WITH a simple salute to the crowd as he crossed the finishing line, Ricky Howard stamped his ownership on the 72nd annual Bridge to Bridge title in a record time of 29 minutes, 47 seconds.
Blitzing the competition at an average speed of 132 miles per hour, Howard and Hyper Active smashed the record of 31:14 he set in 2001, and finished more than four minutes ahead of second placegetter Steve Maybray who came in at 33:58, followed by Simon McMahon, who clocked 35:14.
The Gazette spoke to a jubilant Howard shortly after the race.
“I didn’t think we’d done enough to do it [break the record], I’m still coming to terms with it,” he said.
“Cracking the 30-minute mark was the last frontier for us, it’s a brilliant feeling to get below the half hour time.”
“This is for everyone who has supported me during my racing career, especially my wife and kids – they suffer for this boat, so I thank them with all my heart.
“It’s a sensational day for us.”
Howard said the race began slowly because of choppy conditions on the water.
“I couldn’t get to a top speed for about the first 5km or so,” he said. “By then I didn’t think about going for the race record, I was just concentrating on getting it home.”
The on-water action was matched in the skies above as eight helicopters tracked the progress of the contestant’s 112km burst up-stream from Brooklyn to Windsor.
Last year’s winner XLR8, driven by Craig Truslove, tussled with Hyper Active for the lead early on until engine troubles forced the Queenslander to bow out at Spencer.
But the 112km race wasn’t all smooth sailing for Howard either, as the same problem that saw him retire from the race last year, threatened to end his chances this year.
“I felt a vibration at about Pitt Town, which is usually an indication something is wrong, and it turns out there’s a crack in the propeller,” he said. “I was forced to stop last year near Spencer after the propeller cracked, and I probably should’ve stopped this time as well, but I was so close to home I just eased off a little instead.”
Howard lives in South Maroota, but grew up in Wisemans Ferry with a boating father Graham, whom he credits for his natural ease and skill on the water.
Both have been involved in boats and boat racing all their lives, with Howard winning his first Bridge to Bridge at age 17.
“The boat, and everything on it was built and modified in the Howard Hydroplanes shed on dad’s property at Wisemans Ferry,” he said. “I cannot thank dad enough for all his hard work.”
Howard said normally during the race he’s known for sliding back the hatch on the boat while travelling at 100-plus miles an hour and waving to his parents at Wisemans Ferry, but this year he was more sedate.
“Dad said if I did that this year he’d take the boat off me,” he laughed. The 12-time Bridge to Bridge competitor, and six-time winner, now sits second in the history books behind Ernie Nunn, who won the event nine times from 1940 to 1966.
“As far as we’re concerned, the Bridge is our race now, no one does it better,” Howard said.
Wilberforce’s Steve Maybray ended his run of bad Bridge luck with a convincing second place win. He announced to the crowd that after 20 years of trying, he finally crossed the finish line.