He has admired from the safety of the shore in the past, but Les Binkin will now be thrust into the thick of the action.
Binkin is set to drive SUV Simrad during the Offshore Superboats Championships in Lake Macquarie this month.
“[Team owner] Conn Saloumidis invited me to race after last year’s event,” Binkin says.
“He’s got a sore back and couldn’t race anymore, so he allowed me to drive the boat.
“We’ve built up a good relationship over the past four years and he said he liked my style.”
Round three of the championships, which will be hosted by Marmong Point Marina on Saturday 19 and Sunday 20 October, also features junior demonstration runs, jet ski racing, and free water sports.
The boats are set to be craned into the water on the Saturday from 11am for a 1pm start.
They will compete in two categories – Supercat Extreme, where the vessels measure up to 12 metres with two 750 horsepower V8 engines, and Supercat Outboard, in which the models’ length is 10 metres and it runs two 300 horsepower outboard engines.
“These outboard models can get up to 160 kilometres an hour,” Binkin says.
“It feels like the speed of light going past, so you’ve got to slow everything down in your mind to make it clear.
“It’s not something that you can completely train for.”
Aside from racing, there will also be plenty of action off the water across the weekend as part of the Lake Macquarie Superboats.
Warners Bay markets and a pop-up licenced bar are set to bring to foreshore alive from 9am to 4pm and 10am to 3pm respectively, while a vintage car display has been marked down for 7.30am to 3pm at the southern end on the Saturday.
In Speers Point Park, a Food and Wine Festival will go from 12pm to 8pm on Saturday and a Show and Shine competition is on Sunday from 7.30am to 3pm.
T-28 Trojan Aerobatics and the CAC Wirraway will also put on air displays, with the T-28s on show across both days and the Wirraway, a former general-purpose military aircraft, gracing the sky from 9.45am on Sunday.
Visit lakemac.com.au/superboats for more information.
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