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[BOAT] Podiums for True Blue at Melton..
by Sean Henshelwood
(Archived)
Podiums for True Blue Racing at Melton
Melton, VIC - October 25, 2008
To say that the penultimate round of the 2008 Australian Jetsprint season was one of the best on record would have been no understatement. Against one of the strongest fields in V8 Jetsprint history, and in front of an impressive Melton crowd, the True Blue Racing team found strong form late in the day to return both Phil Dixon (Superboat) and Brooke Dixon (Group A) to the outright podium.
After a couple of minor glitches with their new Peter Caughey prepared Sprintec in the two most recent events, Phil Dixon was taking no chances at Melton, and had invited the multiple New Zealand champion across to ensure there were no potential issues with the hull. “We’re serious about our assault on the world championship, so we want things well and truly sorted before then, so it was an ideal opportunity to have Peter on board,” Phil confirmed.
Phil was quick from the get-go, but not as quick as Mick Carroll who was driving Excalibur alongside the usually impressive Tony Gustozzi. Carroll held the early advantage and actually extended that advantage after the fourth round of qualifying, with a stunning 43.819, Phil at that point was yet to break into the 43s.
By the final round of qualifying, True Blue was setting the pace, Phil extending that advantage in the top ten, more than three tenths faster than Carroll with reigning champion Dean Finch almost a second further back. By the final three though, Carroll once again found his form to all but top Phil’s best time of the day.. Everyone held their breath as Phil shot out of the starting gates.. The usually omnipresent Col Parish suddenly hidden away and stumped for words outside of a resounding “..c’mon Phil…!”
In the end though the former Australian champion pulled out a blinder to lower Carroll’s best by a mere seven one thousandths of a second to record the win.
“I knew it was in there somewhere,” he smirked afterwards whilst recounting the win with On the Water’s ‘Caveman’. “They really pushed us today, it was great. I have to congratulate Freck (Peter Freckleton) and Wendy on a superb event, ably assisted by Phonsy Mullan and Ted Sygidus, they really made this one to remember with all the effort they put into promotion and the corporate area, it was great to see so many people here.”
After recovering from what was a blinding run by Phil and navigator Mark Arnold in the final, Col Parish too was full of praise. “I tell you, if you’d been out of the sport for two years and had come to Melton as your return to the sport, you’d have been dumbfounded by how far the sport’s come in that short time, it’s incredible.
“As for Phil, well.. I was proud of the way he drove in the final – that’s probably the hardest he has ever really had to push, so it was great to see him come through for the win. They’re getting ever closer though, and if guys like Dean Finch come back next year with his new boat, and Pagey (Andrew Page) manages to sort that 1450hp monster of his, then we’re in for a hell of a year next year..
“Louise did a brilliant job again too and held out some of the more experienced drivers including Gustozzi and Jim Bailey – in the end, she just missed the top three, and carded enough points for fourth on the day.. It was an impressive effort all round by both teams,” Col concluded.
Whilst not celebrating yet, Phil looks set to wrap up his third Australian Superboat crown (2005-2006 champion), with 46 points separating he and wife Louise going into Albury’s final (on adjusted points after dropping their worst rounds), with a maximum of just 50 points on offer. No-one else is within reach of the pair, so whilst not one to actively pursue the spotlight, it does appear that Phil will again be receiving plenty of attention prior to the UIM World Championships in New Zealand at season’s end, whilst his performance at Melton may just raise his stakes as the man to beat in the Superboat class..
Louise’s result to belies her conservative approach to Superboat competition, the normally quietly spoken wife and mother, more than a match for Australia’s best Superboat pilots – the reigning Queensland Superboat champion too looking to make an impression in New Zealand after what looks certain to be a silver-medal result in the Australian championship.
After her early laps in Group A, reigning Queensland Group A champion Brooke Dixon was expecting the normal raceday stoush between Phonsy Mullan and early pace-setter Slade Stanley, with the likes of Greg Mercier, Ted Sygidus, Tremayne Jukes and Kev Laugeson likely to threaten her place on the podium.
By the final qualifying rounds though, Brooke and Teresa Southern were getting faster and faster, the constant tuning by Col Parish and the True Blue team transforming the boat with each run.
“It just kept getting better and better,” Brooke agreed afterwards. “At the start I thought oh well, looks like we’ll be fifth or sixth for the weekend, but each session was faster and faster, and in the end, we were able to make the podium.”
Make it she did, and very nearly the second step as Phonsy Mullan’s home-track assault came to an end during the qualifiers with an engine issue restricting his outright performance. The final three saw just half a second separating the pair, with Stanley more than a second faster than Mullan to record yet another round win.
“Brooke drove brilliantly,” Col Parish smiled. “She really stepped up to the plate against one of the toughest fields in recent years, the pace was just astonishing. I’m a little sorry for Teresa though, as we ended up using each of her runs as a test session to prepare the boat for Brooke. It wasn’t fair to Teresa in a way, but she’s not really in the points chase, and we want to see if we can get Brooke onto the podium by season’s end. Seventh for her in the end though wasn’t a bad deal, so all in all, it was a great weekend for the entire team.”
The True Blue Racing team now heads north to Albury for the final round of the Australian Superboat Championships on Saturday, November 15. The Albury facility is located in Fallon Street Albury, adjacent to the Albury Airport (VICROADS Map Ref: 321 S14).
True Blue Racing are proudly supported by; Auspro Logistics, Parish Automotive, H2O Full Throttle Magazine, MoTeC, Sprintec, Lake Eildon Marina & House Boat Hire, Alexandra Freighters, Mansfield Express, Symes Transport, North-East Windscreens, Action Smash Repairs (Wangaratta) and SKIN Industries.
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2008 Australian Superboat Championships
Superboats (points after round#6 of 7)
1. Phil Dixon (272), 2. Louise Dixon (220), 3. Jim Bailey (178), 4. Andrew Page (162), 5. Mick Carroll (146), 6. Tony Gustozzi (135), 7. Peter Freckleton (133), 8. Paul Burgess (97), 9. Dean Finch (89), 10. Jody Ely (39), 11. Glenn Roberts (21)
Group A (points after round#6 of 7)
1. Slade Stanley (287), 2. Phonsy Mullan (271), 3. Greg Mercier (228), 4. Rohan Smith (187), 5. Ted Sygidus (177), 6. Brooke Dixon (166), 7. Kevin Laugesen (158), 8. Robert Coleman (121), 9. Teresa Southern (98), 10. Steve Lackas (60), 11. Tremayne Jukes (56), 12. Greg Harriman (45), 13. Tim Howell (44), 14. Adrian Kemp (29), 15. Brett Shellcott (24), 16. Peter Monger (23), 17. Damien O’Leary (20), 18. Darren Watkins (20), 19. Daniel Walton (19), 20. Ged Elphinstone (17), 21. Kim Legerski (13), 22. Jeff Flemming (10), 23. Jo Shellcott (10), 24. Matt Legerski (10), 25. Simon Zarb (9), 26. Nathan Pretty (6), 27. Shane Loughnan (5), 28. Doug Fraser (5), 29. Mick Manini (5)
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