After a testing and at times, unpredictable season, the 2023/24 Penrite Australian V8 Superboats Championship concluded at the popular Cabarita venue on the north-coast of New South Wales, delivering two reigning World Champions and two former title-holders with the number one Australian plates to carry into the coming season.
For the dominant father-and-son duo of Phonsy and Bastian Mullan, they’d wrapped up their respective class wins at the previous round, whilst for New Zealand’s Ollie Silverton, who now holds an historic first as the only driver to hold the World, New Zealand and Australian titles concurrently, Cabarita was just a mere formality, the fact that he claimed the 400-Class outright win only further evidence of his favouritism heading into next year’s World titles.
Likewise for Koby Bourke, who fittingly closed out his time in the Junior Development category as a race winner and a two-time Champion, before his graduation to the LS-Class in the coming season – all four champions displaying the form that earned them their place in the history books to close the chapter on the 2023/24 season.
UNLIMITED SUPERBOAT
With a World Championship pending and the Penrite Series all but concluded for the Unlimited category, a number of series regulars were absent from the season final, but whilst they would be sorely missed, a number of new teams made their debuts in the outright category much to the thrill of the big Round Mountain Raceway crowd.
For Brooke Lucas, the former 350-Class Champion made a welcome addition to the field in his ex-Sygidus ‘Mackraft’ powered by a naturally-aspirated 410 cubic-inch V8 powerplant, a lightweight package that Lucas felt would give him the speed and consistency to challenge for the outright podium.
His theory was sound but with a number of years out of the seat, he was always going to have to ease himself back into contention, but very quickly found himself as a potential challenger.
Likewise long-time mates Mike Hessell and Luke Walters, the expat Kiwis having graduated from LS-Class to the Unlimited category, adding twin-turbo induction to an LS powerplant to give themselves a little more momentum. It was no surprise though that the pair would make the transition, especially off the back of their Unlimited debuts in New, the success of that venture prompting their graduation in the Penrite Series,
Like Lucas though, and fellow Unlimited graduate Peter Monger, they would be on a steep learning curve, especially against the experience of Phonsy Mullan and former champion Daryl Hutton.
Not surprisingly the two seasoned campaigners set the early pace, Mullan immediately into the 37s with Hutton into the 38s, the next best was Hessell who impressed to turn in a 40.382 in the third qualifier before things went sideways for both the ‘Borrowed Time’ and ‘Phoenix Lubricants’ teams, both eliminated by the close of the opening day..
For the Hutton team they were working on jet unit development ahead of the World Series so relished the chance to do any extra miles they could – the addition of an extra qualifier a welcome opportunity, but sadly they wouldn’t make it to Sunday morning to see it.
The inclement weather and delays across the day had seen the fourth qualifier run in fading light, the rotation too creating challenges with teams running back through their own wash in the final stages.
For Hutton it became a perfect storm as he fired around the rotation in pursuit of Mullan, the expat New Zealander finding the spray from his own wash as he drove back into the sun completely blinded, the next apex bringing the two-time AUS#1 undone, sending the ‘Phoenix Lubricants’ ‘Stinger’ into the air, the resultant impact doing significant damage to the boat, but whilst ‘fixable’ the team opted to sit out the Sunday and watch from the bank.
Walters meanwhile was chasing team-mate Hessell and doing his best to upstage his long-time rival, but part way through the lap he came out of the water and made a heavy impact with the bank, ultimately sidelining the team for the remainder of the weekend.
With three teams eliminated for Sunday, that elevated Lucas and Monger to podium positions for Sunday’s sole final, although for both, they would fail to register a time, Lucas pushing too hard to find something extra and finish out of the water, whilst for home-town hero Peter Monger, his promising weekend ended with a navigational error, although having finished, he was ultimately credited with second, Lucas claiming third.
For Phonsy Mullan, despite having no serious competition in the Top 3, he delivered his now customary push in the final rotation to break into the 36s, in the process claiming his fifth finals win of the season and seal his ninth Unlimited title and with that, an unprecedented tenth Australian crown.
400-CLASS (GROUP A)
With reigning Champion Brendan Doyle absent, Justin Roylance overseas and with his title all but wrapped up, Ollie Silverton’s only real hurdle at Cabarita was perpetual AUS#2 Jody Ely, the Victorian intent on closing out his 2023/24 account strongly, but sadly, it wasn’t to be, Ely suffering setbacks across Saturday forcing him to retire the ‘Rampage’ machine on Sunday, although not before locking down the AUS#2 title for yet another season.
By the close of Saturday Silverton was comfortably inside the 39s, opening round winner Danny Knappick emerging as his strongest rival to be in the low 41s, Hugh Gilchrist continuing his late season charge to be third.
Come Sunday morning Silverton continued his strong run, Knappick holding station over Gilchrist whilst behind them Daniel Warburton was continuing to find pace with his new package to be comfortably fourth and well clear of Noel Verning who was unusually off his customary best.
With just five boats remaining, the 400-Class contested just a Top 6 final ahead of the all important Top 3, Silverton maintain his advantage to comfortably emerge on top, his 39.830 one and a half seconds clear of Knappick (41.375) with Gilchrist third (43.634) and Warburton fourth (44.622), Verning suffering a DNF to conclude his season early.
With the title wrapped up and little pressure to perform in the final, Silverton turned in his best of the day to stop the clock with a 38.763, extending his advantage over Knappick by another second, Knappick though similarly without pressure and any need to go any harder, his second-placed finish handing him third in the Championship, four points clear of reigning Champion Brendan Doyle.
For Hugh Gilchrist his impressive close to the season sadly ended with a navigational error, but the smile on the face of the ‘Australian Moulding & Door Company’ boss suggested he wasn’t too phased as his stock increases ahead of the coming season, his new ‘PULSE/JRE’ package delivering everything the experienced campaigner had hoped for.
LS-CLASS
With the Championship wrapped up at the previous round, all eyes were on the battle for a podium finish, with Nate Mullan, Kyle Elphinstone and Matt Malthouse forced to fight over the bottom two steps after Bastian Mullan wrapped up his third consecutive title at Keith.
As he has done so many times in the past, Bastian Mullan was quick out of the gate, but unlike past rounds this season, every time he improved, 2019 Champion Kyle Elphinstone was right there with him every step of the way, the ‘Blackout Racing’ driver closing out the opening day just 11 one hundredths slower, the pair shadowed by Matt Malthouse, the South Australian just seven tenths in arrears and only marginally clear of Nate Mullan.
By Sunday morning Elphinstone ramped up the pressure again, but he was first to falter, clipping an apex and throwing the ‘Blackout Racing’ machine into a violent off that made heavy contact with the barriers. Fortunately driver and navigator were unharmed, but the boat looked a little second-hand, many expecting it to be retired for the day, but not Elphinstone.
Despite the setback he was right back on pace the very next session, dropping only a few tenths off his best, and still right on target, although by this stage he had a bigger issue to deal with – the emerging pace of Malthouse who was classified second in the Top 12 final, separating Bastian Mullan and Elphinstone, with just six tenths between them.
Joining them in the Top 6 final would be New Zealander Matt Hareb and the impressive Rodney Norton who finally had his ‘new’ ‘Hot Shot’ package on song, some pre-event development delivering the goods and his smile couldn’t have been any wider, especially as it was done on pure pace and not luck.
Sadly his success came at the expense of Jade Atchison who despite finishing seventh also graduated to equal sixth in the Championship alongside Mitch Malthouse, an impressive effort in her first full season. Aitchison’s team-mate James Machan was eighth, just clear of Tyler O’Day who had again excited fans across the weekend with his out of water exploits, and ‘Rookie of the Year’ Jodie Cottam.
Lance Edmonds made a welcome return to competition after missing a number of rounds mid-season to be 11th with Lawrie Howlett a frustrated 12th after running inside the top six for much of the weekend. They were joined by Ron O’Day, Karen Howlett and the new ‘Aitchison’ team of Darryl Aitchison and team-mate Andrew Garthe.
Bastian Mullan was again the pace-setter in the second final, but it was clear he was ringing the neck of the new ‘RIPSHIFT’ machine, his 39,298 just four one hundredths off his Q4 best, whilst for Elphinstone, he was showing no signs of the incident that eliminated him in the final qualifier to be just 14 one hundredths slower, Matt Malthouse less than two tenths back to make it the tightest final of the season – a fitting close to the Series.
Nate Mullan emerged with his quickest time, but lost a chance at a return to the podium by less than two tenths of a second, the rop four covered by just half a second.. it was that tight! Matt Hareb closed out his maiden season in Australia with a fifth placed finish, but even he had to work for it, the giant-killing ‘Hot Shot’ of Rodney Norton just six tenths behind him highlighting just how much the organic garlic famer had improved across the season.
Heading into the final, all expectations were on another Bastian Mullan victory, although no-one expected it would be easy, such was the pace of his rivals. Mullan too was clearly concerned, knowing that like him, they’d hold their best till last, and with a chance to break a very long drought, he could well be under more pressure than at any stage in the last three seasons, something which invariably led to a rare error..
Malthouse was out first to lay down his quickest lap of the day, a lap just three one hundredths of a second slower than Mullan’s best.. The gauntlet was thrown. Elphinstone was next out and on cue he delivered his best of the day, bent boat and all, to card a 39.141 just five one hundredths of a second faster than Malthouse.. the fans on the hill were going crazy..
What could Mullan do, knowing that he too had to find his best to take the win.
Quick through the opening sector of the lap, Mullan ran tight on the exit of the notorious ‘Bennies’ corner clipping the edge of the bank just enough to throw the boat out of the water, ending an impressive winning streak that has lasted almost three full seasons.
And just like that, all the effort and time invested by the ‘Blackout Racing’ team over the last three seasons finally delivered, the team were ecstatic, the crowd on their feet and their rivals stunned by one of the best finals of the year.
Junior Development
With his second Championship already locked away, Koby Bourke had a chance to enjoy his final run in the Junior Development category, although he didn’t have the event all to himself, second-generation racer Deklan Jukes was again back in the saddle looking to learn some more about the ‘Lil Psycho’ machine.
Ultimately Bourke was too good, as was his consistency at his home venue, turning a string of laps in the mid-high 50s to comfortably claim the win in the end with a 56.092, Jukes improving across the day to card a best of a 67.506 in the final.
For the teams, focus now turns to the 2024/25 season, a season which will see a lengthy mid-term break to allow those Australian teams heading to the World Series to freight their boats to-and-from New Zealand for the late January schedule, however the local season will open with back-to-back races at Cabarita in late July and late August before returning to Keith in early October for the third round of the season.
For fans of the Penrite Australian V8 Superboats Championship, they can catch all the action on 7mate and 7+ (check local guides and search V8 Superboats). Updates will be posted on social media channels with respect to on air times, however episodes from the 2022/23 season and the opening rounds of the current season are already available ‘on-demand’ on 7+.
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Rnd#7 2023/24 Penrite Australian V8 Superboats Championship
Round Mountain Raceway, Cabarita, NSW
04-05 May, 2024
TOP 3 FINAL
Unlimited Superboat
1. 1. Phonsy Mullan/Leigh Stuart (RAMJET) – 36.769
2. 96. Peter Monger/Matt Host (Mongrel) – ww
3. 28. Daryl Hutton/Mick Parry (Victorian American Imports) – DNF
400-Class (Group A)
1. 31. Ollie Silverton/Macey Roylance (PSP Racing) – 38.763
2. 45. Danny Knappick/Cliff Bamford (Tuff’N’Up) – 41.287
3. 863. Hugh Gilchrist/Nikolai Nisbets (MATTRIX) – 39.330
LS-Class
1. 219. Kyle Elphinstone/Jacob Bellamy (Blackout Racing) – 39.141
2. 69. Matt Malthouse/Leighton Collins (NoodNutz Racing) – 39.192
3. 1A. Bastian Mullan/Tahleah Mullan (RIPSHIFT) – ww
Junior Development
1. 97B. Koby Bourke (Lil Psycho) – 56.092
2. 97A. Deklan Jukes (Lil Pyscho) – 67.506
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TOP 6 FINAL
400-Class (Group A)
1. 31. Ollie Silverton/Macey Roylance (PSP Racing) – 39.830
2. 45. Danny Knappick/Cliff Bamford (Tuff’N’Up) – 41.375
3. 863. Hugh Gilchrist/Nikolai Nisbets (MATTRIX) – 43.634
4. 81. Daniel Warburton/Ryan Loft (Attitude) – 44.622
5. 269. Noel Verning/Nick Smith (Quiet Time) – DNF
LS-Class
1. 1A. Bastian Mullan/Tahleah Mullan (RIPSHIFT) – 39.208
2. 219. Kyle Elphinstone/Jacob Bellamy (Blackout Racing) – 39.353
3. 69. Matt Malthouse/Leighton Collins (NoodNutz Racing) – 39.547
4. 1B. Nate Mullan/Nic Verrochi (RIPSHIFT) – 39.730
5. 22. Matt Hareb/Lizzy Cook (No Limits) – 42.198
6. 267. Rodney Norton/Pam Moran (Hot Shot) – 42.823
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TOP 12 FINAL
LS-Class
1. 1A. Bastian Mullan/Tahleah Mullan (RIPSHIFT) – 39.359
2. 69. Matt Malthouse/Leighton Collins (NoodNutz Racing) – 39.506
3. 219. Kyle Elphinstone/Jacob Bellamy (Blackout Racing) – 39.986
4. 1B. Nate Mullan/Nic Verrochi (RIPSHIFT) – 40.082
5. 22. Matt Hareb/Lizzy Cook (No Limits) – 42.302
6. 267. Rodney Norton/Pam Moran (Hot Shot) – 42.906
7. 777. Jade Atchison/Erin Kearney (Twisted) – 43.444
8. 7777. James Machan/Louis Borg (Toxicity) – 43.486
9. 29B. Tyler O’Day/Rob Johnston (Agro-Vation) – 44.002
10. 199. Jodie Cottam/Will Cartwright (Steady Eddie) – 44.987
11. 212. Lance Edmonds/Peter Sendy (Solid Gold) – 46.652
12. 14A. Lawrie Howlett/Karen Howlett (Drop Bear) – 49.617
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2023/24 Penrite Australian V8 Superboats Championship – Series Points
Unlimited Superboat (adjusted points after round six of six)*
1. Phonsy Mullan (RAMJET) – 180-points, 2. Daryl Hutton (Victorian American Imports) – 156, 3. Tyler Finch (Loose Cannon) – 151, 4. Scott Krause (KAOS) – 149, 5. Glenn Roberts (Blown Budget) – 128, 6. Peter Monger (Mongrel) – 57, 7. Rob Coley (Poison Ivy) – 48, 8. Chris Edmonds (Hazardous) – 26, 9. Sam Everingham (Excalibur) – 24
400-Class (Group A) (adjusted points after round six of six)*
1. Ollie Silverton (PSP Racing) – 174-points, 2. Jody Ely (Rampage) – 156, 3. Danny Knappick (Tuff’n’Up) – 149, 4. Brendan Doyle (The Girlfriend) – 145, 5. Hugh Gilchrist (Mattrix) – 134, 6. Simon Doyle (The Mistress) – 122, 7. Noel Verning (Quiet Time) – 120, 8. Justin Roylance (The Outlaw) – 101, 9. Andrew Medlicott (Gone Nutz) – 20
LS-Class (adjusted points after round six of six)*
1. Bastian Mullan (Ripshift) – 180-points, 2. Nate Mullan (Ripshift) – 157, 3. Kyle Elphinstone (Blackout Racing) – 155, 4. Matt Malthouse (NoodNutz Racing) – 150, 5. Matt Hareb (No Limits) – 126, 6. Mitch Malthouse (NoodNutz Racing) – 104, 6. Jade Atchison (Twisted) – 104, 8. Tyler O’Day (Agro-Vation) – 76, 9. Jodie Cottam (Steady Eddie) – 72, 10. Rodney Norton (Hot Shot) – 66, 11. Luke Walters (Borrowed Time) – 60, 12. Lawrie Howlett (Drop Bear) – 60, 13. Mike Hessell (Borrowed Time) – 58, 13. Darren Pollard (Disturbed) – 58, 15. James Machan (Twisted) – 54, 16. Ron O’Day (Agro-Vation) – 52, 17. Lance Edmonds (Solid Gold) – 44, 18. Juzzi Calvert (The Spartan) – 26, 19. Adam Sulcs (Steady Eddie) – 20, 20. Karen Howlett (Drop Bear) – 16
Junior Development (after round five of five)
1. Koby Bourke (Lil Psycho) – 180-points, 2. Harry Jay (Lil Psycho) – 33, 3. Jock Casey (0), 3. Tom Casey (0), 3. Deklan Jukes (0)
*adjusted points allows teams to drop their worst point scoring round of the season
2023/24 Penrite Australian V8 Superboats Championship
Rnd#1 – Temora, NSW – 09 September, 2023
Rnd#2 – Keith, SA – 14 October, 2023
Rnd#3 – Tweed Coast, NSW – 05 November, 2023 (postponed – weather)
Rnd#4 – Temora, NSW – 03 February, 2024 (Colin Parish Memorial)
Rnd#5 – Griffith, NSW – 24 February, 2024
Rnd#6 – Keith, SA – 23 March, 2024
Rnd#7 [FINAL] – Tweed Coast, NSW – 04-05 May, 2024
2024/25 Australian V8 Superboats Championship
Rnd#1 – Round Mountain Raceway, Cabarita – 27-28 July, 2024
Rnd#2 – Round Mountain Raceway, Cabarita – 31 August-01 September, 2024
Rnd#3 – Temora, NSW – 05 October, 2024 (Colin Parish Memorial)
Rnd#4 – Keith, South Australia – 22 March, 2025
Rnd#5 – Temora, NSW – 26 April, 2025 (FINALS)
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About Penrite
Founded in Melbourne in 1926 by – then – 16-year old Les Mecoles, Penrite Oil utilised high-quality lubricants from Pennsylvania [USA] base stocks, hence the name ‘Pen’ from the base stock and ‘rite’ for the right oil. In 1979, due to ill health, Les sold the company to John and Margaret Dymond.
Almost 100 years on from those early beginnings the Dymond family have built Penrite into one of Australia’s most prominent and recognised brands. The iconic Australian-made and owned lubricants company has a simple philosophy: ‘the rite product for the application’.
Penrite Oil Company produces a large range of high-quality products suited to the Australian conditions including the exciting 10 Tenths Racing Oils range which offers a superior package of performance and protection for both competition and high performance engines.
For more information about the extensive range of Penrite Oils available, visit www.penriteoil.com.au
7mate + 7plus
For the 2023/24 season, the Penrite Australian V8 Superboats Championship is again aired free-to-air on 7mate, and ‘on-demand’ on affiliate 7plus providing fantastic access to the sport not just in Australia, but through networks all over the world, each program going to more than 1-billion homes in every corner of the world.