By LES PEARSON

THREE time Berri Resort Hotel King of the River winner David Clark with boat Tuff-E-Nuff, in the blown alcohol displacement (BAD) category, returns to the Speedboat Spectacular this weekend.

Adelaide based Clark has only missed one Speedboat Spectacular since the event’s inception and claims things are falling into place perfectly.

“Preparations have been really good, the engine’s running well so I would say everything is ready to go,” he said.

A 20 year veteran of the sport, David knows the margins between winning and losing are minimal.

“The thing with blown boats is they can be pretty touchy,” he said.

“But we’ve got a good crew and everyone knows their jobs so we just have to prepare to the best of our ability.”

He also knows there are a number of challengers vying for that title, putting in the same amount of work to ensure they have the best chance of winning.

“There will be a lot of good competitors out there this weekend, so all we can do is do the best we can and hopefully the results will look after themselves,” David said.

While he is a well-known and respected figure in speedboat racing, close rivals may be horrified to learn of a second Clark looking to make his mark at this weekend’s Speedboat Spectacular.

David’s 10 year old son James will be making his racing debut in the formula future category in his boat Li’l Tuff-E-Nuff.

“He’s pretty stoked and ready to give it a crack,” David said.

The formula future category is new to the Speedboat Spectacular, creating a stepping-stone for junior racers to get into the sport.

David said preliminary signs from James are indicative of a promising speedboat racing career ahead.

“We trialed him a couple of months ago and he took to it like a duck to water,” he said.

Regardless of the results this weekend, David’s sure to be a pretty chuffed dad.

“It will be a special moment,” he said.

“I’ll be standing on the side of the river, probably feeling proud as Punch.”