Monster win 50th Great Race in record time

SHERDON PIERRE and KINNESHA GEORGE

MOTUL Monster grabbed their fourth Great Race title in their last four attempts when they arrived at Store Bay, Tobago first in the A-Class (130Mph) yesterday. Monster’s performance came in a Great Race and Union Internationale Motonautique (UIM) record time of 47 minutes and 43 seconds.

Monster was the race favourite being the most-informed boat coming into the historic 50th edition of the Great Race by winning 10 out of 12 local regattas this year. The race took off at 715am at the Foreshore in Port of Spain with the other classes while the A-Class began 45 minutes later.

The members of the Monster winning team who have now been victorious in 2013, 2014, 2015 and 2018 are Joey Sabeeney and his son Joshua(drivers), Alfred Bell (navigator), Daniel Peake (navigator), Peter Peake (throttleman) and Marcel Carrington (crew chief).

Joey Sabeeney made mention to other crew members who worked behind the scene but was vital in their victory. “I really want to big up other crew members Robin Geoffroy and Nicholas Gomez. If was not for these two guys we wouldn’t have reach Tobago because they are in charge of repairs and maintaining the boat.”

Monster created history in the Great Race by having two father and son pairs on board on the same boat. The senior Sabeeney was elated with the achievement, “It is like Father’s day, it is really a family affair for sure and doing it on the 50th Anniversary makes it more special. My first great race was 25 years ago and I was the first boat over in Tobago. So, having my son doing it for the first time in the 50th is like history repeating itself.”

Throttleman Peter Peake told Newsday yesterday, “This win is amazing; this win is amazing… in all honesty, this is the highest feeling that we’ve ever had. We’re very elated to have won the 50th Great Race and it is really amazing, this is amazing, we’re walking on air. An hour was a hell of a record to break in years gone by… so the time is impeccable.”

Peake commented on the weather, “It was a lot of rain, it wasn’t bad weather such… our concern when there is a lot of rain is debris coming down the rivers, coming down the Gulf we did see a good bit of debris, but we didn’t see much after that.”

Peake continued, “I watched the first Great Race as a little child and it was really an amazing thing and it hooked me then. For many years, I always dreamed of being in the Great Race, so coming into the 50th Great Race is really an honour. We feel a little old but to know that we’re still valid and we could win the 50th Great Race is a hell of an experience,”

The Monster team returned after a two-year absence with the thought of winning the special edition of the inter-island race. Peake mentioned, “Last year August when we saw how good the boats were running, we knew what the mark was, and we knew that we had a mark to meet so we went ahead and did a lot of things to the boat and got ready for this year. We know it is the 50th Great Race and we had planned for it and here we are winners of the Great Race 2018,”

Motul Monster defeated the first foreign entry in the last 30 years American Lucas Oil Silverhook by a gap of 14 minutes for second placed. Jumbie defied the odds by never completing the Great Race course before returned after a two-year sabbatical to place third, while Mr Solo Too was denied their 18th title by grabbing fourth and Gulf Iron Man placed fifth.

Winners of the various Classes:

A class 130 mph: Motul Monster

D class 95 mph: Bacchanal

E class 80 mph: Mobil Outlaw

F class 70 mph. Fire Chief II

G class 60 mph. Limitless

Cruiser X class: Ruffin It

Cruiser S Class: Apple J