News
19th June 2012
Action For Mackay 2012
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ACTION PACKED SUPERBOAT RACING FOR
MACKAY
Mackay
locals will be treated to high speed racing action when the Australian Offshore
Superboat Championships return to the pristine Mackay Marina for round two on
the weekend of the 23rd until the 24thof June.
With a
two race format for Mackay, the competition is expected to intensify after a
tough opening round in Newcastle in April, which saw six Superboats fail to
reach the finish line.
"A number of the teams have been extremely busy getting
their Superboats ready for Mackay, especially those who were forced to pull out
early in round one because of mechanical issues," Offshore Superboat
President Adam Gilbert said.
"We are expecting a full fleet of 14 boats to compete in
Mackay, which will make for some excellent racing off the Marina."
Often described as 'formula one
on water', the Superboats will compete across three categories; Supercat 1000,
Supercat 600 and Supercat 400. These powerful Superboats can reach speeds of
more than two hundred kilometres an hour and weigh close to four tonnes.
The Australian Offshore Superboat Championship round forms part
of the 'Mackay Marine Festival' and another massive crowd is expected to watch
the fast paced action from the Marina.
"We saw record numbers watch the Offshore Superboat
Championships in Mackay last year and attend the inaugural Mackay Marine
Festival. We're confident we'll have an even bigger crowd this year, which will
inject hundreds of thousands of dollars into the local economy," President
Gilbert said.
In Supercat 1000 class, Maritimo Mainlube Express has taken the
early lead after dominating the opening race in Newcastle.
The Good Guys are keen to do well in Mackay in front of their
home crowd after Brendan and Chris Frier, who are the youngest team in the
competition, finished behind Maritimo Mainlube Express in round one.
"It is definitely good to be back competing at home. There
will be a little bit more pressure on us to perform in Mackay but we have
really good support here and we're looking forward to it, "Brendan Frier
said.
"It would be great to be able to prove ourselves in Mackay
and take first place," Chris Frier said.
In Supercat 600 GSK Marine Racing BBC Digital will be hoping to
improve in front of their home fans after Scott Gehrmann and Graham Fraser
failed to finish race one.
"We snapped a drive shaft in Newcastle so we didn't last
too long in the race. However, that has now been fixed and we have made a few
modifications ahead of Mackay and are ready to go," Scott Gehrmann said.
"I don't like losing and I am looking forward to getting
our first points for the season in my hometown and close to gap to the first
placed Kwozzy 2."
In Supercat 400 class, the Phantom team of Mick Walker and Gary
Smith are keen to win back to back races in Mackay and stretch their series
lead after they held out a strong challenge from father and son team Michael
and Gryff Ethell in Team 88, in the opening round.
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