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| From Australia |
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Top Three Avon Descent Winners Powered by Suzuki
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Icy cold water puts boat and pilot to
the test. |
Suzuki-powered custom dinghies took the top three places in the Avon Descent, Western Australia’s premier white water event held in December 2005. The gruelling two-day time trial for paddlers and powered dinghies covered 134km of the Avon and Swan Rivers.
Greg and Christine Leesteere, first-place winners in the 10 horsepower super class division, endured icy cold water and demanding rapids for a staggering 2hrs, 53mins and 47secs. “We had a few stacks (minor crashes) but the Suzuki 2-stroke outboard DT9.9 never once let us down,” Greg said. Top speeds of 61km/h enabled the couple to win by a mere 14 seconds over Suzuki-powered boats, making their event slogan ‘You are being passed by another Suzuki’ highly appropriate.
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Greg and Christine Leesteere, Avon Descent Victors
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As experienced competitors (Christine’s 3rd and Greg’s 4th event), the Leesteeres trained hard to achieve high levels of skill, strength and determination for the victory. “The Avon Descent is like the Melbourne Cup of powerboat racing,” Christine said. “Just finishing the race and beating the river is an honour.”
The pair plans to return to the battle between man and the river in 2006 with their Suzuki-powered dinghy.
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