Fairview takes first win in Rayglass NZ Offshore Powerboats in Taupo

The Rayglass New Zealand Offshore Powerboat Championship fired up for the first time this summer in hot, calm conditions on Lake Taupo.

The 100-mile race featured a thrilling side-by-side battle between the two superboats, Fairview Windows & Doors piloted by Scott and Warren Lewis, and Tony Coleman and Chris Hanley’s Cure Kids for virtually the whole race. But just two laps from the end Cure Kids nearly flipped while negotiating turn one, says New Zealand Offshore Powerboat Association spokesperson Greg Brinck.

“Tony [Coleman] was just able to save Cure Kids from going over – it was close! Their fight with Fairview Windows had been intense up until that point and it could have been either boat’s race to win. But congratulations to Scott and Warren Lewis on a well-deserved first-up win.”

Amongst the Superboat Lite class, Sam Fillmore and Cary Gleeson were in a class of their own in Doosan to finish third overall in the 100-mile race, well ahead of Kelly and Grant Smith’s Rayglass and Gordon Robinson and Andrew Macbeth’s Barracuda Kayaks who took fourth and fifth respectively.

The 60-mile race provided Brinck and co-driver Eldon Archer with their own dramas. The pair led from the start in Konica Minolta, a Super 60 class boat, but halfway round their scheduled seven laps of the race course the boat’s power steering failed, allowing Mark Diggleman and Grant Rowe to take their Mark Diggleman Car Sales Super 60 through for the win.

“Without the power steering it was real gorilla-handling out there,” laments Brinck who was able to hold on for second place. With Diggleman not entered in the full 2009 championship, Brinck takes the 60-mile championship lead.

Expresso Engineers driven by Mike Gebric and Haydn Mearns was third in the 60-mile race with the Sports 60 Restricted class boat Auckland District Collections #1 of Simon Freeman and Kurt Bynn fourth. The first of the Formula Honda boats, Building Solutions driven by Mike Knight and Shannon Thickpenny, was fifth.

The offshore powerboats added to an already motorsport-rich atmosphere in Taupo this weekend, with the world cup of motorsport A1GP motor racing event also taking place.

“There was good, close racing in every class, with races within races making the whole thing a fantastic spectacle,” says Brinck. “Even though our competitor numbers are a little down on last year, the quality of racing was truly superb. We’ve had a huge crowd watching the racing right along the lakefront and here on the reserve where all our marquees and boats are set up, Taupo locals and visitors have enjoyed the festive atmosphere.”

In the 100-mile championship stakes, Lewis and Lewis lead with 475 points from Coleman and Hanley with 375 points. Brinck and Archer lead the 60-mile championship from Gerbic and Mearns.

The Rayglass NZ Offshore Powerboat Championship moves to Gulf Harbour, at the end of the Whangaparaoa peninsula, with round two being run on Saturday 14 February. The whole 2009 series comprises eight rounds with a 100-mile and 60-mile race at each of the North Island venues which also include: Maraetai (28 February), Napier (7 March), Wellington (21 March), Whitianga (4 April), Whangarei (18 April) and Auckland Harbour (2 May).

ENDS/

Background information re series sponsor, Rayglass Boats

Rayglass Boats is the naming rights’ sponsor of the 2009 New Zealand Offshore Powerboat Championship.
Rayglass Boats CEO, Tony Hembrow, says the company is looking forward to expanding its association with New Zealand’s premier marine motorsport event.

“Rayglass has long been a strong supporter of motorsport in New Zealand, both on and off the water,” says Hembrow. “We regularly sponsor a number of top saloon and drag cars, including the current Australasian drag car champion. We also sponsor champion offshore racer Wellingtonian Kelly Smith, winner of the 2007 and 2008 Superboat Light Class in her Rayglass Skater.”

“As New Zealand’s biggest manufacturer of trailer powerboats and rigid inflatable boats (RIBs), it is natural for us to be involved in high profile events like this. In yachting, we have had a long association with the Louis Vuitton and America’s Cup regattas. The Rayglass NZ Powerboat Series is the country’s top powerboat racing championship; it is a natural fit for us.”

Rayglass NZ Offshore Powerboat Championship

Results from Round 1, Taupo, 24 January 2009

100-mile race

Scott Lewis (Auckland) / Warren Lewis (Auckland) Fairview Windows & Doors 1, Tony Coleman (Auckland) / Chris Hanley (Mt Maunganui) Cure Kids 2, Sam Fillmore (Auckland) / Cary Gleeson (Auckland) Doosan 3, Kelly Smith (Wellington) / Grant Smith (Wellington) Rayglass 4, Gordon Robinson (Auckland) / Andrew Macbeth (Auckland) Barracuda Kayaks 5

Championship points (Classes: Superboats, Superboats Lite)

Boat, Driver, Points
Fairview Windows, Scott Lewis, 475

Cure Kids, Tony Coleman, 375

Doosan, Sam Fillmore, 300

Rayglass, Kelly Smith, 244

Barracuda Kayaks, Gordon Robinson, 202

60-mile race

Greg Brinck (Auckland) / Eldon Archer (Auckland) Konica Minolta 1, Mike Gerbic (Auckland) / Haydn Mearns (Auckland) Expresso Engineers 2, Simon Freeman (Waitakere City) / Sean Bryant (Auckland) Auckland District Collections #1 3, Mike Knight (Auckland) / Shannon Thickpenny (Auckland) Building Solutions 4, Glen Powell (Hamilton) / Chris Powell (Hamilton) Back to Bay6 5

Championship points (Classes: Super 60, Classic Class, Sports 60 Restricted, Sports 60, Formula Honda)

Boat, Drive, Points

Konica Minolta, Greg Brinck, 475

Expresso Engineers, Mike Gerbic, 375

Auckland District Collections #1, Simon Freeman, 300

Building Solutions, Mike Knight, 244

Back to Bay6, Glen Powell, 170

2009 Rayglass New Zealand Offshore Powerboat Racing Championship calendar

Taupo - 24 January

Gulf Harbour - 14 February

Maraetai - 28 February

Napier - 7 March

Wellington - 21 March

Whitianga - 4 April

Whangarei - 18 April

Auckland - 2 May