Blowy, overcast and air temperatures that would make a penguin freeze; that's what greeted the XlLR8 Home Loans Australian F1 Superboat Series at Newcastle for Round 3 of the Series.

Held in Newcastle's inner harbour, this area, right opposite a drydocked Australian Navy ship, was at least sheltered from the gales battering NSW's Central Coast region.

Friday the 13th of June was certainly a black Friday for Tim Smith in the XLR8 Home Loans Number 13 F2000 entry. Whilst doing some running in, Tim crossed the path of a black fish (well, cat's shouldn't be in the harbour) and proceeded to show why the series should be renamed the Australian F1 Flying Boats.

This coming after a number of boats going airborne at Round 2 at Toukley has certainly put the wind up the series pilots.

Practice got under way just after 11am, with cloud thickening to the east, just offshore. Anthony McEnally in the Watersports Marine #5 entry had starter problems at Toukley, as did team mate Dean Trickey in the #7 craft. Thankfully the issues were easily rectified and Anthony was confident that the fresh engines would not pose a problem over the weekend at Newcastle.

Shane Vella in the #61 Lindenvel group entry was quite pleased with his setup and made the point of how each pilot respects the abilities of each other, especially in close quarter infighting. Both Craig Truslove in the #11 and Jon Tsaccounis in the #12 XLR8 Home Loans entries also seemed happy.

Friday the 13th carried over into Saturday 14th for the Byron Bay Premium Ale craft of Rhys Coles. The number 14 boat suffered a blown engine during practice, not a good way to kick off the weekend.

Damien McKenzie in his McKenzie Racing #15 boat was pleased to be out there after his crash at Toukley.

Late afternoon saw the rain come in, flattening the water but making conditions uncomfortable for cast, crew and spectators alike. Shane Vella deemed his day good enough and was spotted wearing civvies whilst Tsaccounis and Truslove spent extra time on the water.

Timed practice sessions rounded out the day. Jon Tsaccounis came out and went back in, leaving the field of play open for the rest of the field. Rhys Coles, after electrical issues and a replacement engine affected his day, was consistent with a quickest time just over half a second quicker than slowest, showing 34.33 on the clock.
McEnnally took Dean Trickey's #7 for a spin, reeling off a 40.96 whilst Tsaccounis ended up doing a 37.17. Craig Truslove showed great improvement, going from a 36.23 to a quickest time overall of 32.56.

Vella may have left earlier in the day with confidence, however, these times may be a shock to the Lindenvel pilot on Sunday morning.
It's certainly shaping up to be an interesting second day for the Superboats, round 3 at Newcastle!

F2000

F2000 practice got under way under skies grey and heavy. Matt Smith in the #65 Newcastle Machine Shop craft, a boat brought in from the USA and a former F2000 champion's former entry, made a welcome return to the category. Matt was able to give the boat a serious workout with surface conditions somewhat bouncy.

Michael Page with new sponsor AAAA Traffic Management on board took his veteran #24 vessel out and eventually lit the wick. Grant Trask in the championship leading #17 TDC boat showed why he's leading the category and Adam Fairbairn in the Armor Australia #16 also showed a good turn of speed. Another return to the water was Dave Wedlock in his bright red #3 Townsville North Queensland emblazoned entry also imported from the US.

The final event for the day was timed practice for the F2000's, with Michael Page coming out first in his #24. Lap times varied with a quickest of 39.48 seconds. The new to Australian waters #3 hull of Dave Wedlock came out shortly after that and immediately went toe to toe with Page.

Amazing Friday the 13th was the first time Wedlock had taken this new boat out and somehow managed to find a superb time of 38.22. Adam Fairbairn's #16 Armor Australia boat joined the playground as did Craig Truslove doubletiming in the #13 XLR* Home Loans craft.

Stay tuned for race day tomorrow.

www.f1boat.com.au

by Kathy Briese

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