While the support classes, especially 25hp/550cc and Junior Classes provided plenty of action with close and competitive racing, it was the Formula GP boats that captured the crowd’s attention.

Running for the first time at a new venue always presents problems with engine and propellor set up but by the time qualifying came around most of the Formula GP teams were up to speed. Sam Lucas (RM Marine Jackson) currently sitting second in the championship claimed pole position with a blistering sub 50sec lap of 49.02sec. Less than a second covered the next three with Simon Troy (888 Racing) currently third in the series with a 50.11, Ewan Bricker (Team Bricker Racing) 50.30 and current series leader Rhys Coles (Butler Vehicles) debuting a new hull with a 50.98.

Qualifying 5th was Kye Cornall (117 Motorsport) ahead of Dean Allison (Allison Racing), Paul Sain (Trim King Racing) and Riley Whellam (Whellham Racing).

The organisers were incredibly pleased to see a vast number of spectators lining the banks as the boats exploded from start located at the island in the centre of the course and powered towards the first turn buoy. Lucas on pole was a little slow getting away while Troy, who was alongside him on the start grid and is known for his fast starts headed the field into the first turn.

Lucas keen to make up for his slow start bolted back into the action and as they turned all held their breath as the boats disappeared into a mass of spray waiting for all the boats to reappear. The race settled down with Troy leading from Lucas and Coles followed by Cornall who was hotly pursued by Bricker.

With just a couple of laps remaining Bricker pulled up the inside of Cornall but, the gap between the two disappeared, the resulting collision sent Bricker’s boat rolling over the top of Cornall’s, bringing out a red flag and a premature end to the race. Fortunately, both drivers escaped unscathed, and Team Bricker are expecting to be back on the water for tomorrow’s races.

Following today’s result, the championship fight between the top three of Coles, Lucas and Troy has tightened and the two Formula GP races on Sunday will decide the Australian Series Championship winner.

Once again Michael Quinlan was on the scene capturing all the action images.

Round Three of the AFPGP Series see’s the tour heading approximately two hours north of the Sydney to Rathmines on Lake Macquarie, which is the largest coastal saltwater lake in the Southern Hemisphere. It covers approximately 120 square kilometres (four times the size of Sydney Harbour).

Brock shared his thoughts on the event when speaking with PRW

It is always great to go to a new venue as no one really knows what to expect. Thousands of people lined the shores of Lake Macquarie last weekend as the Fast & Loud Festival roared into life with the offshore racing guys. Let’s hope we can also attract a big crowd because we have an incredibly competitive sixteen boat entry list, so I am sure we are going to put on a show.

Despite Brock missing Round Two and Damon only coming home with two hundred points, the boys find themselves in third and fourth respectively and still within reach of the championship lead.

Following his crash Damon understandably felt disheartened

Yes, after the crash and all the carry on that came with it, I did feel disappointed but after seeing how well we are still doing in the championship it has fired me up and I can’t wait to get back in my boat and go racing.

Brock continued by saying

Damon and I want to prove a point this weekend and we’re determined to do so. If we don’t have any dramas mechanically, I don’t see why one of us can’t win the final. We have worked hard to be competitive, and we are on a mission to win.

Both boats will look slightly different at Rathmines as their relationship with long time major sponsor, Simmons Landscaping, has come to an end due to the sale of the business. Simmons Landscaping had been a loyal supporter of Cohen Bros Racing since 2015. Both boats will still carry sponsorship from the Eagle Development Group, Whittley NSW Sales Sydney & Newcastle, Riverfront Logistics and Simmons Projects.

The organisers of the Fast & Loud Festival have now made this a free event due to the wet weather forecast. They have stated that at this stage they are planning for the event to go ahead as usual, now as a free event, where they may need to make some quick changes on the day in response to the weather.

The current championship standings are below:

You can follow Cohen Bros Racing on their respective social media platforms below:

Facebook: www.facebook.com/CohenBrosRacing

Instagram: @CohenBrosRacing

Website: www.cohenbrosracing.com.au

Main image by Michael Quinlan at Quinno’s Quick Snaps

Nobody though was quite prepared for the conditions that greeted all the teams when they arrived at the Lake. Due to the weather not going to plan the mornings timetable was hastily rearranged. Finally, the strong wind changed direction and racing got under way.

The weekend’s race format would see two groups of seven boats having a qualifying session then racing two heats before they would both merge together for the final race.

When qualifying finally got underway Ewen Bricker posted the fastest time in his group which included several of the fancied runners. Due to not meeting the correct weight both Damon Cohen and Matt Smith were sent to the back of the group. In the second group Sam Lucas, Brock Cohen, and Rhys Coles could barely be separated in their qualifying session.

Unfortunately Heat One for the ‘Odds’ group would see heartbreak for Bricker after his prop shaft snapped leaving him stranded on the course.

With no spare gearcase it meant that he would take no further part in the weekend’s racing.

Then with just three minutes to go Matt Smith rolled out at turn five in his Pugh hull leaving the OOD with little choice but to red flag the heat. Damon Cohen would take first place followed by Simon Troy.

Heat One for the ‘Evens Group’ was dominated by Brock Cohen who led from start to finish. He was followed home by Sam Lucas, who had set a faster qualifying time than Cohen. Kaine Casson had been having a great drive, however he hit a turn buoy resulting in a two-lap penalty which dropped him down the results sheet.

The following day would once again start with the organisers hoping the winds would calm down enough to allow racing to get under way. Eventually the competitors were allowed to line up in their groups again, this time though the grid would be in reverse order of their Heat One finishing positions.

That would mean Casson in his Optimax powered Moore hull would start from pole. As the green followed by the white flag dropped, he struggled to get off the line and Brock Cohen surged into the lead from sixth on the grid. By the end of the eight-minute Heat Two Cohen had taken the chequered flag but amazingly Casson had fought his way up from fourth place to take second.

Heat Two for the ‘Odds Group’ had Joel Smith lining up in pole position with his Mercury powered 2.5litre GTR hull but at the very last minute he had to pull out due to his safety gear failing. As the race got under way Simon Troy swept into an early lead. It didn’t last long though as he was soon past by Damon Cohen who had the Baba hull set up perfectly for the tough choppy water conditions. Smith Racing were having the race to forget after Joel Smith had to head back to the pits and now his father Matt came to a stop due to a gearcase failure which the team believe may have been the aftermath of hitting a turn buoy. With just four minutes remaining Cohen had opened a half a lap advantage over Troy who in turn was sitting comfortably in second position and that’s how it finished.

So, as the remaining thirteen drivers lined up for the Final it would be the Cohen brothers that lined up in first and second on the grid with Troy in the third spot. At the green and white flags dropped both Cohen brothers made a great start, but it would be Brock that would take the early lead. Within three laps Damon had caught and passed his brother who now had Sam Lucas filling his rear-view mirrors. With the top four now extending their lead they were beginning to close on the backmarkers. Troy was the first to encounter an issue though after he drove over the chequered buoy and was stranded by turn two.

As Damon Cohen was working his way through those back markers, he approached turn two with Riley Wellham in his Burgess hull just ahead. To avoid Troy, he tried to thread himself between the stationary Molgaard and Wellham but just caught the Burgess hull. In the impact Cohen sponson was damaged and his trim got stuck all the way up. He continued to race around the course stuck at full trim, but it meant he was unable to race at full speed and quickly fell back to fourth place just behind Coles.

This meant that Brock Cohen had now inherited the lead after the demise of his brother and with the race nearing its fourteen minutes and one lap conclusion, he managed to hold off the fast-charging Lucas and ‘walk away’ with victory in Albury.

As the team were assessing the ‘highs and lows’ Brock said

Damon and I are incredibly happy with the pace we showed this weekend. Straight out of the box we were on the money. We have spent two years developing this formula to work for us and it was a compliment to be so competitive in such a high-quality field.

Damon said he had mixed emotions, but the team would go home with a great handful of points and showed the rest of the field just how competitive both boats are.

When Lucas went to collect his second-place trophy he said

We came with a plan to finish and to keep it upright this weekend. Second place is still hard to comprehend though.

It had been a tough weekend for Rhys Coles who came home in third place.

I wasn’t driving well at all and yesterday I really felt extremely uncomfortable in the boat. The crew were up early this morning changing transom heights and moving the weight around in the boat. We then found the DAC was getting better and better. Before the final I spoke to a friend of mine in America about propellors, so we decided to go with something different and it really worked. The condition got better, and I thought I have got to have a go here from seventh and I managed to work my way up through the field, but those Cohen Brothers were super-fast all weekend.

Brock Cohen left Albury with the maximum points haul of 800. (200 x 2 for the heat wins and 400 x 1 for the final win) and when he spoke to PRW he said

We will now have a busy couple of months to get ready for Round Two in Mulwala, plus my first baby is due four days before the race, so fingers crossed he comes early enough so we can attempt to or try to extend our championship lead.

Round One Finals Result – Lake Hume Resort, Albury, NSW

1 / 98 – Brock COHEN- Cohen Bros Racing

2 / 15 – Sam LUCAS- RM Marine Jackson

3 / 14 – Rhys COLES- Rhys Coles Racing

4/ 55 – Damon COHEN- Cohen bros Racing

5 / 360 – Kaine CASSON- Casson Racing

6 / 117 – Kye CORNALL- 117 Motorsport

7 / 66 – Joel SMITH- Smith Racing

8 / 48 – Greg BANKS- Octane Racing

9 / 65 – Matt SMITH- Smith Racing

10 / 28 – Dean ALLISON- Allison Racing

11/ 24 – Riley WELLHAM- Wellham Racing

12 / 108 – Mathew WASTLE- 108 Racing

DNF / 888 – Simon TROY- 888 Racing

DNS / 6 – Ewan BRICKER- Bricker Racing