UIM Unlimited Displacement World Championship - Title win for Aussie

by Bob Wonders on 30 Oct 2010 Hungry Jacks UIM Unlimited Displacement World Championship has been won by Queensland’s Gold Coast resident Troy Marland. At the wheel of ‘Madness’, Marland conquered the Murray River course at Gol Gol, in NSW, near Mildura.

Observers described Marland’s boat as ' a work of art', many believing there’s no boat in the class that could beat it at present. Tim May came home second aboard ‘The Boss’ with Dean Borg at the wheel of ‘Proformance’ taking third place ahead of ‘Decision’ (Brent Lewis) and ‘Totally X-Static’ (Bob Swinburne).

Although the water was ideal for racing, the same could not be said of the weather, which delivered sunshine and rain, cloud cover and wind and generally unsettled conditions throughout the weekend. The meet was a triumph for Australia.

Organisers believed the championships would be a head-on clash between Australian, United States and New Zealand teams, but it proved to be Australia all the way, with Aussie boats dominating. Sadly, the top American entry, K-69 driven by Tony Scarlarta, which was tipped to run close to the title, skipped on a wave and flipped, leaving Scarlarta injured.

He was rushed to hospital, but we’re delighted to report he recovered well and is now back in the US planning another assault on his Australian rivals. The rescue crew which raced to Scarlarta’s aid deserved full credit, working in almost zero visibility and extremely fast flowing water.

As is usual in the punishing sport of powerboat racing, many crews had to work around mechanical problems, some minor, some major. Bruce Jordan, driver of ‘The Real Thing’, reportedly had plenty to say after a second breakdown, but none of it was printable!

‘The Real Thing’ sustained severe damage initially and underwent an engine re-build to make it to the start line, only to suffer an oil pump failure. Nigel Agnew, driver of ‘Typhoon’ was deserted by the legendary Lady Luck, his engine sustaining ‘fatal injuries.’

Kiwi team of ‘Dancing Bear Too’ made a supreme effort to compete, but after losing the ‘first pick’ engine their second engine did not have the power to push their competitors. Tony Walsh, of meeting organiser Fastwater Promotions, said every team that competed deserved the highest praise.

'Many teams had pushed the limits to meet the new UIM rule calling for all boats to be fitted with reinforced cockpit safety cells and as it was only adopted in May, it meant a lot of work for a lot of teams,' Walsh explained.

'However, the efforts paid off for all with everyone now racing in boats with excellent added safety features,' he added.

Another Queenslander, Brent Lewis (‘Decision’) surprisingly lost the cowling from his boat in the opening race, a factor that could have caused all sorts of problems. However, Lewis ran the boat in every race and finished a creditable fourth, taking the boat home in one piece, minus the cowling.

‘Proformance’ driver Dean Borg also deserves a mention; Borg not only goes into the UIM book as #3 in the world, but has shown all and sundry that a cell boat could be built and compete ‘within months.’

Tim May, now rated #2 in the world after piloting ‘The Boss’, drive his new cell boat as though he had been ‘doing it for years.’

The Seidler Aviation 6.0-litre class showed huge potential with close racing in every heat, with many of the boats seemingly capable of challenging some of the Unlimited Inboards. Ryan Hall, at the wheel of ‘Solace’ emerged the winner with ‘Oxygen Thief’ and ‘Image’ filling the minor spots.

The class has what it takes to hit the world stage and Fastwater Promotions is keen to include the class in its future plans.

Importantly, the UIM World Championship meeting also supported Junior classes and with children competing in the age brackets 10 to 14-years, the sport has some excellent talent coming through in the years ahead.

For further information contact Fastwater Promotions, telephone (0418)673458.