OFFICAL RACE REPORT

Sunday June 1st 2008, NWSC - The Victorian Drag Boat club took on a gamble when they had to postpone their May 18th event due to lack of boat numbers and a large circuit race meeting in Mildura that would have taken boats away from their event. To say the organisers were nervous would be an understatement! By moving the prestigious Bill Davis Memorial race and the Victorian State Titles to June 1st, the first day of winter, the hope was many more boats would enter. This didn’t eventuate unfortunately, and what a shame, with only 14 entries filling the holding rope. Water conditions were like glass all day and the fog that shrouded the area had cleared by the time the amber light on the start lights flashed for the call up for the first pair of boats. Still, the day was not a complete write off, as there was plenty of action on the water! The most spectacular being the water ski show at lunchtime when members of the Victorian Water Ski Association show ski team put on a demo which nearly ended in tragedy. The two skiers are supposed to go around the boat on a trick manoeuvre however calculations went horribly wrong when a skier ‘T-Boned’ the start barge in the centre of the drag course, and the loudest thud you have ever heard echoed across the National Water Sports Centre. With Rescue 1 on the scene within seconds, the injured skier was stabilised before being transported to the Alfred Hospital in Melbourne for emergency surgery. At the time of writing, the skier was in recovery coming off surgery to repair a broken left leg, a shattered right ankle and a broken nose. Let’s hope he fully recovers from his injuries and is back on the skis real soon.

Only two hydros made the call for the Bill Davis Memorial race, and it was hotly contested between Chris Buhagiar driving ‘TRIPPA’ and Gary James in ‘DISTANT THUNDER’. Russell Palmer was the lone entrant in the BAD class with his blown mighty mouse powered ‘STONE COLD’, so elected to run with the hydros. Russ had a few problems during the day and with only one pass on his record sheet for the day, elected to sit out until the problem could be resolved. With Gary still trying to get a tune up into his boat, he sought out Funny Car legend Peter Russo and his crew chief Steve O’Connor to tweak on the engine to sort out a few hiccups. As the team are still sorting out a few bugs in the engine and handling issues, the ‘DISTANT THUNDER’ team might not have won the trophy, but came away with more information on the tune up and what needs to be done, ready for next season. Expect the boat to be on the money for the start of the new racing season, as the team now prepare and re-evaluate many changes for the better.

The ‘TRIPPA’ team have had a huge introduction to Pro Racing, coming from their Super Stock days! It’s been a huge transition for all the crew as they prepare, what has become one very slick operation. Chris bought the boat to Australia from the USA, shipped out complete and ready to race. The boat has gone from strength to strength and has become a real crowd favourite. Speeds are now very consistent, running around the 163 mark nearly every pass.

The two new hydros paired off for the final of the Bill Davis Memorial, with the ‘DISTANT THUNDER’ machine going to the final with 2 wins already and looking like it might cause an upset! When the light went green, the ‘DISTANT THUNDER’ machine pulled a hole shot on Chris and he had to do a driving job to get around Gary. At half track the two boats were side by side, but the ‘TRIPPA’ machine pulled away to take the Victorian State Title and also the famed Bill Davis trophy. Both drivers were elated with the race, and the small crowd that stayed back to watch the last race of the day, clapped both boats and drivers as they returned back to their respective pit area. Interesting to see, the GPS inside the ‘DISTANT THUNDER’ showed an unbelievable 172mph at the top end of the course!!! Woo…..

This is what the crowd like to see, rooster tails in the air, great racing and great mates giving it their all. Can’t wait until next season when the holding rope fills up with more hydros and really get stuck into it! The ‘DISTANT THUNDER’ team will now work on a possible gear box change to reduce the start line ‘bog down’ they are experiencing. Chris on the other hand will compete later this month on the 22nd of June to lock away the Australian National Drag Boat Championships Point Score for season 2007-2008 for the Blown Alcohol Hydro class. A well deserved victory in a brand new outfit, which has only 10 passes in Aussie waters. Well done Chris!

With only a small number of bracket boats lining the rope, those that entered gave their High Points chase a real boost. Stock Eliminator (66-75mph) had 4 boats entered and although numbers were down there was some great racing just the same! The toughie of the class recently has been Caroline ‘Caz’ Colgan in the ‘COMITED’ machine. The little Stephens Tunnel Runner has been the one to beat in the class all season, but had her hands full with Adrian Craig in the ‘AIDS’ machine. Questionable name but when we asked about the boat name, we were told that Adrian’s nickname is ‘Aids’ short for Adrian. With that done with, the ‘AIDS’ machine was in it’s second race meeting and is putting some real pressure on the others, including Caz. Andrew Cooke in ‘CUT THE MUSTARD’ has finally sorted out his gremlins from past race meetings and finally got to finish all the rounds. Throw in Andrew Burn and the ‘RUNNING ON EMPTY’ boat and we have a really close class all capable of taking the trophy and the Victorian State Title. With the round robins completed the two highest point scorers on the day went to the final. Adrian Craig had a tough battle to get to the final, winning 6 rounds and was to meet Caz Colgan in the final in her ‘COMITED’ machine. (Their spelling, not mine!) When the light went green for the trophy dash, Adrian got the jump but the girl just wont give up, and Caz and in her first season of drag boat racing, went on to take the win with a 71.43mph pass at 13.93 ET. What a season is has been for Caz, the toughest being thrown in the water at the National Water Sports Center in February! That could have been nasty!! The ‘COMITED’ machine wins the Victorian State Title for the class, and well deserved! Adrian Craig also his first race season and 2nd race meeting and became the runner-up in a tough class on the day.

The Modified Stock Class (75-85mph) saw 4 entries, ‘WHITE HEAT’ Rowan White, ‘OUTKAST’ Paul Colgan, ‘CHASE THE ACE’ Robert Oliver and ‘TROYCRAFT’ with Matt Smith doing the driving.
By all accounts, the outboard powered machine of Matt Smith was ready for a big day! The tunnel boat was primed to take on the inboards as water conditions were like glass all day, ideal for the big outboard. A big disappointment was the ‘CHASE THE ACE’ machine of Robert Oliver, the boat refusing to play, maybe because the air was as cold as was the water. Rob had problems from the first round and had to trailer the boat for three rounds before coming back with repairs done. Rowan White in 'WHITE HEAT’ has been a bit of a thriller recently, showing the spectators on the bank that you can advertise on the bottom of your hull and get away with it! The boat getting plenty of air and looked the goods for the Title. Paul Colgan had other ideas. The ‘OUTKAST’ boat is a past winner and class champion, just a new owner and driver. A tough as it was, the final was gong to be a full on affair. Inboard versus outboard! But no ‘WHITE HEAT’, this time, the final was filled by two great boats on the day, ‘TROYCRAFT’ Matt Smith and Paul Colgan in ‘OUTKAST’. Paul had already seen his wife Caz win the Stock Eliminator final, and was keen to make it a double win in the family. The lights flashed, green was given by the starter, and the two best boats in the class launched off the line, both wanting the win. At 82.57mph and an ET of 12.63, the win went to……..wait for it……. ‘OUTKAST’! The team had made history in the VDBC as the only husband and wife winners of Victorian State Titles. Matt Smith was again the runner up, that ‘bridesmaid tag’ sticking after his runner-up at the Australian National Drag Boat titles back in February.

Pro Competition class (106-115mph) was made up of a couple of Super Stock & Super Comp boats who opted to run the higher class due to low numbers. Doug Kennedy who runs the ultra reliable ‘INFINITY’, who normally runs in Super Stock (86-95mph) and the ‘MOISTURE MISSILE’ machine of Mick Trewin (Super Comp – 96-105mph), joined Tony Tippelt in his quick ‘ARMEGEDDON’ blown carb combination. It was always going to be a tough ask of the lesser powered machines of Doug and Mick but they gave it a real good shake! The ‘ARMEGGEDON’ boat must be the most consistent bracket boat out there at the moment with 5 passes all in the 11 second range, and not missing a beat all day. The ‘MOISTURE MISSILE’ machine is giving driver Mick Trewin a subscription to the local underwear department at Kmart scaring the pants off not only him, but his crew and friends who watch from the bank. Sometimes the boat takes an awesome set, the next pass it’s all over the track, up, down, sideways, more like a sprint car than a boat! Put it down to Mick still learning to drive, but getting better which each time in the seat. Unfortunately it’s keeping Mick out of the final trophy dash with a bit of inconsistency. However, the final was run between the ‘ARMEGGEDON’ and ‘INFINITY’ machines in a fair dinkum dual under the sun! Tony had a handful of boat in the final pass, just trying to get around Doug, as the ‘INFINITY’ boat just launches like a missile off the line. As the battle for the Title was on at half track, the big blown machine of Tippelt pulled away to take the win, again with 10.01 ET and 111.11mph pass.

Although the boat number count was down, the excitement on and off the water made a good day of it. Early foggy conditions turned into sunshine, a spectacular display of Ford show cars on hand to give the crowd something to look at, the ski show made the headlines, and the drag boat racing gave us all value for money. Nothing though, beats the last pass of the day. Picture if you can, the sun shining, glass smooth water, the awesome sound of blown alcohol motors cackling away on the holding rope, the final of the Bill Davis Memorial, the most prestigious drag boat race in the land and two blown hydros going at it, side by side, rooster tails in the air! It leaves you wanting more! Check out www.vdbc.com for plenty of pictures of the day and more info on when you can see, what we all saw! Ah, drag boat racing, you gotta love it!

Distant Thunder down the liquid quarter from the capsule...