Shootout: ‘Ski Connection’ 1, ‘Brute Force’ 2, ‘The Agitator 11’ 3.

70MPH Shootout: ‘Speed Lab’ 1, ‘Fritz the Cat’ 2, ‘Action’ 3.

60MPH Shootout: ‘Broken Arrow’ 1, ‘Go Race’ 2.