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[BOAT] Second at Melton for Az-U-Do
by Sean Henshelwood
(Archived)
Frustration at Melton but still second for Az-U-Do!
Melton, VIC - October 25, 2008
Despite a minor oil leak AND missing the final three cut, the Az-U-Do Group A Superboat of Greg and Dorinda Mercier still managed to take second overall in the points during the penultimate round of the Australian Championships at Melton, and move themselves comfortably into third position in the championship points race ahead of the final round at Albury in two weeks.
“It was a bit disappointing really, a real anti-climax, but I’m glad we discovered the issue before we took off for the world championships,” Greg shrugged.
“It appears there’s a slight oil leak on one cylinder and that’s dropped the performance just enough to keep us off the podium. I’m more frustrated than anything because I thought we’d be a real chance at Melton - the boat is phenomenal, never been better, but we were a fraction off the pace from the outset and it wasn’t immediately apparent, but a tell-tale whisp of white smoke when I came off the gas at the end of each run suggested something wasn’t right.
“It’s not a serious problem, just a niggling issue, she’ll be right by Albury..”
After a conservative run through practice where a bit of fine tuning was the order of the morning, the ‘Crustys’ steadily improved through the qualifiers, to claim two top three finishes and two top fours by the close of the top ten shootout, missing the final three by less than two tenths of a second..
“Despite being down on power, it was still pretty handy, so I think we will be a serious podium contender at Albury, and who knows, with the top two fighting for the championship, anything could happen..”
By the close of competition at Melton, former world and Australian champion Slade Stanley had extended his points lead over title rival Phonsy Mullan, to hold a 16 point advantage heading into the final round. On adjusted points (drop your worst round of the season) though the picture is very different, with the gap down to just seven points.
For the Az-U-Do team too it’s not over as despite a huge points deficit to the leaders in the outright points, on adjusted points the margin is less than the 50 points on offer to the outright round winner..
“It ain’t over yet,” Crusty beamed. “It might take a minor miracle, but they’ll know we’re there, breathing right down their necks…”
The Az-U-Do Racing team now heads north to Albury for the final round of the Australian Superboat Championships on Saturday, November 15 before packing the boats in a container for the trip to New Zealand for the world titles.
Race one of the UIM World Jetsprint Championships is scheduled for Meremere (south of Auckland) on January 3-4, whilst round two will be a week later at Featherston (north of Wellington – January 10-11).
The Albury facility is located in Fallon Street Albury, adjacent to the Albury Airport (VICROADS Map Ref: 321 S14).
Az-U-Do Racing are proudly supported by; ACOL Creative Skylight Solutions and Moe Engines.
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2008 Australian Superboat Championships
International 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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