 Older Article (archived) | Newer Article (archived) |
[BOAT] Dixon, Stanley and Garlick at Melton
by Sean Henshelwood
(Archived)
pic: Sean Henshelwood/321 Ignition (Dean Finch in Kamikazee)
Dixon, Stanley and Garlick take Melton honours..
Melton, VIC - October 25
The penultimate round of the 2008 Australian Jetsprint Championships has been run and won, with some expected and some unexpected results..
Weather conditions were fine, and a big crowd courtesy of some impressive local promotion by Group A stars Phonsy Mullan and team-mate Ted Sygidus provided a fantastic atmosphere for racing.
The on-track competition was fierce across all classes, belying the overall result which saw points leaders Phil Dixon and Slade Stanley add to their outright tally. In the 350 class the expected stoush between Queensland foes Mark Garlick and Brooke Lucas came to an early end after Kim Lucas had an off in the opening round, damaging the jet unit on Our Toy, calling their day to an early end.
This left Garlick alone at the top of the qualifying list until a late charge by son Jake dethroned the king of 350s, forcing him to the second step of the podium with Brenton Maher an impressive third.
In Group A, Slade Stanley set an impressive early pace but came under fire from arch-rival Phonsy Mullan. Greg Mercier was also quick early, but suffered a problem with the #7 piston, forcing the cylinder to oil up excessively, a tell-tale whisper of white smoke at the end of each session suggesting he would be unable to challenge the front-runners.
In the end it was Mullan versus Stanley for the top points, although both appeared surprised at the sudden leap in pace of recently crowned Queensland champion Brooke Dixon, the popular Melbourne driver finding some impressive speed in the final qualifing rounds - just missing the second step of the podium by half a second.
The Superboat class too saw some impressive runs, with reigning Australian champion Dean Finch, Mick Carroll and points leader Phil Dixon going head to head. Driving Andrew Page's appropriately named 1450hp Kamikazee, Finch set an impressive bench-mark, highlighted by some incredible driving - the silly grin on driver and navigators face at the end of the run testament to how close they'd come to disaster.
Carroll went out in Excalibur and continued his strong pace to set a very low 44, raising the bar to the point where there was some question from the pits as to whether Dixon would be able to do the job. With two of the sports greatest icons on his side, Peter Caughey (championship winning driver and boat builder) and Col Parish (engine builder), Phil put in a faultless run setting an impressive 43.8.
Full report, team releases and championship points to follow on shortly..
Superboat
1. Phil Dixon/Mark Arnold (True Blue)
2. Mick Carroll/Yolanda Low (Excalibur)
3. Dean Finch/Peter Luckraft (Kamikazee)
Group A (400 Class)
1. Slade Stanley/Vanessa Wright (Hazardous)
2. Phonsy Mullan/Byron Basset (Triple XXX)
3. Brooke Dixon/Jess Arnold (True Blue Too)
350 Class
1. Jake Garlick (Grumpy)
2. Mark Garlick (Grumpy)
3. Brenton Maher/Steve Creati (Twisted)
| Older Article (archived) | Newer Article (archived) |
| Browse 'BOATS' | |
| Browse 'BOATS' Archive | |
