Australian Offshore Championship lead up for grabs off Geelong

6:29 AM Thu 5 Mar 2009 GMT

'’Simrad’ Luke Durman (driver) and Peter McGrath (throttles) will be pulling every ounce of their superior horsepower to beat ’Maritimo’ at Geelong.' Andrew Gricks

Maritimo Offshore Team crew chief, Peter "Muddy" McGrath, is confident he can turn the tables on the team's #1 boat, 'Maritimo', when it and the #2 boat, 'Simrad' go head-to-head off Geelong on Sunday in the fourth round of the Offshore Superboat Championships.

McGrath, who handles the throttles for driver Luke Durman aboard the 13.5-metre catamaran, was not a happy man after successive DNFs in round two (Gold Coast) and round three (Williamstown).

"Both instances were relatively minor problems," Muddy explained. "This time, I'm confident we'll be right there when the chequered flag is offered."

It will be a case of brotherly love, or, in this case, half-brotherly love cast aside when 'Maritimo' and 'Simrad' lock horns. The two drivers, Durman and Tom Barry-Cotter are in fact half-brothers as well as being keen rivals.

This weekend, however, Tom Barry-Cotter is seriously thinking of swapping seats with Ross "Roscoe" Willaton and taking responsibility for the throttles.

Willaton has been acting throttleman when the boat's regular co-pilot, Norwegian ace Pal Virik Nilsen, was unable to make the trip out to Australia.

"I've always wanted to try my hand at throttles in a race, but with Pal it was never the right time," Tom explained.

"It all depends on the day, but I'm giving serious thought to changing seats with Roscoe for the Geelong race."

Tom said no matter where he and Roscoe were seated, they'd have to keep a close watch on 'Simrad'. "Peter has got the boat going quicker and it's definitely handling corners quicker than it did," he said. "With its dual MerCruiser engines each delivering 940hp against our 920hp Lamborghini engines, I've no doubt that 'Muddy' and Luke will want to apply that advantage to the max," he added.

Another keen, or make that desperate, to avoid another DNF will be Steve Searle's bright red Skater, 'Acme Racing.'

The 'red terror' failed to finish in round one, scored a convincing win in round two off the Gold Coast and fell back into its 'bad habit' with another DNF last weekend.

None of the Class I entrants will have it easy if rookie crew, brothers Brandon and Chris Frier have their way.

Crewing aboard the #6 boat, now carrying the name 'The Good Guys', the pair surprised everyone when they finished a strong second in what was not only their first race in Class I , but their first ever offshore race!

'Global Racing' is also well placed after consistent performances has seen it claim three third placings

"Global Racing' and 'The good Guys' both sport dual 525hp MerCruiser engines.

There should be plenty of action on Geelong's Corio Bay among the smaller classes, too, with several in tooth and nail tussles for championship points.

With a third and a first from its last two starts, ’Saracen’ (Antony deFina and Nigel Craven) will be keen to again finish in front of championship leader ’SUV Dodge Ram’ (Mat Humphrey and Simon Isherwood) when they clash off Geelong. - Andrew Gricks Click Here to view large photo

'SUV Dodge Ram', Mat Humphrey and Simon Isherwood aboard, will be keen to reverse last weekend's result when they finished second to 'Saracen' (Antony deFina and Nigel Craven).

Equally, it's a safe bet that deFina and Craven will be looking to claim another win and run down the 475 point lead 'SUV Dodge Ram' holds.

'Hog's Breath', the new boat being campaigned Supercat Outboard Lite by Offshore Superboat Championships chairman Paul Gibbs and close friend Paul Fowlds, had its first run last weekend off Williamstown for a strong third.

"I'm very pleased with the boat, but last week we did have some problems with ballast, which gave us a little too much weight forward." Gibbs explained. "And we're going to change propellers, too, so I'm looking to an even better performance on Corio Bay," he added.

Scrutineering is set for Saturday morning in Geelong's Steampacket Gardens starting at 10am.

At 2pm all boats will be permitted one hour practice on the course, a boomerang shape which will call on Class I boats to cover about 160 kilometres over 15 laps.

On the Sunday, boats will launch from 10am, there'll be a sighting lap at 12 noon and the starter will send the field away at 12.15pm.

The Geelong round is regarded as one of the most 'spectator friendly' venues for the championships.

by Bob Wonders

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