Cup a SOLO for Stan?
The 1975 Griffith Cup on January 26, will be a Solo event for Stan Jones, judging from his success at Yarrawonga.
Driving the big aircraft-engined hydroplane, Solo, Jones won the Yarrawonga championship untroubled against a top field which included a number of Griffiths Cup hopes.
Boats which could not beat Solo over the triangular Lake Mulwala course, would have no chance of turning the tables on the long straights of Lake Eppaloch.
Solo was narrowly beaten by the runabout Shadrich on Boxing Day, but it was her first race since her return from America and Stan Jones was only interested in a warm-up run.
On New Year’s Day it was different. Solo led all the way to win the second heat of the Yarrawonga championship and then the final. The Gippsland runabout Tiger was second and outboard tunnel-hull Dragon Lady (Reg Sorenson, NSW), third.
Dragon Lady, powered by a 100 cubic inch outboard motor, provided the sensation of the day by outclassing boats more than three times its capacity in the first heat.
The big hydroplane Super Roo was a distant second, followed by the NSW runabout Arkfurn and Tiger. Super Roo and Arkfurn developed engine trouble and did not participate in the final.
Dragon Lady with her fantastic cornering ability, looked the best chance of beating Solo.
However, once Jones opened up Solo’s big engine the issue was never in doubt.
None of the NSW boats looked real Griffith Cup threats.
Madden, T. 1975, ‘Cup a Solo for Stan?,’ The Sporting Globe, Jan., 4, p.15.