BOATS and their drivers will reach speeds of up to 250km per hour at this weekend’s Eppalock Gold Cup.
About 80 boats are tipped to hit the water at Lake Eppalock for the Victorian Speed Boat Club-hosted ‘Hydromania, to be run over two days, starting on Saturday.
Competitors will travel from all parts of Victoria, as well as New South Wales and South Australia, and will compete for $5000 in prize money.
A captivating and extensive list of features includes the Mary and Ernie Nun Memorial for grand prix hydroplanes, Lawson Shield (six litres), Geoff Horne Memorial, Cole Brown Series (1.6 litre hydroplanes) and the Les Spears (unlimited displacement).
But the undoubted feature is the 2019 Eppalock Gold Cup, with Liam Holland in Desperado looking for back-to-back titles.
Holland will face strong competition from Stephen Scott in Aquamagic and long-time favourite Aussie Connection
Event co-ordinator Scott Lambert said organisers had been buoyed by the number of junior entries, with up to 15 fledgling competitors to hit the water.
“That’s a bit of a wow factor as a few years ago we would only get one, or two, or three, now we are getting upwards of 15 as the junior classes are really taking off,” he said.
“These young guys average anywhere over 60 kilometres per hour on the water.
“They run in a series called J3 (for racers aged 12 and over) and are really competitive.
“We are trying to get a class which is called the J1s, which is younger again, into Victoria.”
Two days of racing will be live streamed on the GpHydro Livestreaming Facebook page.
