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[BOATS] It's Hutton, Stanley and Garlick
by Sean Henshelwood
Hutton, Stanley and Garlick take gold!
FINAL – Continental Tyres AustralianSuperboat Championships
Cabarita, NSW – 19-20 September, 2009
After one of the most incredible races on recent record, the 2009 Continental Tyres Australian Superboat Championships has been decided for another year. Whilst both 350s and 400s provided little real question as to who would be crowned champion, the Unlimited Superboat class would go down to the wire between ex-pat New Zealander Daryl Hutton (Hooters), and dual round winner Mick Carroll (Excalibur).
Throw in former champion Dean Finch in his awesome new twin-turbo version of the ‘old’ Loose Cannon, reigning champion Phil Dixon (True Blue) and Carroll’s explosive team-mate Tony Giustozzi and you had the recipe for a series finale that would be one to remember; and they didn't disappoint!
From opening practice both Hutton and Carroll were trading blows, the pair along with Finch and Giustozzi pushing the envelope to a whole new level, the crowd watching in anticipation of a boat-wrecking off, such was the pace.. it never came.
By the close of the top ten, the split between P1 and P6 was just over a second, Hutton topping the times with a blistering 40.412, Giustozzi right behind. For Hutton though, it was the end of Hooters, the ‘little’ injected boat from Mildura pushed to the absolute limit; the time though, and Hutton’s subsequent efforts through qualifying doing enough to put him to the top of the points table; Carroll’s failure to make the top ten finally sealing the title race.
From Carroll’s perspective the result whilst frustratingly close to etching his name on the national champions trophy, saw him gracious in defeat but lamenting finishing oh so close to title victory in just his first full season in the Unlimited class.
“Look, I’m disappointed, but really I was going head to head with one of the best Superboat pilots New Zealand has ever produced, so I can’t be too disheartened,” Carroll admitted. “On reflection I think going the wrong way in today’s opening qualifier really cost me, but that’s racing, we'll try to make amends at the world titles...”
The final three saw just Finch and Giustozzi lay down a time after Hutton’s retirement, although the newly crowned champion did make a start, running a lap in Stingray Racing’s ‘Conti-Squirt’ junior single-seater; it provided a good laugh for the amassed crown who were waiting to see a 900-horsepower injected Superboat…
Giustozzi’s lap was awesome, his 40.197 one of the quickest laps of the weekend. That didn’t deter Finch though, the former champ throwing his boat around to an incredible 39.794, the crowd went crazy…
In Group A it was situation normal, with Slade Stanley alone at the top of the timesheets; at various stages through the weekend he was so far ahead of the field that he was rivaling the Unlimited class for outright pace, suggesting at one point that he may even challenge Finchy’s twin-turbo machine for the fastest lap of the weekend.
In the end the difference between making the top ten and missing it was mere hundredths of a second, such has been the improvement in performance of the bulk of the field over the course of the year. Names like Rob Colman, Darek Sygidus and Shaun Dixon dominated the top half of the field, but in the end, no-one could come close to Stanley as he took not just maximum round points, but his debut national championship.
Joining Stanley on the Cabarita podium though were reigning (for the afternoon at least) AUS#2 Greg Mercier who turned in his best run of the season. It was a close fought thing in the end though after Mercier’s nemesis Brooke Dixon stepped up the pace in her final run of the weekend to force ‘Crusty’ to dig deep and put P2 out of reach.
In the championship race though, whilst it came down to the wire, 2002 champion Rohan Smith held on for the AUS#2 tag despite a less than perfect weekend, whilst Ted Sygidus grabbed third after a weekend he’d rather forget. “After driving the wheels off the thing all year, all of a sudden I decided I needed to protect the boat and make sure I didn’t put it out of the water,” Ted shrugged. “I don’t know what I was thinking; if I’d driven it the way I had all year, we might have been able to challenge Rohan for second. We’ll be back next year though, bigger and better..!”
In the 350 class the battle raged yet again between father and son combination Mark and Jake Garlick (Grumpy), the duo rarely challenged throughout the 2009 season, their only real opposition coming from each other, such was their advantage this season. Reigning champion Brooke Lucas at times challenged, but with a role in assisting the operation of the Cabarita facility, he was always going to struggle with focussing on getting the most from his new Stingray hull. In the end he missed a podium opportunity after an ignition switch wire broke in the top ten, stranding him mid circuit, handing the bottom step of the podium to a deserving Nathan Dickenson.
There was one challenge to the domination of ‘Grumpy’ however, Daniel James in Stingray Racing who was able to take the new L98 powered 6-litre powered machine to the top of the timesheets but in it’s experimental role, he was unable to challenge for championship points, but his timed runs showed huge potential for the new powerplant.
With the Continental Tyres Australian Superboat Championships decided for another year, focus now turns to the UIM World Championships this November starting at Temora on November 21-22, with the second round scheduled for one week later at Melton, just half an hour from Melbourne’s city centre.
2009 Continental Tyres Australian Superboat Championships
Championship points (adjusted points after six rounds of six)
Unlimited Superboats
1. Daryl Hutton (Hooters) - 218
2. Mick Carroll (Excalibur) - 214
3. Dean Finch (Loose Cannon) - 194
4. Phil Dixon (True Blue) - 182
5. Phonsy Mullan (Triple X Racing 2) - 178
International Group A (400 Class)
1. Slade Stanley (Hazardous) - 243
2. Rohan Smith (BTS Racing) - 197
3. Ted Sygidus (Triple X Racing) - 183
4. Brooke Dixon (True Blue Too) - 182
5. Greg Mercier (Az U Do) - 181
350 Class
1. Jake Garlick (Grumpy) - 244
2. Mark Garlick (Grumpy) - 232
3. Brooke Lucas (Our Toy) - 184
4. Nathan Dickenson (Witch Way) - 173
5. Daniel James (Stingray Racing) - 149
www.v8superboats.com.au
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