SPECTATORS crowded along the shores of Lake Eppalock last weekend as speedboat drivers from all over Australia competed for gold.<\/p>\n
The Eppalock Gold Cup is an annual speed boat championship that holds the promise of prestige and recognition of skill for the winners, but for those who come to watch the sport the main draw is the noise.<\/p>\n
Hayley O\u2019Brien and daughter Shelley travelled to Eppalock for the race and said they loved the noise of the boats.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve grown up around it\u201d she said. \u201cIt\u2019s an attraction I reckon, like people come for the noise.\u201d<\/p>\n
Among their favourite boats at the cup was Aussie Connection, an historic racing boat that Ms O\u2019Brien said she remembers seeing when she was a kid.<\/p>\n
The 1960s era hydroplane is one of the largest racing speedboats still competing and houses a modified merlin engine, originally from a World War Two fighter plane.<\/p>\n
The noise generated by Aussie Connection is, according to some fans, iconic, a sentiment driver Ricky Howard would agree with.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen they got it going again my son hadn\u2019t seen it run and I brought him down here just to see it run, I said you\u2019ve got to see this thing and hear it, you\u2019ve got to experience it,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cAt full song when it\u2019s running it\u2019s just a sweet sound.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mr Howard said he was honoured to be able to pilot Aussie Connection alongside other hydroplanes, such as current racing standard, the GP1.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019re probably not going to win with it, you\u2019re not going to beat a GP 1 with it, but it\u2019s beautiful,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Although heads turned when Aussie Connection took to the course, the three-tonne boat was not able to compete on the day due to engine failure, leaving the cup to be claimed by Melton Toyota\u2019s GP 1.<\/p>\n
Pilot, Grant Harrison, was the Eppalock defending champion and he and his team confidently retook the cup in their first 2024 victory.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve won it a number of times now,\u201d he said. \u201cYears ago it was a very prestigious trophy and it\u2019s growing back in stature now.\u201d<\/p>\n
Harrison started racing when he was 18 years of age and said he was excited to be one of the elite speedboat drivers in Australia.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a fairly unique sport. Everybody drives a car, everybody can pretend to be Michael Schumacher or a V8 supercar driver but not too many people get to drive a grand prix hydroplane,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
SPECTATORS crowded along the shores of Lake Eppalock last weekend as speedboat drivers from all over Australia competed for gold. The Eppalock Gold Cup is an annual speed boat championship that holds the promise of prestige and recognition of skill for the winners, but for those who come to watch the sport the main draw […]<\/p>\n