MEDIA RELEASE - Tuesday, 6 February 2007RED BELLIES BOUNCE BACK INTO ACTION |
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After stealing the show with a high-speed crash in Taupo a fortnight ago, Red Bellies Racing is keen to bounce back in style in Round Two of the New Zealand Offshore Powerboat Championship at Maraetai this weekend. Despite a 160km/h exit from their international debut, the Australian team turned plenty of heads with an impressive performance. Bruce Sanders and Colin Craven were leading the competitive Superboat Light Class convincingly, and sat fourth outright in the 40-boat field at the time of the mid-race incident. "Obviously the result at Taupo wasn't quite what we had planned, but our pace was incredibly satisfying," Sanders, who has recorded six Australian titles in eight years alongside Craven, said. "We were confident of being competitive in the New Zealand series, but to get out there and lead the class by almost half a lap took us a bit by surprise - especially in our first race on a right-hand-turn circuit and up against such strong competition. "We're keen to show it wasn't a flash in the pan, and be quick again this weekend, especially because the 2006 American Series Champion boat will be joining our class." With the aid of some local businesses, Red Bellies Racing sprung into action quickly after the Taupo crash, to ensure the boat is back in the water this weekend at Maraetai Beach. |
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Red Bellies Racing shone in their NZ Series debut
at Taupo...
... before a 160km/h crash ended their day |
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Repair work commenced within hours of the boat returning to the surface, and will conclude later this week, ahead of Saturday's 100-mile race. "It has been a hectic 10 days," Sanders said. "The canopy will be finished on Wednesday - it has been totally rebuilt - and installed on Thursday with the repaired panels and instrumentation. "Fortunately we didn't have to replace a whole engine, but we've had to check them comprehensively, replace a lot of parts and run them in again "I'd like to thank Profloors New Zealand for housing the boat and providing us with workshop space to repair it, and Marineworks, who have helped us out enormously with the repair work." Not content to simply rebuild the boat, Red Bellies Racing took the opportunity to increase its levels of safety. "The crash is something I never want to do again," Sanders stated. "But in these situations, you need to learn from the experience, so we're better prepared if we do ever have another crash like it one day. "We've done a lot of work in improving the safety in the canopy, and have added internal roll bars. "Nothing is ever bullet-proof, but we feel the boat is now even better equipped to withstand the sorts of forces it took at Taupo and ultimately protect both Colin and I. "There won't have a chance to test the boat before the race itself, so we'll play it fairly conservatively for the first lap while we assess it and make sure everything is working properly. "After that, though, we'll be right on it and aiming for the podium." The 100-mile race, Round two of eight in the 2007 series, kicks off at 1pm local time on Maraetai Beach. Red Bellies Offshore Racing is supported by Seabreeze Hotel, Barwil Unitor Ships Service, Mainlube, Always Stainless, Watersports Marine, Total Fencing Solutions, Steve Cotton Painting, Hosting Impact and Argo Engineering. When not racing offshore powerboats, Bruce Sanders heads the Sanders Group, based in New South Wales' Nelson Bay, which owns and manages several hotels and motels in the region, including the Seabreeze Hotel. . In 2006, Seabreeze Hotel was awarded 'Hotel of the Year', by the Australian Independent Liquor Group, in recognition of the hotel's high quality management, facilities and service |
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