02/11/2017

Rnd#7 2017 V8 Superboats Championship

Tweed Coast Jet Sprint Club, Cabarita Beach, NSW

(28-29 October, 2017)

 

After a mixed season that saw the full spectrum of emotions for the Spitwater Team Outlaw V8 Superboat operation, Justin Roylance and his crew have claimed a top six finish in the hotly contested 400-Class to put themselves in the box seat for an outright title assault on the 2018 Australian Championships and the 2018 UIM World Championships

 

Kicking off the season with an all-new package - from hull to engine - Justin and Bree Roylance knew the Australian titles would present a significant challenge, but with their focus firmly on developing a competitive package for the 2018 Australian Championships and the UIM World titles later in the year, they looked upon the 2017 season as a learning experience - and what an experience it was..

 

Sadly the season started on the back foot, late delivery of mechanical parts for the new JRE-developed engine had them behind the eight-ball for the season opener, ultimately forcing the team to watch the Temora round unfold from the spectators hill.

 

By round two - the first ever event at the new Keith facility in South Australia - the immaculate Spitwater supported Outlaw67 machine was unveiled, and despite some minor teething problems, you couldn’t wipe the wide smile from Justin Roylance’s face afterwards.. it was game on!

 

Griffith was the scene of the third round of the season, the annual day/night event is widely regarded as the most difficult and most demanding of the season, something Roylance could attest to having tested the outer limits of the circuit on many occasions.

 

This time around though, with the hands-on support of JRE’s Brad and Daniel James, the Roylance team were rewarded with a second-placed finish in the final, Justin admitting afterwards that whilst the win was on the table, a more conservative approach and a straight boat on the trailer at the end of the weekend was his focus - it was all big-picture stuff..!

 

Having established a solid benchmark for the boat and made the podium in just their second outing, the team unleashed greater potential for the final event ahead of the winter break at Cabarita, and they quickly discovered the reason they were using their maiden season as a development program..

 

Developing much better power and torque than they’d had from their engines in past seasons, it was clear their jet unit was not capable of turning that power into drive, forcing the team to turn their attention from tweaking their new Stingray hull, into finding solutions for the 8.5” Scott jet unit - or more particularly, developing props that would match the powerplant.

 

Despite the setbacks with developing the right blades - a delay in part due to the back-orders the manufacturer themselves were facing - the team forged on, eking out a sequence of competitive runs in and around the top six over the closing rounds to be classified sixth for the championship, and with a mountain of data to take into 2018.

 

“As a racer you want to win, that’s part of the DNA,” Justin Roylance admitted. “So it’s frustrating to have to discount that and focus on development and building a package. It was clear to us pretty quickly though that thanks to JRE we had the right boat, and we had the right engine, but the big problem was getting that power to the ground - so to speak. We just couldn’t get the power through the jet unit efficiently, so we were forced to go on a development program there too.

 

“I think by season’s end we knew what we needed and we knew how to get it, so that will put us in the box seat to start 2018, and for next season we have a few more exciting announcements..”

 

Whilst not saying too much, it appears that season 2018 will see the Outlaw67 team increase in size, with plans to introduce a second team as well as a second and third  JRE-built 400-Class engine, all with a view to going after the Australian championship title and to being a contender in the Australian-based 2018 UIM World Jetsprint Championships.

 

“I couldn’t be more excited about what 2018 has to offer, especially off the back of a season where we learnt so much, not just technically, but I also had a great chance to learn how to drive my own boat [as opposed to subbing with other teams] and get myself up to speed again with the intricacies of campaigning a Superboat at speed.

 

“We’re in this for the long haul. We love the sport as a family, and I like to win, so that’s the focus for 2018 - we wouldn’t have it any other way!”

 

For more information on the 2017 Australian V8 Superboat Championships, please visit www.v8superboats.com.au

 

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400-Class (Group A) (after round seven of seven)

1. Ben Hathaway (Weapon) - 206-points, 2. Brett Thornton (2Obsessed) - 205, 3. Mark Garlick (Grumpy) - 193, 4. Jody Ely (Rampage) - 187, 5. Paul Kelly (4Zero Racing) - 177, 6. Justin Roylance (Spitwater Team Outlaw) - 159, 7. Brad Marsden (Allcott Transformer) - 146, 8. Greg Harriman (Pink Boots Foundation) - 144, 9. Hugh Gilchrist (Pink Boots Foundation) - 118, 10. Ivan Safranek (64), 11. Clint Ruby (Dirty Deeds) - 46

 

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All images courtesy of Russell Puckeridge - Pureart Creative Images