Superboats tear into Townsville

The 2008 Offshore Superboat Championships culminates in Townsville this month with the sixth and final round revving into action over the weekend of 21-22 June.

Townsville was a new addition to the circuit last year and the event attracted thousands of spectators to the shoreline to witness the super-charged action.

Offshore Superboat Championships director Paul Gibbs declared the race a phenomenal success and rewarded the sunny city by naming it the host of the deciding round for 2008.

"We were thrilled by the spectator turnout along The Strand last year, it was great to receive so much support," Mr Gibbs said.

"Everyone involved in the event agreed on its success and was blown away by the atmosphere provided by the crowds. we're all thrilled the race has become a regular feature on our event calendar."

Over 20 superboats, competing in several classes, will rip around the liquid course at speeds in excess of 220km/h! Winners are awarded based on distance travelled, with the race covering around eight nautical miles and lasting about an hour.

Team Maritimo drivers Tom Barry-Cotter and Pal Virik Nilson secured Class One tournament victory after their impressive win at the inaugural Sydney Superboat Grand Prix in March. Impact Steel and Simrad are tipped as favourites in the battle for second place.

Among the other championship classes competing, Saracen is the frontrunner in the Supercat Outboard class; Ezy Does It currently leads the Supercat Outboard Lite class; while Grumpy Mongrel is likely to take out the title in the Super Vee Lite class.

The sport of offshore superboat racing is gaining steady momentum in Australia thanks to events of this kind that are already big business overseas. Crowds of 900,000 have been known to gather along shorelines in Europe to experience the adrenalin-charged action.

Among a host of other free activities organised around the Townsville race, fans can get an up-close perspective of the purpose-built boats on Saturday and Sunday morning at the dry pit area on Sir Leslie Thiess Drive. The pole position shoot-out will take place from 3:30pm on Saturday 21 June and the main event will roar into action at around 12:00pm on Sunday 22 June.

Spectators can watch the impressive machines race past within excellent view of the esplanade, with the best vantage point being Picnic Bay Headlands at The Strand.