It looked like TR’s time was up.
The Southern 80 record holder and 2019 champion last raced in the event three years ago, missing the 2022 race with no team in the boat.
“Last year we just didn’t have a team put together,” observer-skipper Nathan Miller said.
“Ian (Tricker) was undecided whether he was going to keep racing or not and the boat didn’t sell.”
So what brought the crew, one of just three to run a sub-30-minute time at the 80, back from the brink?
The answer lies in the two exuberant skiers behind it — Jack Stevens and Echuca’s Jake Ellery.
And of course, the competitive edge that still drives champions Tricker and Miller.
“We were approached by Jack and Jake to see if we were interested in going around and towing them,” Miller said.
“They’re two great athletes and young guys who want to be the best.
“It was a pretty easy decision, in the end, to go with them. They haven’t let us down with their enthusiasm and their drive.
“Ian and I had a chat and we finally said we’ll have a go. We missed the racing aspect, especially when you’re sitting at home knowing there’s a Southern 80 on or a classic on.
“It’s a race that’s pretty important to us. We’ve obviously got the record there and we’ve got two new skiers this season.
“It’s great to be back.”
TR hold’s the race record with a time of 29 minutes and 22 seconds in the 2019 race, and was on track to beat its own mark in 2020 before the boat famously slipped into guardian mode in the main race, settling for second overall.
In its first race back since that day, TR is coming in as one of the favourites, looking lightning-quick in practice.
“We’ve been down (in Echuca) about seven weeks now in this campaign,” Miller said.
“We’ve run every weekend for the last weekends, bar Robinvale.
“We’ve probably done more than 2019, just knowing from that experience what we need to do.
“So far so good — we’re pretty happy with where we’re at, we just need to replicate it on race day.”