Offshore powerboats ready to thunder in Napier
Tuesday 3 March 2009, 8:11AM
By NZOPA
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After an action-packed race along the Napier foreshore last year, competitors in the Rayglass New Zealand Offshore Powerboat Racing Championship are preparing themselves for another intense battle in the Hawke’s Bay on Saturday 7 March.
“The ocean off Napier’s Westshore can develop some massive swells,” says Cary Gleeson, vice-president of the New Zealand Offshore Powerboat Association (NZOPA) and throttle-man for ‘Doosan’, current leader of the superboat lite class.
“You can be racing side-by-side with another boat then it disappears from view into a swell while you’re cresting another, then you pop up into sight of each other again,” says Gleeson. “It’s very intense racing in those conditions and it’s usually pretty rough along that coastline. Exciting though, and last year’s race was very competitive with most classes racing right down to the finish line.”
The offshore powerboats contest two races in Napier with between 25 and 30 boats expected to enter. A 100-mile race is contested by the superboat and superboat lite classes, while the super 60, classic, sports 60 restricted, sports 60 and popular formula Honda classes compete in a 60-mile race.
With Napier’s fourth round of the championship taking place just a week after round three at Maraetai south-east of Auckland, it’s an intense time in the championship calendar, explains New Zealand Offshore Powerboat Association president Wayne Valder.
“Most unusually the second round of our championship at Gulf Harbour scheduled for 14 February was cancelled due to weather conditions, so Napier is effectively our third race of the season. Expect competitors to be ultra-enthusiastic about racing!” says Valder.
“What we can expect to see in Napier is top class powerboat racing from all our competitors. The tight-fought challenge upfront in the superboat class is between the brand new Skater 34 ‘Fairview Windows and Doors’ owned by Auckland brothers Warren and Scott Lewis and ‘Cure Kids’ run by Aucklander Tony Coleman, last season’s newcomer with Tauranga’s Chris Hanley alongside doing the vital job of managing the Skater 35’s throttles.
“Recent exciting news for the superboat class is that the Lewis brothers have bought last year’s boat back into competition. The older boat will have Scott Lewis as the throttle-man and Murray Tuffin from Titirangi in Auckland at the wheel. This boat was called ‘Fairview Windows & Doors’ and is now called ‘A1 Homes’.
“In the new ‘Fairview Windows & Doors’, Warren stays as the throttle-man with the vastly-experienced Ted Taitaini coming out of retirement to drive with Warren.”
In the superboat lite class, also part of the 100-mile championship, defending champion Wellington’s Kelly Smith with father Grant alongside, has already faced a serious challenge from last season’s newcomer ‘Doosan’. Aucklanders Sam Fillmore and Cary Gleeson have repowered ‘Doosan’ with two new Mercury 300XS Eco friendly engines and finished way ahead of ‘Rayglass’ and ‘Barracuda Kayaks’ to currently lead their class.
In the 60-mile championship Auckland-based crew of Greg Brinck and Eldon Archer in the recently repowered Super 60 class Force F19x ‘Konica Minolta’ are leading after second place in Taupo to non-championship contenders Mark Diggelman and Grant Rowe from Tauranga in the Super 60 ‘Mark Diggelman Car Sales’ (formerly ‘Financepoint.co.nz’).
After Maraetai’s races, ‘Fairview’ now has 950 points in the 100-mile championship with ‘Cure Kids on 750 points and ‘Doosan’, leading the superboat lite class, with 544 points. In the 60-mile championship, ‘Konica Minolta’ has 950 points compared to ‘Expresso Engineers’ with 750 points with ‘Building Solutions’ on 446.
“And the Formula Honda class looks to be as competitive as ever with seven to ten boats confirmed for each round of the series,” adds Valder. “Aucklander’s Mike Knight and Shannon Thickpenny in ‘Building Solutions’ took the first Honda class win in Taupo, and we’re expecting Havelock North’s Grant and Cynthia Garrity to be on form in the ‘Mike Pero Mortgages’ Formula Honda craft.”
The Napier offshore powerboat event sees the crews set up camp for the day at the Napier Marina Complex. The two races start at 1:00pm and depending on conditions, the race is normally completed within one to one-and-a-half hours.
“We host a very family-oriented event and enjoy talking about our boats with anyone that wants to come down and wander around the set-up at the marina,” says vice-president Cary Gleeson. “It’s free to watch the racing from anywhere around the marina and foreshore or visit the crews and boats at the marina.”
Last year’s action in Napier included current 60-mile championship leader Greg Brinck being catapulted out of ‘Konica Milnolta’ and just being retrieved by co-driver Eldon Archer before he plunged into the sea, collisions between top competitors ‘Rayglass Boats’ and ‘Doosan’ and a Formula Honda competitor broaching (nearly capsizing) right in front of one of the classic class boats and having its nose taken off.
“So, yes, the Napier offshore powerboat event normally offers fantastic action for spectators and we look forward to another competitive round of racing, particularly after missing Gulf Harbour and taking into account the results from Maraetai just a week earlier,” says Gleeson.
Event details and results are posted on the NZOPA website, www.nzoffshore.co.nz. Highlights packages from each round of the 2009 Rayglass New Zealand Offshore Powerboat Racing Championship will screen on Sky Sport at a future time to be confirmed within the next few weeks.
The Rayglass NZ Offshore Powerboat Championship continues in Wellington on 21 March, Whitianga on 4 April, Whangarei on 18 April and ends on Auckland Harbour on 2 May.