VDBC RACE REPORT

NATIONAL WATER SPORTS CENTRE, MELBOURNE AUS - APRIL 1st, 2007
Report by Gary James
Photo coverage by Roger Adams – www.sportcam.com.au

April 1st is normally a day set aside for some fun and trying to catch your kids out as an ‘April Fool’.  No time for that this year, as the Victorian Drag Boat Club race schedule read the ‘Signature Spas Australian National Drag Boats Championships' at the National Water Sports Centre in Melbourne and nobody was caught out as an April Fool! And what a day... How about this for a change, no wind, no clouds, no rain, just sunshine and the best water conditions seen for a long, long time. With a terrific line up of boats, and an estimated crowd of 2,800 on the banks of the National Water Sports Center, the day was thrilling as it was spectacular! Only the lack of top class hydros was the disappointing part of the day.

The non arrival of three NSW teams, Paul Madill and Craig Cook, “Nitro Thunder” (TFH)and “Thunder from Down Under” (TAH), their two boat team, Tony Williams and his “Reflections” Pro Mod machine, the Pro Mod of Malcolm Forsythe and his “Thunderbolt” boat and Garry Wilson from South Australia in his new “Vicious Rumor” TAH. It appears that the Victorian pair of Rocky Princi / Steve Perrin partnership and “The Piece”, may never race again and what a blow to the sport this will be if the rumors are true. That’s the bad news.

The good news is that all the teams, apart from the latter, should be ready for next season as the VDBC heads off to Lake Nagambie later this year, a brand new venue and new spectators! Now you can throw in the new Pro Mod of Gary James “Distant Thunder”, the revitalized Pro Mod Hydro “Dog Style” of Justin Foote, (Ex Cole Runner, Mexican) and some talk that VDBC President Dale Bramhall is stepping up to Pro Mod as well with a blown “Altered Image”, the return of Allan Butcher and a new “Annihilation” sometime in the future, things are getting a little heated up in the hydro classes! Too late for this race calendar, but something needs to be done to ensure all these guys are competing and racing for all to see next season. All we need now is for someone to purchase the Jim Goldsmith capsuled hydro “Ambush” and Kevin McCarroll to finish his Sanger Hydro, “Spoiled Bitch”, and Dave Armitage (“Clean Flow”) from NSW. (A rumor doing the rounds is that the boat has been sold). Then what a show we would have down under! (Believe it or not, there are 19 hydros around the country; it’s just getting them all to come out and play at the one time that seems to be the problem).

It is still disappointing to see only one Top Alcohol Hydro make the program for the VDBC’s premier event. The ‘Silver Bullet’ TAH of Alan Muir and Steve Baird has made two appearances this season, this one and the previous race, back in February, where the boat made two passes with the new PSI blower set up. The team had a big thrash to make the event as in February the boat was badly damaged in the hull department, some rough water causing the boat to necessitate a capsule removal between races to repair some damage to the hull and paint. The team arrived to find the water conditions to their liking this time. The boat was first out, and when Alan Muir mashed the pedal the boat picked up the left sponson and carried it for 20 meters, moving a little too close to the centre line and forcing Alan on and off the throttle to try and straighten the boat. Still, a nice pass at 151.82 mph and our guess was that Alan had a smile from ear to ear. The second pass later in the day was a disaster for the team! The boat lifted a blower at quarter track, burst panels, blower belt, intake manifold were all damaged in the aborted run. Things got a little hot for Alan as even before the boat had stopped he was out of the harness, out of the capsule and sitting on the left side sponson as a small fire had heated up the interior of the capsule. Rescue had it all under control in a matter of seconds with no serious damage. The team quickly pulled the top off the engine and discovered more problems so the boat was packed up and headed back to the workshop.

The lack of big boats, namely the hydro classes, was all put behind when the club made a focus to entice the Blown Alcohol Displacements (BAD) to the race. Six of the best showed up for a chance for the Australian Championship trophy, “Bad Habits”, Bruce Cox, “Unleashed” Brett Sheppard, “Gassa” Dave Bradford, “Duggan Balancing” Rob Psalia, “Stone Cold” Russell Palmer and “Rhythm” driven by Shane Quinn. Unfortunately missing was “Fierce” Phil Russi, “Bad Medicine” Shane Quinn, “Doin’ Time” Howard Bulmer and “Rival” John Bakker and the club could have boasted the best BAD class on the liquid quarter mile for a long time!

There is nothing like the sight and sound of big blown alcohol engines and these guys gave it their all. Circle racer Rob Psalia and his awesome “Duggan Balancing” had no trouble on the holding rope once Rob got used to it, the big twin turbo engine just couldn’t get off the line as quick as he wanted. But once the turbo’s wound up, the thing was a bullet, but the course was too short for the boats liking, being only 400 meters long! Brett Sheppard showed the 134mph pass he ran back in February was no fluke, as “Unleashed” continued on its way with another 133mph pass. Bruce Cox laid down the best passes of his drag boat racing career with a 129.44 mph pass in “Bad Habits”, and the boat looked good and clean. Rod Cooney placed Shane Quinn in “Rhythm” after Shane and Rod installed the engine out of Shane’s BAD boat “Bad Medicine” and the big boat had some trouble getting the power on to take a set off the line, launching itself in typical fashion towards the sky. Russell Palmer in “Stone Cold” and his ever reliable blown small block just keeps on getting better and continued on his way to the final, where he met his old sparring partner Dave Bradford and “Gassa”.  Brett Sheppard was to be in the final, but due to a mechanical hiccup could not take his place on the holding rope.  The break boat rule was used and Dave Bradford and “Gassa” stepped up to the plate. Dave took home the win with a stout 118.10mph pass and Russell Palmer in “Stone Cold” became the runner up for the BAD class. How good will this be when all the boys come out to play and actually grab the holding together?

Justin Foote in “Dog Style” and Dale Bramhall driving “Altered Image”, are keeping the hydro action together at the moment. These guys are showing the public what great action is with side by side passes at 130mph are like! Talk about action, Justin made one pass at 142.40mph in the blown carbureted Chev and Dale was right on his hammer in his small block powered Sanger hydro. Justin was having only his 4th pass in the boat and had adapted to the hydro like a dog in the water! Dale has been the king of the class for a while now and after Justin won three out of three he was talking about putting a blower on the small block and going full on! Great racing from the boys and in the final of the class, Justin kept his winning run going on to take the title in Blown Hydro Limited with “Dog Style” going through the traps at 139.77 mph and an ET of 9.64.

The Pro-Comp class has also been devastated by the lack of competitors recently, and the ‘Signature Spas Australian National Drag Boat Championships’ was no exception. It was great to welcome back Tony Tippelt and his “Armageddon” machine to the class, and he along with Johnny Clay and the “Cocaine” flatbottom, and Dave Bradford in “Dave’s Toy”, went head to head with each other. Tony had no problem coming back to the class winning all three rounds but also giving the rescue team a bit of heart failure when the boat made a nasty move at three quarter track nearly pitching Tony out of the boat. Johnny Clay is now a flatbottom driver, relishing his time at the wheel and enjoying his new ride. Dave Bradford was kept busy driving both “Gassa” (BAD) and “Dave’s Toy” but had a gearbox failure in the “Dave’s Toy” late in the day, keeping the boat on the trailer. Tony went on to take the Championship with a 105.41mph and an ET of 12.07. And wont it be good to see this class full again soon as there’s a few boats missing from this class as well. Where are the following boats? Graham Mott, “She’s’ Mad”, Marty Lynch “Flamed & Flat”, John Bynon / Mark Potter in “Fordmidable”, David Vella in “Forced Entry” and Paul Browne in the turbo boat “Quicksilver”. The class should be boosted soon when Marty Lynch makes his long awaited return and also the new flatbottom of Mick Trewin and his yet to be unnamed boat, hopefully before this current season runs out!

The Unlimited Outboard class was well represented with 5 boats, some which raced in other bracket classes on the day. “Control” Rod Dylan, “Tennessee” Steve McKenzie, “Leeway” Guy Hanson, “Phantom” Steve Gilligan and Darren Milgate at the wheel of “Honda Marine”. It has been a while since the VDBC has run a Unlimited Outboard Class, and it was something else! There’s nothing like watching outboards when all you can see is the prop in the water and nothing else. Talk about thrills a minute! These guys banged each other all day, some went and raced in the other brackets as mentioned, but when you see a F2 Tunnel boat racing the liquid quarter mile it something to see. Darren Milgate turned up with the slickest looking tunnel boat, but only won one round, although posted the fastest MPH for the day, hitting 99.52. “Control” driven by Rod Dylan has had a bit drag boat experience and never let any of his mates in with a look, cleaning up every round he raced. Steve McKenzie has also raced the liquid quarter mile before and this was a telling factor as these two giant killers went to the final round. Two points separated both “Control” Rod Dylan & “Tennessee” Steve McKenzie at the end of the rounds, and when the laser beams were broken in the money round, it was “Control” that passed the winners post first, to win the Aussie Championship for the Unlimited Outboard Class. Welcome back outboards!

The Super Stock class (86-95mph) had a decent field for a change, however, still missing from the bracket was Chris Howlett (“Flat Out”), Les Tomada (“Rattler 2”), Dave McKeddie, (“Vanishing Point”) and John & Richard Tiberi, (“Arrogant”).  Still, the class bullies, David Howie “Energy” and Chris Buhagiar “Trippa”, are still the ones to beat! Grant Brown and his beautiful “Under Siege” set out to continue his winning run from February and was going to be the man to beat. Simon Curwood was the one to watch however driving the very fast outboard “Kate’s”. Tony Foley made a welcome return to racing with his new boat “Super Nova”, complete with an MK engine bolted in and when Tony sorts this baby out it will give them all a run for their money. The “Infinity” machine of Doug Kennedy is always a chance as Doug will take any advantage from the start. Steve McKenzie was having a busy day in “Tennessee”, the outboard mono hull, competing in this class and also unlimited outboard. The “Caboul” machine of Mike Williamson ran only two rounds then retired with ignition problems. As the rounds progressed towards the finals two boats were locked together on 31 points, that being “Kate’s” and “Under Siege”. When the race was done it was a victory for Grant Brown and the “Under Siege” machine with a winning pass of 82.46 mph and an ET of 14.11. Too bad for Chris Buhagiar who lost any chance to win the Championship with a round four breakout that cost him the points and a chance in the final round. Last year Chris was runner-up to David Howie in “Energy”, who went on to win. Now the tide is turning on these two class ‘bullies’, as some new blood presses them all the way!

In Modified Stock (76-85mph), the class welcomed back two old stages, Karl Fitzsimons in “Outkast” and Trevor Wylie with his rocket “Deception” who have been in self imposed exile for some time. It sure was good to see that the ‘Wylie Coyote’ had not lost any of his driving capabilities, thrilling the crowd with launches that resemble the Space Shuttle taking off! Now when you throw in a new boat and an old driver, who has come out of retirement, you start to get some serious bracket racing! Steve Northey was a club member and competitor many years ago, and has returned with a new rig called “Bender”, a 16’ Stephens hull that was sure to be a tough contributor. “The Warrior”, driven by Paul Scott, was struggling with handling problems but the engine sounded strong, and Guy Hanson in “Leeway”, an outboard powered tunnel rig was giving plenty of stick to the inboard drivers. Robert Oliver driving “Chase the Ace” has really adapted to the liquid quarter mile and is fast becoming a strong arm in the class. When the class was done two boats were locked together on 21 points for the second spot. “Bender” made a clear path to the final and his competition with the fastest speed of the two boats locked in second place was going to be “Chase the Ace”. So the pairwent to the final to pair off for the Australian Championship. “Chase the Ace” in lane 2 and “Under Siege” in lane 1. The Steve Northey boat “Bender” went on to win with an ET of 14.09 and fastest speed of the day for the class, 84.87mph. Welcome back Steve!

The Stock Eliminator class (66-75mph) has been ravaged by defections of late, the class missing many of the past front runners and this day was no exception with only two entrants. Current High Points Champ Drew Foster (“Immature”) has been a non starter all season, as has High Points Runner up Rowan White (“Whit Heat”) as he continues to improve from back surgery and is likely to return next season. When you add in Ben Coughlin (“Show No Mercy”), Nicky Ellis (“Sensation”), (“Flat Broke”) Rob Alexander and Matt and Dean Smith (“Deceptive”) we are being robbed of some really great competition. A non starter was the reliable Adrian Brown and his outboard powered machine “Total Recall”. However the boats that are out there are giving us all something to cheer about. As husband Justin continues his improving new hydro career, wife Melissa Foote has taken control over the “Dog Trainer” their big outboard powered rig, and is doing a great job behind the wheel. Over the winter break last year the Kula brothers, David and Tony swapped the out drive from their boat, “Robbie Marine Products”, and rebuilt the transom and installed a v-drive set up. The boat has been an instant success with wins in February and going to the final for the ‘Signature Spas Australian National Drag Boat Championships’ for the Stock Eliminator class. With “Robbie Marine Products” and the “Dog Trainer” making the final, it was billed as the inboard versus outboard, boy versus girl challenge, and this was the first final that Melissa Foote has run. When the light went green, Melissa jumped out of the hole first but by half track the inboard had run down “Dog Trainer” and “Robbie Marine Products” went on to win the Australian Championship with an ET of 16.29 and a speed of 73.91mph. Beaten but not disgraced, Melissa celebrated long into the night with her runner-up trophy. The Kula brothers deserved the win, being runners-up themselves fin the past, and finally snaring one.

Despite the fact that the day was a success, boat and spectator wise, what the Victorian Drag Boat Club needs to assess is why so many past competitors are sitting on the sidelines idle and where are their boats? Sure, there are plenty of reasons and excuses, but is there an underlying issue somewhere in there? The new dual lane timing system has been a bone of contention for many years with many club members, including spectators and is still not complete. Although the club is now closer than ever to having this problem rectified, thanks to some hard working members behind the scenes who have made it their business to ensure the timing system is up and running by next season. The unfortunate part of this though is that it’s all been heard before. It’s time the club had a long hard look at why boats are not competing, is it the cost of a racing license? The timing situation? People? Lack of enthusiasm? The race schedule? Why won’t the interstate boats and drivers travel? Without these guys the show is more the poorer. Just think, with the new dual lane timing system operative, 15 hydro’s ready to race, 10 BAD boats on the rope, full bracket classes again, advertising, radio, thousands more race fans on the bank watching, and all of a sudden the dedicated sports TV stations like Speedweek, FOX Sports, Fuel, RPM, On the Water and In Pit Lane, will start having a good hard look at drag boat racing, and for all the right reasons! Time is right for the next step, and the only organization in the country dedicated to drag boat racing, the VDBC, needs to find the answers to the above questions before next season.

Photos and videos of the event can be seen at VDBC's Video Downloads Page and www.sportcam.com.au.