Blitz champions: Sapphire earned the right to set off first in the 2024 Southern 80 after clinching the Bakers Blitz title by two seconds from Superman. Photo: Aidan Briggs
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Aidan Briggs
Sapphire made the best start possible in its bid for a three-peat of Southern 80 titles, clinching a nail-biting win in the Bakers Blitz on Saturday afternoon.
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The winner of the Blitz is given the right to start first on Sunday afternoon, however a tragic incident on Sunday morning saw racing cancelled when a skier fell into the water and could not be revived at the scene.
On Saturday, the crowd waited expectantly at the Victoria Park finish line for the reigning back-to-back champion, which sporting the #1 decal, was last to leave Five Mile Boat Ramp.
Hells Reflection, with driver Alex Handley, observer Ryan Wridgway and skiers Cameron Nix and Jason Cartledge aboard, was the first of the superclass boats away in the Blitz, setting a benchmark of 6:52.
Supernova and Brimstone F1 were next to leave from the top class, but times of 7:02 and 6:58 were not quick enough to unseat Hells Reflection, who continued to occupy the provisional pole position.
Superman flew down the course next, navigating the tight bends with expert precision, setting a blistering time of 6:39 to launch itself to the top of the standings with just one boat to come.
But Sapphire was made to wait, with racing halted briefly before the defending champions launched their assault on the course.
And despite what appeared to be a quick run, there was a delay of a few minutes between the boat crossing the line and the official time of 6:37 being announced.
While one second slower than their effort last year, the result was still quick enough to claim the win over Superman by two seconds.
Speaking after the triumph, Pickford, who was at the helm of the blue Sapphire vessel, said the team would enjoy the advantage of setting off first in the main event.
“Yeah, (it was) a good day,” he said.
“Obviously it’s nice and warm, and we had a long wait down the other end, and obviously the medical hold didn’t help, pulling the skiers back off and restarting.
“But that’s all good – two seconds, one second, as long as we’re in front (on Sunday) that’s the main thing.
“It’s a big advantage obviously taking off first on the Sunday, with clean water and good conditions.”
While it does provide a definite advantage, starting first in the Southern 80 doesn’t guarantee the win, with Sapphire claiming the overall crown in 2023 despite finishing second in the Blitz following a mishap from TR.
Nothing in it: Temper 2 earned the President’s Dash crown on Saturday after defeating 99 Psycho Clowns by just 0.79 of a second. Photo: Aidan Briggs
Photo by
Aidan Briggs
A two second gap might not sound like a lot, but it an eternity compared to the margin that split Temper 2 and 99 Psycho Clowns in the President’s Dash, with Temper 2 taking the win in a time of 7:04:11 to the Clown’s 7:04:90.
The crew of Rhett Davis, Danny Cropper, Bailey Cropper and Jack Coaldrake improved to record a run that was seven seconds quicker than their 2023 effort which netted them second.
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