[BOATS] Strong entry for Maryborough

by Sean Henshelwood



The Susan River Raceway at Maryborough will play host tothe second round of the Continental Tyres Australian Superboat Championshipsthis weekend [June 26-27], with a competitive list of drivers from all over thecountry looking to gain valuable laps at the venue prior to it’s hosting of thenational championship round in early September [4-5].

Strong Superboat field at Maryborough this weekend
Preview: Rnd#2 Continental Tyres Queensland SuperboatChampionships
Susan River Raceway, Maryborough, QLD
June 26-27

The Susan River Raceway at Maryborough will play host to the second round of the Continental Tyres Australian Superboat Championships this weekend [June 26-27], with a competitive list of drivers from all over the country looking to gain valuable laps at the venue prior to it’s hosting of the national championship round in early September [4-5].

Whilst numbers will not be as strong as a national championship round, there are a number of leading boats heading north for the mid-season event (and the warmer climate). In the Unlimited Superboat class, reigning Queensland Group A champion and the winner of the opening state title round at Cabarita, Greg ‘Crusty’ Mercier, will have ‘the shark’ back on the hunt, the former 400 Class front-runner keen for more miles under his belt prior to the second half of the national Unlimited championships.

“It’s been a firey start to our Unlimited Superboat campaign,” the laconic Victorian quipped in reference to his litany of small engine fires since stepping into the elite Unlimited class. “We had a strong run in the opening round of the Queensland championships [Cabarita], and hope to back up at Maryborough which is a track I particularly enjoy.”

Hoping to push Crusty all the way will be Superboat stalwart Paul Burgess and former 350 Class sensation Glenn Roberts who is looking to make the Maryborough round the relaunch of his Superboat career after a sabbatical of some 18 months.

Whilst the Unlimited class will see a conservative entry, it’s the 400 Class which will provide the greatest numbers, and the hottest action.

Leading the charge will be a pair of ‘local’ former 350 stars, as well as a couple of emerging 400 class drivers who have really stepped up in season 2010.

Noosaville’s Jake Garlick is widely regarded as one of the best young drivers in the world, the reigning Australian 350 Class champion under the guidance of his father Mark has proven just as good a talent in the 400 Class, despite an aging hull and a conservative budget. From his first days in a 400 Class boat (during the 2009 World Championships – he finished seventh) he has proven world class and leads the 400 Class Queensland points coming into his local round. One of the Garlick family’s strongest opponents over many years has been 2008 350 Class champion Brooke Lucas, who has also stepped up to the 400s and will be just as tough an opponent around the Susan River course as young Garlick.

Throw in Adelaide’s Dan Walton who has set a stunning pace at both national championship rounds so far this year, and veterans Rob Colman from Mildura and Wagga’s Rodney Krause, and you have a recipe for a first class battle for the podium.

The big variable though will be arguably the toughest man in the sport, Melbourne’s Tremayne Jukes, the manufacturer of Australia’s most successful boat, the Stingray. As part of the crack Conti-Racer outfit, Jukes is always fine-tuning and tweaking his designs to gain the maximum advantage from every design. Sadly the team’s #1 boat was destroyed at the Griffith round of the Continental Tyres Australian Championships at Easter, prompting many late nights in the lead up to the opening Queensland round where it was clear the new boat wasn’t quite ready for its debut.

“We’ve made some serious changes to the shape of the boat, but also added some new components that we hadn’t used before, and it turns out that one of them was dramatically different to that which we’d used for the original design. We kept with it as a test opportunity, but I knew it wouldn’t be right and it turned out that we’d have gained little from pressing on [racing at Cabarita] with it,” Jukes admitted. “It wasn’t a lengthy, nor a difficult change, but we couldn’t do what we needed on the day, so we came back to Melbourne and did it properly ready for this weekend.”

The Stingray Racing team will arrive at Maryborough in full force, with not one, but two boats including a 'new' boat for team-mate Chris Bollins, and the return of Stingray’s 350 Class points leader Danie lJames who will share driving duties with Bollins.

After the big influx of 350 Class drivers graduating to the 400 Class this season, you could be forgiven for thinking that there would be a much smaller field of 350s this weekend, but you’d be wrong.

Veteran 350 pilot Daryl Squires returns to driving duties, alongside local star and opening national round sensation, Colin Bellert. Bellert surprised everyone with his speed back in March for the opening round at Temora in NSW, coming away with second on the weekend, but sadly he had a monumental prang just a fortnight later at Griffith, badly damaging the rear of his boat, and putting himself into hospital overnight as a result.

Another driver sure to be pushing for a strong result, will be Brisbane’s Daniel deVoigt who is hanging on to third in the national championships and second in the Queensland title chase after finishing runner-up to David Penfold at home in Cabarita.

“This is a big year for us,” Daniel admitted. “We’re doing the full national championship for the first time and the full Queensland series as well, so we’re hoping that we can keep the speed and consistency going and be there in the end.”

The second round of the Continental Tyres Queensland Superboat Championships gets underway at the Susan River Homestead course on June 27 - gates open 10:00am, entry $20 (adults), kids under 12 free.




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