As it did for the third and most recent round of the 2015 Australian Offshore Superboat Championships, speedonthewater.com will carry livestream of the fourth round of the two-class powerboat racing series from Coffs Harbour. The Sunday morning and afternoon (Australia time) races will air Saturday, Aug. 15 in the United States at 6 p.m. and 8 p.m. (PST) and 9 p.m. and 11 p.m. (EST). For a quick recap of the last event in Bowen and a look at the season standings, check out the brief wrap-up below.—Matt Trulio

The Bowen event was the third race of the 2015 of the series. All photos courtesy/copyright EMB Photographics.

Round 3: Bowen Wrap-Up

By Conn Saloumidis

Teams arrived at Bowen to a huge warm welcome by the town. Bowen is on the shores inside the Great Barrier Reef in North Queensland, Australia. July is the perfect month to visit for an Offshore Superboat event as the weather is a balmy 75 degrees most days during the Australian winter—a little like Florida. The entire town gets behind the annual race with all its heart, which for fans and racers alike makes it one of the best events in the season.

On Saturday, the waters looked very flat and fast from the shore until the teams were on course. Short, sharp wind chop is what they found. Saturdays pole position shootout was without incident, but with a number of boats damaging gear and in a race to get the boats ready for the big street parade and party Saturday night in the main street of Bowen. The street party was a huge success and was an awesome night for both the race teams and the public who got to see the boats up close and meet the drivers and the rest of the teams.

Race No. 1 on Sunday started at 11 a.m. with the Supercat Extreme boats leading the way over Supercat 600-hp outboard class. Unfortunately, five minutes in Team 3 rolled and the race was stopped. The crew of Steve Jellick and Tom Barry-Cotter emerged unhurt from the upturned cat’s tunnel hatch.

The rollover of Team 3 was the most significant incident of the weekend.

The restart had Maritimo (Ross Willaton and Travis Thompson) leading Club Marine (Darren Nicholson and Peter McGrath) and Yellow Brick Road (Brendan and Chris Frier) in Supercat Extreme . Mazlin Electrical dropped out early with a pump issue.

In Supercat 600-HP, Hogs Breath Offshore Racing (Jim Harris and Paul Fowlds), Eighty Eight Offshore (Gryff and Michael Ethell ) and It’s About Time (Mark Taylor and Andrew Willaton) battled for the lead. SUV Ram Trucks (Conn and Con Saloumidis) blew their second gearbox for the weekend just over the start line and Ram Trucks JNR (Taelah Saloumidis and Ian Harris) blew an engine on the first lap. That’s how the teams finished in the first race.

For race No. 2, the teams made some changes for the conditions. In Supercat Extreme, Maritimo Australia went to the lead for a flag to flag win over Yellow Brick Road, Club Marine and Mazlin Electrical. The Supercat 600-Hp battle between Eighty Eight Offshore and Hogs Breath Offshore went on for a few laps, with Hogs Breath Offshore taking first, Eighty Eight Offshore earning second and It’s About Time finishing third.

Thanks to fantastic local support from businesses, the Bowen event was a success and teams are looking forward to coming back again next year.

2015 Australian Offshore Superboat Championship Standings

Superboat Extreme
1. Club Marine 2. Maritimo Australia 3. Yellow Brick Road 4. Mazlin Electrical 5. Tradeulator

Supercat 600-HP
1. Hogs Breath Offshore 2. Eighty Eight Offshore 3. SUV Ram Trucks 4. SUV Ram Trucks JNR 5. Its About Time

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