Tuff-e-Nuff

Photo's courtesy of Dale Attwood

The Tuff-e-Nuff name has been synonymous with Blown Alcohol Displacement racing since the late 80's, and the legacy of Jeff Thompson and Dave Clark is nothing short of legendary. Who could forget seeing two identical Everingham B.A.D boats in all their red & white glory sitting next to each other both in the pits and on the water. The metaphor being that yes, these boats were tough enough to both awe onlookers by their image and moreover, Tuff-e-Nuff to go toe to toe with any opposition by their performance.

Marland in the Dorwin Gold Cup

Other drivers to have the pleasure of driving the old boats for the Tuff-e-Nuff team were James Ware, David Satterly and world class pedaller Troy Marland. Troy was seen pushing Tuff-e-Nuff 1(AS83s) in spectacular fashion at the Dorwin Gold Cup many years ago, and anyone who's seen Troy in action knows one thing- the throttle is either on or off, never half way! Ironically, the fastest boat on this day was un-beknowingly soon to be acquired by Dave Clark some years later- 'Loose Cannon' driven by Tony Walsh.

The good old days

The retirement of the old Tuff-e-Nuff's saw the coming of a new chapter in the teams legacy, in the form of an 1800hp Evercraft capable of speeds of up to 150mph. This boat was the first in the state to bring competitiveness to the national level, and brought new meaning to the name. If it wasn't written on the side of the hull, one look at this machine and you knew it was tough enough.

Victory lane

The team continue to campaign the boat all over Australia with mixed success. The most prized win would have to be the Dorwin Gold Cup some years ago but the team have been going from strength to strength of late with some stand out performances by both John Cross at Mildura 2009 and Dave Clark at Windsor 2009 & Berri 2010. On most occasions Tuff'E'Nuff has been at the pointy end of the field and since installing Motec computers on to each of the engines the boats reliability has been second to none.

This Evercraft remains to be a benchmark in all facets of the sport. This magnificent craft setup by racing legend Mark Lewins drives like it's on rails, sounds like it's a top doorslammer drag car, and presents as a showpiece any rev-head could be envious of. Obviously Dave's most cherished toy- he has a tattoo of the boat on his right shoulder. It is all in all everything you come to expect from a modern day raceboat, and more.

And so with anticipation, we eagerly await for the next return of Tuff-e-Nuff to the water at the ASBC. Fellow competitors know when they see the blue beast lined up with them at the starting flag, they have to ask themselves before it drops, "am I tough enough"?