2011 Rayglass NZ Offshore Powerboat Championship

Watch out for 'Thunder on the Lake' as the Rayglass NZ Offshore Powerboats take Taupo by Storm!

In sheds all over the North Island Offshore Powerboats are being fine tuned and polished for the start of the New Zealand Offshore Powerboat Season which kicks off on Lake Taupo on Saturday 22nd January 2011.

Rayglass have confirmed as series sponsors for 2011 and it's fantastic to see the continued support of Tony Hembrow and his company in supporting the many powerboat enthusiasts who spend huge amounts of time and money in making the NZ Offshore series exciting and competitive at a world class level.

After an exciting and at times controversial 2010 season, rumours still abound about who is racing and what boat they will be competing in. Teams are able to confirm their entry up until the day before the season start so there are always a few surprises when the boats line up for the first race.

In the Superboat Class we have four confirmed entries. 'Doosan', as the winners of the 2010 season are back to defend their title with Cary Gleeson and Sam Filmore in the race seats. Warren Lewis is back in 'Fairview Windows and Doors' with Chris Hanley at the wheel. Chris is a past New Zealand Champion driver having won in 'Cure Kids' in the 2009 season. Scott Lewis is also back on throttles for the 2011 season with Murray Tuffin at the wheel of their boat, formerly 'A1 Homes', which has undergone a facelift and will race this year as 'Schick Hydro'. 'Profloors' driven by the experienced team of Wayne Valder and Richard Shores are signed up for the season after a few outings last year.

2010 winners 'NZ Blokes' driven by Bob Smith and Andrew 'Flea' Koolen are back again in the Superboat Lites, along with 'Red Steel' driven by Tony Carson and Brooke Faulkner. Third entry so far in this class is the 'Doosan / Barracuda Kayak' boat driven by Gordon Robinson and Andrew MacBeth.

In the Classics Class there have been some exciting developments with a couple of New Zealand's historical raceboats making a comeback after major refits and many hours of care and attention. Greg Brinck is back with Ross Christiensen in the original Sleepyhead boat, now renamed and sponsored by 'Konica Minolta'. The Linder 33 foot boat will be powered by two 350 Verado Mercury engines, a step up from her original 350 Chevs. She is a previous NZ Champion winner as 'Sleepyhead' in 1992 when raced by Peter Turner and Peter McGrath, and winner of the NZ title for 1989 as 'Millier Group' raced by Peter McGrath and Mark Stewart. The other historical comeback is 'Topaz' winner of the NZ Title in 1975. The boat was originally built and raced by Jim Mckay, and has apparently been restored as closely as possible to the original by Charlie Savage who will be driving her this season. These, alongside the charismatic pairing of Haaker Le Suer and Gavin McGrath who provided an exciting spectacle in their roaring Scarab 'Thunderbird 1' in 2010 will make the Classic Class both thrilling and entertaining.

There will be two batboats competing in the Super60 this season, Mike Gerbic and Dave Vazey in their winning boat 'Espresso Engineers' and father and son team Glen and Chris Powell in 'Back2Bay6' previously raced as 'Mark Diggelmann Car Sales'. Another batboat 'Open Windows and Doors' may make an appearance in the Sports60 Class.

In the Sports60 Restricted class reigning champion Jono Hanley will be back to defend his title, with competition this year from Simon Freeman owner of Auckland District Collections with Mikey Knight the 2010 Honda Champion who has changed classes this year at the wheel for some of the races. Like Jono, they will be racing one of the former Honda Hulls, but with a 200Hp Mercury engine.

The Honda Class has undergone a few changes this year with new teams and boats changing hands. Mike Smith is back in 'Rayglass' with his sister Kelly, a former superboat lite champion possibly competing in 'The Gambler'. We look forward to seeing 'Total Oil' raced by James Taylor and Shannon Thickpenny back out on the circuit, alongside the experienced teams of 'CRD' driven by Colin Dunn and 'Auckland District Collections' with Mike Urquart at the wheel. Many have seen images of a new team for this season 'Zen Vests' from New Plymouth racing the boat formerly known as 'Altitude', and though not confirmed at this stage, we hope to see them out for some of the races during the 2011 season.

The first race of the season is always exciting with old rivals out on the water ready to try out their modifications to see if they have the right mix to lead and win the season. Viewing is best along the waterfront at Taupo with boats being on display on the reserve in front of the Suncourt Motel prior to the race for the public to view and talk to the race teams and their support crews.

Two races are run at the same time with the Superboats and Superboat Lites completing a 100 mile race and the other classes completing a 60 mile race. The racing starts at 1pm and usually takes an hour for the two races to be completed. The boats race on an L shaped course across the main waterfront and out to Four Mile Bay and back. The waterfront of Taupo is once again expected to come to a standstill as the crowds take advantage of the excellent viewing opportunities to watch the races. Fingers crossed for a sunny day with flat water so the boats can truly test their capabilities.

The NZOPA acknowledge the support of Rayglass NZ and AB Marine, as well as other sponsors; Destination Lake Taupo, LiquorKing, LavaRock Café, MarineWorkz, Pub ‘n’ Grub, The Lion Foundation, Marine Paramedical Services, YouthTown and the Tuwharetoa Maori Trust Board for supporting this event.

Boats start to depart from Reserve in front of Suncourt Motel at 11.00am
Boats depart from Boat Ramp / Marina area from 12.15pm
Racing starts at 1.00pm
Best viewing from Taupo Foreshore and Waterfront
Radio Coverage: Tune into 88.3 FM for Race Commentary before and during the race.

Event details are posted on the NZOPA Website www.nzoffshore.co.nz
After the Taupo event racing continues at Gisborne on 5th February, Maraetai on the 12th February, Napier on the 26th February, Whitianga on the 12th March, Marsden Cove on the 26th March, Auckland on the 9th April and the last race of the season in Wellington on the 23rd April.