When the flag drops at Marmong Point today (18 October), it will mark not just the start of a new season, but a new era for Australian Offshore Superboat racing. After several rebuilding years post-Covid, the Australian Offshore Powerboat Club (AOPC) has attracted its largest, most competitive fleet in more than a decade. The iconic Supercat Extreme class leads the charge, supported by reinvigorated grids in the Supercat Outboard and Supersports categories.
The build up has been long and will culminate in six thirty-minute races across this weekend. We already know a bunch of Kiwi powerboat fans heading over to catch the action. It will be exciting, and loud! Expect the unmistakable roar of V8s with 1000 horsepower engines to echo across Lake Macquerie’s natural amphitheater.
Full throttle: Australian Offshore Superboats hit Lake Macquarie for season opener
Supercat Extreme – the heavy hitters return
The headline class, Supercat Extreme, are the supercars of the sea. Powerful, tough, and built to fly when conditions demand it.
At the front of the field are Darren Nicholson and Peter McGrath in Boost Mobile / 222 Offshore — local favourites and reigning world champions. They have set the benchmark, but challengers are lining up, ready to knock them from the top step of the podium.
Andrew Searle and Tom Barry-Cotter, former Managing Director of Maritimo Motor Yachts (who are kindly supporting our coverage of the 2025–26 season), return with a refined ACME Racing Maritimo after addressing last season’s teething issues. With fresh powerplants and hull upgrades, the Queensland pair look ready to go head-to-head with the 222 Offshore crew from the very first lap.
Then there is MOJO Offshore Racing, the surprise success story from Port Adelaide earlier this year. Built around Bathurst 1000 winner Todd Kelly and owner Stuart Eustice, MOJO claimed debut wins in April at the Port Adelaide round of the 2024/25 Australian Offshore Superboats Championship, despite penalties and heavy attrition, showing genuine pace straight out of the shed. Their goal at Lake Macquarie is simple: stay consistent and remind the veterans they are here to stay.
New entries add fresh intrigue to the season. Former Supercat Outboard champions Antony De Fina and Matt Kelly are stepping up in the ex-Victory “Team 3” cat, while Mick and Jason Kelly make their debut with Hornet Racing, a 34-foot Skater with genuine Kiwi heritage, a hull that once carried the number one plate on both sides of the Tasman. Rounding out the field, Philip Wiley and Darren Apps are launching Team Australia Offshore Racing, reuniting with a Maritimo hull previously campaigned by Brett Luhrmann, and joined by experienced co-driver Paul Fowlds.
Between seven and eight boats are expected to contest the class, a sight not seen in Australian waters since the mid-2010s.
Supercat Outboard – a new order forms
The Supercat Outboard division also enters a changing of the guard.
Last season’s champion boat, The Mantis, has been sold to Steve Lancaster of DLR Offshore fame and rebranded as KESS Racing. It will run twin Mercury 300Rs, the most powerful outboard setup in the field. Lancaster teams up with Scott Kelly, son of Steve Kelly, marking the first time the father and son will race against each other. It sets up a true generational contest, youth against experience. Steve Kelly will be joined by Scott Richardson aboard TCR Offshore, where their focus will be on driving precision rather than sheer horsepower.
They’ll face a rejuvenated The Sting crew of Mike Ratcliffe and Karl Wall, whose big accident in Geelong last season left them sidelined. Their boat returns fully repaired and ready for redemption after narrowly missing the 2024/25 title.
DLR Offshore’s Craig and Lachlan Dove continue their campaign with their reliable 300XS-powered cat.
With new engines, new pairings, and old scores to settle, the Outboard class promises some of the closest side-by-side racing of the weekend.
Supersports 85 – new faces, old rivalries
The Supersports 85 class has always delivered spectacular deck-to-deck duels, and this year looks no different.
Reigning champions Mick and Jason Kelly have graduated to the Extreme division, opening the door for a new title fight.
Hary Bakkr, the defending Supersports 65 champion, will climb into the Kellys’ former Skater The Colonel, keeping the fan-favourite hull in the fleet. His main rival, Mark Pecherzewski, had intended to return with his rebuilt Cootacraft Special Edition, but parts delays forced a rethink. He and co-driver Mel Nelson will instead jump into Nut Case, maintaining their campaign for points toward the 2026 title.
Add to the mix Aaron and Jack Panozza (Skater 28), Darren Penfold (Thunderstruck), and Anthony and Hunter McEnally (Watersports Marine) — and you have a grid full of proven race winners. If last year’s Lake Mac weekend was any guide, expect multiple race winners and plenty of wheel-to-wheel drama.
Supersports 65 – wide open field
With Bakkr’s promotion to 85s, the Supersports 65 class becomes anyone’s to win.
Former champion Patty Paczkowski (Valentus) returns after a season away, hungry to reclaim the crown. Charlie Di Iorio and Greg Walters reunite in Cardiac Arrest, one of the most seasoned teams in the paddock, while Walters’ rebuilt HUN74 Haines Hunter remains on standby for future rounds.
Also on the charge are Ben Embleton and Liam Sutherland, Brendan Weeks and Sophie Lancaster (The Con), and Aaron Jackson (All Coast Marine) – each capable of an upset if conditions suit.
With close speed caps (85 mph in 85s, 65 mph in 65s) and a level playing field, expect classic elbows-out racing from start to finish.
Season calendar – from Lake Mac to Adelaide
The 2025/26 Australian Offshore Superboat Championships span four confirmed rounds:
Round 1 – Lake Macquarie, NSW (18–19 October 2025)
Round 2 – Wyndham Harbour, VIC (21–22 February 2026)
Round 3 – Geelong, VIC (14–15 March 2026)
Round 4 – Port Adelaide, SA (9–10 May 2026)
Each venue delivers its own challenges — from Lake Mac’s short chop to Geelong’s exposed Corio Bay swells — ensuring that mechanical durability and crew fitness count as much as raw pace.
A sport on the rise
With strong grids, new commercial partners such as JV Marine World and Porta Products, and a surge in public interest, Australian offshore powerboat racing is clearly back in force. Much like the NZOPA’s steady resurgence, which saw new teams line up to test themselves against seasoned competitors at last weekend’s 2025–26 opener in Gulf Harbour, the AOPC’s renewed focus on marketing and communication has paid off, delivering a larger, more competitive fleet.
Roar across Hobbs Bay: NZ Offshore Powerboat Championship blasts into Gulf Harbour
For Kiwi supporters, it is familiar territory — twin-hulled machines, huge horsepower, and fearless crews out to race hard and grow the sport just across the Tasman. We will be following this weekend’s Lake Macquarie Australian Superboat action and look forward to sharing updates. Visit our dedicated Superboat/Powerboat section https://boatingnz.co.nz/powerboating to stay up to date with all the latest news and results.
