The Penrite Australian V8 Superboats Championship returns to the notorious Lake Wyangan Circuit in Griffith this weekend for the fifth round of an extended season, and with half the Series now concluded, things are about to get serious.
12-months ago the Penrite Series made a return to Lake Wyangan after a four-year sabbatical, in the process delivering some big moments for the drivers – amongst them, nine-time and reigning World Champion, Phonsy Mullan.
Mullan ultimately recovered from a freak pressure wave which put him hard into the tyre barriers, whilst for drivers like Noel Verning and Kyle Elphinstone, they were not quite as lucky, submerging their boats, suffering significant engine damage in the process.
Recently the Griffith Boat Club who manage the facility, have undertaken ground works to address some of the issues that plagued teams 12-months ago, something which will have an affect on the way the boats tackle the track direction, with the behaviour of the waves an unknown until opening practice.
Coming into the round both Phonsy Mullan and son Bastian continue to dominate their respective classes and based on the results at Griffith last season, are favourites to repeat the dose this time around, whilst in 400-Class, an epic battle is brewing between the top drivers, with as many as five teams capable of winning outright this weekend – amongst them, reigning World Champion Ollie Silverton!
UNLIMITED SUPERBOAT
The rotation for the round is likely to work in Phonsy Mullan’s favour, the tight twisty Griffith circuit rewarding both experience and a lightweight nimble package, two things the ‘RAMJET’ team has in spades, but like Mullan, you can never discount the Finch family – they showed at Temora that they can draw on their own experience and with the knowledge that they’ve closed down the time deficit to the reigning champion, will mount another serious attack this weekend.
All that said, you would be wise to put your money on Mullan. He’s not big on defeat, whether contentious or not – he knows that Finch is closing and that will force a big step forward at Griffith where he will want to reassert his dominance of the category, and with a point to prove, could well lay down a memorable lap come Saturday night’s final three. Whatever transpires, the Unlimited category has suddenly had a fresh injection of life..!
The Griffith round will continue without reigning New Zealand Champion Rob Coley and expat Kiwi Chris Edmonds, both focussing on their national series as we head towards the 2025 World Series in their backyard, but whilst they’re absent, fellow New Zealander and two-time Australian Champion Darryl Hutton is still in the mix, and with a similar powerplant to that of Tyler Finch, has renewed enthusiasm as he battles for a place in the final three.
2018 round winner Scott Krause too will be in the mix, the Temora local looking to continue his tight points battle with Hutton, whilst for Glenn ‘Spider’ Roberts, the V8 Superboats veteran (21 years in the sport this season), will be hoping to build on his success at Temora where despite his vision impairment, he was very close to mathcing his daylight times under lights, thanks in part to the confidence of new navigator Narelle Pellow-Djukic. She will be back alongside this weekend as ‘Spider’ looks to pick up more valuable Championship points, although his big desire is to finalise his twin-turbo package, a project that is being quietly developed in the background..
400-CLASS
He might come in to the round as points leader, but reigning World Champion Ollie Silverton understands he has a big challenge ahead of him this weekend as he makes his debut at arguably Australia’s most challenging venue.
With all their running during daylight hours in New Zealand, Silverton is not used to racing under lights, his debut at Temora to kick off the Australian season proof of that – although he was cunning enough to understand that, and card valuable points before applying that experience last time out to closely shadow the top Australian teams in round four. Griffith though is a different animal – a significantly different circuit to Temora and with different lighting, so a whole new experience for the popular Kiwi.
As for his Australian rivals – there’s no shortage of them, and they all want to shine at Griffith, although that said, they all have enough experience at the venue to understand that if you get it wrong, it bites hard!
Reigning AUS#1 Brendan Doyle knows all about that having overstepped the mark in his maiden season in 2019, heavy contact with the bank putting the team at a crossroads, a crossroads that may well have led to their permanent retirement from the sport. Fortunately they carried on, their rebuilt boat ultimately leading to the development of the ‘PULSE’ project, a project which now sees quite a number of their boats in the field, whilst for Doyle, it led him to the 2022/23 title, although he did take a cautious approach to his Griffith return last season.
With his Griffith demons now committed to the past, Doyle’s next step is to win at Lake Wyangan, and overturn his narrow defeat to title rival Jody Ely last year. Ely likewise will be keen to return the dose with what would be his second win of the season, and put himself back on top of the Championship points, but whilst the two sparring partners are expected to fight over the top step, they won’t be alone..
Justin Roylance has been on a development program with his own new ‘PULSE’ package, and admits they went the wrong way last time out at Temora (no pun intended) – another driver with past experience at Griffith, he knows he can be competitive and would like nothing more than victory against his rivals, so keep an eye on the all black ‘Outlaw’ machine, although as they say in the commercial, “but wait, there’s more..”
For some, Danny Knappick’s victory in the opening round of the season at Temora was a surprise, but for those with knowledge of the sport, they could see he’d been on a strong engine development program in the off-season. Paired with his ‘new’ ‘Sprintec’ hull sourced from Jody Ely, he trumped the reigning World Champion in the final for his maiden victory in the sport. Since then he’s been plagued by illness at Keith and ongoing fuel pressure issues at Temora last time out so unable to take the fight to the contenders, dropping him back in the points order, but with his problems behind him, he’s more than fired up for a return to the podium this weekend.
12-months ago Noel Verning suffered a big off during the qualifiers, submerging the ‘Quiet Time’ LS-Class machine – the end result saw water forced into the engine and an early shower. That moment also decided his fate as a competitor, as the following round he emerged as a 400-Class driver and has been ever since.
A setback at Temora last time out has seen the team working overtime to repair the boat and be ready for Griffith, frustrating for them as the new look ‘Risky Business’ was making its debut with their ex-Daniel James Worlds#3 hull and a fresh JRE powerplant. With renewed enthusiasm, and a dislike for being beaten, Verning will be sure to excite as he works to overcome the setbacks of 12-months ago and get back into the fight.
He’ll have no shortage of competition though, with both Simon Doyle and Hugh Gilchrist expected to perform strongly at Griffith, although all three will be mindful of what the Lake Wyangan circuit can deliver if you push too hard.
Last time out Doyle was close to 100% throttle around the full rotation at Temora, so he is getting more and more comfortable with the boat, whilst for Gilchrist, this will be his second event in his brand new ‘PULSE’ package, and with support from the experienced Tremayne Jukes, he will be keen to make his presence felt.
LS-CLASS
The Mullan brothers were amongst a number of rookies to debut at Griffith 12-months ago, but to watch them compete on the testing layout you’d have never known, the pair going head-to-head with Kyle Elphinstone before Bastian put the result completely out of question with victory in the final by more than two seconds – his time fourth quickest outright!
For Elphinstone he came into the 2023 event with some past experience, but whilst quick early, he hit the very same pressure wave that eliminated Noel Verning and caught out Phonsy Mullan to submarine the ‘Blackout Racing’ machine in the final whilst on track to split the Mullan brothers, the damage to his engine sidelining the team for the remainder of the season.
Hot off a strong run at Temora where he was back on the podium, Elphinstone will be keen to get on top of the Griffith rotation and take the fight back to both the ‘RIPSHIFT’ team and the Malthouse entry who are amongst the teams that will be making their debuts at Griffith, the father-and-son ‘Nood Nutz’ pairing having never competed previously at Lake Wyangan, so for them it will be a baptism of fire against drivers who can draw on their 2023 experiences.
Don’t discount them though, nor their ability to be on the podium as they can be expected to put pressure on both the ‘RIPSHIFT’ and ‘Blackout Racing’ entries.
One of the drivers who may just spring a surprise at Griffith is second-generation racer Tyler O’Day. Exciting last year, bouncing off islands and shaving corners, O’Day has shown immense pace at times, but been plagued by technical issues – the most recent round at Temora seeing them chasing an electrical issue which dropped them to the rear of the top 12 – Tyler and father Ron, will be keen to make amends at Griffith.
Whilst the battle at the front of the field will attract plenty of attention, the fight for the midfield will be no less intense. Three weeks ago a titanic battle ensued between ‘Disturbed Racing’ team-mates Darren Pollard, Jade Atchison and James Machan, Pollard emerging on top, whilst for Machan – who debuted a new boat package at Temora – he also trumped Atchison who has been one of the key players at the tail of the top six this season, so keep an eye on the ‘new’ ‘Toxicity’ machine as Machan gets to terms with his new hull.
The inter-team battle will be one thing, but they’ll also have plenty of company.. Sadly Jodie Cottam will miss Griffith due to a prior commitment, but we’ll see the return of the ‘rat-pack’ (or maybe it should be called the ‘snake-pack’) with Luke Walters and Mike Hessell bringing the fun back into the game, the two expat Kiwis making a welcome return after concentrating more recently on their New Zealand series Unlimited Superboat debuts.
Committed to running the Unlimited category in Australia in coming rounds, this could well be their final run in LS-Class, and both are expected to turn it on for the fans in an extension of their exploits during the 2023 round, ‘The Spartan’ inverted not once, but twice – Walters promising to ‘go big’ again this weekend. Throw in a move for Juzzi Calvert from the navigator’s seat to the driver’s seat as the team’s ‘B’ entry, and you have all the elements for an exciting weekend for the ‘Spartan Time’ entries..
Junior Development
Former Champion Koby Bourke will be keen to get back into the thick of the action this weekend off the back of a rained-out event at Cabarita and an electrical setback last time out at Temora. He’ll also be facing some fresh competition, local drivers Jock and Tom Casey making their debuts in the ‘Lil Psycho’ machine providing the Griffith fans some more excitement to cheer about.
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Round five of the 2023/24 Penrite Australian V8 Superboats Championship will be contested at the Griffith Boat Club located at Lake Wyangan just north of Griffith on Saturday 24 February, with opening qualifying from 2:50pm ahead of the finals which will begin at 8:00pm.
For anyone attending round five, the circuit is located at Lake Wyangan, around 10-kilometres north of the Griffith city centre, on Lakes Road. Tickets are available online or at the gate.
For those of you unable to make the event, this weekend a live stream, and a range of interviews and videos will be made available via www.facebook.com/V8Superboats where results and updates will also be posted, but if you live in the area, do yourself a big favour, and drop down to Lake Wyangan to take in some of the action live, you certainly won’t be disappointed!
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Rnd#5 2023/24 Penrite Australian V8 Superboats Championship
Lake Wyangan, Griffith, NSW
24 February, 2024
UNLIMITED SUPERBOAT
1. Phonsy Mullan/Leigh Stewart (RAMJET)
28. Daryl Hutton (Victorian American Imports)
32. Tyler Finch/Jarrod Ballard (Loose Cannon)
37. Scott Krause/James Parsons (KAOS)
888. Glenn Roberts/Narelle Pellow-Djukic (Blown Budget)
400-CLASS (GROUP A)
1. Brendan Doyle/Holly Small (The Girlfriend)
2. Jody Ely/Brooke Tanner (Rampage)
31. Ollie Silverton/Jessica Sitt (PSP Racing)
45. Danny Knappick/Cliff Bamford (Tuff N Up)
67. Justin Roylance/Tracey Little (The Outlaw)
99. Simon Doyle/Cael White (The Mistress)
269. Noel Verning/Nick Smith (Quiet Time)
863. Hugh Gilchrist/Nikeyla Nisbet (MATTRIX)
LS-CLASS
1A. Bastian Mullan/Tahleah Mullan (RIPSHIFT)
1B. Nate Mullan/Lisa Dellar (RIPSHIFT)
29A. Ron O’Day/Paris O’Day (Agro-Vation)
29B. Tyler O’Day/Todd McDowell (Agro-Vation)
69A. Matt Malthouse/Rob Taylor (Nood Nutz Racing)
69B. Mitch Malthouse/Harrison Collins (Nood Nutz Racing)
77. Darren Pollard/Steve Muhvich (Disturbed Racing)
219. Kyle Elphinstone/Will Cartwright (Blackout Racing)
300A. Luke Walters/Juzzi Calvert (The Spartan)
300B. Juzzi Calvert/Luke Walters (The Spartan)
370. Mike Hessell/Shaun White (Borrowed Time)
777. Jade Atchison/Jamie Maroney (Twisted)
7777. James Machan/Louis Borg (Toxicity)
Junior Development
97A. Jock Casey (Lil Pyscho)
97B. Tom Casey (Lil Pyscho)
97C. Koby Bourke (Lil Pyscho)
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RACE SCHEDULE
Saturday, 24 February, 2024;
12:00pm – Gates Open
2:00pm – Practice laps commence
2:50pm – Qualifying #1 (50-minutes)
3:40pm – Qualifying #2 (50-minutes)
4:30pm – Qualifying #3 (50-minutes)
5:20pm – Qualifying #4 (50-minutes)
6:10pm – Qualifying #5 (50-minutes)
6:30pm – Junior Development Final
7:00pm – Dinner break (sunset – 60-minutes)
8:00pm – Top 12 Finals (LS-Class/400-Class)
8:40pm – Top 6 Final (LS-Class/400-Class/Unlimited)
9:20pm – FINALS (LS-Class/400-Class/Unlimited)
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V8 Superboats and Griffith – HISTORY
Rnd#6 2022 Australian V8 Superboats Championship presented by Penrite
Lake Wyangan, Griffith, New South Wales
11 February, 2023
FINAL RESULTS
TOP 3 FINAL
Unlimited Superboat
1. 1. Phonsy Mullan/Leigh Stuart (RAMJET) – 36.842
2. 41. Sam Everingham/Simon Williams (Excalibur) – 37.684
3. 28A. Daryl Hutton/Mick Parry (Phoenix Lubricants) – 38.451
400-Class (Group A)
1. 33. Jody Ely/Jessica Webb (Rampage) – 39.073
2. 4. Brendan Doyle/Rory Doyle (PULSE) – 40.257
3. 45. Danny Knappick/Darren Tickell (Tuff’n’Up) – 49.984
LS-Class
1. 1A. Bastian Mullan/Tahleah James (RIPSHIFT) – 38.569
2. 1B. Nate Mullan/Cain Wallace (RIPSHIFT) – 40.741
3. 219. Kyle Elphinstone/Jacob Bellamy (Blackout Racing) – DNF
Junior Development*
1. 97B. Connor Smith (Lil Pyscho) – 54.672
2. 97A. Koby Bourke (Lil Pyscho) – 55.113
3. 97C. Eliza Roylance (Lil Pyscho) – 69.465
* different circuit rotation to other classes
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Rnd#5 2019 Penrite V8 Superboat Championships
21 September, 2019
FINAL RESULTS
TOP 3 FINAL
Unlimited Superboat
1. 08. Slade Stanley/Vanessa Stanley (Hazardous) – 33.928
2. 28. Daryl Hutton/Mick Parry (Phoenix Lubricants) – 36.790
3. 01. Scott Krause/James Parsons (KAOS) – 38.549
400-Class (Group A)
1. 40. Paul Kelly/Naomi Gow (4Zero Racing) – 38.425
2. 1. Mark Garlick/Kerry Garlick (Grumpy On Edge) – 39.980
3. 53. Brett Thornton/Lyn Thornton (2Obsessed) – 40.553
LS-Class
1. 62. Andrew Medlicott/Phil Shead (Gone Nutz Again) – 44.678
2. 380. Dwayne Mezzadri/Mitch Curtis (Unleashed) – 45.366
3. 17A. Graham Reynolds/Chloe Reynolds (Red Rum) – 48.351
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Rnd#1 2018 Penrite Australian V8 Superboats Championships
24 February, 2018
TOP 12 FINAL (rain out for Top 6/FINAL)
Unlimited Superboat
1. Scott Krause (KAOS) – 38.446
2. Phonsy Mullan (RAMJET) – 39.965
3. Glenn Roberts (Blown Budget) – 40.218
TOP 6 FINAL (rain out for FINAL)
400-Class (Group A)
1. Ben Hathaway (Weapon) – 39.824
2. Paul Kelly (4Zero Racing) – 39.883
3. Jody Ely (Rampage) – 41.015
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Rnd#3 2017 Australian V8 Superboats Championship
15 April, 2017
FINAL
Unlimited Superboat
1. Phonsy Mullan (RAMJET) – 37.008
2. Tremayne Jukes (Maniac) – 37.572
3. Ted Sygidus (Frankenzstain) – 39.160
400 Class (Group A)
1. Paul Kelly (4Zero Racing) – 41.685
2. Daniel James (Spitwater Team Outlaw) – 42.867
3. Justin Roylance (Spitwater Team Outlaw) – 43.000
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2023/24 Penrite Australian V8 Superboats Championship – Series Points
Unlimited Superboat (after round three of six)
1. Phonsy Mullan (RAMJET) – 105-points, 2. Scott Krause (KAOS) – 93, 3. Daryl Hutton (Victorian American Imports) – 89, 4. Tyler Finch (Loose Cannon) – 88, 5. Glenn Roberts (Blown Budget) – 76, 6. Rob Coley (Poison Ivy) – 48, 7. Chris Edmonds (Hazardous) – 26, 8. Sam Everingham (Excalibur) – 24, 8. Peter Monger (Mongrel) – 24
400-Class (Group A) (after round three of six)
1. Ollie Silverton (PSP Racing) – 99-points, 2. Jody Ely (Rampage) – 96, 3. Danny Knappick (Tuff’n’Up) – 90, 3. Brendan Doyle (The Girlfriend) – 90, 5. Simon Doyle (The Mistress) – 76, 6. Noel Verning (Quiet Time) – 74, 7. Hugh Gilchrist (Mattrix) – 48, 8. Justin Roylance (The Outlaw) 44, 8. Andrew Medlicott (Gone Nutz) – 20
LS-Class (after round three of six)
1. Bastian Mullan (Ripshift) – 108-points, 2. Nate Mullan (Ripshift) – 99, 3. Kyle Elphinstone (Blackout Racing) – 86, 4. Matt Malthouse (NoodNutz Racing) – 74, 5. Matt Hareb (No Limits) – 72, 6. Mitch Malthouse (NoodNutz Racing) – 56, 7. Jade Atchison (Twisted) – 54, 8. Lawrie Howlett (Drop Bear) – 48, 9. Luke Walters (Borrowed Time) – 38, 9. Darren Pollard (Disturbed) – 38, 11. Jodie Cottam (Steady Eddie) – 36, 12. Mike Hessell (Borrowed Time) – 34, 13. Lance Edmonds (Solid Gold) – 30, 14. Tyler O’Day (Agro-Vation) – 28, 15. Adam Sulcs (Steady Eddie) – 20, 15. James Machan (Twisted) – 20, 15. Rodney Norton (Crackers) – 20, 18. Ron O’Day (Agro-Vation) – 16, 19. Karen Howlett (Drop Bear) – 8, 20. John Verry (Blackout Racing) – 0
Junior Development (after round two of five)
1. Koby Bourke (Lil Psycho) – 36-points, 2. Harry Jay (Lil Psycho) – 0-points
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2023/24 Penrite Australian V8 Superboats Championships
Rnd#1 – Temora, NSW – 09 September, 2023 (Colin Parish Memorial)
Rnd#2 – Keith, SA – 14 October, 2023
Rnd#3 – Tweed Coast, NSW – 04 November, 2023 (postponed due to weather)
Rnd#4 – Temora, NSW – 03 February, 2024
Rnd#5 – Griffith, NSW – 24 February, 2024
Rnd#6 [FINAL] – Keith, SA – 23 March, 2024
Rnd#7 [FINAL] – Tweed Coast, NSW – 04/05 May, 2024
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 will again be 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.
For more information on the 2023/24 Penrite Australian V8 Superboat Championships, please visit www.v8superboats.com.au
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