Round 3 - Wagga Wagga 16th & 17th of June 2012

Well we have never been here before, looks good, said the Watersports Marine Racing team. We arrived Friday lunchtime for set up and to have a look out onto Lake Albert to see what the weekend would hold. Set up the pits with the team and then returned to the accommodation to start working (drinking) our strategy for the weekend ahead. The team was quietly confident about the weekend, especially after the amount of preparation and work that had gone into the boat after round 2 at Grafton.

Saturday came and man was that day looking bleak. The weather was going to be a challenge, not only for Tim on the water with the dark sky and grey water, but also for the crew who had the unfortunate job of holding the Watersports Marine F2 in the water, but Greg and Melissa were up for the task. Up first was practice, this was the opportunity to get a feel for the track and to start picking some race lines, as qualifying was going to be different this round, we were doing hot laps! Tim came in after the first session unsatisfied with the boat. The team worked on some changes and reviewed the data and went out in session 2 with minor changes to tuning made and Tim felt comfortable going to qualifying. Hot laps arrived and Tim was third to take on the Albert. The boat fired and he was off. From the bank Tim ran a perfect hot lap, the boat glided around the final turn buoy and the boat looked settled and that he was driving with ease. After all the hot laps were completed the results were in, Watersports Marine was in pole 2! What a great improvement from Grafton, well done to Tim. Normally race 1 would be run but due to some adverse weather and incidents the remaining races were postponed to the following day.

Day two and the blue sky came out, which meant minor tuning changes were required again. The team got the boat ready and they headed down for the practice session before race 1, unfortunately the boat had other ideas, once again the revs were down and the weekend looked lost, but the perseverance of Tim proved race 1 would be a great race. Race 1 and Smith was in pole, Bollins pole 2, Kadri pole 3, King pole 4, Wedlock pole 5, Cleary pole 6 and Page pole 7. The white flag went up, the fuel pumps were on and the green flag dropped, which meant the race was on. The first turn is always the one where the crews hold their breath to make sure everyone makes it through clean and they did. It was a great race, and Tim finished race 1 in third. Great result!

Back in the pits, Tim reviewed the data with the crew and again making slight changes, they were ready for race 2. Tim lined up in pole 3 with Kadri on the inside and King in pole 4, which meant another breath holding taking first buoy. The first few laps separated the boats into the respective positions, with some great driving by all boats Tim finished in second place. So far a great start to round 3 and the team were pleased with how the boat was performing but also Tim’s driving efforts under some tough race conditions.

The final race arrived and Tim was confident heading into the race. Once again Tim started on the outside of Kadri and the inside of Page, Tim knew the first buoy was going to be tough. The flags dropped and they were off.  Once again the first few laps was some close racing with some great laps between Bollins and Page, but over the laps the race finished with Tim in third place. Overall for the weekend was a huge success for the team and it gave them high hopes for the final round. The final placing’s for round 3 were, Kadri 1st, Bollins 2nd and Smith 3rd. What a great improvement for the team.

Tim would like to thank his crew who suffered through the cold weather to keep him on the water, so thank you to Sarah Bollins, Greg Payne, Melissa Robinson and Sean Walker. Tim would also like to thank his family who help support him through his days racing and keep him motivated to always push to his best during races.

Finally Tim would like to thank his sponsors, as without them a lot of this would not be possibly, Watersports Marine, KIM Haulage, Anglomoil, Light Commercial Spares, Ann’s Embroidery, P & K Tilt Trays and Alchem.

Thanks to all the fans and see you at the final round in Port Macquarie on July 28th and 29th.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Round 1 - Taree 18 & 19th February 2012

Taree was the beginning to the 2012 season and we were pumped for the New Year after having the 2011 season off. Up first was practice then qualifying, and with a lot of team work with set up changes and information back and forth for the first time we took pole position by a narrow .02 of a second. The team was excited to start the season off in such a great way and with high hopes Tim lined up for race 1, and the boat just wasn’t in the same mindset, it didn’t fire off the line which then left Tim to start half a lap down, and with some intense driving Tim gained back a couple of positions but it definitely wasn’t the finish he or the team was hoping for.

Back in the pits Tim worked tirelessly with the crew to try and work out the gremlins that plagued the first race, and with some positive signs Tim lined up for a second time, the boat fired but starting on the outside in such a tight field of boats the possibility of Tim finishing with a podium place was slipping away. Tim did some great driving and showed the boat and the team is back with a vengeance for the 2012 season. The final race finished similar to the previous two races with Tim doing some outstanding driving to work his way through the field in some rough water even with the results Tim was extremely happy with the boats performance and also how the team performed over the weekend.

The team has high hopes for round 2 at Grafton in April.

Tim would like to thank the continued support of his sponsors, Watersports Marine, KIM Haulage, Light Commercial Spares, Ann’s Embroidery, P & K Tilt Trays and Alchem. Tim would also like to thank his family, Sarah, Hayley, Ben and his crew, Greg, Melissa, Mel & Sean, for their hard work over the weekend to keep the boat on the water but also their support during his races.

See you in Grafton.

Sarah

As you are all aware the Bollins Racing team did not compete in the 2011 Australian Formula Powerboat GP Series, however it has now been confirmed that the team will be contesting the 2012 season with a vengence.

The team has been busy developing the boat durring this period and is confident that we will be a serious contender in the 2012 season.

So what has changed......

 

Keep an eye on this space for more details, but in the mean time here are a few speak pics.