12:12 AM Thu 26 Nov 2009 GMT
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'Photographer Brian Scott caught this image of West Australian Alan Carr coming unstuck in his new Sprintec during the third round of qualifying. Both Carr and navigator Jo Price were okay. - 2009 UIM World Jetsprint Championships'
Sean Henshelwood
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The Unlimited Superboat event held at Temora, NSW on November 21st and 22nd, was Round 1 of the 2009 UIM World Jetsprint Championships.
New Zealand's Peter Caughey showed at the opening round of the 2009 UIM World Jetsprint Championships just why he's a five time world title holder, after taking a relatively comfortable victory over reigning Group A world champion Nathan Pretty in the final.
Pretty made the graduation to the elite class of Superboats just days out from the Temora event, replacing for Australian champion Phil Dixon in 'True Blue', as the former elected to concentrate on his role as the venue's promoter.
'I'd love to drive,' Dixon lamented. 'But I also want to see this event run as well as it can. I'm also a bit dubious about whether I can take it to Caughey, especially after the domination he showed at the start of the year in New Zealand, so I thought what better way to return the favour than put Australia's leading driver in my seat.'
'It's a great honour to have Phil and Louise allow me to drive their boat,' Nathan acknowledged. 'It's going to be a tough ask to beat Caughey, but we'll give it our best shot.'
And give it he did. Predictably Caughey was quick from the outset despite having been out of the seat for more than eight months, but despite that, he still came out on top on day one.
'I'm fairly happy with that,' he admitted after reviewing the timesheets at the close of day one. 'There's still a long way to go, but I think we have what we need. We'll try a few things tomorrow, but I believe we're where we want to be right now.'
Despite their position at the top of the timesheets, both Caughey and Pretty, and for that matter 'Excalibur' duo Mick Carroll and Tony Giustozzi were struggling with the inclement weather.
'This high up from sea level we're down a bit on power against the forced-injection motors the likes of Finch (twin-turbo) and Mullan (supercharged) have,' Caughey confirmed, 'and the humidity makes it worse again. Looking at the data we're between five and ten percent down on power (somewhere between 50 and 100 horsepower) against some of those guys, so tuning becomes super critical.'
Pretty's assessment echoed that of Caughey. 'It feels a bit doughy, it just doesn't have the bark it normally has. The weather's really playing havoc and we're glued to the MoTeC keeping tabs on air density, so that we don't lose any edge when we run.
'We are down on power compared to Caughey though, he runs a state-of-the-art injected 540 cubic-inch aluminium Chev and ours is only 500. Despite that though Col Parish (engine builder) has found every inch of power available and has made this one angry little Sprintec. Let's just see what tomorrow brings.'
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Five time world Unlimited Superboat Champion Peter Caughey took opening round honours at Melton - 2009 UIM World Jetsprint Championships - Sean Henshelwood
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Tomorrow provided a continuation of the fight between the two world champs, and as it came down to the wire, the deficit closed. Heading into the final, Pretty had reduced the margin to just over a quarter of a second.
With Hutton out due to an engine 'flame out', Pretty would set the benchmark, and he did, his 39.888 his fastest lap of the weekend.
Caughey though was unphased, setting a new mark at 38.950, the crowd standing to applaud what was a stunning lap.
'What a day,' he admitted afterwards. 'I predicted a sub 38 today but the conditions weren't there. Nathan got close but I'd been working on different places on the track where I could gain time with each session knowing I could string them together if I had to, and I had to!'
Behind the two world champions came national championship arch-rivals Daryl Hutton (Hooters) and Mick Carroll (Excalibur). As for Carroll's team-mate, the man who had won the national championship round at Temora in March, Tony Giustozzi, well, things weren't quite going to plan, the crowd favourite struggling to get the direction right in his head.
'I can't believe it,' he frowned, 'I get to the middle island during the midpoint of the run and I get thrown as to the next turn, it's doing my head in. I'll go away and have a think about it for tomorrow and see what happens.'
Fortunately for Giustozzi Sunday did bring some improvement, the South Australian breaking into the 41s to make the top six eliminations where; he went the wrong way...
Whilst Caughey and Pretty battled at the front of the field, the two 'wild' card entries, Dean Finch and Phonsy Mullan struggled under the conditions. Mullan again with a fuel pickup issue, and Finch with an unusual lack of pace. 'I'm not sure what's happening,' Finchy shrugged. 'I'm just not feeling comfortable and I don't know why. Adding weight to the argument was the fact that three of his five rounds saw him fail to complete a recorded time due to navigation issues.
Furthering his problems was a sticking throttle which caught him by surprise in the top 12 elimination final, Finchy forced to emulate Phil Dixon's dramatic run in similar circumstances in March and throw the awesome 1600 plus horsepower twin-turbo 475ci 'Loose Cannon' up the bank to bring it to a stop.
'My bloody shoelace got caught around the throttle pedal,' he laughed afterwards clearly with sense of humour still intact.
For Mullan he struggled with course direction whilst trying to get his boat sorted. 'The engine issues we had during the national championships left us without sufficient time to sort the handling of the boat, so we're in advanced test mode,' he grinned. 'We'll come along as the day works on...' Sadly for Mullan and the Triple X crew, he didn't. 'Can you believe it. Just as we were starting to get sorted, the drive from the Pro Charger failed and we lost power. The engine's alright now after all the work we've done through the year, and now it's the supercharger. It's only a part replacement and we're away, but the spare is on the second engine back at Melton. We'll be right next week though, this is just a minor setback'
As Sunday wore on, the battle between Caughey and Pretty intensified and by the close of the top six, there was just a quarter of a second in it. Third by this stage was Hutton, the new 440 cubic-inch supercharged (1071) Chev putting down some impressive times, but as he had done all year, he was forced to push the little Stingray hull hard to match the pace of the Sprintecs ahead of him. In the end the pace became too hard, a fuel surge towards the end of his final run forcing the engine to cough and cut out at a very similar point to where Alan Carr started his incredible rollover earlier in the day in Group A. Fortunately for Hutton and navigator Yvonne Maxwell, they washed off a lot of speed before they collected the same catch fence and came to a rest on the island.
'There's no damage to the engine,' team boss Peter Freckleton confirmed, we just need a bigger fuel tank. So far as the hull's concerned, that copped a bit of a hiding, but we'll fix it and the Castrol Edge supported machine will be back on the water next week for Melton.
'This package was a bit of an unknown,' Hutton added. 'We weren't sure what to expect, but it's come along pretty well. The extra weight over the injected motor wasn't a problem, but we really had to push here. I don't know that I would have caught Caughey, but I would have loved the opportunity to try. We'll have another go next weekend. There's only two points in it and anything can happen, and with Melton's more open and fast layout, we might just be able to topple the leaders.'
Fourth by event end was Hutton's arch-rival and the man who pushed him all the way for his national title, Mick Carroll. Like Pretty and Caughey the changeable weather conditions were keeping the 'Excalibur' team honest, and despite the loss of advantage to the supercharged and turbocharged boats, he too was making the best of each run. In the end it was clear he had nothing for Hutton, but he was able to hold out the rest of the pack, including team-mate Giustozzi.
Duncan Wilson was fifth in his awesome 640ci injected big block, the Kiwi sensation improving with every run to be mere tenths off Carroll at the close of qualifying, but despite getting the better of the Australian in the top 12 elimination final, he was unable to reproduce that form for the top six, allowing Mick through for fourth.
Jamie Welch again impressed for the West Australian Liberator team with eighth, but quite possibly the best drive in the Unlimited class was made by Andrew Page in the crwod favourite 'Kamakazi'. Pagey had played it cool all year with the 1500 plus horsepower blown behemoth, but at Temora he let it have its head and hung on for the ride. 'That was fun,' he beamed afterwards with that crazy gleam in his eye. 'I never knew I had it in me...'
Like Page, the Jackhammer duo of Jody Ely and Adam Raverty also turned in an excellent performance at Temora. Despite a lack of outright horsepower and a nasty shunt during practice, the pair finished just outside the top ten after running inside it during Saturday's qualifiers. 'We're rapt,' Ely admitted. 'This really gives us great hope for 2010, and quite possibly a chance at a top ten finish at home in Melton.'
Surprisingly the Kiwi onslaught that was expected in the Unlimited class never eventuated. New Zealand Unlimited champion Richard Burt was unable to make the most of his ride in 'Taser X3' a boat which up until recently had been in mothballs for 12 months, the engine having not fired in anger for even longer. Despite working feverishly over the weeks leading up to the event, Burt was not prepared to run the package at speed until he was entirely happy with setup, and as such they did not complete a lap on Saturday, but managed to record a time on Sunday. They too will be looking to make amends at Melton.
One of the most impressive boats on the water at Temora was Leighton and Kellie Minnell's Hummer-Time. The bright yellow Sprintec turning in some exciting runs, although as fast and aggressive as it looked on the water, the times weren't where they wanted to be. A best of 41.967 in the third qualifier on Sunday morning suggesting that should they get it together at the right time in Melton, that they could be contenders for the final six.
Teams are now heading to Melbourne for the Melton round which gets underway in just three days time, with work going on all over the state as teams race to prepare for the final event of the 2009 season.
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Slade Stanley was untouchable at Temora in Group A, although it didn't all go to plan, his engine failing on the line in the final - 2009 UIM World Jetsprint Championships - Sean Henshelwood
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SBS Speedweek Unlimited Superboat
Top 12 eliminations
1. Peter Caughey (NZ - TOTAL Racing) - 39.643
2. Nathan Pretty (VIC - True Blue) - 40.068
3. Daryl Hutton (NZ - Hooters) - 40.642
4. Duncan Wilson (NZ - Lethal Injection) - 41.219
5. Tony Giustozzi (SA - Excalibur) - 41.282
6. Mick Carroll (SA - Excalibur) - 41.376
7. Dean Finch (NSW - Loose Cannon) - 41.392
8. Jamie Welch (WA - Liberator) - 43.029
9. Andrew Page (NSW - Kamakazi) - 44.828
10. Leighton Minnell (NZ _ Hummertime) - 44.933
11. Peter Freckleton (VIC - Hooters) - no time
12. Richard Burt (NZ - Taser X3) - no time
Top six eliminations
1. Peter Caughey (NZ - TOTAL Racing) - 39.621
2. Nathan Pretty (VIC - True Blue) - 39.902
3. Daryl Hutton (NZ - Hooters) - 40.440
4. Mick Carroll (SA - Excalibur) - 41.470
5. Duncan Wilson (NZ - Lethal Injection) -?60.884
6. Tony Giustozzi (SA - Excalibur) - no time
FINAL
1. Peter Caughey (NZ - TOTAL Racing) - 38.950
2. Nathan Pretty (VIC - True Blue) - 39.888
3. Daryl Hutton (NZ - Hooters) - no time
SBS Speedweek Unlimited Superboat
(points after one round of two)
1. Peter Caughey (NZ) - 40 points
2. Nathan Pretty (VIC) - 39
3. Daryl Hutton (NZ) - 38
4. Mick Carroll (SA) - 37
5. Duncan Wilson (NZ) - 36
6. Tony Giustozzi (SA) - 35
7. Dean Finch (NSW) - 34
8. Jamie Welch (WA) - 33
9. Andrew Page (NSW) - 32
10. Leighton Minnell (NZ) - 31
11. Peter Freckleton (NSW) - 30
12. Richard Burt (NZ) - 29
13. Jody Ely (VIC) - 28
14. Pat Dillon (NZ) - 27
15. Adam Raverty (VIC) - 26
16. Louise Dixon (VIC) - 25
17. Cheryl Welch (WA) - 24
18. Paul Burgess (ACT) - 23
19. Phonsy Mullan (VIC) - 22
Round #2 (FINAL) of the 2009 UIM World Jetsprint Championships will be held at McPherson Park, Melton, this weekend (November 28-29).
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Darek Sygidus backed up his older brother Ted (who finished second) with fifth place in the final, the two Melton locals will be looking for a better result at home this weekend during the world title final. - 2009 UIM World Jetsprint Championships - Sean Henshelwood
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Reigning Australian Unlimited champion Daryl Hutton took third despite an engine flame out in the final putting him up the bank - 2009 UIM World Jetsprint Championships - Sean Henshelwood
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Part-time V8 Supercar pilot and reigning International Group A champion Nathan Pretty took he fight up to Caughey from the opening round of qualifying - 2009 UIM World Jetsprint Championships - Sean Henshelwood
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Visit
www.v8superboats.com.au
for more information.
by Sean Henshelwood
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Mawson, TAS
