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[BOATS] Frustrating start for Az U Do
by Sean Henshelwood
(Archived)
Frustrating season opener for Az-U-Do
Rnd#1 2009 Continental Tyres Australian Superboat Championships
McPherson Park, Melton, Victoria
7-8 March, 2009
“I can’t wait,” Greg ‘Crusty’ Mercier grinned prior to the opening practice session for the 2009 Continental Tyres Australian Superboat Championships at Melton, west of Melbourne.
“This should really prove a good year for us..”
Friday night saw Crusty busy at work on the back of the boat with the arrival of some new bits for the jet unit.. “If I told you what they were I’d have to kill you,” he laughed (with a crazy look in his eyes..).
Come Saturday morning’s opening session though the look of mischief turned into a look of concern.. “It’s a bit slippery,” he admitted, “I’m not 100% happy with the way it’s handling, this salty bore water is a real issue..
“It makes a huge difference, it’s like water skiing on a fresh water river, as opposed to water-skiing on saltwater. Because of the salt content in bore water, it’s similar to sea water, and as such, the boat sits up on top of the water more, and when mixed in with the clay, becomes a slippery customer to deal with..”
It was so slippery that Sunday morning’s opening session saw the ‘shark’ backwards into the outside tyre wall at a fair clip.. “5.8G’s to be exact,” Greg confirmed after consulting the MoTeC data. “The boat felt great on Saturday, the best it ever has, it just hooked up, in fact I reckon it was so well hooked up that we would have been the fastest boat off the start into the first big right-hander – no question.
“Sunday morning though we just couldn’t get it to turn and I went through that damn flip-flop a few corners from home and threw it left and went for right but for no reason at all it just spun up the bank and into the tyres. It’s bent the reverse bucket on the jet unit into the transom (the rear of the boat), but importantly it hasn’t done any damage to the bottom of the boat.
“I thought I’d hit something but video evidence at the track showed I was right in the middle as I turned in, it’s just that the boat went straight..
“I’m having a prick of a time trying to sort that corner, it’s the only corner that I can’t get right no matter how may times I negotiate it, I always take it differently.
“Melton’s a real voodoo track for me, I much prefer the others, so getting through Melton is a matter of survival for me; I’m so glad when it’s over..”
After repairing the boat with all manner of levers to straighten the reverse bucket, Crusty was back for the following qualifier, but the damage had been done.. “Once you drop a points scoring round it’s difficult to recover, so we’ll put our heads down, aim for the top ten, and grab whatever points we can..”
The first session immediately after the off was conservative, but by the final session, Crusty found a second and a half, and improved again in the top ten to record his quickest time of the weekend.
“After the prang we probably weren’t going to make the final three, I’m just glad it’s over,” he nodded. “It’s a pity we’ve got some tidying up to do, but I take a great deal of confidence out of the early practice laps because the boat was the quickest it’s ever been here. Repairs are only cosmetic really, there’s no serious damage, so we’ll go away, tidy her up and be back to our pristine best at Temora for a real good go at the leaders.
“I’m not perturbed, I’m still more than confident that we can mix it with the best of them, you just wait and see…!”
Round one of the 2009 Continental Tyres Australian Superboat Championships will be televised on SBS Speedweek on March 22 (2:00pm EST - check guides) and repeated on FOX Sports 'Inside Speed' on March 25 (8:30pm EST - check local guides for confirmation).
The Az-U-Do Racing team now prepares for the second round of the 2009 Continental Tyres Australian Superboat Championships scheduled for Temora in central-western NSW in three weeks time (March 27-28).
Az-U-Do Racing are proudly supported by; ACOL Creative Skylight Solutions and Moe Engines.
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2009 Continental Tyres Australian Superboat Championships
International Group A (points after Rnd#1 of 5)
1. Nathan Pretty (47), 2. Slade Stanley (46), 3. Ted Sygidus (43), 4. Rohan Smith (37), 5. Tremayne Jukes (36), 6. Brooke Dixon (26), 7. Robert Colman (25), 8. Darek Sygidus (19), 9. Simon Zarb (18), 10. Greg Mercier/Dorinda Mercier (15), 11. Brendan Donnelly (10), 12. Greg Harriman (7), 13. Mick Manini (6), 14. Shane Loughnan (5), 14. Kevin Laugesen (5), 14. Darren Watkins (5), 14. Tony Whalan (5)
www.azudoracing.com.au
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