NAVY OFF AND RACING IN OFFSHORE SUPERBOAT ALLIANCE

28 September 2012

Mackay’s Friers Offshore Racing Team has joined the ranks of the Royal Australian Navy in a partnership which will see the 1000HP Supercat rebranded as the “Team Navy” Offshore Superboat for the 2013 Australian Offshore Superboat Championship Season.
Image:Andrew Gricks Photography

The RAN’s Team Navy brand has received a major boost with the announcement of a new sporting partnership with Australia’s most successful high speed offshore racing teams.

The alliance with Mackay’s Friers Offshore Racing Team will see the 1000HP Supercat rebranded as the “Team Navy”Offshore Superboat for the 2013 Australian Offshore Superboat Championship Season. Chris and Brendan Frier showcased their new “Team Navy”boat earlier this month in Round 5 of the Australian Offshore Superboat Championships in Redcliffe, north of Brisbane.

Friers Offshore Racing Team’s Pilot, Chris Frier said his team is delighted with Navy’s support.

“We are starting to see some good results in the series,” Chris said. “Having the Navy come onboard really emphasises this”.

On Sunday 23 September Brendan and Chris fought and raced like they have never raced before and in Race 1, they held off Team 3 to get first place and in Race 2, they passed Maritimo to take the chequered flag.

Going into this last round in Hervey Bay, they were placed 3rd on the leader board, but within striking distance for the Championship. They needed to win both races and yesterday, Brendan and Chris brought it home for not only the team, but for all supporters.

Not only did they retain the Australian Championship title for their Class, they won the coveted AUS 1 Championship which includes all boats across all three classes. Mackay’s Friers Offshore Racing – Team Navy has won the highest award in the country for Offshore Super boats and will proudly wear the number AUS 1 going into the 2013 Series.

The Royal Australian Navy launched its “Team Navy” brand in 2011 with the announcement of a partnership with Ford Performance Racing Team in the V8 Supercars. The V8s are so popular, their alliance with the RAN has led to two Marine Technicians being selected to work with the Ford team.

The vision for Team Navy is to align the RAN with champions from a variety of popular sports.“Team Navy” is gaining momentum and with two high performance teams now racing under the Navy banner, more announcements are expected over the coming months.

For a pilot’s view of what its like in the cockpit of a high speed racing boat, go to Navy’s Facebook page.

Imagery Courtesy of Andrew Gricks Photography.