Australian Offshore Superboat Championships -Two race format

by Bob Wonders on 26 May 2010 The next two rounds of the Australian Offshore Superboat Championships will be conducted in a two-race format for the Mackay (June 26-27) and Townsville (July 3-4) events in North Queensland.

Organisers have pulled out all stops to give spectators a spectacle to remember, with ski racing, jet ski racing and wake board demonstrations arranged to add to the gala events. With two offshore races on the same day, the format should prove a hand-down winner for spectators.

For the Mackay event, practice will take place on the Saturday (June 26) with two races scheduled for the Sunday (June 27), race one at 11am with a 30 minute time frame and race two at 1pm over a 40 minute span. At Townsville one week later, practice and a pole position ‘shootout' have been set for the Saturday (July3), with Supercat 600hp and Supercat 400hp at 2pm and Class 1 and Supercat at 2.30pm.

Main races will be on the Sunday (July 4) with race one at 11am and race two at 1pm in the identical format employed at Mackay.

Bill Barry-Cotter, owner of the powerful two-boat Maritimo team, has described the two race format as 'wonderful.' 'This format has been used on the European and Middle East circuits for the past two seasons and I fully support its adoption here,' he said.

Race director Russell Embleton said it would be important for competing teams to ensure reliable equipment for the new format. 'Each of the two races carry full competition points, so a failure to finish either race will leave a team well behind in the race for overall honours,' he said.

Embleton said both races are expected to provide close and exciting racing. 'Not only do we have the ‘Qatar 96' team coming, with Sheikh Hassan bin Jabor Al-Thani and Steve Curtis aboard, but ‘Team 3' in Supercat is back after flying the Aussie flag high in New Zealand where they finished second outright.

‘Saracen' in Supercat 600hp is also returning to the series and will be keen to collect some points to catch up with others in the class.'

The Maritimo team's number one boat, with Tom Barry-Cotter (driver) and Pal Virik Nilsen (throttleman) would be entitled to favouritism in Class 1 and will be chasing their third successive Australian title. Barry-Cotter-Virik Nilsen versus Sheikh Hassan bin Jabor Al-Thani-Steve Curtis should be a sight to see. Curtis is recognised throughout offshore racing as the sport's #1 throttleman, with seven World titles to his credit.

Luke Durman, normally aboard the Maritimo number two boat, has withdrawn from the series pending the birth of his first child. Maritimo crew chief Peter ‘Muddy' McGrath will team up with Ross Willaton in the team's number two boat.

Current series leaders are Tom Barry-Cotter-Pal Virik Nilsen, ‘Aegean', Class 1; Brendan Frier- Christopher Frier, ‘The Good Guys', Supercat Lite; Cameron Davis-Brett Luhrmann, ‘SUV Dodge Ram', Supercat Outboard; Mick Walker – Gary Smith, ‘FGI', Supercat Outboard Lite; Peter Jack – Michael Ethell, ‘Grumpy Mongrel', Production.

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