2008 OFFSHORE SUPERBOAT CHAMPIONSHIPS SEASON REPORT

Maritimo 11’s Tom Barry-Cotter and Pal Virik Nilson have officially been announced Australia’s 2008 Class One Offshore Superboat Champions and awarded The Mark Lee Trophy, despite being unable to finish in the final round of the Offshore Superboat Championships held in Townsville.

The final weekend of racing certainly wasn’t incident free, with just 15 of the 22 boats making it across the finish line.

Maritimo 11, powered by twin Lamborghini-engines, secured the Championship title at Sydney’s inaugural Superboat Grand Prix in March after enjoying an undefeated run in the earlier rounds – a remarkable achievement considering Tom was only 19 at the series’ commencement.

“I’ve had some amazing experiences for my age as a result of being involved in powerboat racing,” Barry-Cotter said.

“Taking out the Australian title with Pal this season has definitely been a high point of my career so far and the team is now looking forward to next season.”

Defending Class One champions Steve and Andrew Searle were also forced to bow out of the Townsville race – out on just the second lap – when their boat Acme sprung a leak!

Acme throttleman Steve Searle said his team was disappointed at being unable to finish the final round, particularly having also suffered problems in Sydney and Melbourne.

“It was unfortunate we couldn’t win back-to-back titles but we’re confident we’ll have the boat travelling superbly again for next season’s opening round in Redcliffe,” Mr Searle said.

SUPERCAT OUTBOARD

Although the Supercat Outboard class didn’t race in the final round in Townsville, the series was already won with Saracen, upholding an unbeaten record for the season.

Consistently pushing 160km/h in each of the first five rounds, Saracen’s Antony Defina and Simon Thomas powered their way to the title of 2008 Champions and to the JR Gilbert Trophy.

“The boat wasn’t ready until almost half way through the series last year and we still performed very well,’ Defina said.

“It was great to be able to compete in every Supercat Outboard race in the 2008 season and we look forward to remaining extremely competitive next year.”

Bruce Sanders and Colin Craven of Red Bellies finished second, while defending champions Blade came in third after a disappointing season, which saw them unable to compete in most events.

SUPERCAT OUTBOARD LITE

The Supercat Ouboard Lite class provided some spectacular racing this season and the final weekend was no different.

Despite suffering technical difficulties early in the final Townsville round, Mick Walker and Paul Fowlds in Ezy Does It made an amazing come-back from the back of the pack to win the race.

This win, along with an impressive points tally from earlier rounds, earned Ezy Does It the season title.

“We had a few issues early on in the race which put us right at the back of the pack,” Fowlds said.

“Luckily, we were able to sort it all out, so I said to Mick ‘Let’s go get ‘em!’… and we did!”

A busy week on the water fulfilling media commitments didn’t seem to impact Kwozzy drivers Adam Nicolls and Jim Harris who came in third behind Team 3 in Townsville, to finish runner-up overall for the season.

After flipping their boat at the end of last season, team Kwozzy was just happy to finish the right way up this year.

OSC Director for the 2008 season Paul Gibbs, of Hog’s Breath,took a year off from racing this season after dominating the Supercat Outboard Lite category for the past five years.

“After winning five titles, we thought we had better take a year off and give the other teams a fighting chance,” Gibbs joked.

“Acting as race director has been a great experience, but I am really looking forward to introducing our new Hog’s Breath boat at the season-opening Redcliffe race this September.”

SUPER VEE LITE

Grumpy Mongrel’s Peter Jack and Jamie Callan took home The Gary Rowe Trophy, winning the Super Vee Lite title ahead of Slick and Piranha.

OTHER CLASSES

Chris Searle and Chris Jadkonis won their second consecutive Haines Suzuki 150 title with Red Herring and Jerichofinishing second and third overall respectively.

Carl Mazlin and Ken Melbin won the weekend’s Production Unlimited Class aboard Think Fast and Production Class victory was taken out by Boat Scene.

The 2008 Australian Offshore Powerboat Series was proudly sponsored by ACME Fibreglass Supplies, with support from Nautilus Marine Insurance Agency.

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