350; James presses home advantage
Rnd#3 Continental Tyres Australian Superboat Championships
Round Mountain Raceway, Cabarita Beach, NSW
July 10-11
words| Sean Henshelwood 321Ignition Magazine
After campaigning much of the 2009 Continental Tyres Australian Superboat Championships with an ‘experimental’ engine to assess for the future of the 350 Class, and therefore not be eligible for championship points, Shepparton’s [VIC] Daniel James was champing at the bit to get a start on the 2010 season and show that he had championship winning potential.
At Temora he started strongly with maximum points, but struggled a little at Griffith, although he still maintained his series lead. At Cabarita he was keen to force the point, especially in light of the emergence of David Penfold during the mid-season break which saw two Queensland championship rounds, both of which Penfold won, and neither of which James campaigned in his 350 boat (he competed instead alongside Chris Bollins in the 400 class in ‘Miss Stingray’).
Like the 400 and Unlimited Superboat classes, 350s at Cabarita was buoyed by increased numbers, David Penfold returning to the national series for the first time in a number of seasons, the event also seeing the return of the Dickenson sisters, Rhiannon and Betina, now with the powerplant that took older brother Nathan to fourth in the 2009 championship.
Col Bellert was back too after his boat bending off during the ‘IGA Dash 4 Cash’ at Griffith, the Maryborough local happy to be back in the field, although ‘Evil As’ was still bearing scars from the accident which saw the whole tail section of the boat removed and rebuilt.
Nine boats lined up for the ‘Walkinshaw Performance Dash 4 Cash’ with Daniel James topping the three qualifiers on accumulated time, from Penfold, deVoigt and the consistent Rhiannon Dickenson.
Griffith ‘Dash’ winner David Blake was out of sorts and he cruised around for his three laps, his maiden run at Cabarita clearly not the reason. “Looks like it’s dropped a cylinder, or something fairly terminal,” team boss and boat owner Robert Hallum admitted. “We’ve tried a couple of things in case it was electrical or a carbie drama, but whilst it’s still going, it’s not happy and we don’t want to risk killing it, so that’s it.”
It was sad news for the Deniliquin based team who had been strong title contenders with the pace they showed at Temora and Griffith. “We’ll be back,” Hallum lamented, “..might even try our hand at the Unlimited class..”
After setting consistent mid-53s in qualifying, James put down a 53.766 in the final to comfortably defeat Penfold for the big dollars, with Daniel deVoigt third.
‘Walkinshaw Performance DASH 4 CA$H
1. Daniel James (Stingray Racing) 53.766
2. David Penfold (Wicked Ways) 54.341
3. Daniel deVoigt (DEVO 2) 55.497
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Daniel James continued on with his race winning pace on championship points day too – his three qualifying heats within four tenths of each other, and again comfortably clear of Penfold who was under attack from reigning 350 Class #4, Nathan Dickenson.
“We fried our 400 engine yesterday before the ‘Dash’ so it looked like I was out for the weekend, but Colly Bellert asked me to come back to 350s and drive with him, so I thought why not..” Nathan confirmed.
In the opening two qualifiers Dickenson took second from Penfold, but he had a few ugly moments in the third and fell to fourth. Boat owner Col Bellert meanwhile was dialling himself back in after the disasters of Griffith, admitting that he still needed to get his head sorted to be back on the pace he enjoyed at Temora. An off in round three didn’t help as he fired off mid-track, coming to a stop across the start line..
Daniel deVoigt too was looking good in ‘DEVO 2’, now with a ‘low-rider’ roll cage, the President of the Tweed Valley club though was caught between running at speed and juggling issues with the operation of the event. “I’d be lying if I said it didn’t have an effect,” he admitted post-event.
Despite this he was still within striking distance of the podium heading into the finals.
With the Dickenson girls sadly out with mechanical woes, and the ‘Predator’ team of Troy McKenzie and Shane Allen striking the kind of luck that plagued them through 2009 (including an inversion during qualifying one for Shane which flooded the engine), the race director elected to drop the top 12 elimination final and concentrate on a top six where former 350 campaigner and 2010 returnee Shane Andrew would make the cut in ‘Smurf Racing’.
As was expected, James topped the timesheets again with Penfold and deVoigt working their way into the final after Nathan Dickenson failed to make the cut. Team-mate Col Bellert was also forced to pack up early, whilst Andrew again posted a lap in the 65s, to keep his championship points alive (currently fourth).
In the final it was all James again, the series leader gaining maximum points for the weekend over David Penfold and Daniel deVoigt, although on points, Nathan Dickenson grabbed third for the weekend.
“That’s great, just what we needed,” James said afterwards. “The championship was our focus this year, and with the help of TJ (Stingray Boats) and the Global Group, we’re looking to press on and take the win so that we might be able to progress into 400s next year – that’s the goal.”
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2010 Continental Tyres Australian Superboat Championships
350 Class
Round three, Cabarita Beach, NSW (July 10-11)
1. Daniel James (60 points), 2. David Penfold (54), 3. Nathan Dickenson (50), 4. Daniel deVoigt (49), 5. Colin Bellert (42), 6. Shane Andrew (39), 7. Troy McKenzie (16), 8. David Blake (10), 8. Shane Allen (10), 8. Robert Hallum (10), 8. Rhiannon Dickenson (10), 8. Betina Dickenson (10)
After an outstanding weekend all round, teams now switch their focus to the fourth round of the Continental Tyres Australian Superboat Championships scheduled for Maryborough on September 4-5.
As ever, you can catch all the action from the 2010 Continental Tyres Australian Superboat Championships on SBS Speedweek and FOX Sports 'Inside Speed' (check local guides and keep an eye on www.v8superboats.com.au for dates and times).
The Continental Tyres Australian Superboat Championship is proudly supported by; Continental Tyres, North Star Mildura Motors Mercedes Benz and 321Ignition Magazine.
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2010 Continental Tyres Australian Superboat Championships
350 Class - Championship points (points after three rounds of five*)
1. Daniel James (173 points), 2. Daniel deVoigt (145), 3. David Blake (117), 4. Shane Andrew (109), 5. Colin Bellert (106), 6. Robert Hallum (97), 7. Troy McKenzie (70), 8. Matt Selby (60), 9. David Penfold (54), 10. Nathan Dickenson (50), 11. Shane Allen (45), 12. Glenn Arundel (43), 13. Rhiannon Dickenson (10), 13. Betina Dickenson (10)
* championship points are calculated from the best four point scoring rounds (of five)