The crew of Darren Maguire (driver), Steven Robertson (observer), Daniel Graziano and Daniel Cotton (skiers) finished the course in 30:58.8, a massive 49 seconds behind winner Sapphire.
Superman’s time year was actually eight seconds faster than the time that won it the race in 2020, but it could only get as high as second place this time around.
It wasn’t smooth sailing for Superman in the lead up to the race, with the team forced to change boats because of a mechanical issue.
Completing the race in its back-up boat, Superman just couldn’t match Sapphire’s pace.
After finishing their run, observer Steven Robertson said it was an unfortunate way to end the weekend.
“Our run wasn’t as good as we wanted it to be,” Robertson said.
“We had to use our back-up boat, so it was not ideal for us, but we did what we could with what we had.”
He said the team’s switch to its back-up boat had a big effect on their race.
“It had a huge impact, it’s a completely different boat. It has a different engine, it rides different, there is a reason it’s our back-up boat,” he said.
“We’re not sore losers, but it would have been nice to have our real boat today.
“We are happy, I thought it was handling quite well, but there is still a lot of room for improvement with that boat, we just haven’t had any time in it.”
Robertson was full of praise for Sapphire and its crew, congratulating them on the win.
“It’s good to see Sapphire win, they have put in the hard yards,” he said.
“Hats off to Sapphire and everyone else that finished safely.”
Superman was the second super class boat to get under way after finishing second in Saturday’s Bakers Blitz, finishing three seconds behind Sapphire.
Robertson said that, and the difficult decisions, made it tough for the team.
“The conditions weren’t great, I have to be honest, obviously starting back in second it’s never going to be great,” he said.
“It’s always hard down here, we have a crew from Sydney and Dubbo.
“We’re not from here so we don’t know the river, only from skiing on it.
“But again, everyone has to race in the same conditions, so hats off to Sapphire.”
While this race might not have gone as well as they might have hoped, it has still been a successful season for Superman with wins in Robinvale and Mildura.
“We’ve had a great season,” Robertson said.
“We’ve had plenty of fun, plenty of laughs and plenty of wins, so all is good.”
Robertson said the crew would be back with a vengeance at next year’s event.
“We’ll be back better than ever, mark my words,” he said.
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