[BOATS] Coming down to the wire..

by Sean Henshelwood

(Archived)


After almost two months off, Triple X Racing were pumped and ready for the penultimate round of the Continental Tyres Australian Superboat Championships at Maryborough [Queensland] on the Fraser Coast, especially considering the venue had provided Group A team leader Ted Sygidus with his maiden outright victory.

It’s coming down to the wire…

Rnd#5 2009 Continental Tyres Australian Superboat Championships
Maryborough, QLD
7 September, 2009

After almost two months off, Triple X Racing were pumped and ready for the penultimate round of the Continental Tyres Australian Superboat Championships at Maryborough [Queensland] on the Fraser Coast, especially considering the venue had provided Group A team leader Ted Sygidus with his maiden outright victory.

“That was a great result for all the work we’ve put in,” Ted admitted. “Darek and I made a lot of changes that weekend [Queensland Championship round] and learnt a hell of a lot, so we’re hoping we can carry that performance over to the national round, especially considering we’re getting so close in points now to Rohan [Smith].”

For team-boss Phonsy Mullan he too was looking forward to getting back in the boat, having made some significant changes to the weight of his Unlimited Superboat since the previous round of the championship at Cabarita in early June.

“She’s gone on a serious diet and we’ve made some changes to the engine that might effect the cooling, although I’m hoping that with our short runs that things don’t get too heated,” he said.

Despite the advantage of victory last time out in the Queensland state round, by the close of day one at Maryborough, the Triple X Group A team were looking a little dejected.

“We started the way we finished last time we were here,” Ted Sygidus acknowledged, “but the results just aren’t the same, the boat isn’t going exactly where I’m putting it so we’re going to have a play with the jet unit and see what we can do.”

Like the Group A team, Mullan too was scratching his head after studying the MoTeC data… “I’m copping a miss in the engine on the final run out of the top corner,” he shrugged, “it appears as though we’re pushing so much fuel into the engine that it’s starting to get so low by that part of the lap, that it’s starving the fuel pump. What I really need is a baffle to keep the fuel in close to the pickup, but I can’t fabricate anything like that quickly, so it will just have to do.”

In the end he needn’t have worried, the awesome 1500 horsepower supercharged LS7 powerplant giving it’s last breath during the top ten shootout, after qualifying an impressive fourth despite the pickup problem. “I’m not sure what happened, but it’s stopped,” he shrugged post event. “We’ll take it back to the workshop and pray that it isn’t too bad because there’s just two weeks till the final round and parts for these unique engines are almost impossible to find on shelves in any performance house in Australia. We’ll keep our fingers crossed and see what we can do.”

Whilst the Triple X Superboat was out for the weekend, both Ted and Darek were inside the top ten in Group A, with Ted within striking distance of a podium, and an outside chance of victory.

Despite losing his mojo early, by the close of qualifying Ted had rediscovered his June pace and was hounding series leader Slade Stanley and reigning AUS#2 Greg Mercier for entry into the final three.

“I reckon I can break into the 46s and possibly even the 45s,” he grinned prior to the top ten. Ultimately though he fell short (47.337), but still managed the second fastest time in the category overall, comfortably clear of third placed Greg Mercier.

Despite that and a comfortable entry into the final three, Mercier’s consistency and a slight drop [just half a second] in Ted’s pace, saw Mercier slip through by the narrowest of margins for second outright on the day; a mere 14 one thousandths of a second separating them at race end.

“So close, but hey, we made ground on Rohan [Smith] in the championship, so we’re not finished yet,” Ted admitted.

With Ted fighting for championship places, brother Darek was playing a conservative role battling mid-pack.

“I’m still reluctant to get too carried away with it whilst Ted’s fighting for second in the championship,” he admitted. “But I’m getting quicker with each run and moving to within a second of some of Ted’s times, which is a big improvement over the course of the championship.”

Eighth by the close of qualifying turned into seventh in the top ten shootout, but mere tenths off the top five.

“I’m really happy with that,” Darek smiled, “we’re getting quicker all the time and at the right time of the year. Bring on the final!!”

The final round of the Continental Tyres Superboat Championships is set for Cabarita in two weeks time (September 19-20), it’s sure to be an event to remember!

You can catch all the action from the 2009 Continental Tyres Australian Superboat Championships on SBS Speedweek and FOX Sports 'Inside Speed' (check local guides and keep an eye on www.v8superboats.com.au for dates and times). Also visit www.speedweek.com.au for clips of previous events.

Triple X Racing are proudly supported by; GM Race Engines, GM Motorsport, SGA Engineering, Ripshift, D.G. Parsons Transport, Gill Engineering, Sign Perfection, Showcase Constructions, Leggett Crane Hire, Tom Matthews Accounting and Big Benna Events.

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2009 Continental Tyres Australian Superboat Championships
Unlimited Superboats
Championship points (points after five rounds of six*)

1. Daryl Hutton (216), 2. Mick Carroll (212), 3. Phil Dixon (180), 4. Phonsy Mullan/Byron Basset (178), 5. Dean Finch (148), 6. Tony Giustozzi (145), 7. Jamie Welch (127), 8. Louise Dixon (116), 9. Cheryl Welch (95), 10. Peter Freckleton (66), 11. Andrew Page (44), 12. Paul Burgess (21), 13. Jody Ely (16), 14. Adam Raverty (15), 15. Glenn Roberts (5)

International Group A (400 Class)

Championship points (points after five rounds of six*)
1. Slade Stanley (235), 2. Rohan Smith (197), 3. Ted Sygidus/Kelsie Gill (182), 4. Brooke Dixon (175), 5. Greg Mercier (154), 6. Nathan Pretty (133), 7. Tremayne Jukes (151), 8. Robert Colman (130), 9. Darek Sygidus/David Gill (96), 10. Daniel Walton (72), 11. Mick Manini (38), 12. Rodney Krause (31), 13. Shaun Dixon (26), 14. Greg Harriman (25), 15. Simon Zarb (15), 16. Tony Whalan (15), 17. Darren Watkins (15), 18. Kevin Laugesen (15), 19. Chris Bollins (13), 20. Shane Loughnan (10), 21. Kieran Krause (10), 22. Geoff Kunkel (10), 23. Brendan Donnelly (7), 24. Darryl Squires (5)

* championship points are calculated from the best five point scoring rounds (of six)

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