MOJO won all three Supercat Extreme races at Lake Macquarie, New South Wales, on October 17-18, 2026, opening the 2026/27 Australian Offshore Superboat Championships with a clean sweep five months after losing the 2025/26 title to Hornet Racing by two points.
The championship’s team pages list Stuart Eustice as MOJO’s driver and Todd Kelly as throttleman. No entry list was published for the round, so crews in this report are as listed on those pages.
The round ran as part of the Lake Mac Action Fest, with the pits at Empire Marina, Marmong Point. Six 30-minute heats were split evenly across Saturday and Sunday, and each of the four classes, Supercat Extreme, Supercat Outboard and the speed-capped SuperSport 65 and SuperSport 85, raced three times.
Supercat Extreme
Club Marine Venturi, with Matt Kelly driving and Antony de Fina on the throttles, finished second in Races 1 and 3 and fourth in Race 2, its first weekend since the team signed Club Marine as title sponsor.
Hornet Racing, the reigning champions, ran two boats in the class. Michael Kelly and Jason Kelly, who won last season’s title, took Hornet 750 to third, third and fourth, while Paul Fowlds and Steve Kelly finished fourth, fifth and third in Hornet 525. Newcastle Weekly reported that the Melbourne team entered three boats across different classes as it worked through new crew combinations.
222 Offshore, the local team of Darren Nicholson and Steve Jellick, finished one race from three. The boat did not finish Race 1, came back to take second behind MOJO in Race 2, then did not start Race 3, with Newcastle Weekly putting it down to mechanical problems. It is a second difficult outing in a row for the team, which withdrew from last season’s Port Adelaide finale over fuel supply. Team Australia is listed as a non-starter in all three races.
| Boat | Crew | Race 1 | Race 2 | Race 3 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mojo Racing | Stuart Eustice / Todd Kelly | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Club Marine Venturi | Matt Kelly / Antony de Fina | 2 | 4 | 2 |
| Hornet 750 | Michael Kelly / Jason Kelly | 3 | 3 | 4 |
| Hornet 525 | Paul Fowlds / Steve Kelly | 4 | 5 | 3 |
| 222 Offshore | Darren Nicholson / Steve Jellick | DNF | 2 | DNS |
| Team Australia | DNS | DNS | DNS |
Supercat Outboard
The Sting, the 2025/26 Supercat Outboard champions, won the opening race for Mike Ratcliffe and Karl Wall, but Steve Lancaster and Scott Kelly took the next two in Kess Racing. The Sting finished third in Race 2 and did not finish Race 3. Anthony Bann and Scott Richardson were second in all three in Sugar Daddy Racing, and Superstition did not start.
| Boat | Crew | Race 1 | Race 2 | Race 3 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kess Racing | Steve Lancaster / Scott Kelly | 3 | 1 | 1 |
| Sugar Daddy Racing | Anthony Bann / Scott Richardson | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| The Sting | Mike Ratcliffe / Karl Wall | 1 | 3 | DNF |
| Superstition | DNS | DNS | DNS |
SuperSport 85
TR Racing won all three races, with Jordan Kelly and Mark Sutherland second each time in The Colonel. Mistress was disqualified from Race 1 and finished third in the other two. Donzi did not start until Race 3, where it finished fourth.
| Boat | Crew | Race 1 | Race 2 | Race 3 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| TR Racing | 1 | 1 | 1 | |
| The Colonel | Jordan Kelly / Mark Sutherland | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| Mistress | DQ | 3 | 3 | |
| Donzi | DNS | DNS | 4 |
SuperSport 65
Eleven boats made SuperSport 65 the biggest class of the weekend, a field Newcastle Weekly described as a mix of experienced racers and newcomers, among them former ski racers. Cardiac Arrest won the first two races and was second in the third, behind Watersports Marine.
Only four boats were classified in Race 1. Degenerate did not finish, and six were disqualified: Zephyr Racing, All Coast Marine, Kids Stuff, Another Nan, HUN 74 and Watersports Marine. The published results do not give reasons. Watersports Marine, HUN 74 and Zephyr Racing were disqualified again in Race 2, before Watersports Marine won Race 3 with HUN 74 third.
| Boat | Race 1 | Race 2 | Race 3 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cardiac Arrest | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| Eleanor | 2 | 2 | 5 |
| Protest Denied | 3 | 5 | 4 |
| Red Hot Racing | 4 | 7 | 11 |
| All Coast Marine | DQ | 3 | 8 |
| Kids Stuff | DQ | 4 | 7 |
| Another Nan | DQ | 6 | 10 |
| Watersports Marine | DQ | DQ | 1 |
| HUN 74 | DQ | DQ | 3 |
| Zephyr Racing | DQ | DQ | 6 |
| Degenerate | DNF | DNS | 9 |
Next Round
Championship points had not been published at the time of writing. Round 2 is at Wyndham Harbour, Victoria, on February 20-21, 2027.
2026/27 Australian Offshore Superboat Championships Calendar
| Round | Venue | Dates |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lake Macquarie, NSW | October 17-18, 2026 |
| 2 | Wyndham Harbour, Victoria | February 20-21, 2027 |
| 3 | Geelong, Victoria | March 13-14, 2027 |
| 4 | North Haven, Adelaide, SA | May 15-16, 2027 |
| 5 | Redcliffe, Queensland | June 26-27, 2027 |
John Moore is the editor of Powerboat News, an independent investigative journalism platform recognised by Google News and documented on Grokipedia for comprehensive powerboat racing coverage.
His involvement in powerboat racing began in 1981 when he competed in his first offshore powerboat race. After a career as a Financial Futures broker in the City of London, specialising in UK interest rate markets, he became actively involved in event organisation and powerboat racing journalism.
He served as Event Director for the Cowes–Torquay–Cowes races between 2010 and 2013. In 2016, he launched Powerboat Racing World, a digital platform providing global powerboat racing news and insights. The following year, he co-founded UKOPRA, helping to rejuvenate offshore racing in the United Kingdom. He sold Powerboat Racing World in late 2021 and remained actively involved with UKOPRA until 2025.
In September 2025, he established Powerboat News, returning to independent journalism with a focus on neutral and comprehensive coverage of the sport.
