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2nd June 2009, 10:30AM AEST
By Glen Laundy. Photo's by MediaSPEC
Well it was the best of the best at it again yesterday and despite so many boats having retired after various mishaps on Saturday there were still a large number of quality outfits on show.
The qualifying heats for the Errol Jay Trophy made for some great entertainment. Heat one saw the remaining top two injected 6 litre boats True Blue and Image line up against the South Australian tower of power Agent Orange, and as expected it was Trevor Stanley a long way out in front and making the most of some relatively clean water.
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| Tuff'E'Nuff racing closely with Kryptonite |
Heat two saw Dave Clark pushing as hard as ever to keep a charging Dean Gleeson at bay. Brave drag racing down the straights next to a dangerous looking Kryptonite kept the pressure on and in the end Gleeson pushed too hard and his engine gave up this time round. An admirable drive by Dave made it 2 wins in 2 heats for SA.
If it weren't for The Real Thing sitting on the bank it could have been 3 from 3 for SA, however it wasn't to be. Marj Watson winner Brett Sheppard continued his winning form ahead of newly recruited friend Wayne Hodgson who seems to be pushing harder every race. A flighty but fast drive for second qualified Rythum for the final together with Tony Marks' Lunatic which finished third.
After qualifying it was Agent Orange with the fastest time for pole 1 inside of Unleashed.The race was up for grabs for nearly every one of the competitors after the starting straight with Stanley, Clark, Sheppard and Hodgson all pushing hard towards the first turn buoy in a spectacular drag race. After the crowd breathed again it was Trevor Stanley and Brett Sheppard running side by side in a fantastic battle for first place while Dave Clark and Wayne Hodgson battled in similar fashion for third.
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| Stanley surprises Sheppard at turn 1 of the final |
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After 2 laps Stanley still had Agent Orange in a commanding position in lane 1and began to pull away from Sheppard who in turn began to struggle with the large 'holes' the 21 footer was leaving in front of him. Rythum came to a halt after looking sensational allowing Dave Clark to quickly move up into third. A consistent drive saw Lunatic just miss out on a podium finish for a very respectable fourth.
In the end it was a well deserved win for the Stanley boys which saw the Agent Orange crew finally on top of the podium and crowned with the title of Australian Champion for Unlimited.
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| CONGRATULATIONS TREVOR !! |
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