Hawkesbury Blown Boat Spectacular set to draw massive crowd to Windsor, US vs. Austrailia

[Serious News]

It has been billed as a showdown between the United States of America and Australia, and it has the Hawkesbury’s boat racing community buzzing.

The Upper Hawkesbury Power Boat Club will host the Blown Boat Spectacular at Governor Phillip Park, Windsor, on January 16 and 17.

The event is a once off, because high profile American drivers Duff Daily and Stephen Sequeira are coming over to race against some of the best Australia has to offer.

Sunday, January 17, will feature not only the boat racing, but a Hot Rod show at the park.

UHPBC commodore John Davoll said it was the event was massive for the club.

“It is a real good thing for the sport in Australia,” he said.

“We've got the largest field of blown boats that Australia has seen in the last seven or eight years. I think there are close to 20 blown boats competing in that class, on top of all the other classes as well.

“There will be some fantastic racing over the weekend. We are expecting quite a large crowd, in my lifetime we've always had a big crowd when Americans have come over to race.”

Davoll said he saw Daily and Sequeira race in August and said they were the real deal.

“We're very proud of the fact we can run an international event in the Hawkesbury and showcase the sport,” he said.

“The two guys are the top of their field in America.”

Rodders Inc will put on a car show on Sunday, with about 150 cars expected to be on display.

Entry to the event is $25 on Saturday and $30 on Sunday for adults. Children enter for free, and student and pensioner tickets are $20 each.

Racing will start from about 12.30pm on Saturday and finish at 5pm, while on Sunday, it will be all day racing from 9am until 5pm.

http://www.hawkesburygazette.com.au/story/3662129/americans-draw-large-crowds-at-windsor/

 

[Ratickle]

Go USA!!:USA:

 

[Serious News]

Palmer power blows Americans away
By POWERBOATS By CAMRON SLESSOR

DEVONPORT powerboat racer Chris Palmer dominated his American rivals in the final of the first round of the USA Blown Boat Challenge last weekend.

Racing on the Hawkesbury River in Windsor, New South Wales, Palmer, in his boat Outlaw, was up against the best racers from Australia and the US.

Palmer said the line-up was incredible for the first round of racing and things started off shakey for the Coastal racer.

"We had a very good line-up of racing and the Americans really turned it on," Palmer said.

"They were really fast and we had a DNF on the first day which put us in a poor position for day two.

"But I was able to qualify fastest for the final and then I cleaned up."

Palmer was dominant against the highly-fancied US competition in the final and said no one expected it.

"We had five on the river in the final and I won it with Daly Duff from US second and Mark Gouci from Victoria third," he said.

"I was very happy with how it went, plus the Americans didn't think my boat could win it and they certainly got a shock."

A bumper crowd was on show to support the event and Palmer said everyone was entertained throughout the weekend and already pumped for the second and final round this weekend.

"The crowd was great, we had about 150 hot rods and a nitro car there so there was plenty of entertainment for everyone," he said. "Everyone is keen for the second round this weekend and we have extra people coming to Berri plus the Americans have put another engine in their boat."

With a new engine, Palmer expects the Americans to be a threat again.

"The course will suit them more this time, it's a bigger course with bigger corners," he said.

"So I might be losing for one or two laps but I'm fairly confident I can get the goods on them again."


http://www.theadvocate.com.au/story/3677255/palmer-power-blows-americans-away/

 

[Serious News]

Hawkesbury crowds blown away by Spectacular
By Conor Hickey

The banks of the Hawkesbury River were packed at Governor Phillip Park over the weekend, as people flocked to the Upper Hawkesbury Power Boat Club’s Blown Boat Spectacular.

It was billed as a showdown between the United States of America, represented by Duff Daily and Steve Sequiera, and Australia.

Pictures: Upper Hawkesbury Power Boat Club’s Blown Boat Spectacular.

The lure of the Americans proved so tantalising, UHPBC commodore John Davoll reckons it was the biggest crowd the club had seen in 15 years.

Davoll said there were some in the Australian racing community who doubted whether the Americans and their boats, which differ to Australian ones, could adapt to the Australian style courses.

However, Davoll said the Americans more than proved their talent, with Duff Daily in El Cid finishing second overall.

Steve Sequiera in Back to the Future rolled his craft, but was unharmed, and will race in the second part of the series in South Australia.

Pictures: Hawkesbury boat racing, dressage and cricket from January 16.

Duff Daily, who raced here in 2007, said he had a great time racing.

“It is all fun, and friendly racing. The younger guys want to knock the older guys off but as a rule it is just going out and having fun,” he said.

“The people are treating us great and I really enjoy it.”

Daily said he knew that the Australians would have an advantage over him, but said the challenge of trying to beat them was exciting.

“All the boats are different to what we run design wise,” he said.

“I have some strong points on them and they have some strong points on me.

“They definitely have an advantage on this course that we run at Windsor. Our courses have much bigger turns and are longer.”

Daily said it was interesting working with Sequiera, who is normally one of his fierce rivals.

“We're team mates ehre but we will run against each other if we have to. We're kinda together for the next two weekends,” he said.

“It is good. We work together and put some strategy in together and yeah it is fun.”

John Davoll said he could not be happier with how things had turned out, after the club put in a lot of effort to ensure the spectacular went ahead.

“There was a massive crowd. It was probably the best crowd we've had in about 15 years,” he said.

“It went really well, there was a great crowd, great racing and only a few incidents.

“It is a lot of work, but to see the event unfold after so much work went into it and the amount of people supporting the event was terrific.”

Chris Palmer in outlaw ended up winning the blown class; Corey Davoll won the formula 2; Hayden Sherry won the formula 4; Ryan MacIntosh won the 6 litre; and, Justin Frankham won the 105mph superstock.

http://www.hawkesburygazette.com.au/story/3672151/blown-away-by-showdown/

 

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[Ratickle]

I just love the way those tunnels turn!!:driving:

 

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