SUPERMAN’S four-man crew has defended its title at the Robinvale Euston 80km Ski Race.
But lower river levels meant that Sunday’s win required a much different style of racing to last year’s record-breaking run.
Race boat pilot and owner Darren McGuire was happy with his team’s victory. They were 44 seconds ahead of the second placed Sapphire.
“It was a great event as usual,” he said.
“Robinvale is an awesome track, one of the best.”
The course was more difficult to navigate than previous years due to lower water levels, meaning that competitors had to be wary of sandbars.
“The track was a lot tighter, there are some nice straights but also some tight corners that you have to be aware of.”
“You’ve got to run a river line.
“We knew it wasn’t gonna be a record day, that’s for sure.”
Superman’s team alaso included observer Steven Robertson and skiers Daniel Graziano and Daniel Cotton.
The Mistress took home the Jai Welch Memorial Trophy, a cup dedicated to Jai Welch, who died after a race fall in 2015.
The race was a short dash of 15km between the top 40 boats to decide positioning for the big race the following day.
The win was a special one for the Welch family, who own the winning boat.
Locally, the Mildura Ski Club had a number of teams that performed well.
They included Team 26, which broke a record in the 1up Women’s Expert class.
Hell’s Arsenal won the Open Women’s race with Maddi Boyer and Molly Palser skiing together for the first time.
Mark Boyer piloted the boat while Brandan McGylnn observed.
The team switched positions for the Veterans race where they placed second.
“It was good to get back out on the water for the first race back, it was really nice,” McGlynn said.
Ski Racing Victoria chair Brendan Fogarty was pleased with the outcome of the event which also featured live music, a firework show and a show and shine at the Euston Club.
“We drew a huge crowd, probably a couple thousand people,” he said.
While there were some early concerns about boat-ramp access, ultimately they proved to be minor.
Fogarty credited the all the volunteers involved in the event.
“It ran really smoothly, we had great help from everyone including the Robinvale community,” he said.
“It was a little bit windy, but conditions were good including the river which was great.”
Results for the Superclass were as follows:
1st: Superman 26:54. 96
2nd: Sapphire 27:38. 02
3rd: Hellbent DNF
4th: Brimstone F1 scratched
Mildura Ski Club results:
Hells Arsenal: 1st Place – Women’s Expert
Hells Arsenal: 2nd Place – Veterans
Team 26: 1st Place and Record – 1UP Womens
Still No Dramas: 2nd Place – MOC Expert
Meltdown F2: 3rd Place – F2 Expert
Hedake: 4th Place – Under 10s (Rapha youngest competitor)
Esky Mojo: 5th Place – 70mph Expert
