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[V8SB] Tough weekend for Triple X
by Sean Henshelwood
A weekend to forget..
Rnd#4 Continental Tyres Australian Superboat Championships
Susan River Raceway, Maryborough, QLD
September 4-5
Coming into the penultimate round of the Continental Tyres Australian Superboat Championships, the focus of the Triple X team was to consolidate.. “That’s it, no more stuffing around,” Ted Sygidus quipped at pre-event scrutineering.
“We should have had this in the bag by now – we’ve had the speed, but we’ve been unlucky. This is the weekend we turn it around.”
The results will show that post-event Ted continues to lead the championship, however on adjusted points, Darek sits on top equal with nemesis and fellow world #2 Brooke Dixon. Whilst that is reason to be thankful heading to the final round, the big news is that with just Temora remaining, the top five in the Group A championship are separated by just six points…
Whilst the Group A team had a less than memorable weekend, Triple X team-boss Phonsy Mullan was all smiles after taking the #2 trophy in the Unlimited Superboat class, although he wasn’t behind the wheel of ‘RAM-JET’.
“After the DASH 4 CASH we realised that the changes we’d made to the hull [before Maryborough] just weren’t right, and it wasn’t an easy job to get it back to where it was before,” Phonsy admitted. “It was one wild ride yesterday, but it wasn’t quick, so Mick [Carroll] invited us to have a run in ‘Excalibur’.
“Makes me wonder how competitive we’d have been if we’d gone down the path of an injected 540ci alloy engine.. No, honestly, we’ve sorted the engine issues now, and it’s almost perfect, the drama we’ve got is that we have too much horsepower. At the moment we’re pushing 1800 odd, and we’re looking at around 50% throttle max..! It’s down to getting the boat to handle the power now, and that’s time again. We lost so much momentum last year sorting the powerplant, that we missed valuable time testing the hull and the new jet unit..
“Once we sort it though, look out!”
Phonsy was all smiles after taking the runner-up spot in ‘Excalibur’ which put his championship back on track, having moved to within 17 points of Carroll, and just 13 from old foe, Greg Mercier.
Whilst ‘the boss’ was enjoying himself back behind the wheel, both Ted and Darek Sygidus were struggling to settle themselves into a rhythm. “We were good boys last night,” Ted joked on Saturday morning, “..and we were in bed early because we wanted to be completely focussed on the championship and getting the most out of the boat - none of us slept..”
“In the Breakaway Marine Honda DASH 4 CASH we were all over the place and just couldn’t get it together when we needed it, but we were also playing with the jet and tuning the boat, so it was no drama – there’s no sense pushing hard when the championship is on the line the following day.
“So we ‘played up’ on the Saturday night in typical Triple X style, which is what we’d done all season long and tried to relax before points day. It was still tough though.”
Back with Victor Kondratenko alongside after Kelsie Gill’s accident at Cabarita during the previous round, Ted was looking good during the opening qualifier, but uncharacteristically threw himself up the bank mid run..
“The oil pressure suddenly dropped so I turned it off,” Ted admitted afterwards. “There’s no big drama except - oil filter seal has let go and the oil filter has started to come loose, so apart from the bottom of the boat being full of oil, it’s okay. We always run high oil levels anyway, so there’s no drama.”
Sadly for Ted there were further dramas, with Q2 resulting in a ‘wrong way’ thanks to the increasing wind. “At various parts of the lap, there’s splash that comes into the boat and for a spilt second I was disoriented, and that’s all it takes, I wasn’t sure exactly where I was on the circuit, so I made an error – will have the visor down next time.”
Whilst Ted was struggling, Darek was typically up to speed quickly, and inside the top three in Q1, but behind the eight ball in Q2. Q3 however delivered further dramas for the Triple X team after Dezi went the wrong way. “I was trying something different, and I took a line which threw me a little and for a split second I wasn’t sure whether I had taken the next corner or not – I know it sounds odd, but at these speeds, that’s all it takes.”
For Darek though this wouldn’t be the end of his dramas, his top 12 run ending mid-lap after contact with submerged tyres.
“I was pushing hard because I knew we could be on the podium again,” the championship points leader admitted with frustration, “ and I just grabbed a tyre, one which we’d seen during track walk this morning, but I just got too close and it spun me around. No damage again, but disappointment.”
With Darek out, Ted meanwhile completed the top 12 within half a second of the lead, and he completed the final six inside the top three to set up an epic final with Brooke Dixon and Maryborough state round winner Rob Colman.
Disappointingly for the team though, Ted completed the final with his slowest run of the day, taking third behind Dixon and Colman.
“We’re back on top of the points, so not all is lost,” Ted shrugged. “We’ve just got to go and do some serious homework for Temora and make sure we come out there on top.”
Whilst Ted is on top of the cumulative championship point score, it’s actually brother Dezi who sits on top in the adjusted points, with Ted just four points behind.
It sets up an epic final at Temora with any one of five drivers (including both Triple X pilots) in with a chance of championship victory.. Hollywood couldn’t have written a better script!
The Triple X Racing team now prepare for the final round of the Continental Tyres Australian Superboat Championships back at Hi-Tec Oils Park at Temora on October 30-31.
You can catch all the action from the 2010 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).
Triple X Racing are proudly supported by; GM Race Engines, GM Motorsport, SGA Engineering, RAMJET, 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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2010 Continental Tyres Australian Superboat Championships
Unlimited Superboat
Championship points (after four rounds of five)*
1. Daryl Hutton (224 points), 2. Slade Stanley (217), 3. Mick Carroll (193), 4. Greg Mercier (189), 5. Phonsy Mullan/Bill Biggin (176), 6. Andrew Page (109), 7. Adam Raverty (107), 8. Peter Freckleton (95), 9. Jody Ely (93), 10. Paul Burgess (92), 11. Dean Finch (37)
* championship points are calculated from the best four point scoring rounds (of five)
International Group A (400 Class)
Championship points (points after four rounds of five)*
1. Ted Sygidus (186 points), 2. Rohan Smith (184), 3. Robert Colman (183), 3. Darek Sygidus (183), 5. Brooke Dixon (181), 6. Jake Garlick (156), 7. Daniel Walton (155), 8. Mark Garlick (139), 9. Damian O’Leary (103), 10. Brooke Lucas (96), 11. Rodney Krause (78), 12. Greg Harriman (71), 13. Louise Dixon (67), 14. Mick Manini (64), 15. Tremayne Jukes (51), 16. Chris Bollins (42), 16. Kevin Laugesen (42), 18. Peter Monger (40), 19. Shane Loughnan (25), 20. Kieran Krause (23), 21. Phil Weinthal (20), 21. Tony Whalan (20), 21. Darren Watkins (20), 24. Geoff Kunkel (10), 24. Nathan Dickenson (10), 24. Daryl Dickenson (10)
* championship points are calculated from the best four point scoring rounds (of five)
International Group A (400 Class)
Adjusted championship points
(points after four rounds of five, taking best three rounds into account)*
1. Darek Sygidus/David Gill (152 points), 1. Brooke Dixon (152), 3. Ted Sygidus/Kelsie Gill (148), 3. Rohan Smith (148), 5. Robert Colman (146), 6. Jake Garlick (133), 7. Daniel Walton (128), 8. Mark Garlick (112), 9. Damian O’Leary (93), 10. Brooke Lucas (86), 11. Rodney Krause (78), 12. Greg Harriman (71), 13. Mick Manini (64), 14. Louise Dixon/Casie Lack (57), 15. Tremayne Jukes (51)
www.triplexxxracing.com
www.gmmotorsport.com
www.sgaengineering.com.au
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