Numbers are down but Adelaide Racers still show spirit
15th February 2010
Back in action - the Stanley/Smith 6lt carby combination 'Alcatraz'
It may have felt like Sunday but for a change the Adelaide faithful hit the water on Saturday afternoon for a rather casual days racing in somewhat windy but warm conditions.
Although numbers in general were down our strongest field was yet again the SuperSport category with 7 boats in total taking to the field led once more by Linton Price in his tunnel hull which seems to be getting faster and faster. On the front straight this boat was singing and would have been in the area of 80kmh- very fast for this type of boat.
There was a near miss for Aaron Dennis in Kaos- perhaps the head wind got under his boat as he managed to spin half way down the back straight while on the long course.
The SuperSport guys had a go at a handicap race and also competed on the short course which made for some very entertaining racing. Price was again too good for the likes of Geoff Cutler and Ryan Stunell who were left in his wake along with the rest of the field.
Speaking of the short course, racing in our first Le Mans start for the season was between Chris Wellington and Steve Moritz who battled it out on the half length track. The two Sawcraft style hulls seemed to handle reasonably and Wellington in JAC Racing took care of business while Moritz in Red Raw pushed hard and wide on each of the turns in pursuit.
Chris Wellington cornering hard on the short course in 'JAC Racing'
Also competing on the short course was of course the Formula Future category that included 5 boats. Although OD Gary Kwikstripe had to provide a few stern words of advice to the young guns after their first run, 3 races were completed without incident and with plenty of fun. Newcomer James Clark was a little disappointed at the fact his new boat Lil' Tuff'E'Nuff couldn't keep up with 6hp rival Nick Borg in Love to be Blown.
The only 6 litre boat to hit the water was Alcatraz, back in business once again after sustaining damage at Bundy '09. Sporting the Kevin Stanley Mopar engine, Terry Smith impressed the crowds and played the Nascar 'tune' that rev heads love so much and was undoubtedly the fastest boat on the circuit.
One of only two B.A.D boats on the Port River was our sole Blown Lite competitor David Satterly who was merely testing a new propeller which he says has cost him a couple of miles per hour in terminal speed. The boat sounded on song in his one and only run for the day in which Satterly seemed content to jump the clock start by a long way. Sources say that Titan will be heading over to Dargle next month to get some more time competing in the new class which is gaining momentum. Although it won't be a championship round it will be a good opportunity for Dave to bench mark himself against the rest of the field.
Bob Swinburn has continued his run of bad luck in Totally X-Static which completed two very fast test laps, only to return to shore with smoke emitting from the rear cowling. Quick action by the crew members ensured minimal damage was caused by the small fire and no one was injured. Positives to come from Swinburn's day is that his boat looked FAST and was very tidy on the water at speed. The Toyota engine produces an awesome sound that includes a very high pitched sing from the Garret monster turbo.
We're around 6 weeks away from the next HI POINTS Championship round at the North Arm. Between then and now our very own Australian Champion Trevor Stanley and team will be going to Tasmania to defend the Errol Jay trophy won at Mildura last year. The ASBC wishes them all the best and a safe time racing- GOOD LUCK TREVOR!!
Although numbers in general were down our strongest field was yet again the SuperSport category with 7 boats in total taking to the field led once more by Linton Price in his tunnel hull which seems to be getting faster and faster. On the front straight this boat was singing and would have been in the area of 80kmh- very fast for this type of boat.
There was a near miss for Aaron Dennis in Kaos- perhaps the head wind got under his boat as he managed to spin half way down the back straight while on the long course.
Speaking of the short course, racing in our first Le Mans start for the season was between Chris Wellington and Steve Moritz who battled it out on the half length track. The two Sawcraft style hulls seemed to handle reasonably and Wellington in JAC Racing took care of business while Moritz in Red Raw pushed hard and wide on each of the turns in pursuit.
Also competing on the short course was of course the Formula Future category that included 5 boats. Although OD Gary Kwikstripe had to provide a few stern words of advice to the young guns after their first run, 3 races were completed without incident and with plenty of fun. Newcomer James Clark was a little disappointed at the fact his new boat Lil' Tuff'E'Nuff couldn't keep up with 6hp rival Nick Borg in Love to be Blown.
One of only two B.A.D boats on the Port River was our sole Blown Lite competitor David Satterly who was merely testing a new propeller which he says has cost him a couple of miles per hour in terminal speed. The boat sounded on song in his one and only run for the day in which Satterly seemed content to jump the clock start by a long way. Sources say that Titan will be heading over to Dargle next month to get some more time competing in the new class which is gaining momentum. Although it won't be a championship round it will be a good opportunity for Dave to bench mark himself against the rest of the field.
Bob Swinburn has continued his run of bad luck in Totally X-Static which completed two very fast test laps, only to return to shore with smoke emitting from the rear cowling. Quick action by the crew members ensured minimal damage was caused by the small fire and no one was injured. Positives to come from Swinburn's day is that his boat looked FAST and was very tidy on the water at speed. The Toyota engine produces an awesome sound that includes a very high pitched sing from the Garret monster turbo.
