THOUSANDS FLOCK TO SEE LAKE MAQUARIE SUPERBOATS

They’re dubbed the V8s of the water.*The Offshore Superboats have drawn thousands of spectators to the shores of Lake Macquarie today.
The high-octane event proved so successful first time around, it’s already likely to return next year.

SUPERBOATS LOOK SET TO RETURN TO LAKE MACQUARIE IN 2017

As we reported earlier, the Offshore Superboat Series hit Lake Macquarie today,*and it was a dominant outing for Travis Thompson and Ross Willaton, comfortably taking out both races.
The pair never looked like being beaten – the closest someone came was Newcastle driver Darren Nicholson, in the day’s first hit-out.
The national series is all-but confirmed to return to Lake Macquarie next year.

Pics and Video: http://www.nbnnews.com.au/2016/10/16...ie-superboats/

https://youtu.be/tA7Qne3zWT8

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https://youtu.be/f2dl77DS3H4

Mark Rothfield | Lake takes top spot as Superboat Central

THE tribes have spoken with their bums and feet, making Lake Macquarie arguably the number one superboat race venue in Australia at its first attempt.

SUPER SPEED: Maritimo, from Navy Racing, was the overall winner of the Offshore Superboat Championships round held on Lake Macquarie. The event was a massive success.

The waterway better known for gentile yachting, fishing and putt-putt pursuits played host to a hectic round of the Offshore Superboat series last Sunday, drawing crowds reminiscent of a Sydney-Hobart start.
Every vantage point on the Warners Bay shoreline was packed with families and jumping castles, waterfront houses hosted barbecues and houseboats rubbed gunwales with sleek sports cruisers in mammoth raft-ups.
Who won?*Who cares?

Competitors and spectators alike agreed it was the best venue on the racing circuit – a perfect showcase for Lake Macquarie, a credit to Les Binkin who helped stage the event at Marmong Cove Marina, and another slap for Newcastle which lost the hosting rights.

Hometown driver Darren Nicholson couldn’t help admiring the spectacle through the sliver of windscreen that his 222 Offshore race boat offers.

“I’ve never seen so many boats on the lake or people along the shore,” Nicholson said. “New Years Eve and the carols are a drop in the ocean compared with Sunday’s crowd. “The track was fantastic as well. I know we’re an offshore class but there’s enough chop on the lake to make it challenging without being dangerous or damaging on the boat.”

More often than not the Newcastle event was plagued with crashes because of unpredictable swells and backwash. Last year a crewman on Global Racing was rushed to hospital after the boat flipped. There were no such dramas on the lake, with the throttlemen largely able to free the reins on the long straights despite a 20-knot nor’wester.Nicholson won pole position for Sunday after averaging over 170 kilometres an hour during a blistering lap on Saturday. There was no ‘local knowledge’ advantage, despite the fact he’d driven on the course 18 months ago in a demonstration for council officers.“Coming across from Eleebana we had wind on the nose and the boat was skipping around a bit,” Nicholson added. “It was hairy but fun, certainly a welcome change from looking at three metre swells and thinking ‘this is going to hurt’.*Ultimately, a “20-cent part” let the multimillion-dollar 222 Offshore down – a wire leading to the alternator fractured, causing the batteries to run down. After a promising start in race one, Nicholson and throttleman Peter McGrath chugged around at ‘just’ 60 miles per hour for the remaining two races.

Maritimo won the day from Navy Racing.

Maritimo Offshore Racing is now gearing up for the Superboat World Championships in Key West next month.*Boasting 1500 horsepower engines, their race boat is no slouch. But long-time Maritimo race team member Ross Willaton is more impressed with the reliability.

“Last year we didn’t have time to iron out all the bugs in the boat we raced, but this boat not only has plenty of power, it is a proven performer and it’s also reliable,” he said.

http://www.theherald.com.au/story/42...rboat-central/