Group A; Sibling rivalry..

Rnd#3 Continental Tyres Australian Superboat Championships
Round Mountain Raceway, Cabarita Beach, NSW
July 10-11
words| Sean Henshelwood 321Ignition Magazine

The International Group A class in the 2010 Continental Tyres Australian Superboat Championships is fast becoming a two horse race, however in this case, the battle is mounting not between two bitter rivals, but between two brothers; Ted and Darek Sygidus.


Younger brother Darek, reigning world #2 took victory in the opening round at Temora after a navigational slip by Ted in the top 12. At Griffith, it was ‘on’ again, but this time it was Darek who struck trouble after forgetting to change his transponder. At Cabarita, the two brothers again spent most of the weekend going head to head. The final ultimately saw Darek the victor, putting himself back to the top of the championship table, although with just four points in it with two rounds remaining, the ultimate champion is yet to be determined.

Whilst that sets up a battle royale over the coming rounds, both drivers will need to be mindful of 2002 champion Rohan Smith who sits just seven points in arrears of Ted in the points, and of Brooke Dixon, a winner in the past at both Maryborough, and Temora..

The fat lady is just getting warmed up!

Saturday at Cabarita dawned damp after yet another rain shower in the morning, but despite that, it was clear once teams got on the track for the ‘Rip-Shift Dash 4 Cash’.

Ted Sygidus threw down the gauntlet early and comfortably sat at the top of the times after three qualifying rounds, his 47.176 in round three, a quarter of a second up on the next best, younger brother Darek. Rohan Smith set the next fastest time, to qualify ahead of Rob Colman, Jake Garlick and Rodney Krause.

Ted set a strong time in the final [47.594], but was half a second off his qualifying best, which allowed the consistency of his brother through for the win, with Smith just a quarter of a second back in third, mere hundredths faster than reigning 350 Class champion, Jake Garlick.

‘Rip-Shift’ DASH 4 CA$H
1. Darek Sygidus (Triple X) 47.594
2. Ted Sygidus (Triple X) 47.642
3. Rohan Smith (BTS Racing) 47.912
4. Jake Garlick (Grumpy) 46.063
5. Rodney Krause (Soak’n Fused) 48.912
6. Robert Colman (Tunna-Guts) 49.018
7. Mark Garlick (Grumpy) 49.685
8. Daniel Walton (Kryptonite Racing) 49.704
9. Kevin Laugesen (SpaNET) 50.696
10. Louise Dixon (Hi-Tec Racing) 50.875

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After such a strong run during the Rip-Shift Dash 4 Cash, everyone expected to see the Sygidus brothers dominate the third round of the national championships on Sunday, but one of the beauties of motorsport at an elite level, is that quite often, you can expect the unexpected.. Few would have expected to see Ted Sygidus sitting on the edge of the bank in the opening qualifying round, but that’s exactly what happened, and sadly for the team, whilst it looked like a quick spin with little damage to the boat, Ted’s diminutive navigator Kelsie Gill suffered the bulk of the impact on her side, so officials spent some 60 minutes removing her carefully from the boat.

“I just clipped one corner at the top of the circuit which threw us out of the water,” Ted admitted. “The boat’s fine, but unfortunately we landed hard on Kelsie’s side and she got a little knocked around.”

Fortunately for the team, despite being extracted by the safety crew with all care to protect her spine, Kelsie was given the all clear following tests and was back at the circuit later in the day to cheer the team on, although moving very gingerly. “I’m okay, it was just a big knock, but it won’t stop me getting back in the boat,” she smiled.

The result of the delay and the team checking the boat was that neither Triple X driver would record a time in the opening qualifier, although fortunately, qualifying points are recorded from your two best results of three..

Surprise victor for the opening qualifier was Brooke Dixon, surprise because the winner of the national round 12 months earlier is renowned for easing herself into a race winning pace, not going out hard first round; this was a new Brooke Dixon and a sign that her opponents would need to ‘step it up’.

By the close of qualifying though it was ‘situation normal’ with Triple X on top, but again, it was Darek, Ted still suffering from the after effects of his opening round    off. Brooke Dixon qualified second, from Ted, Smith, Jake Garlick and the increasingly competitive Dan Walton.

The top 12 started, or rather, failed to start, with Peter Monger unable to fire ‘Annaconda’, ending what had been a strong run for the local driver with starter motor failure. Tremayne Jukes was next up in ‘Miss Stingray’ after his new mount, Stingray-Stealth suffered jet unit issues and was parked early on Sunday. Despite this TJ was still quick in a modified package the team is still sorting for Chris Bollins.

Damian O’Leary sadly missed the cut for the top six despite setting a blistering pace early, the Adelaide Stinger pilot missing the cut by mere tenths, but showing that both he and Kryptonite Racing team-mate Dan Walton are going to be big threats as the season heads towards the final round at Temora [October 30-31].

Walton too missed the cut, but by less than two tenths of a second after running third in the opening qualifier. Despite the result though, he keeps his championship hopes alive and sits just two points in arrears of Brooke Dixon (fifth) in the title battle.

Up front though Darek Sygidus topped the top 12 elimination final, all but matching Ted’s Saturday best with a 47.162. Jake Garlick was a surprise second, on a track where the old Tuff-Tak hull is traditionally not particularly happy. “We’ve dialled it out,” Mark Garlick almost sang in delight, “..the bounce, we’ve dialled it out. Greg Harriman was talking to us about how he settled his boat [321Ignition] down, and we tried the same thing and it’s transformed it, I had no idea that such a small change would have such a big impact, but it’s bred new life into the old girl and Jake is getting the best out of it.”

Third fastest was Ted, with Brooke Dixon, Rohan Smith and Rob Colman in close pursuit.

Six became three after the top six elimination final, as first Colman [48.327], then Rohan Smith [48.097] and Dixon [47.898] fell away, whilst Darek Sygidus led his brother and Garlick to the line with a stunning 46.568, more than a second up on his podium opponents.

In the end, whilst they threw everything they had at him, neither Ted nor Jake were able to significantly improve their top six times, although Ted did manage to pip the 350 title holder by just over a tenth in the final. The weekend though belonged to Dezi Sygidus, the Melton local taking the second win of his career and with it a narrow championship lead.

“That’s awesome,” he beamed afterwards. “It was a tough start to the day with Kelsie getting hurt, but we’re rapt that she’s back to see the final and that’s she’s okay. The boat was perfect all day and it was a pleasure to drive. Ted did a great job too, but I know that Kelsie’s well being was playing on his mind and that slowed him up a bit.”

“Dezi did a great job,” Ted admitted grabbing his younger brother by the neck. “It was good that one of us took the win, and boy doesn’t it open up the championship. If it comes down to the wire, we might have to get Mum to the final round so that she can sort it out..”

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2010 Continental Tyres Australian Superboat Championships
International Group A (400 Class)
Round three, Cabarita Beach, NSW (July 10-11)
1. Darek Sygidus (60 points), 2. Ted Sygidus (53), 3. Brooke Dixon (50), 4. Jake Garlick (49), 5. Rohan Smith (47), 6. Daniel Walton (41), 7. Robert Colman (38), 8. Rodney Krause (33), 9. Mark Garlick (27), 10. Damian O’Leary (26), 11. Tremayne Jukes (23), 12. Peter Monger (20), 13. Mick Manini (15), 14. Louise Dixon (12), 14. Kieran Krause (12), 16. Kevin Laugesen (10), 16. Chris Bollins (10), 16. Geoff Kunkel (10), 16. Phil Weinthal (10), 16. Darren Watkins (10), 16. Daryl Dickenson (10), 16. Nathan Dickenson (10), 16. Brooke Lucas (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
International Group A (400 Class)
Championship points (points after three rounds of five*)
1. Darek Sygidus (152 points), 2. Ted Sygidus (148), 3. Rohan Smith (141), 4. Robert Colman (127), 5. Brooke Dixon (122), 6. Daniel Walton (120), 7. Jake Garlick (106), 8. Mark Garlick (96), 9. Damian O’Leary (93), 10. Brooke Lucas (79), 11. Mick Manini (64), 12. Rodney Krause (58), 13. Tremayne Jukes (51), 14. Greg Harriman (47), 15. Louise Dixon (36), 16. Kevin Laugesen (30), 17. Chris Bollins (30), 18. Shane Loughnan (25), 19. Kieran Krause (23), 20. Tony Whalan (20)

* championship points are calculated from the best four point scoring rounds (of five)