Track Heatwave’s duo of Morgan Hannock, throttleman, and John Michael Sabga, driver, made conditions hotter than they really were when the 57th edition of the International Great Race was held from the Gulf of Paria in Trinidad to Store Bay in the sister island of Tobago on Saturday.
Driven by the calm conditions on the sea, the 80mph E Class campaigner, having finished the race last year in third position overall in an hour, 20 minutes, and 31 seconds, unleashed the heat of its burning engine consistently as it thundered to the sister isle in a new E Class record time of one hour, 15 minutes, and 38 seconds to be the second boat making the trek to Tobago but the first boat to cross the finish line.
Hannock told the media that the predictions of a hurricane in the eastern Caribbean helped their cause by making conditions ideal.
“The race was very calm. It was my fastest race ever. We did it, I think, in an hour and seven minutes. The conditions were very calm and ideal, and we were expecting it.
“We were expecting the calmness due to the hurricane in the eastern Caribbean, so yes, we expected the calm waters, but you never really judge your race from before; you judge it on the day. So that basically was what we did. We just picked the boats out one by one, and then by the time we got to Tobago, there was no one else to pass,” Hannock explained.
With Mobil Outlaws being disqualified and Blue Ice unable to finish the race, Heatwave had just White Heat to contend with on the day. But the White Heat team of driver Victor Tardieu, throttleman Richard Tardieu, and Robert Tardieu cantered to the second-place finish in an hour, 23 minutes, and 51 seconds.
The win was also a repeat for the crew of Hannock and Sabga; however, Extreme Measures, the 70mph F-Class boat, had a lot to celebrate due to their triumph in the class. The two-man crew of throttleman Jonathan Tardieu and driver Jonathan Mouttet completed a hat-trick of wins in the class yesterday, crossing the finish line in a time of one hour, 23 minutes, and 06 seconds, after being passed by Track Heatwave on the Tobago circuit.
Three weeks ago, Tardieu told the media he was unsure whether the boat could have been driven because of the extreme work needed to make the boat ready for the race. Its cutting performance through the calm waters was a far cry from what it was at the launch of the Great Race at the Yacht Club in Carenage last month.
According to Tardieu, “It was an amazing feeling; a lot of hard work went into the boat. The team put in a lot of work, including me, the driver who did the lion’s share of work on the boat. I will have to put this on a team effort. We were the first boat to enter Tobago, but Heatwave caught us on the circuit itself, so we were the second boat to finish.”
Extreme Measures was followed into the second position by Ketch. This in one hour, 33 minutes, and 40 seconds, while Rachet completed the top three finishers in the group after two hours and 15 seconds, as New World Order failed to get going at the start.
Despite the calm conditions, only 28 of the expected 40 made it to the start of the race yesterday, while eight did not finish, three did not start, and four were disqualified. President Stefan Scott-Lewis said while there was disappointment that many of the boats did not show up for the start and others did not start, he affirmed that the majority of boats did make it to the sister isle, where a cultural show greeted them, and the participants were heralded as heroes.
Meanwhile, Mr Solo Too captured their 19th title in the 130mph A-Class category, powering to the victory in 55 minutes and 30 seconds, driving all alone in the class. The team of driver Hayden Charles, throttleman Darin Marshall, and navigator Joseph Charles has dominated the Great Race over the years. The win added to their previous triumphs in 1970, 1972, 1975, 1978, 1981, 1985, 1996, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2017, and 2023.
Ironman, which hardly featured in the five regattas leading up to the great race, failed to make it to the finish line in the 120mph B Class division, along with Tyrant, who was the lone competitor in the 95mph D Class. Three-time winners of the 60mph G-Class category, Limitless, did not have a chance of a fourth consecutive title after failing to start.
