Offshore Superboat crews preparing for North Queensland sorties

by Bob Wonders on 8 Jun 2011 The Offshore Superboat Championships (OSC) moves onto North Queensland waters later this month for rounds two and three of the 2011 Australian titles with Mackay (June 26) and Townsville (July 3) set to welcome Australia’s fastest offshore racers.

Adam Gilbert, president of the OSC, said powerboat rans n both cities were 'set for something special' with a full fleet expected to contest the races in various classes.

Marine Queensland will also be involved at Mackay and will stage a North Queensland version of the popular ‘Tinnie and Tackle Show’ that has proven such a success in Brisbane.

The two races will also have a special significance for Adam Gilbert, owner of the Supercat Lite entry ‘Team 3.’

His former boat carrying that name was destroyed when it spun off a rogue wave when contesting the Redcliffe round of the championships in 2008.

The new ‘Team 3’, a former Team Dubai Victory boat, is now being readied and will be trialled prior to the Mackay race before being shipped north.

Steve Nugent (driver) and Travis Thompson (throttles) will be aboard.

The Mackay event begins on Saturday (June 25) with a pole position shootout scheduled for 2pm with racing set to go at 11am and 1pm the following day.

Venue for pit area and start/finish lines is the Mackay Marina, with entertainment, the Tinnie and Tackle Show all guaranteeing a fun-filled day for all the family.

One week later and boats and crews head up the Bruce Highway for the Townsville GP and it will be a case of V8 engines roaring on land and water!

The offshore racing is a prelude to the Townsville 400 for the V8 Supercars when they clash one week later.

It’s shaping as a week to remember for horsepower enthusiasts.

Several duels look likely to occur, especially in Class 1 where reigning Australian champions Tom Barry-Cotter (driver) and Pal Virik Nilsen (throttles) will be pulling out all stops to bring ‘Mustang’ home after a DNF in round one at Newcastle.

Arch rivals Luke Durman (driver) and Ross Willaton (throttles) claimed round one and lead the championships aboard the Maritimo Offshore Team’s second boat, 'Maritimo.'

Simon Isherwood (throttles) and Colin Craven (driver) will also be looking to make a Class 1 comeback after also recording the dreaded DNF off Newcastle aboard the Melbourne entry ‘Jaeger Group.’

‘The Good Guys’, the Mackay hometown entry piloted by brothers Chris (driver) and Brendan (throttles) Frier currently leads the Supercat Lite class and expect tough competition from Carl Mazlin (driver) and Scott Kittle (throttles) in the Townsville entry ‘Mazlin Electrical.’

They also recorded a DNF at Newcastle and along with ‘Global Racing’ (Mike Beil and Steve Jellick), which failed to make it to the Newcastle start line, will be ‘hell bent’ on a better showing.

Competition could only be termed 'red hot' when it comes to the outboard rigs in Supercat Outboard and Supercat Outboard Lite.

Antony deFina (driver) and Nigel Craven (throttles) lead the class after piloting ‘Saracen’ to victory off Newcastle with Jim Harris (driver) and Adam Nicolls (throttles) claiming silver aboard ‘Kwozzy’.

The usually reliable ‘SUV Dodge Ram’ (Cameron Davis and Brett Lurhmann) and ‘Berwicks’ (Ian Harris and Scorr Gehrman) both failed to finish and will be out to square the ledger.

‘FGI’, the reigning Supercat Outboard Lite champion boat with Mick Walker and Gary Smith in the cockpit, enjoyed a tremendous season last year and will be looking to back it up in 2011.

They know Paul Gibbs (driver) and Gryff Ethell (throttles) aboard ‘Hog’s Breath’ will provide rhe same tough competition delivered off Newcastle while ‘Number 8’ (Greg Collins and Karl Wall) has no desire to turn in another DNF.

The Townsville round will be staged off the Breakwater Marina and with the field racing just off The Strand, spectators will be treated to a first class spectacle of the action as it unfolds.

'To say all are looking forward to the back-to-back weekends of racing would be an understatement,' Adam Gilbert declared.

'Both venues are excellent for offshore racing and we’re confident we’ll be greeted by water conditions suitable for some high-speed action.'

After the Townsville race, the offshore spectacular heads south to Brisbane for the Redcliffe Grand Prix over the weekend of September 17-18.