With the spray from Round 2 at Keith barely dry, the Penrite Oil V8 Superboats Championship is already building toward its next instalment. Round 3 brings the field back to Round Mountain Raceway at Tweed Heads in New South Wales, the distinctive amphitheatre-style venue that first hosted the championship this season in July for the Greg Harriman Memorial Round.
The one-kilometre circuit at Cabba is unforgiving. Every run is a balancing act between throttle control and the ever-present threat of spray and spin, and the hillside crowd gets a clear view of all of it. When the series opened here, Tyler Finch and Kyle Elphinstone were the ones to beat in the Unlimited class, steering Loose Cannon to the win. Justin Roylance and Tracey Little took Group A honours aboard Outlaw, and Nate Mullan paired with Kirstin Schubert to dominate LS Class in Ripshift. Those results sketched the early outlines of a championship already thick with rivalry and family pride.
Round 2 told a different story. At South Australia's Spitwater Arena, Phonsy Mullan and New Zealand navigator Niketa Wells returned to form in Ramjet, posting a clean 46.165-second run to claim the Unlimited class. Hamilton-based Ollie Silverton and Amanda Kittow brought Kiwi finesse to Group A, piloting the borrowed Outlaw B to victory by two-tenths. Nate Mullan made it back-to-back LS Class wins, and the crew of Spartan Time showed what the sport demands beyond speed, repairing and restarting after a heavy crash to finish the event.
Now the championship returns north, and the Round 3 entry list is stacked. Ramjet, Loose Cannon, R & J Batteries, Mongrel, and both Spartan Time boats head up the Unlimited class. Group A features Outlaw, ASP, and Tuff N Up, while LS Class draws fourteen entries, among them Ripshift, Disturbed, and Moist Az. Racing gets under way at 9.20 a.m. local time, with six qualifying rounds running before the Top 6 and Top 3 finals wrap up around 4.20 p.m.
One notable absence from the Round 3 roster is confirmed: Ollie Silverton and Amanda Kittow will not be competing at this event. Ramjet Racing, by contrast, is firmly on the entry list, and word circulating through the paddock suggests the team has an ambitious programme taking shape, with two boats being prepared for the season, one for the Australian series and another for the upcoming New Zealand Championship.
Cabba has a way of rewarding commitment. With wins shared across the opening two rounds, Round 3 carries real championship weight. Fine margins, serious horsepower, and that unmistakable trans-Tasman edge are all part of the mix when the lights go green.
