'Simrad' leads the field home in final round of Offshore Superboats

10:34 PM Tue 15 Sep 2009 GMT

'’Team 3’ taes slightly to the air as it charged through for second place in Class 1 at Redcliffe. - Redcliffe GP' Reg Blunt

Redcliffe Offshore Grand Prix preview.

Put him in a different boat, pair him with a different throttleman, it made no difference to the winning ways of 'Simrad' driver Tom Barry-Cotter as he cruised to victory in the Redcliffe Offshore Grand Prix.

With Maritimo crew chief Peter 'Muddy' McGrath alongside, Barry-Cotter and 'Simrad' led all the way, covering 15 laps of the Redcliffe course in 62 minutes, 38 seconds.

'Team 3', with Steve Nugent and Craig Archer aboard, were second home in Class 1, one lap and 90 seconds astern with 'The Good Guys', piloted by the Frier brothers Brendan and Christopher in third.

As is often the case, the Redcliffe race proved punishing, with four boats from the eight Class 1 entrants failing to finish.

Those saddled with the dreaded DNF included Tom's father and Maritimo Offshore Team owner Bill Barry-Cotter, who throttled for Ross Willaton in 'Maritimo 11', a new boat identical to the boats the team is campaigning on the European and Middle East circuits.

'Maritimo 11' came close to a roll over on the southern turn buoy shortly after the race start when it was 'crowded 'into the turn by other boats.

'We almost lost it, but she recovered and we started gaining on the leaders before losing oil pressure which forced us out of the race,' Bill said.

Other Class I entries that struck trouble comprised 'Impact Steel', 'Global Racing' and 'Mazlin Electric'.

'Simrad' ran faultlessly throughout, hitting an easy 201km/hr at 7600rpm.

The boat weighed in at 4800kg, 300kg heavier than its team mate 'Maritimo 11', but it had an additional 100hp; 'Simrad' was powered by dual 800hp Maritimo engines, while 'Maritimo 11' had 750hp Sterling powerplants.

Both ran identical five-bladed propellers with 16.5-inch diameter, 33-inch pitch and 18-degree rake.

Winners and grinners....Team Manager Ann-Marie Cook with winning ’Simrad’ pilot Tom Barry-Cotter. - Redcliffe GP - Bob Wonders Click Here to view large photo

Tom Barry-Cotter had already been crowned 2009 Class 1 Offshore Superboat Champion, having collated enough points to assume an unassailable lead in the Lamborghini-powered 'Maritimo'.

He also won the Class 1 in 2008 and currently sits in third place in the Class 1 World Offshore Powerboat championships.

Without detracting from the importance of the throttleman's role aboard an offshore race boat, it does not seem to matter to Tom Barry-Cotter who takes the seat alongside.

He has crewed successfully with Norwegian ace Pal Virik Nilsen, his regular throttleman on the European and Middle East circuits, Ross Willaton, with whom he has won this year's Class 1 title and of course Peter 'Muddy' McGrath in the Redcliffe event.

In the highly-competitive Supercat Outboard class, Mat Humphrey and Simon Isherwood, aboard 'SUV Dodge Ram' had already posted enough points to claim the '09 title.

Like all good competitors they were less than pleased at managing only a second place in the final round, with 'Blade Custom Boats', Cameron Davis and Brett Luhrman aboard, scoring its second successive win.

'We were wounded, one engine was not performing so we had to go quietly,' throttleman Simon Isherwood explained.

Arch rivals Antony de Fina and Nigel Craven, in 'Saracen' had a disappointing DNF to end the season, during which they pushed 'SUV Dodge Ram' all the way, scoring two firsts, two thirds and second outright in the championships.

'Blade Custom Boats' finished third outright with 'Kwozzy 2' (Jim Harris and Adam Nicolls) in fourth spot.

Although they did not finish in first place, the crew of 'Hog's Breath', Paul Gibbs and Paul Fowlds, probably felt like winners in Supercat Outboard Lite as they claimed second place after three successive failures to finish.

Outright favourite 'Team Tiger' (Mick Walker, Gary Smith) notched up an astonishing sixth victory to claim the championship clearly from Ian Harris and Graham Fraser ('Berwicks HF Marine').

These two had a battle royal right through the season, with Harris and Fraser claiming one victory, four seconds and a third to complete a highly competitive season.

'Hog's Breath' ended up third outright, just shading 'Shaken Not Stirred' (Brian Dale and Brooke Ullrich), which finished fourth outright and fourth at Redcliffe.

Mark Harrison and Craig Purton piloted 'Australian Vehicle Wholesalers' to victory in Production Unlimited, beating '489' (Allan Quinn and Ian Purdon) home by more than 10 minutes.

It’s an offshore powerboat race, so why did we publish this photograph? Fair go, we’re only human! - Redcliffe GP - Reg Blunt

'Team 3' taes slightly to the air as it charged through for second place in Class 1 at Redcliffe. - Redcliffe GP - Bob Wonders Click Here to view large photo

by Bob Wonders