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[BOATS] K2 ends season in the ten
by Sean Henshelwood
Getting closer all the time…
Rnd#6 2009 Continental Tyres Australian Superboat Championships
Round Mountain Road, Cabarita Beach, NSW
21 September, 2009
It had taken some doing, but Kryptonite Racing arrived at the final round of the Continental Tyres Australian Superboat Championships with two boats ready to go, Damian O’Leary having finally pieced together ‘Kryptonite’ in preparation for his maiden run for the season in his own boat alongside team-mate Daniel Walton (K2).
Sadly though for the South Australian, ‘Kryptonite’s’ debut was all too short, the engine in the former world championship winning boat dropping a valve during opening practice.
“We still weren’t 100% prepared for the weekend,” Damian admitted, “so we basically hobbled together an engine that would do the job and get me some miles before the world championships. We thought we’d be okay, but it clearly wasn’t right and unfortunately it seems to have done some internal damage. Fortunately this wasn’t my good motor, it wasn’t quite finished, so I’ll get that over to Brian [Cassar, Moe Engines] and have it ready for the world titles.”
After learning of O’Leary’s misfortune and being alerted by Phonsy Mullan that he was unable to take up Greg ‘Crusty’ Mercier’s offer of driving ‘Az U Do’ competitively in the championship finale [Mullan suffered a major engine failure in his Unlimited boat just prior to Cabarita, prompting Mercier to offer him a ride in ‘Az U Do’, sadly the reigning Group A champ was unable to fit comfortably in the boat], Crusty offered Damian a drive in ‘the shark’ allowing the Kryptonite boss a chance to get some miles under his belt.
Despite running the third and fourth rounds in the silver Sprintec, Damian elected to pull the pin prior to the final. “Greg’s in with a chance of second again for the weekend, and I’m not 100% comfortable in such a good boat with no real laps in it, so I decided to sit out the final round and leave it to him,” he said.
With the team back down to one member and Daniel under fire from new Group A recruit Shaun Dixon, all focus was on ‘K2’ retaining tenth in the championship.
“We’re close, and I’m ringing everything I can out of it,” Dan laughed. “We’ll just see if we can’t sneak into the ten and gain some more valuable points.”
Sadly he missed the final cut to qualify eleventh, a mere half second off tenth, and just over a second off third, but it was still enough for tenth in the championship, a worthy result after such a tough season.
“It was a close fought thing in the end, but we just couldn’t do it. With eight positions covered by less than a second, we’re only a sniff away from a podium, but I suppose an inch is as much as a mile from here.
“For the world titles Damian and I might share his Stinger, which Slade Stanley took to the 2005 world title win [it was formerly ‘Az U Do’ prior to the arrival of Greg Mercier’s new Sprintec hull]. It’s a newer and faster boat, and with a few Moe [Engines] tweaks thrown in, we could even surprise a few people at the worlds.
“As for next year, I guess we’ll just wait and see what happens in November…”
With the Australian championships now over, focus now turns to the internationally sanctioned world championships in November, with round one at Temora (NSW) on November 21-22 and round two at Melton (Victoria) just one week later (November 28-29).
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).
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2009 Continental Tyres Australian Superboat Championships
International Group A (400 Class)
Championship points (points after six rounds of six*)
1. Slade Stanley (243), 2. Rohan Smith (197), 3. Ted Sygidus (183), 4. Brooke Dixon (182), 5. Greg Mercier (181), 6. Tremayne Jukes (154), 7. Robert Colman (134), 8. Nathan Pretty (133), 9. Darek Sygidus (105), 10. Daniel Walton (78), 11. Shaun Dixon (59), 12. Mick Manini (40), 13. Rodney Krause (31), 14. Chris Bollins (27), 15. Greg Harriman (25), 16. Kevin Laugenson (20), 17. Damian O’Leary (20), 18. Simon Zarb (15), 19. Tony Whalan (15), 20. Darren Watkins (15), 21. Geoff Kunkel (15), 22. Shane Loughnan (10), 23. Kieran Krause (10), 24. Darryl Squires (10), 25. Brendan Donnelly (7)
* championship points are calculated from the best five point scoring rounds (of six)
www.v8superboats.com.au
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