Craig Bailey's brilliant return to racing

by Bob Wonders on 5 Mar 2010 When one has to make a comeback from injury, there's no better way than to do it successfully.

Craig Bailey, arguably one of the best tunnel boat drivers in Australasia, has certainly shown that, winning both heats at the St.George Motor Boat Club to claim his 11th Arch Spooner Gold Cup.

What's more, he did it in a borrowed boat!

Bailey, of course, was seriously injured when his boat ‘blew over' in last year's Bundy Thunder at Bundaberg.
He sustained two fractured vertebrae and spent several days in hospital and more than six weeks in ‘recovery mode.'

Craig probably fared better than his boat; it almost lost the entire port side sponson in the crash, leading to the borrowed boat for the St.George comeback.

He borrowed the Formula 2 boat of colleague Chris Kuznetsoff, but replaced the F2 200hp engine with his own fuel injected 2.5-litre engine to gain a ‘healthy' boost in horsepower. New fuel systems also needed to be installed and the crew worked non-stop throughout the Saturday to ready the boat for the race.

Competition on the day looked ‘hot', with several leading drivers aiming to grab that desirable chequered flag.

Matt Smith, rookie Jamie Butler, Victorian Steve McKenzie and the man Craig saw as his biggest threat, local driver Wayne Clark.

The field had to contest two heats to decide the Arch Spooner Gold Cup winner.

In heat one, Craig and Wayne Clark were neck and neck down the long straights on Kogarah Bay.

The F2 boat was performing well with the extra ‘grunt' from the larger engine and Craig managed to claim a narrow lead and hold it to the finish line.

After re-fuelling, it was Bailey and Clark again who fought tooth and nail down the straightaway.

Craig took a narrow lead, but Clark had no intention of giving up without a fight and made a real race of it before Bailey claimed his second chequered flag and the prestigious Arch Spooner Gold Cup.

Matt Smith and Jamie Butler had an equally stirring duel for third place.

Later, Bailey and his crew readied the boat for the Harold Troy Trophy (Harold Troy was the first Australian to achieve 100mph/160km/hr on water), a special race for Bailey as his mechanic, Simon Troy was the grandson of the man whose name was on the trophy.

A one minute silence was held prior to the race, honouring the late Darryl Hamilton who lost his life in the same event last year.

Sadly, the boat's battery failed; it could not have happened at a better time. When the engine was checked later, metal filings were discovered, indicating the engine would have sustained serious damage at around 6000rpm.

Craig was delighted to celebrate the quite remarkable victory.

He admitted he was 'a little keyed up' immediately before the race. 'It would have been one thing to jump into my own boat, but to use a small boat with added horsepower, and not knowing how my body would stand up to it when I planted my foot on the throttle, frankly it wasn't easy,' he explained.

'The win was a tonic for the whole crew as well as for my valuable sponsors who stood by us while I recovered,' he added.

Bailey is awaiting news from Union Internationale Motonautique (UIM) regarding confirmed dates for the Saudi Arabia International Syndication Series.

'I'm confident I can do a good job in Saudi Arabia,' Bailey declared.

Bailey has not previously raced in Saudi Arabia, but is no stranger to the Middle East, having competed in Dubai and Abu Dhabi.

I said earlier that Craig Bailey rates as one of the best tunnel boat drivers in Australia. Perhaps I'm no real expert, but with the retirement of the great Bobby Halliday I rate him #1.

Consider some of his achievements; 2010 (see above), 2009, Australian Unlimited Outboard champion, DOrwin Gold Cup (for a record sixth time) in Adelaide, Champion of Champions (won for a record 10th time), Riverside Championship (won for a record fifth time), Kerry Rogers Memorial and the Eric Chadwick Memorial; and that's just for 2009!

The aspect of Craig Bailey's racing career that sets him apart is his incredible consistency.

To win so many top class races numerous times says plenty for his driving ability and for the skills of his race engine mechanics. I'm sure the boat racing fraternity wishes him well in Saudi Arabia.

Incidentally, for those who may not be aware, the late Arch Spooner, whose name graces the Arch Spooner Gold Cup, passed away about 25-years ago; he was known as ‘the father of the Australian boating industry.'

Arch introduced Mercury engines to Australia and established Melbourne industry leader International Marine, home of the early Australian-built Bertram range, now marketed as Caribbean.

For further information on Craig Bailey Racing, visit the website, www.craigbailey.com.au