[BOATS] True Blue back on form at Griffith

by Shaun Dixon

(Archived)


After an outstanding victory for Brooke Dixon at Temora just two weeks prior, the True Blue Racing team were full of anticipation heading into Griffith at Easter for the mid-point of the 2009 Continental Tyres Australian Championship season.

Dixon finds form and returns to Griffith podium
Rnd#3 2009 Continental Tyres Australian Superboat Championships
Lake Wyangan, Griffith, NSW
10-11 April, 2009

After an outstanding victory for Brooke Dixon at Temora just two weeks prior, the True Blue Racing team were full of anticipation heading into Griffith at Easter for the mid-point of the 2009 Continental Tyres Australian Championship season.

True Blue’s leading Unlimited driver Phil Dixon too was looking for a strong result after coming off a fourth place finish at Temora, the reigning Australian champion determined to get his championship assault underway at Griffith; a freshened engine and a clear plate (he and wife Louise were also the promoters of the Temora round) providing him all the incentive he needed.

True Blue Too’s second driver, reigning world champion Nathan Pretty has been under immense pressure so far this year, and was faced with some enormous challenges if he was to stay in the championship title hunt.

Despite Friday’s opening day of competition including just a single practice session and two qualifying rounds, it provided a good indication of who was going to challenge the top of the leaderboard.

Phil Dixon was immediately on the pace in True Blue, opening his account with a 40.027. “We had some engine troubles at Temora with a cooling towel round the navigators neck blowing off and making its way into the engine trumpets,” Phil confirmed. “That saw the throttle stuck on which put the engine under serious pressure, but a post-race investigation revealed everything was okay, so we’re right to go this weekend.”

Like Phil, Louise Dixon was also making strong progress in the early qualifying rounds posting a very respectable 39.614 during the third qualifier.

Brooke Dixon was full of confidence after her Temora and she set out to show everyone that she meant business for the rest of the season. “I was really happy to come away with the win at Temora but Griffith has been a different issue, and I’m especially cautious after Teresa’s [2008 team-mate Teresa Southern] nasty crash here last year..”

Despite her trepidation, her times still placed her inside the top five and just on the tail of the top three.

Nathan Pretty again showed everyone why he’s the reigning Group A world champion with some blistering times in qualifying; his best of 37.550 placing him at the top of the timesheets at the close of the five rounds of qualifying.

“I was really happy with how qualifying went, my aim was to be at the top of the timesheets, but that means nothing heading in to the top 10 eliminations – I’m really going to have to step up to compete with the other guys that keep getting quicker and quicker with every round..”

As the eager Griffith crowd started to pack the Lake Wyangan facility, racing started to heat up, and so did True Blue Racing..

Brooke Dixon was first out in running order in Group A, and first out for the team - she didn’t disappoint, going a over a second quicker than she had done all weekend posting a 38.620.“I’m pretty happy with that,” she admitted afterwards. “This is a tough track, and after Teresa’s crash in the top ten last year, I was being pretty careful in that section of the circuit, but to improve by that much in the final run was good for my confidence around here.”

Brooke then handed the boat to Nathan who had to wait patiently till just he and arch-rival Slade Stanley were the final two boats left to run – should the pair improve on Brooke’s time, she would be out of the final as to that point she was holding down an impressive P2. Sadly for Brooke they did, Nathan stopping the clock with a 37.604 to top qualify heading into the top three shootout.

“That run felt a lot better, but I can still feel the fuel pressure drop through the fast change of direction in the middle of the track mid run, it’s just starving fuel briefly because of the opposite G-forces in both corners, the engine can’t pick it up quickly enough. I’m almost fully-tapped, this is the hardest I’ve ever had to drive, hopefully though I can carry the advantage through to the final..”

As the Unlimited Superboat class prepared for their top 10, it was Excalibur’s Mick Carroll who was setting the pace and the man to beat. Phil Dixon went in to the top 10 as the third fastest qualifier, and was first boat out in the top ten. Clearly with the bit between his teeth and a renewed confidence Phil gave it everything, matching daughter Brooke and improving his best of the day by almost a second; 36.630 would prove a difficult time to beat. Sadly for Phil though, Mick Carroll dropped the mark by 18 one thousandths of a second to top qualify..

With Phil locked away in the final, Louise began her run but was obviously playing it conservatively to keep the boat together for Phil’s crack at victory.

“Even though I didn’t manage to break into the top three, I felt my driving really improved this weekend and hopefully I can take that confidence in to the next round at Cabarita,” Louise said.

With the elimination of Brooke Dixon in the top ten, Nathan Pretty would be the team’s sole representative in the Group A final, with Nathan set to battle old foes Slade Stanley and Rohan Smith.

Rohan Smith was out first, setting a 38.228. Stanley was second boat on the water and despite the cooler conditions improving times in every class by three to four tenths, he dropped his best by a stunning eight tenths of a second, forcing Nathan to dig deep during his run.

From the outset it was clear it was going to be a quick lap. At the first split he was up by 12 one hundredths of a second and looking good for the win, but at the finish his time was just over two tenths of a second slower than Stanley.. “That was awesome,” Nathan smiled. “This is some of the toughest racing I’ve ever had, not just in Jetsprinting – in my whole career. I had nothing left, whatever Slade found it worked, he drove brilliantly and deserved the victory.. We’ll see what happens next time though with some new equipment, that might just swing the advantage back in our favour, but if he remains as consistent as he has been, it will be tough to take the title away from him.”

The Unlimited Superboat final saw Mick Carroll in his second consecutive final with Daryl Hutton making his third appearance; for reigning champion Phil Dixon though it was finals appearance number one.

Mick Carroll was first out, the Excalibur pilot stopping the clocks with a tidy 36.215, the fastest lap of the weekend. Phil was next out, and crossed the split marker almost three tenths of a second down on Carroll. It looked all over but he mounted a charge at the end to fall an agonising 14 one hundredths short of victory.

“It feels really good to be back on the podium for the first time this season,” Phil said. “It’s been a great weekend and I must thank all the True Blue team for their efforts - I look forward to the next round at Cabarita in June.”

Teams now enjoy a break before the next event – the opening round of the Queensland Championships set down for Cabarita (near Tweed Heads) on June 6-7. The penultimate round of the Continental Tyres Australian Superboat Championships will be held at Maryborough (Queensland) on September 5-6.

True Blue Racing are proudly supported by; Auspro Logistics, Parish Automotive, H2O Full Throttle Magazine, Lake Eildon Marina & House Boat Hire, Alexandra Freighters, Mansfield Express, Symes Transport, Action Smash Repairs (Wangaratta), MoTeC, Sprintec, North-East Windscreens, 321Ignition Magazine and SKIN Industries.

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2009 Continental Tyres Australian Superboat Championships
Unlimited Superboats (points after Rnd#3 of 5)
1. Mick Carroll (126), 2. Daryl Hutton (125), 3. Phil Dixon/Ron Dixon (106), 4. Tony Giustozzi (102), 5. Dean Finch (100), 5. Phonsy Mullan (100), 7. Jamie Welch (96), 8. Cheryl Welch (71), 9. Peter Freckleton (62), 10. Louise Dixon/Casie Lack (59), 11. Paul Burgess (22), 12. Andrew Page (18), 13. Jody Ely (16), 14. Adam Raverty (15), 15. Glenn Roberts (7)

International Group A (points after Rnd#3 of 5)
1. Slade Stanley (140), 2. Nathan Pretty/Lincoln Burns (135), 3. Rohan Smith (116), 4. Ted Sygidus (106), 5. Tremayne Jukes (95), 6. Brooke Dixon/Leanne Rake (91), 7. Greg Mercier (81), 8. Robert Colman (77), 9. Darek Sygidus (48), 10. Daniel Walton (37), 11. Mick Manini (28), 12. Simon Zarb (18), 13. Greg Harriman (17), 14. Tony Whalan (15), 15. Brendan Donnelly (10), 15. Shane Loughnan (10), 15. Darren Watkins (10), 15. Damien O’Leary (10), 19. Rodney Krause (6), 20. Kevin Laugesen (5), 21. Kieran Krause (5)

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