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[BOAT] True Blue now AUS#1 and AUS#2!!
by Sean Henshelwood
(Archived)
True Blue now AUS#1 and AUS#2!!
Australian Superboat Championship Final – Albury, NSW
16 November 2008
Coming into the final round of the 2008 Australian Superboat Championships, former national champion Phil Dixon was nervous, but quietly confident.
“It’s been a big year, and I’d like nothing more than to go to the World Championships in New Zealand this January as Australia #1,” he said prior to the final round.
Mathematically he could be challenged, but realistically all he had to do was complete the opening qualifying points round, and the title was his. Of equal importance though was that his only challenger, was wife Louise who was holding down second in the championship, but potentially under fire from the retiring Jim Bailey.
“Louise has been improving out of sight this year, and she’s got a good margin, but this is Jim’s home track, and his final ever event, so I’m sure he’s going to go out hard,” team manager Col Parish offered.
After a number of promotional rides during Friday’s afternoon sessions, teams contested the first qualifying heat late in the evening, and despite a quick run, Phil wasn’t completely satisfied with his pace. “He’s taking it fairly easy to start with,” Col confirmed, “I think he’s more concerned about Louise’s championship position.”
Like Phil, Louise made a conservative start, but come Saturday afternoon, she was setting a pretty serious pace.. “It’s this boat,” Louise admitted, “ever since we changed to the new Sprintec I’ve felt right at home and the speed has come naturally – I don’t think I could have been anywhere near this pace in the old Stinger..”
Despite their cautious start, True Blue was soon back on song, with Phil topping the third qualifier (48.748). Mick Carroll stepped up the pace though in the fourth qualifier, dropping the mark to a 47.728.. Concerned looks around the True Blue camp soon revealed the reason for a lack of pace; a broken blade in the rear impellor and an engine running on seven cylinders..
“We’re not real sure what’s happening with the engine,” Phil admitted. “It seemed to drop onto seven during the lunchtime ride session, but we can’t find anything serious, and our next run showed it was back to eight.. The important thing is to take it easy and keep it together for Louise so that we can make it a one-two in the championship. If we get to the final three and it’s still going, then I’ll have a go..”
By the final qualifier, both drivers had qualified in the top ten, Phil claiming the top time, with Louise immediately behind Jim Bailey, all but wrapping up the championship.
Heading into the top ten, Phil put his foot down and turned a lap good enough to drag him comfortably into the final three, with 2007 national champion Dean Finch and ex-pat kiwi ‘Big Chief’ Darryl Hutton (campaigning Peter Freckleton’s Hooters) running at a similar pace. For Louise though, her 2008 national championship campaign had come to an end, with a well deserved and popular second placed finish, to wrap up not just a one-two for True Blue, but a rare one-two for two husband and wife teams; Mark Arnold sharing the navigators duties with Phil, and wife Paula alongside Louise..
“What a fantastic result,” Col Parish beamed. “I’m so happy for all of them, Louise and Paula especially because they worked so hard this year and improved to the point where they weren’t just consistent, they were also serious contenders.”
In front of a big Albury crowd on a beautiful spring evening, the Superboats came out for the final three, with Phil last to take a run.. Darryl Hutton set a quick time, a lap that Dean Finch, despite his 1450 horsepower was unable to top. Then came Phil.. It was clear to all that he was looking for the win, and wasn’t holding anything back. The first half of the lap was a blinder, but just a handful of corners from home, he clipped the bank and spun into retirement..
“I just clipped the bank in an area where the water was very very low..” Phil admitted. “During the day you could take that line comfortably, but we’ve lost about 12-14 inches over the course of the weekend, and it just caught me out. There’s no serious damage, but it’s a pity because we were well up on our best lap of the day…
“Overall though I’m rapt with today, and to have wrapped up the title with Louise coming second is better than I could have hoped for. I have to thank all the team for their effort, this really has been a win for the True Blue Racing team and all our supporters, so to them, my sincere thanks.”
Whilst Mum and Dad were busy tying up the Superboat class, Brooke Dixon was looking to consolidate her position in the 400 Class championship after an up-and-down season. “It’s been a funny year,” Brooke agreed. “We’ve been strong some places, and not so strong in others. It was nice last time out at Melton to be on the podium, but this weekend the opposition has stepped up, and with guys like Rohan (Smith) returning and TJ (Tremayne Jukes) getting faster, we’ll have to be on our game.”
As was expected, former world champion Slade Stanley set a cracking early pace, with both title contender Phonsy Mullan and Smith in tow. Like her parents, Brooke made a conservative start in the opening heats, whilst team-mate Teresa Southern was looking to maintain her place in the championship top ten and was setting True Blue Too’s quickest times.
“I really want that top ten,” Teresa admitted, “but I don’t want to do it at the risk of Brooke’s championship position.”
By the close of the qualifying heats, Brooke had settled into a comfortable rhythm and was battling Jukes, Ted Sygidus and Robert Coleman for position. Both drivers made the top ten, but that’s when Teresa’s run slowed.. “Teresa said to me before the start that she was rapt to have been given the opportunity to drive alongside Brooke this year, and really didn’t want to jeopardise Brooke’s championship, nor the boat in the final run,” Col Parish confirmed. “I just told her to go out and do what she was comfortable with, but she was adamant that she wanted the boat to go back in the truck straight, and that’s the way she played it.
“I’m so terribly proud of her, not just that she’s my daughter, but that she drove so well this year, and was the perfect compliment to Brooke. At times we had to try things when Teresa was in the boat to help Brooke’s performance, and she was never rattled by that. And for Brooke to finish the year the way she did was brilliant. The competition now in 400s is pretty intense, even more so than Superboats, so to take away a top five championship result and a couple of podiums, was just reward I think for a very mature year.”
From Brooke’s perspective, a top five in the championship was a great reward for the season, a season which saw some pretty serious competition at the front. “I knew the boys would be a challenge this year,” she agreed. “They’ve been getting faster all year and were on a knife-edge at times, I just wasn’t prepared to go as far as they did, and this weekend, I was also mindful of the boats being packed away into a container for New Zealand in a couple of weeks, so I not pushing to the point of having an accident.”
“I’m looking forward to Nathan getting back in the boat in New Zealand, because that will push us forward again, and hopefully during the off season, we can find a few things in the engine, and have Brooke back battling for outright honours in 2009..,” Col smiled.
The True Blue Racing team now prepares for the 2008 UIM World Championship in New Zealand, race one of which 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) where Phil and Louise Dixon will contest Unlimited Superboats, and reigning 400 Class World Champion Nathan Pretty will rejoin Brooke Dixon in International Group A.
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
1. Phil Dixon (True Blue), 2. Louise Dixon (True Blue), 3. Jim Bailey, 4. Andrew Page, 5. Mick Carroll, 6. Tony Gustozzi, 7. Peter Freckleton, 8. Paul Burgess, 9. Dean Finch, 10. Jody Ely
Group A
(final points to be confirmed)
www.trueblueracing.com.au
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