The 2023/24 Penrite Australian V8 Superboats Championship heads into the final round of the season this weekend with a return to Cabarita Beach on the north-coast of New South Wales, a venue that always provides plenty of action for the fans.
Last time out at Keith, reigning champions Phonsy Mullan and son Bastian locked out the Unlimited and LS-Class titles respectively, Phonsy claiming an unprecedented tenth Australian title, whilst son Bastian overcame the setback of campaigning an untried boat package to claim his third consecutive crown, only adding to his favouritism for a world title in New Zealand in early 2025.
Speaking of New Zealand, it looks very much like they will be the title-holders of the Australian 400-Class crown after the weekend, reigning World and New Zealand Champion Ollie Silverton overcoming a slow start to the season to smash all comers over recent rounds, the Australians all but doing everything they could to NOT win the title, reigning AUS#1 Brendan Doyle suffering another big exit at Keith last time out to effectively seal Silverton’s grasp on the title.
And whilst we’ll be missing a string of regulars – many of whom have opted out to focus on preparations for the forthcoming World Series in New Zealand – we have a number of new and returning entries for the final round, amongst them, former Champions Brooke Lucas and Paul Kelly, making for some interesting sub stories through all three categories.
UNLIMITED SUPERBOAT
Whilst he’s already wrapped up his ninth Unlimited crown (and tenth Australian title), Phonsy Mullan isn’t one to miss an opportunity to test and develop, especially with the defence of his world title mere months away.
He will be the undeniable favourite to take top honours for the weekend, although he’ll be facing long-time sparring partner Daryl Hutton who is looking to consolidate his #2 position in the Championship.
Whilst the Series regulars will be the likely front-runners (pending any setbacks), the four additional entries in the Unlimited category will provide plenty of entertainment.
Brooke Lucas is a former 350-Class Champion and a regular in 400-Class back a handful of years ago, last competing in the 2018 World Series, but this time around he’s graduated to the Unlimited category and with a new hull having taken over an ex-Sygidus ‘Mackraft’ the Queenslander running a naturally-aspirated 410ci Sprintcar engine, relying on his lighter weight and immense experience in order to take the fight to the more powerful boats.
A legend in the local area amongst the boating community, former competitor Peter Monger made a cameo appearance earlier in the season in his ‘new’ ‘Sprintec’, technical issues sidelining him before he could extract any serious speed but with a lot of those issues sorted, he will be hoping to finally make an impression and get to grips with the new-look ‘Mongrel’.
Joining the Cabarita local will be two drivers who need very little introduction, expat Kiwi mates Mike Hessell and Luke Walters, the former LS-Class drivers who made the transition across to the Unlimited category during the New Zealand Championship have now upgraded Hessell’s ‘Borrowed Time’ to a twin-turbo spec Unlimited machine, and what they lack in experience they’ll more than make up for with bravado so will certainly be ones to watch!
400-CLASS (International Group A)
With the Championship all but decided and reigning Champion Brendan Doyle sidelined for the round as he repairs his ‘PULSE’ hull and begins preparations for the forthcoming World Series, all eyes will be on the battle between Jody Ely and Champion-elect Ollie Silverton heading back to Cabarita, although if there’s one thing we’ve learnt this season, you can never guarantee a result!
Joining them this weekend will be returning former Champion Paul Kelly – who knows a thing or two about the Cabarita circuit – whilst opening round winner Danny Knappick has also shown himself capable of taking the fight to the contenders, he’s also keen to make up for a tough time across recent rounds.
The favourites will also be mindful of the emerging presence of Hugh Gilchrist, the Australian Moulding and Door Company boss having presented a real podium threat in his new ‘PULSE/JRE’ package in recent rounds and with Tremayne Jukes firmly in his corner, will be worth watching, a return to the podium the perfect tonic to close out the season.
Daniel Warburton makes a welcome return to the sport campaigning a ‘new’ fibreglass hull something he’s keen to develop over coming rounds as he looks for a point of difference over his rivals – with some impressive engine performance too, he could provide a few surprises over the weekend.
LS-CLASS
LS-Class continues the trend it has developed all season long with the biggest field of entries, Cabarita again delivering new teams to the category, but also a name that is long associated with the sport – Aitchison. Darryll Aitchison and Andrew Garthe sharing an all new ‘Aitchison’ hull, the pair making their Penrite Series debuts this weekend, although all will be chasing newly minted Champion Bastian Mullan as he continues his domination of the category.
Mullan will again line up in the ‘Jetspeed’ package that made its debut at Keith off the back of Nate Mullan’s firey exit at Griffith, although with the package up for sale immediately after, it poses the question about what the reigning Champions will debut for the coming season which will be impacted by the UIM World Series in New Zealand early in the new year.
Kyle Elphinstone will be hoping he can make a big step forward with his performance after very much playing second fiddle to the ‘RIPSHIFT’ team all season, his pace over recent rounds though making him the best of the rest despite Keith’s Matt Malthouse holding him at bay across the early rounds – their fight with Nate Mullan to make the podium will be well worth the entry alone, but they won’t be without their own challengers.
New Zealander Matt Nairn has been steadily creeping up on the pace of the front-running teams, and with a World Series pending, will be keen to make an impression as he assesses what class he will run at home next year.
Lawrie Howlett too is always a threat at ‘home’ the Queenslander making a welcome return after a few rounds away, whilst Tyler O’Day could be the dark-horse should the ‘Agro-Vation’ team get on top of the gremlins that have plagued them over recent rounds.
Jade Atchison too will be looking for a strong finish to the season after a couple of rounds away, her fight for a position in the top six will be worth watching, as will Jodie Cottam’s ongoing development, like Atchison, she missed the Keith round so will be keen to get back on the water and resume her battle with Rodney Norton – the world’s fastest garlic farmer putting in some serious development over recent weeks as he looks to move further up the field.
Junior Development
For Koby Bourke, the season finale provides what will be the closing chapter in his career driving the ‘Lil Psycho’ junior boat, the two-time Australian Champion making his final start in the category before graduating to LS-Class next season.
Bourke will again campaign alone, running against the clock to improve his time across the weekend, but whilst sad he is closing the book on his time in the boat, he has been a fantastic advocate for the category and a great role model for all those drivers who made their own starts in Juniors, the boat now available for sale for the next generation to begin their careers in the sport.
The Round Mountain Raceway event will return to its roots with a traditional two-day event, with practice and three qualifiers on Saturday ahead of the final qualifiers and the finals on Sunday before the end of season presentations on Sunday night to award the 2023/24 Champions.
The Cabarita venue is located at 337 Round Mountain Road, Round Mountain, six kilometres south-west of Cabarita Beach and just half an hour south of the Gold Coast.
For those that can’t be at Round Mountian Raceway, action from Sunday (05 May) will be streamed LIVE on Facebook and YouTube (the link will be posted on www.facebook.com/V8Superboats) whilst a post-produced highlights package will be released on 7mate, and then 7+ in the weeks following.
Tickets are available at the gate or via; https://bit.ly/4a8PYUY
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Rnd#7 [FINAL] 2023/24 Penrite Australian V8 Superboats Championship
Round Mountain Raceway, Cabarita Beach, NSW
04-05 May, 2024
UNLIMITED SUPERBOAT
1. Phonsy Mullan/Leigh Stewart (RAMJET)
22. Brooke Lucas/Nikki Dale (Trouble Maker)
28. Daryl Hutton/Mick Parry (Phoenix Lubricants)
96. Peter Monger/Joel Page (Mongrel)
370A. Mike Hessell/Shaun White (Borrowed Time)
370B. Luke Walters/Juzzi Calvert (Borrowed Time)
400-CLASS (GROUP A)
2. Jody Ely/Brooke Tanner (Rampage)
31[NZ]. Ollie Silverton/Macey Roylance (PSP Racing)
40. Paul Kelly/Andrew Gow (4Zero Racing)
45. Danny Knappick/Cliff Bamford (Tuff N Up)
81. Daniel Warburton/Ryan Loft (Attitude)
853. Hugh Gilchrist/Narelle Pellow-Djukic (MATTRIX)
LS-CLASS
1A. Bastian Mullan/Tahleah Mullan (RIPSHIFT)
1B. Nate Mullan/Nic Verrocchi (RIPSHIFT)
14A. Lawrie Howlett/Karen Howlett (Drop Bear)
14B. Karen Howlett/Lawrie Howlett (Drop Bear)
22[NZ]. Matthew Hareb/Matthew Nairn (Moist Az)
29A. Ron O’Day/Paris O’Day (Agro-Vation)
29B. Tyler O’Day (Agro-Vation)
69. Matt Malthouse/Leighton Collins (Nood Nutz Racing)
199. Jodie Cottam/Will Cartwright (Steady Eddie)
212. Lance Edmonds/Peter Sendy (Solid Gold)
219. Kyle Elphinstone/Jacob Bellamy (Blackout Racing)
267. Rodney Norton/Pam Moran (Hot Shot)
303A. Darryll Aitchison (Kennedys)
303B. Andrew Garthe (Kennedys)
777. Jade Atchison/Erin Kearney (Twisted)
7777. James Machan/Louis Borg (Toxicity)
Junior Development
97A. Koby Bourke (Lil Psycho)
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RACE SCHEDULE (AEDT)
RND#7 – Saturday, 04 May;
10:15am – practice laps commence
11:15am – Qualifying #1 (60-minutes)
12:15pm – Qualifying #2 (60-minutes)
1:15pm – Qualifying #3 (60-minutes)
RND#7 – Sunday, 05 May;
10:15am – Qualifying #4 (60-minutes)
11:15am – Qualifying #5 (60-minutes)
12:15pm – lunch break (60-minutes)
1:15pm – Junior Development Final
1:20pm – Top 12 Final (LS-Class)
1:40pm – Top 6 Final (LS-Class/400-Class/Unlimited)
2:15pm – FINAL (LS-Class/400-Class/Unlimited)
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History; V8 Superboats and Cabarita
Rnd#2 2022 Australian V8 Superboats Championship presented by Penrite
Tweed Valley Jet Sprint Club, Cabarita Beach, NSW
27-28 August, 2022
TOP 3 FINAL
Unlimited Superboat
1. 23. Phonsy Mullan/Leigh Stuart (RAMJET) – 41.082
2. 111. Rob Coley/Scott Munro (Poison Ivy) – 41.807
3. 28. Daryl Hutton/Mick Parry (Phoenix Lubricants) – 43.524
400-Class (Group A)
1. 33. Jody Ely/Olivia Parnis (Rampage) – 45.815
2. 4. Brendan Doyle/Rory Doyle (PULSE) – 46.761
3. 45. Danny Knappick/Darren Tickell (Tuff’n Up) – 49.654
LS-Class
1. 1A. Bastian Mullan/Tahleah James (RIPSHIFT) – 43.746
2. 219. Kyle Elphinstone/Jacob Bellamy (Blackout Racing) – 44.293
3. 69. Matt Malthouse/Leighton Collins (Nood Nutz) – 45.364
Junior Development*
1. 97A. Koby Bourke (Lil Pyscho) – 51.503
2. 97B. Connor Smith (Lil Pyscho) – 58.232
* different circuit rotation to other classes
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Rnd#1 20221 Australian V8 Superboats Championship presented by Penrite
23-24 July, 2022
TOP 3 FINAL
Unlimited Superboat
1. 23. Phonsy Mullan/Leigh Stuart (RAMJET) – 40.253
2. 37. Scott Krause/Rachel Parsons (KAOS) – 44.300
3. 888. Glenn Roberts/Tia McGifford (Blown Budget) – 49.831
400-Class (Group A)
1. 33. Jody Ely/Angel Brennan (Rampage) – 44.653
2. 67. Justin Roylance/Michelle Hodge (Outlaw67) – 44.864
3. 4. Brendan Doyle/Rory Doyle (PULSE) – 47.345
LS-Class
1. 1A. Bastian Mullan/Tahleah James (RIPSHIFT) – 43.962
2. 69. Matt Malthouse/Leighton Collins (Nood Nutz) – 45.735
3. 219. Kyle Elphinstone/Jacob Bellamy (Blackout Racing) – 45.756
Junior Development*
1. 97A. Koby Bourke (Lil Pyscho) – 52.428
2. 97B. Connor Smith (Lil Pyscho) – 60.076
* different circuit rotation to other classes
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Rnd#4 2021 Penrite Australian V8 Superboat Championships
26 February, 2022 (event cancelled after Q3 [400/Unlimited] and T12 [LS-Class])
TOP 3 FINAL
Unlimited Superboat [fastest after Q3]
1. 1. Slade Stanley/Vanessa Stanley (Hazardous) – 49.535
2. 23. Phonsy Mullan/Leigh Stuart (RAMJET) – 49.912
3. 28A. Daryl Hutton/Mick Parry (Phoenix Lubricants) – 51.208
400-Class (Group A) [fastest after Q3]
1. 67. Justin Roylance/Michelle Hodge (Outlaw67) – 54.143
2. 33. Jody Ely/Angel Brennan (Rampage) – 56.099
3. 4. Tremayne Jukes/Erin Thomas (PULSE) – 56.100
LS-Class [fastest after T12 Final]
1. 219. Kyle Elphinstone/Jacob Bellamy (Blackout Racing) – 55.738
2. 24A. Bastian Mullan/Kelsie Gill (RIPSHIFT) – 55.780
3. 512. Paul Hill/Alex Singleton (Slicer) – 1:01.019
Junior Development [fastest after T12 Final]
1. 97. Koby Bourke (Lil Pyscho) – 48.081
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Rnd#3 2021 Penrite Australian V8 Superboat Championships
19-20 June, 2021
TOP 3 FINAL
Unlimited Superboat
1. 23. Phonsy Mullan/Leigh Stuart (RAMJET) – 43.286
2. 28. Daryl Hutton/Mick Parry (Phoenix Lubricants) – 43.855
3. 37. Scott Krause/Rachel Parsons (KAOS) – 44.408
400-Class (Group A)
1. 33. Jody Ely/Angel Brennan (Rampage) – 45.018
2. 67. Justin Roylance/Tracey Little (Outlaw67) – 45.969
3. 53. Brett Thornton/Lyn Thornton (Still Obsessed) – 46.785
LS-Class
1. 24A. Bastian Mullan/Joel Page (RIPSHIFT) – 45.234
2. 69A. Matt Malthouse/Harrison Collins (NoodNutz Racing) – 46.946
3. 512. Paul Hill/Alex Singleton (Slicer) – ww
Junior Development
1. 97. Koby Bourke (Lil Pyscho) – ww
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2023/24 Penrite Australian V8 Superboats Championship – Series Points
Unlimited Superboat (after round five of six)
1. Phonsy Mullan (RAMJET) – 177-points, 2. Daryl Hutton (Victorian American Imports) – 152, 3. Tyler Finch (Loose Cannon) – 151, 4. Scott Krause (KAOS) – 149, 5. Glenn Roberts (Blown Budget) – 128, 6. Rob Coley (Poison Ivy) – 48, 7. Chris Edmonds (Hazardous) – 26, 8. Sam Everingham (Excalibur) – 24, 8. Peter Monger (Mongrel) – 24, 8. Ken Kesper (The Mexican) – 0
400-Class (Group A) (after round five of six)
1. Ollie Silverton (PSP Racing) – 171-points, 2. Jody Ely (Rampage) – 156, 3. Brendan Doyle (The Girlfriend) – 145, 4. Danny Knappick (Tuff’n’Up) – 142, 5. Simon Doyle (The Mistress) – 122, 6. Hugh Gilchrist (Mattrix) – 104, 7. Justin Roylance (The Outlaw) – 101, 8. Noel Verning (Quiet Time) – 94, 9. Andrew Medlicott (Gone Nutz) – 20
LS-Class (after round five of six)
1. Bastian Mullan (Ripshift) – 180-points, 2. Nate Mullan (Ripshift) – 153, 3. Kyle Elphinstone (Blackout Racing) – 135, 4. Matt Malthouse (NoodNutz Racing) – 133, 5. Mitch Malthouse (NoodNutz Racing) – 104, 6. Matt Hareb (No Limits) – 100, 7. Jade Atchison (Twisted) – 82, 8. Luke Walters (Borrowed Time) – 60, 9. Mike Hessell (Borrowed Time) – 58, 9. Darren Pollard (Disturbed) – 58, 9. Tyler O’Day (Agro-Vation) – 58, 12. Jodie Cottam (Steady Eddie) – 56, 13. Lawrie Howlett (Drop Bear) – 48, 14. Rodney Norton (Hot Shot) – 42, 14. Ron O’Day (Agro-Vation) – 42, 16. James Machan (Twisted) – 34, 17. Lance Edmonds (Solid Gold) – 30, 18. Juzzi Calvert (The Spartan) – 26, 19. Adam Sulcs (Steady Eddie) – 20, 20. Karen Howlett (Drop Bear) – 8, 21. John Verry (Blackout Racing) – 0
Junior Development (after round four of five)
1. Koby Bourke (Lil Psycho) – 144-points, 2. Harry Jay (Lil Psycho) – 33, 3. Jock Casey (Lil Psycho) – 0, 3. Tom Casey (Lil Psycho) – 0, 3. Deklan Jukes (Lil Psycho) – 0
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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
Rnd#4 – Temora, NSW – 03 February, 2024 (Colin Parish Memorial)
Rnd#5 – Griffith, NSW – 24 February, 2024
Rnd#6 [FINAL] – Keith, SA – 23 March, 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)
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.