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Mulcahy and Stapleton established as future stars

IMG_8431-620x29927th January, 2013

Junior ski racers Mitch Mulcahy and Rachel Stapleton have established themselves as the future stars of Australian water ski racing by claiming the Boys and Girls classes of the Nautilus Marine Ski Racing Championship.

The performances of Mulcahy and Stapleton look likely to ensure that Australia will remain the powerhouse of world ski racing.

The Boys class was the closest championship fight on the schedule in Newcastle and it didn’t disappoint. Entering the weekend with a ten point lead, Mulcahy and Shamick Racing managed the three races over the weekend – finishing on the podium in the first two races, and winning the final race of the championship today.

Blake Atkins (Still Kidn) did enough to hold on to second place in the championship ahead of the fast finishing Brayden Jameson (Tuff N Ruff), who won both of Saturday’s races in Newcastle.

“Blake was closest to us, so we were mostly trying to stay in front of him over the weekend,” said Mulcahy.

“Yesterday was great – we had a swell come through the course and it really changed things up and made it exciting. We haven’t had that at the other races – it was awesome, and the crowd was massive.

“When we crossed the line today, I saw the boys in the boat were getting pretty excited and that’s when I realised we had it, and I started to get the feeling that all the hard work has paid off.”

In the Girls’ Class, Rachel Stapleton continued her dominance, completing a 100 per cent winning record for the championship.

Stapleton was guaranteed the championship when today’s Juniors schedule was reduced to just one race. Regardless, she made it 11 from 11 after being forced to switch to a different boat for today’s race (99 Psycho Clowns Racing F2).

It hasn’t always been easy for Stapleton, missing the start in one of the races at Geelong and breaking a rope in yesterday’s second race.

However, each time Stapleton has faced adversity she’s fought back and won – twice beginning the last lap in second place.

“After the last two rounds, I set myself the goal of trying to win all of the races,” said Stapleton. “I’m feeling pretty good about achieving that right now.

“Yesterday we had some drama when we got a knot in the rope and it snapped at the start.

“We didn’t lose a huge amount of time, but we lost about 40 feet of rope which made it a lot harder than the first race – especially because it was rougher in that one too…

“We just passed them on the last lap, which was really exciting.

“I have had so much fun throughout this whole series! I’ve just really enjoyed – to win all the races has been a bonus.”

 

Boys, FINAL Championship Standings:

1)      Mitch Mulcahy, Shamick Racing

2)      Blake Atkins, Still Kidn

3)      Brayden Jameson, Tuff N Ruff

4)      Ben Atkins, 21

5)      Jesse Burns, Team 50

Girls, FINAL Championship Standings:

1)      Rachel Stapleton, Robertson Racing

2)      Rebecca Petre, Nutcracker

3)      Jessica Smith, Smithy Racing

4)      Brooke Langham, Triple 6 Racing

5)      Lucy Savona, Meltdown

ASRC

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