Wrangler well-placed

Press, 18 September 1976, Page 52

Wrangler well-placed

Phillip Mills, driving his 24ft Ryancraft tunnelhull Wrangler, has an opportunity to increase his considerable points lead in the open A and B class in the Otago powerboat marathon on Saturday; Mills has a commanding lead of 18 points over his nearest rival, Alan Boyd (Up Up and Away) and, with only three races left in the South Island series after the Otago event,, he looks certain of, winning the Cee Bee Marine “Driver of the Year”,

The race for open, C and D class boats and cruisers will be over 60 miles; the E and F class boats compete over 30 miles. The Dunedin harbour should prove ideal for tunnelhull boats. Mills has made minor alterations to Wrangler, which is powered by two 200 h.p. Johnson V 6 engines. He has changed the engine heights in an attempt to increase its speed.

Boyd damaged a propeller at Invercargill on August 7 which led to a lower unit blowing in one motor. He did not compete at Timaru two

weeks later and has a difficult task ahead of him if he is to overhaul Mills.

An interesting starter in the main race will be Sam March in Black Sambo. Powered by a 496 cu. in. Chev. engine, the boat is the only inboard offshore racing tunnelhull in New Zealand. Assassin, driven by Gordon Chamberlain, is third at present and is always a threat. Other boats in the A and B class are Mako (Buzz March), Pagan (Brian Miller), Blue Pointer (Jack Ryan) and Striptease (Brian Harvey, Wellington), which is a twin to Mako but has a hull of fibre-glass. Favoured in the highly competitive C class are The Villain (Rod McKenzie), the leader in the class, and Malibu (John Rodgers), which is nine points behinds Jim Youngman, who has been consistently placed second in Black Max, and Powerboat Centre (Kent Prier), which won the Timaru race, are other top prospects. Ken Greenwood drove Tanqueray Gin for its first

win at Timaru, but he is some distance behind the E class leader, Marion Ryan.

Leaders in the classes are:— Open A and B class.—Wrangler (P. Mills), 48 points, 1; Up Up and Away (A. Boyd). 30. 2; Asassin (G. Chamberlain). 21, 3; Mako (B. March), 12, 4; Blue Pointer (J. Ryan). 11, S; Pagan (B. Miller), 9, 6.

C class.—The Villain (R. McKenzie). 37, 1; Malibu (J. Rodgers), 28. 2; Black Max (J. Youngman), 27. 3; Powerboat Centre (K. Prier), 12, 4; Elation (L. Sadler), 9,5; Miss Ryancroft (J. Ryan). 8 6. D class.—Trailways (R. Browne), 39. 1; Gringo’s Mistress (D. Broome and Alistair McDougall), 12, 2; Seiko (K. Sexton), and Shaft (D Herd), 9, (equal) 3; Little Savage (N. Williams), 8, 5. E class.—Brightling’s Express (M. Ryan). 55. 1; Tanqueray Gin (K. Greenwood), 39. 2; Kojak (J. Mcßrearty). 18, 3; Little Powerboat Centre (J. Dick) 12, 4; Little Powerboat Centre (D. McWhinnie). 9,5; Miss X (D. Connor), 7, 6. F class.—The Streaker (M. Daniel) 54, 1; Sneaky Poker (D. Jack), 43. 2; Sting (M. Gilmour), 10, 3; Nomad (S. Payne) and Puppet (S. Callaghan), 6, (equal) 4; Red Streaker (A. Craig), 4, S. C class cruisers.—Stipulator (C. Hill). 54. 1: Thrillseeker (R. Horrell) and Howzat (W. Betteridge), 10, (eaual) 2; Chicane (D. Stent), Geronimo (A. Memphes), and La Tortue (T. Jarvis), 6, (equal) 4.