2005 Summer Drag Boat Championships Report
2005.02.28 NWSC Carrum Victoria - What a fantastic day we had in February for our newly named race day, The “Summer Drag Boat Championships” incorporating the “Bill Davis Memorial Trophy” for the Hydros. What a top turn out of boats in all classes, just a taste of what’s in store for April. Great to see Craig Cook and Paul Madill back, with the TAH “Thunder from Down Under”, and also Tony Williams with “Reflections” in his first competitive outing this season. What about Paul in that 213 mph pass, just amazing when you think that he has only been ion the cockpit for 5 minutes of driving time!!! Let’s not forget the run of Alan Butcher in “Annihilation” of 157 mph, in its first full pass with the new engine combination. Just wait until Alan and the boys get a handle on this baby; we are all in for a treat! Well done guys!!!
Top Alcohol Hydro was going to showcase to the large crowd in attendance that this is the pinnacle of drag boat racing. With the ‘Bill Davis Memorial Trophy’ up for grabs, “Thunder from Down Under” Paul Madill, “Reflections” Tony Williams and “Silver Bullet” Alan Muir all made the call. A surprise non attendee was Rocky Princi with “The Piece”, which was still in the paint shop receiving a makeover. With “Silver Bullet” the current holder of the most prestigious trophy in drag boat racing, the battle lines were drawn. As mentioned, Paul Madill in the “Thunder from Down Under” laid down the 213.11 mph pass; the “Bullet” crew were searching for more horsepower. Tony Williams went out and ran a real nice pass of 182.04 and after that felt like they were a real good chance at the trophy. With “Thunder from Down Under” now posting a leg on the current Australian speed record for the class, (currently 206.86 mph), owner Craig Cook opted for a slightly different tune up. When “Thunder from Down Under” approached the lights for the back up run, it popped both burst plates in the blower manifold, and after some flame and smoke the boats day was effectively over, now opening the door for either “Reflections” or “Silver Bullet”. With the final round now approaching it was clear that hydros, “Reflections”, “Annihilation” and “Altered Image” could not take the rope due to mechanical gremlins as well. That left Alan Muir in the “Silver Bullet”, to run a solo for the win, maybe just a cruise down the drag strip to take the trophy home. No way! Crew Chief Steve Baird turned the wick up a little on the beautiful black beast to see show all that remained, what this boat can really do. When the green light was turned on the “Silver Bullet” lifted the left sponson so high we all saw the red air trap under the boat, the boat came down nice and set and blasted through the ‘Signature Spas’ liquid quarter mile on an 187.05 mph pass, to take the “Bill Davis Memorial Trophy” for the second consecutive year!
The Blown Alcohol Flat class saw Gary James in “Dad’s Toy” lay down some of the best passes to date with a top mph speed on the day close to 138.00 mph, not far from the boats current speed record of 146.66 mph. Were sure the guys on the team are working towards the record and won’t be long before Gary’s name replaces Peter Bennet in the record book. Well done to Brett Sheppard too, for stepping up and giving Gary some competition on the day, even though the B.A.D. “Unleashed” was out powered, put on a great show for the crowd. Good on ya Brett!! Brett was given the win for the BAD Class.
Talk about some great racing!!! Tony Tippelt in “Armageddon” and Mark Potter, at the wheel of John Bynon’s “Fordmidable”, in the new ‘Pro Comp’ Class was some of the closest races we have seen for a long time. Tony, coming out on top, of the huge ‘Chev” vs ‘Ford’ battle, and taking out the final, both boats looking fantastic and the great side by side competition is one to keep your eyes on when the these guys are racing. ‘Big John’ Bynon stepped aside to put Mark behind the wheel just to see if the boat is on the money and Mark was rapt with the big Ford power plant performance. Tony recently stepped up with a blower and a new engine combination from the ‘Hypatech Marine’ stables is certainly taking to the new combination well.
The Super Comp class, saw “Flamed & Flat”, Marty Lynch, “Alien” Gary Ellis and “She’s Mad”, Graham Mott take the rope. Gary Ellis battled hard all day but succumbed to engine problems for the third and last round. ‘Motty’ had the crowd totally entertained as the ‘Excitement Machine gave us all a treat as the boat launched at the start lights. Marty, at the wheel of the flamed flatbottom, proved too good on the day, and even had to win the final twice, after a false call was had in the first final. Going to the final for the second time, Marty held the boat back at the start for fear of breaking the lights, but had enough in the tank to pull “She’s Mad” back for the win. Marty also set his fastest, personal best speed with a 104.01 pass during the round robin.
Super Stock saw 5 entries in a top line up of boats all capable of making the final. “Arrogant” Richard Tiberi, “Trippa” Chris Buhagiar, “Rattler 11” Les Tomada, “Outcast” David Bristow and “Energy” David Howie, all faced the lights in their round robin battle. Great to see David Bristow back in the class, even after a big thrash on the Saturday with a camshaft change. The “Arrogant” machine of John and Richard Tiberi withdrew in round 4 with some problems that couldn’t be rectified, something which doesn’t usually happen to this team! The “Rattler 11” machine was stiff missing the last round, that had he won, could have placed him in the final. Big Dave Howie driving his big block Chev powered, yellow “Energy” machine took out the round robin fight with straight wins in the class with 25 points. However the final saw Chris Buhagiar in “Trippa” 21 points, take out the final. Guess you don’t really win until that last final round!!
Stock Eliminator had 6 boats to battle the ‘Signature Spas’ liquid quarter mile, with “Show No Mercy” Ben Coghlin, “Deceptive” Matt Smith, “Robbie Marine” David Kula, ne wcomers in “Ain’t Scared” Harley Hamilton, “Radical Racing Craig Oliver and “Flat Out” Chris Howlett facing the starter for the first time. Once again it proves that consistency pays off, Matt Smith in “Deceptive” going into the final with new driver Harley Hamilton in “Ain’t Scared” who won all his rounds of racing, but when the light went green for the final the “Deceptive” machine of Matt Smith proved too good in the final round. So impressed was one opposing team member after seeing the ‘Ain’t Scared’ machine win in its first up race, he bought the boat! This is great racing and the class of the future, so if you’re reading this and wanting a good time, get in it now!!
The ‘Modified Stock’ class saw the largest field of boats for a long time. 7 boats made the rope, to battle the High Points chase. “Merlin” Esmond Muller, “Outkast” Karl Fitzsimons, “Ricochet” David Meads, “Leeway” Lee Hanson, “Tennessee” Steve McKenzie, “The Warrior” Paul Scott and “Flat Broke” Rob Alexander all had a fair dinkum crack at the points chase. Unfortunately, Paul Scott suffered the dreaded engine bug and failed to finish the first round, leaving the boat parked on the beach for the remainder of the day. The large crowd was treated to some close racing from the ‘Mod Stock’ boats as a couple of the boats were all tied for points at days end, while the others were all close, within 5 points, separating the final pair. “Outkast” Karl Fitzsimons and “Ricochet” David Meads both came to the final locked together on 33 points for the round robin rounds, went to the final. It was an ‘inboard v’s outboard final as light was fading fast. When the light went green Karl Fitzsimons got there first, taking the win for the class, possibly giving Karl the ‘Signature Spas High Points Championship’ lead.
What a top day! The racing was fast and furious with excellent fields during the day. The high calibre of boats that are now racing the liquid quarter has certainly increased recently. Let’s hope this current trend continues!
Contributed by Gary James