Will Parker has won the EC Griffith Cup round of the Australian Formula Powerboat Grand Prix at Yarrawonga, Victoria, with Ewan Bricker second and Sam Lucas of R Marine Jacksons Racing completing the podium in third.
The weekend drew a 15-boat field of GP formula race tunnel boats. Friday’s programme was cancelled due to high winds, compressing the schedule into a single day of qualifying on Saturday before three races on Sunday.
Qualifying
With qualifying and practice combined on Saturday, Rhys Coles set the fastest time of 36.15 seconds to take pole. Sam Lucas qualified second at 36.46 seconds, with Simon Troy third at 36.64 seconds.
Saturday heats
The 15-boat field ran split heat races in the afternoon. In Heat 1, Sam Lucas started from pole and won ahead of Will Parker and Lachie Bride. Heat 2 went to Rhys Coles, with Simon Troy second and Ewan Bricker third.
Sunday races
Sunday brought three races: an Odds race, an Evens race, and the main Final.
The Odds race was disrupted at the start by an incident involving alleged cutting across other competitors, which resulted in damage to Simon Troy and Ewan Bricker’s boats. Bricker was able to continue and took the win. The Evens race produced a clean result: Will Parker first, Sam Lucas second, Lachie Bride third.
The Final
Sam Lucas lined up from pole position for the 14-minute-plus-one-lap Final. The starting order was: Lucas, Parker, Bricker, Troy, Bride, Nick Coles, Caleb Frost, Mathew Jordan, Hadley Deegan, Blake Coldrake, Rhys Coles, Peter Zala, Mitch Williams and Troy Hood.
Despite starting from pole, Lucas lost ground off the dock. The R Marine Jacksons Racing boat runs an Opti Mercury fuel-injected engine, which is slower in initial acceleration than the carburettor-based motors used by most of the field. By turns one and two, Lucas was already in third, and that is where he finished.
| Pos | Driver |
|---|---|
| 1 | Will Parker |
| 2 | Ewan Bricker |
| 3 | Sam Lucas |
| 4 | Lachie Bride |
| 5 | Nick Coles |
| 6 | Caleb Frost |
| 7 | Mathew Jordan |
| 8 | Hadley Deegan |
| 9 | Blake Coldrake |
| 10 | Rhys Coles |
| 11 | Peter Zala |
| 12 | Mitch Williams |
| 13 | Troy Hood |
The R Marine Jacksons Racing team is weighing whether to switch to a carburettor engine to close the acceleration gap. The team was backed at the event by Club Marine and Riviera Boats.
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.
