Please be advised that the Kilo trials to be hosted by the Cambridge / Waikato Power Boat Club on May 22 at Lake Karapiro have been postponed until a later date due to weather and the lack of confirmed entries.

I understand that only two boaties made the effort to inform the club that they wished to have a go at the kilo course.  The club will advise a new date to all clubs soon.

Regards
Peter
NZPBA Secretary

TAREE AQUATIC POWERBOAT CLUB INC
PRESENTS THE
2005 UIM WORLD GRAND PRIX HYDROPLANE
CHAMPIONSHIP
MANNING RIVER, TAREE, NSW AUSTRALIA

News up date on Annihilator Race teams

Thanks on behalf of the Annihilator Race Team for all the best wishes for their recent attempt to win the Griffith Cup. Unfortunately it wasn’t meant to be this time but we will be back.

An excellent venue and great weather for the event, we started off the weekend by having the boats on display in Yarrawonga on the Friday. Saturday morning was a street parade this was really great and for a small town they had a big turn out. The three teams all dress in their uniforms stood on their trailers. Each boat had their New Zealand flag flying it was a neat spectacle and a good way to start the weekend off.

Saturday was practice only which was delayed for various reasons, but all were able to test and Grant Rivers had time to change engines to make sure they were all ready to go.

The draws for the heats was done on the Saturday night, we couldn’t believe it when our three boats were drawn in the same heat. This actually worked to our advantage in the end because they were the last of three heats, so we had a pretty good idea who would be in the final and what our team had to do to make the final.

Awesome effort to get all three in the final (out of 17 entries). Warwick and Ken ran most of the heat side by side which looked really good. David got a hole in his belly pan so he was a little off the pace just trying to finish the heat. His team was able to fix this in no time. Warwick also received some hull damage; the aluminum plate inside his left sponson came loose. Bit of glue and some more screws it was fixed.

The final was so exciting the starter dropped the flag half way down the straight the Aussie logs and the KT Tunnel were off, Warwick was at the first corner with them, he shot to the lead on the next lap, Rival withdrew with a broken prop and then Warwick stopped with a broken blower belt, quiet devastating for all the kiwis who where on their feet in support. Ken battled on and tried to catch Tattoo he was about 1 and ½ boat lengths behind him when they crossed the finish line. I think Ken was more upset than Warwick because he had no more power and could not pass Tattoo. I believe Ken might be given a little more power for the World’s. He certainly is earning this every time he goes out he is doing a great job. David was also unlucky, water had done some damage to his engine when he had the hole in the belly pan David finished the final in 3rd place only on 7 cylinders, it was great he was able to finish.

Our hopes of bringing home the Griffith were over, all three teams did a great job and they should be proud of their efforts.

The teams spent Monday checking the boats over before they flew home. Dick Corbett stayed with the boats and fixed the hull damage to David and Warwick’s boat. Grant Rivers bought home some of David’s engine to repair a piston and valves.

You will be able to see the Griffith Cup event soon on TV3 sports Arena program which shows on a Sunday afternoon. Keep and eye on our website for the date it will be on. Hopefully beginning of June but we do not have this confirmed yet.
The program will also show on Sky 1 & 2 and Fox Australia. We will have this available at a later date on DVD.

2005 GP Worlds Taree NSW. 18-19th June & 25-26th June

Taree is 3 ½ hours north of Sydney. For those of you who are interested in going to this event and not to sure how to get their. You are able to get on the train at Sydney airport go to Central station and then get on a train to Newcastle.
Newcastle is about 1.5 hours from Taree only a short distance. There are probably buses or vehicle hire available in Newcastle to get to Taree.

Taree has a population of 40,000 so there is a variety of accommodation available. You can check this out by going onto http://www.manningvalley.info

The teams will travel to Taree to prepare for the event a few days before. They have to be on display in the Town on the Friday.

We will post any more information about the event as we receive it.
All the best & thanks again for all the support.

Denise Moughan
 

News & Gossip

Saturday 21st May, 2005

Former Formula 3 National Champion Scott Dennis will return to Formula 3 this season with a brand new Oz Burgess tunnel boat. He will make the trip to Taree, Australia to support the kiwi team at the World GP Champs, and whilst over there visit boat builder Peter Dukic to check on the progress of the new hull.

Tony McCaa should be ready for the start of next season with his latest purchase, Tony has bought a 21 foot Childsplay boat from Aussie and will run a blown big block engine. The boat will be familiar to many of the local fans as it was run here in the late '90s by Australian Peter Tait as "Hi-Tension" at the GP Drivers Club's regattas.

Ian Ferguson will return to the circuit next season as he has bought NZ's fastest flatbottom from Tony McCaa and will run it in the Procom class with the 470cuin Chevy engine he had built for his Grand National hydro. The engine is being freshened and will be fitted with fuel injection and will run in our Procom class when our meetings don't clash with his jet sprinting programme.

Series 3000 is looking like it will be strong in numbers again this coming season. Three of the classes top competitors will return with rebuilt boats. Al Steiner has had Camshaft Sevices Ltd in Palmerston North build him a new Toyota race engine for "Misty Blue", John Hallet with "Buckshot" and Paul Robertson with "Infinity" will also return after complete rebuilds of their boats and engines. These boats are reportedly all very close to being finished and will make the start of next season.

Relative newcomer Jeremy Thomas from the Wairarapa club has sold his F3 boat "Pure Magic" and replaced it by purchasing the "Mr.Turbo" boat and is completely rebuilding it so as to step up into the Series 3000 class. Add Jeremy and the 3 mentioned previously into the mix of the already strong class should see some great racing action in S3000 next season.

E.C. Griffiths Cup

Thursday 12 May 2005

The 2005 E.C.Griffith's Cup was run at Yarrawonga, Victoria, Australia on 8th May. The Kiwi team placed 2nd and 3rd, behind the very quick KT Tunnel "Tattoo" of Matt Ferris. The final was one of the greatest races ever seen anywhere in the world with the blown log boat "Rival" of John Cross leading for one lap before loosing the tips off his prop, Warwick Lupton shot to the lead in Annihilator but for only 1/4 of a lap before breaking a blower belt. This left Tattoo out in front of the field but with Ken Lupton pulling up alongside at the end of each straight, only to have the KT beat him through the turn and onto the next straight.

Final Placings were:

1st Matt Ferris Tattoo
2nd Ken Lupton Annihilator3
3rd David Alexander Annihilator2

Check our gallery for pictures of the event and check out http://www.nzgrandprixhydroplane.com/news.html for a comprehensive report on the heats and finals as well as more pictures.

From the F1 Powerboat Press Office
 

CAPPELLINI SETS NEW WORLD SPEED RECORD!!
256,25 km/h ON 1 KM COURSE ON LAKE D'ISEO, ITALY!

SARNICO, Italy - 29 April, 2005 - Eight time World U.I.M. F1 World Champion Guido Cappellini set an all-time speed record for the Formula 1 class by powering his TAMOIL DAC Mercury powered boat to a 256,25 kilometers (158.1 miles) per hour time in two combined runs on Lake D'Iseo in northern Italy on Friday.

The native of nearby Como, broke the all-time mark set by Great Britain's Allan Marshall that was set back in 2002 with a speed of 234,80km/h and stood for almost three years. Cappellini, who with the generous cooperation with his main sponsor TAMOIL put together a pair of runs through the 1 kilometer course that was set up on the north side of the lake under ideal no wind conditions.

With the guidance and officials of the Italian Motor boating Federation in attendance, Guido made two official runs. The first timed out just over 258 km/h being the quickest of the two, while running back towards the western part of the lake on his 2nd lap he did a slower 253 km/h attempt, but thecombined effort was easily enough to set a new official world U.I.M mark.

"The opportunity that TAMOIL has given me in this record breaking attempt for a F1 catamaran is very important in my career", stated Guido Cappellini. " My sponsors put on a great effort off the water with the receptions and public relations work necessary to get the word out to the world press, I repaid their hard work by setting the new record and now this also helps get my team get a leg up on my attempt to win back the world championship in Formula 1 for 2005. All in all, I am very pleased with the results."

The TAMOIL Team can now concentrate on the job at hand of winning another title beginning with the opening round at the Grand Prix of Portugal in Portimaò on the weekend of 21st and 22nd for the 7th ever race in which Cappellini has won 5 of the previous six events.

As a footnote; the lake that Guido set the new world record on, Lake D'Iseo, home of Riva Boats, normally has a strict speed limit of 20 km/h at all times!

Article and image courtesy of www.f1boat.com
 

Wellington Winter Cup
Saturday 30th April 2005
Porirua

11 boats braved the cool temperature's and turned out for the final race
meet of the Central Zone season, the Wellington Winter Cup. Water conditions
were very similar to the Nationals regatta with a brisk north-westerly blowing
across the track.

Father and son Formula 1 team of Gerry and Ben Cawthra returned to the water
after a short break from racing, with their recently imported American
Hoffman boat "Miffco". The boat went remarkably well, and with the Cawthra
expertise it is sure to be a force to be reckoned with on the circuit next
season. Both Gerry and Ben had a run in the boat and were smiling most of
the day.

Local club Commodore Tony Latimer pedaled "Patriot" to the fastest lap
time on the day but was beaten to the line in the days feature event, the
Wellington Winter Cup.

Final results for the 2005 Winter Cup were:
1st Total Lubricants - Steve Hughes
2nd Patriot - Tony Latimer
3rd Miffco - Gerry Cawthra

Congratulations to Steve Hughes and team on another feature win and another
big cup for his overflowing trophy cabinet.

Thanks to Raewyn Palmer, Wellington Power Boat Club Secretary for this info.

News

1st May 2005

The New Zealand Power Boat Association have applied to the world governing body the UIM to host, and have now been granted two world championships to be run here in New Zealand for 2006. The World Championships for both the 2.5 litre Modified Hydroplane and Grand Prix Hydroplane classes will be run here in New Zealand next summer. At this early stage it is intended that these championships will be run in February at Lake Karapiro, keep looking here as we will post any new info as it comes to hand.

News & Gossip

22nd April 2005

Mike and Angela Denham have again been visited by the stork, this time a 8lb 7oz baby girl born in the early hours of Friday the 22nd of April and named Haylee Christine. A little sister for Corey and Josh. Congrats and best wishes from all of us all here.

The three Annihilator GP Hydros will today leave NZ on the ship bound for Melbourne, Australia. There they will take on the Aussies in the race for the EC Griffiths Cup on the 7th and 8th of May '05 at Lake Mulwalla, Yarrawonga. They will then head north to Taree, NSW for the World GP Hydroplane Championships in June. Check out our new team of the month.

The Northern Zone are hosting their AGM at the lodge at Lake Karapiro on Saturday the 21nd of May 2005 and will also be holding kilo trials on Sunday the 22nd of May, also at Lake Karapiro. For further details please contact Peter McLeod.

Team Stilwell have purchased the ex Fastway Couriers Hoffman F3 tunnel boat and are currently rebuilding the boat and adding a safety cell for Philip to run in the F3 class next season. Philip's older brother Julian will also return to the F1 class next season in his boat "Resene".

Steve Hughes has apparently sold his damaged F1 boat, rumour has it that it has gone to the Waikato to be repaired by ModH racer Nigel Zander, for the California Girls F1 team.

Central Zone Powerboat Assn Annual General Meeting

Sunday 22nd May 2005
Manawatu Clubrooms 10.30am

Raewyn Palmer
Central Zone Secretary

The Bay of Plenty Powerboat Club in conjunction with Classic Hits 97.5FM are hosting a powerboat regatta at Blue Lake Rotorua on the weekend of the 2^nd/3^rd April 2005.

The club will be hosting 5 North Island championships as well at final round of three national series.

Of the North Island Championships the glamour event would be the North Island Grand Prix title with the fastest powerboats in the country all competing for this title. Three of these boats namely the Annihilator team from Waverley will be using this event as a shakedown before transporting them to Australia to try and bring back the E.C. Griffiths in May and the World Grand Prix Hydroplane Championship in June all going well.

The three national series will be the Formula One, Modified Hydroplane and Series 3000. The Formula One is like its name the fastest most exotic outboard racing tunnels. These boats race at speeds in the excess of 100mph and turn on a sixpence thus pulling in the excess 3 G in the corners.

The Modified Hydroplane ‘Top Gun’ Series is for up to 3000cc inboard powered hydroplanes capable of speeds in the excess of 120mph but race on a average 100mph. The class will have two Australasian speed record holders in attendance namely Alan Lewis from Auckland driving ‘Little Cracker’ and Steve Mathieson from Waikino driving ‘Midnight’.

The Series 3000 series is for up to 3000cc inboard powered racing runabouts. These boats race at speeds of around 70mph and are very competitive with the whole field spread over a maximum of 100 metres.

The Bay of Plenty Club will have a good attendance of it’s own members with the following boats:-

Malcolm Wotton in his V8 Nissan powered Grand National Hydroplane ‘Renegade’

Peter McLeod with his V6 Ford powered Modified Hydroplane ‘MacSheen’

Geoff Robinson with his V6 Alfa powered Modified Hydroplane ‘Summer Wine’

Daniel Pollock with his 4 cylinder Nissan powered Modified Hydroplane ‘Undertaker’

Ian Warmington with his inline 6 Nissan powered Inboard Racing Runabout ‘Sultan’

Luke Dawson with is 45hp OMC powered Tunnel ‘Californian Girls ll’

Boats from as far away as Riverton in the South Island and Whangarei in the North Island will be in attendance due to the weekend prior to this event they will all be in Wellington competing for the 2005 New Zealand Championships, thus making this the first event for the new champions.

The club has decided to not charge an admittance to the general public other than a gold coin donation to the group handling the crowd control and parking. We as a club believe that we need to encourage the public to come outside and enjoy a weekend’s entertainment and in doing so hopefully get them interested in the sport of power boat racing.

Nationals Regatta Easter 2005

27-28 /03/2005

This year the NZPBA National Champs were run by the Central Zone over Easter weekend on the Onepoto Harbour at Porirua, – 20 minutes north of our Capital city Wellington.

Friday morning saw the set up of the venue, with the organizing committee, setting up fencing, confirming road closure, testing the now widened ramp and sorting the PA system etc. With a total of 46 boats entered and a full race programme starting at 9am the next morning most were grateful for the extra day to get it all set up.

Also planned for Friday was testing of the Annihilator boats – Annihilator II having been through a major rebuild as a result of damage suffered when the boat flat spun at Karapiro a few weeks earlier. The weather became progressively worse throughout the day as more boaties turned up to test or be scrutineered – with most enjoying a quiet ale in the clubroom bar as they discussed the atrocious weather forecast and the potential for racing to be blown out.

Race Day Activity

Saturday dawned surprisingly light with only a few clouds and a light breeze to contend with as competitors made their way to the track for set up at 7am. Having the main pit area for race teams at the Onepoto carpark with a local 4WD club transporting classes to and from the ramp created a great spectator attraction at the top end, and brought a reasonable sized crowd of public through the gate.

Racing got underway on time and was only delayed after time trials saw a number of boats having to be towed off the water creating a 40 minute delay in the programme that control could not recapture. With time trials done and the top competitors selected to vie for the GP title, racing continued with some very exciting results (see below). The weather could at best be described as variable with periods of sunshine interspersed with downpours and the wind picking up more and more as the day went on. Thankfully most of the track was well sheltered from the Norwest wind, leaving only the back straightaway reasonably bouncy.

Still at the close of day 1 all but two of the New Zealand titles had been competed for producing some really enjoyable racing – most of which was caught on camera by the televison crew organized by the GP club. This event will be featured on Sky Sport in the near future, so keep a look out here for dates and times as soon as we know them. A few teething problems with the ramp and a few issues on the water were the worst of the problems faced on day 1. Prize Giving for the NZ titles was accompanied by a rousing auction with the band and bar staying open late for those celebrating their wins.

Sunday dawned with reasonable weather. Racing got underway at 9.30 with the second heats of the Grand National and Grand Prix classes. The Matt Morrison Memorial followed soon after, as did the King of the Nationals. The rest of the day’s racing involved class scratch races as well as the F1 series races – ending most unfortunately with a collision between California Girls and VDO at the northern turn. As the only crash of the regatta and with all races completed the nationals closed with a well attended prize giving, as many celebrated their successes or drowned their sorrows and reran the weekends races in the clubrooms.

Race Results
New Zealand Formula 3

The Formula 3 class had some of the most exciting racing for the weekend with a total of 12 boats entered and up to 10 racing in each Heat and some hot action between a number of competitors keeping the crowd well pleased.

The favourite for this class was Jamie Hargreaves who raced outstandingly, taking away both heats in impressive style. Jamie has been almost impossible to beat this year and has traveled far and wide to compete across the country at race events. 2nd in the F3 South Island title this year and now National F3 Champion, Jamie will be the hot favourite to take away the North Island F3 title next weekend at Blue Lakes. Sadly Southland’s Anthony Robertsons “Tunnel Vision” failed to fire but Jamie was kept honest by the “Holiday Outboards” boat of Jeff Morrish and newcomer Daniel Mooney in “Willy Flippit”. Like most of the season the F3 races were battles to the end right on down the field and a credit to all the drivers that they suffered no damage in this busy field

Well done to our new National Champion F3: Jamie Hargreaves in “Instigator” from Wellington

1st Instigator Jamie Hargreaves Wellington
2nd Holiday Outboards Jeff Morrish Auckland/Manakau
3rd Willy Flipit Daniel Mooney Wellington
4th Califormia Girls II Luke Dawson Bay of Plenty
5th Outboard Marine Duncan Ellis Cambridge/Waikato
6TH Howzat Scott Coker Cambridge/Waikato
7th Southern Lights Phillip Stilwell Manawatu
8th Pure Magic Jeremy Thomas Wairarapa

New Zealand Series 3000

Series 3000 was another well represented class with 9 entries, the majority being from the local zone clubs. Two boats vied for top placing taking the lead in a heat each and placing second in the other heat leaving the result of be called on race times. Long time campaigner and national champion for the last 3 years Brett Mercer in “Shockwave” took away the title with a mere 11 second margin over Manawatu’s Mike Wotton in “Madison Blues”. With limited seat time this season a well deserved second to Mike!

Congratulations to now four times National Champion Series 3000: Brett Mercer in “Shockwave” from Cambridge/Waikato!

1st Shockwave Brett Mercer Cambridge/Waikato
2nd Madison Blues Mike Wotton Manawatu
3rd Star Trax Jeff Robinson Wellington
4th Venom Bruce Packer Wellington
5th Pure Magic Jeremy Thomas Wairarapa
6th Miss Weta Malcolm Packer Wellington
7th Maximum Boost Sheldon Renner Wairarapa


New Zealand Modified Hydroplane

The Modified Hydroplane heat races were again dominated by Alan Lewis in the beautifully presented “Little Cracker” Alan has an amazing record of speed records and championships that he has won with this boat and was the pick of the field at the nationals. Once again Alan led the field in both heats to pick up the national champion title at Wellington. Tough competition for Alan saw local Brendan Hall and his Dad Tony fight it out over seasoned campaigner Colin Gapper for podium placings. Colin suffered mechanical difficulties in heat 1 leaving the Hall teams the opportunity to vie for top honours alongside Alan.

Congratulations to National Champion for Mod H: Alan Lewis in “Little Cracker” from Manakau Auckland for a spectacular result.

1st Little Cracker Alan Lewis Manakau/Auckland
2nd Armageddon Brendan Hall Manawatu
3rd Tempest Tony Hall Manawatu
4th Tempo Too Colin Gapper Manawatu
5th Meridian Terry Mathieson Manawatu
6th Undertaker Daniel Pollack Bay of Plenty

New Zealand Grand National

The Grand National title was hard fought by a mixed field of Grand National and Modified Hydroplane boats. Great to see Mike Harvey all the way up from Southland, a long way to travel and greatly appreciated by fellow competitors. A difficult race start saw only three competitors finish in the first heat, resulting in a number of concerns raised with race control. Controller and Vice President Jamie Knight met with the drivers to address the issues raised resulting in the race being confirmed as it was called supported by the vast majority of drivers.

Heat two proved just as eventful with hot favourite Alan Lewis in “Little Cracker” breaking down before the finish leaving Scott Coker in “Fair Warning” the heat win. With so many boats unplaced in heat 1 the points talley up saw local Manawatu entrants Tony Hall in “Tempest” and Tracy Gapper in his father’s “Temp Too” placing 1st and 2nd respectively with very few points in it!

Congratulations to new national champian for Grand National: Tony Hall in “Tempest” from Manawatu.

1st Tempest Tony Hall Manawatu
2nd Tempo Too Tracy Gapper Manawatu
3rd Little Cracker Alan Lewis Manakau/Auckland
4th Fair Warning Scott Coker Cambridge/Waikato
5th Renegade Malcolm Wotton Bay of Plenty
6th Eagle Rock Mike Harvey Southland


New Zealand Prostock

The New Zealand Prostock field was well supprted by Series 3000 boats providing some solid competition for local driver Gary Gregory in “Cut Loose”. Gary won both heats comfortably with strong showings from Madison Blues in both heats. Well done to Malcolm Packer in “Miss Weta” for a third place finish just outing North Island Pro Stock Champion “Star Trax” who fought hard but just missed the top three.

Congratulations to new national champian for Prostock: Gary Gregory in “Cut Loose” from Wellington.

1st Cut Loose Gary Gregory Wellington
2nd Maddison Blues Mike Wotton Wellington
3rd Miss Weta Malcolm Packer Wellington
4th Star Trax Jeff Robinson Wellington
5th Maximum Boost Sheldon Renner Wairarapa


New Zealand Procom

The Procom title was hotly contended right to the finish with the end result coming down to times overall. The first heat was well won by Gary Gregory, as the conditions made it hard for the flatbottomed boat of Steve Rosewarne. Heat 2 saw Steve lead from the start with Gary fighting hard behind him running a scorching time, which together with his first heat win gave him the title. Christchurch based John Ryan in “Dancing Bear” challenged strongly in both races and proved a crowd favourite as his skiff produced some spectacular leaps and bounds in the corners. Great to see another southern boat making the trip up to compete for the national title.

Congratulations to new national champian for Procom: Gary Gregory in “Cut Loose” from Wellington.

1st Cut Loose Gary Gregory Wellington
2nd Plum Crazy Steve Rosewarne Wanganui
3rd Dancing Bear John Ryan New Brighton
4th Madison Blues Mike Wotton Wellington



Matt Morrison Memorial Trophy

The Matt Morrison Memorial Trophy is a challenge trophy hosted at the regatta chosen by the previous year’s winner. Last year’s winner Gary Gregory from the Wellington club agreed to hold this unlimited racing runabout national trophy at the sports nationals regatta in Easter – enabling boats from around the country the chance to compete.

Heat 1 was carried away in convincing style by Steve Rosewarne his boat now back on song. Heat 2 saw Steve’s boat “Plum Crazy” stop mdway through lap 3 allowing Gary to charge through for the win and the title for the second year running. A great showing at the nationals regatta for Gary and “Cut Loose”! The first ever back-to-back winner of the Matt Morrison Memorial Unlimited Runabout Championship.

1st Cut Loose Gary Gregory Wellington
2nd Dancing Bear John Ryan New Brighton
3rd Plum Crazy Steve Rosewarne Wanganui
4th Madison Blues Mike Wotton Manawatu


New Zealand Formula One

With eight entrants for the F1 title the nationals promised to see great competition in this field – and they didn’t disappoint. You can simply never predict results in the F1 field! This time local favourite Steve Hughes in “Total” was a no show meaning most people put their money on local boat “Patriot” or North Island champion boat “Sierra” to take the title – but it was not to be. Patriot was looking promising until a flat spin put him out of contention and Sierra suffered mechanical difficulties that saw him fighting at the back of the field for much of the day. Long time contender Allan Dennis drove home to glory in both heats giving him the title win outright in his “California Girls”.

Congratulations to new national champian for F1: Alan Dennis in “California Girls” from the Cambridge Waikato Club.

1st California Girls Allan Dennis Cambridge/Waikato
2nd Twister Ian Thomas Manakau/Auckland
3rd Patriot Tony Latimer Wellington
4th Advance Electrical John Hercock Wellington
5th VDO Kent Dunlop Manawatu
6th Sierra Engine Parts Luke Dawson Manakau/Auckland


New Zealand Grand Prix

The Grand Prix title heats were very eventful with Heat 1 seeing crowd favourite Warwick Lupton in his awesome GP Hydro “Annihilator” not start the race and Annihilator II stop dead on the water. Ken Lupton took the first heat under an impressive challenge by the top F1 tunnels. Heat 2 on Sunday morning saw Warwick back in race form with a closely fought challenge between father and son. Annihilator II was unable to be fixed in time for racing so did not start however local F1 driver Steve Hughes was back on the water and chased hot on the heels of the GPs, making for some spectacular racing.

In the end Warwick took out Heat 2 but couldn’t compete in the overall points finishing third after son Ken and the most consistent of the F1 challengers, Allan Dennis finishing second. At just 18 years of age we believe Ken is the youngest ever national champion in Grand Prix – one of the fastest forms of racing on the water!

Congratulations to new national champian for Grand Prix: Ken Lupton in “Annihilator III” from the Wanganui Club

1st Annihilator 3 Ken Lupton Wanganui
2nd California Girls Allan Dennis Cambridge/Waikato
3rd Annihilator Warwick Lupton Wanganui
4th Twister Ian Thomas Manakau/Auckland
5th VDO Kent Dunlop Manawatu
6th Advance Electrical John Hercock Wellington
7th Total Lubricants Steve Hughes Wellington


King of the Nationals

The race to be King of the Nationals was a great crowd pleaser as GP, GN and F1 boats alike fought it out to be crowned overall King of the Nationals. Warwick Lupton was in magnificant form charging from the start in this 1 race event. Steve Hughes at times led from the inside and was a real threat to the GPs, but in the end he was beaten by the sheer horsepower and straight line speed of the bigger boats. While Ken looked like he had the jump on Warwick a couple of times the Annihilator boat won in fine form, giving Warwick the title of King of the Nationals.

1st Annihilator Warwick Lupton Wanganui
2nd Annihilator 3 Ken Lupton Wanganui
3rd Total Lubricants Steve Hughes Wellington
4th California Girls Allan Dennis Cambridge/Waikato
5th Advanced Electrical John Hercock Wellington
6th Sierra Engine Parts Luke Dawson Auckland/Manakau
7th VDO Kent Dunlop Manawatu
8th Twister Ian Thomas Auckland/Manakau


The Canadian Trophy

The Canadian Trophy is annually awarded to the club whose drivers place the best at the nationals regatta. Clubs are awarded points for every podium placing their drivers achieve at the nationals. This year the Canadian Trophy was awarded to the Wellington club – congratulations to the club and well done to all their drivers for their top performances!
 

NATIONALS SPEED BOATING REGATTA
Press Release 19/03/05

On the Porirua Harbour at Onepoto this Easter weekend Saturday 25 & Sunday 26 March 2005

On Saturday and Sunday of this Easter weekend 25 & 26 January the Central Zone Power Boat Association (in conjunction with the New Zealand Power Boat Association) is hosting the New Zealand Powerboating Nationals.

This regatta sees New Zealand’s top racers competing for the title of national champion providing some of the fastest, most exhilarating action you will see on the water this year.

Classes include the spectacular Grand Prix Hydroplanes. A hydroplane hull is designed to rise partly or wholly out of the water at high speeds, riding on projections called sponsons attached to the sides of the hulls. They consequently run on three points – the two sponsons and the tip of the propeller. At 170 mph the Grand Prix Hydroplanes are the fastest automotive powered class in the world. Blown 510 ci, fire breathing engines power the low-profile sleek hulls around the race course for an unforgettable show.

This year will see one of the most intriguing battles take place in the spectacular Grand Prix class championship heats. Warrick Lupton heads the Waverly based Annihilator team and is one of New Zealand’s most celebrated drivers having won every national title and many international titles for Grand Prix racing. Warwick is a fierce competitor and will start as one of the favourites for this season’s title. However for the first time this year Warrick will be vying for the title against his own flesh and blood – Ken Lupton. Ken is Warrrick’s son and at just 20 years of age is one of the youngest drivers to race a Grand Prix hydroplane in New Zealand. Taught from an early age the thrill of high speed racing, Ken tipped his Dad for the King of the Lake trophy at Karapiro in one of this year’s most challenging Grand Prix fields. The rivalry between these two is unparalleled! Pride, honour and the right to laud it over the other will see these two fight tooth and nail to the finish in the Grand Prix championship.

An equal exciting contest is hotting up in the Formula One Tunnelboat class. A tunnel hull is basically an aerofoil (or wing) joining two sponsons that run the entire length of the craft. Formula 1 tunnels are typically made of plywood and fibreglass and are very light. Powered by 2 – 2.5 litre outboard engines they are extremely fast, corner exceptionally well and reach speeds of more than 130 mph.

Top contenders for the national championship include Steve Hughes in “Total Lubricants”, Tony Latimer in “Patriot” and Alan Dennis in “California Girls”. Steve Hughes is one of powerboating’s most seasoned drivers with many of powerboating’s most prestigious titles and trophies under his belt. He won the north island title for formula 1 in convincing style this January and was looking strong at the latest Wanganui regatta until rough water saw him roll the boat at the end turn causing considerable damage. He is confident he will be ready for the nationals and keen to take line honours for the national title – a trophy that has eluded him in the last few years.

Tony Latimer will be driving John Herzog’s championship winning boat now renamed “Patriot” in the title races. An incredibly strong package on the water, Patriot would have to be the boat to beat for straight line speed. Tony is leading the Formula 1 series and as Commodore of the Wellington club cohosting the regatta, he would have to be a favourite among the local crowd.

The wild card who has this season taken racing by storm is Alan Dennis. Alan has been tough to beat on the water this year in the superbly turned out “California Girls”. Travelling down from the Cambridge Waikato club Alan will be looking for pole position and the opportunity to get in front of the two top local boats.

Every year at the nationals regatta there is enormous crowd reception for the Procom and Prostock classes. Powered by Chevrolet and Ford engines and built for both power and handling, these V8 racing runabouts produce the “roar” that thrills racing enthusiasts and the general punter alike. This year should see hot competition between the islands with top competitor John Ryan from Christchurch in “Dancing Bear“ competing head to head with north island favourites Steve Rosewarne in “Plum Crazy” and Gary Gregory in “Cut Loose”. These three drivers are feisty on and off the water and have at past championships provided some truly spectacular racing.

Other fields to watch for include the Grand National and Modified Hydroplane classes. Top favourite for these championships would have to be Alan Lewis in “Little Cracker”. Alan has been national champion many times and in 2003 placed second in the UIM 2.5 World Hydroplane Championship in a very competitive international field. Alan holds the Australasian and New Zealand speed record for his class and is one of New Zealand’s most awarded drivers.

Full fields and plenty of on water action can also be expected from the Series 3000 and Formula 3 classes. Series 3000 has been convincingly won by Brett Mercer in “Shockwave” for the last 3 years, however this year Andrea Robinson one of powerboatings top woman drivers, brought home the North Island championship. She will no doubt give Brett a run for his money at the nationals. Formula 3 is a very competitive field with a number of new drivers as well as some seasoned racers. Top favourite would have to be Jamie Hargreaves in “Instigator” however a wild card to watch for might be young Phillip Stilwell in “Southern Lights”.

For the best in powerboating action come to the Porirua Harbour at Onepoto this Easter Saturday 25rd and Sunday 26th March. Entry is $5 per person, children under 12 free. Championship racing begins 9.30am Saturday. Club day, Formula 1 Series racing and King of the Harbour will be raced Sunday starting at 10am.

For more information please contact:
Kent Dunlop
Ph 04 905 9997 or 027 655 9343
 

Wairarapa Regatta, March 5-6th 2005
Ruamahanga River

The 20 boats that turned up were treated to a relaxed weekend with about 8 races per day and kilo trials run on Saturday evening
.
The boats that ran down the kilo and their speeds recorded are as follows:

Cut Loose NZ and CZ Pro Stock & CZ ProCom Records 94.88mph (152.66kph)
Star Trax 66.03 mph (152.70kph)
Meridian 85.13 mph (137.01kph)
Tempo Too 93.89mph (151.10kph)
Avalanche 83.86mph (134.95 kph)
Southern Lights 65.02mph (104.66 kph)
Venom 57.99mph (93.32 kph)
Pure Magic 54.19 mph (87.21kph)

The kilos were run with quite a strong side wind present adding a light ripple to the water, which most drivers were keen to run on because it might help unstick some of them.

This wind proved a problem for a couple of the smaller hydros who had removed skid fins in an attempt to reduce drag. Colin Gapper was blown sideways in “Tempo Too” as he crossed the ramp area. He ended up hitting a turn buoy and was launched about 1.1/2 metres into the air. The boat was undamaged and he carried on to record a speed of 93.89mph. Steve Mathieson in “Midnight” was by far the fastest boat on the day but sadly lunched his Nissan SR20 engine in the turnaround area and was unable to do a return run.

Gary Gregory was disappointed with his run as the boat seemed to glue itself, but he did manage to break the New Zealand and Central Zone records for the Pro Stock class in “Cut Loose” bettering the previous record of 93.12mph set in 1999 by Pete Broeren in “Bavarian”. Gary also claimed the Central Zone ProCom record (89.26mph) set by Steve Denham in 1998 driving “Venom”. Congratulations to Gary for breaking these 3 records with his speed of 94.88mph (152.66kph).

Once the kilos were over most settled in for dinner and live music by local muso Mark Southern and many partied well into the night.

The Wairarapa Power Boat Club’s two major trophies up for grabs on the Sunday - The Barney Rhodes Memorial and the Santano Paints Cup This year both were run as handicap races so as to make them winnable by all boats attending the regatta.

The Barney Rhodes Memorial results:

1st Jamie Hargraves Instigator
2nd Gary Gregory Cut Loose
3rd Stu Bryant Shogun

The Santano Paints Cup:

1st Colin Gapper Tempo Too
2nd Jeff Robinson Star Trax
3rd Bruce Packer Venom

A couple of boats made their season debut at Wairarapa including the F3 tunnel “Willy Flippit” , now running out of the Hargraves stable in Wellington and being driven by new guy Daniel Mooney - welcome and good luck Daniel. Mike Wotton also returned to the water with “Madison Blues” which has just had a major freshen up in time for the National Champs this Easter. Both boats suffered from a few teething problems but got better as the day progressed.

All in all a good weekend’s racing.

Don't forget to check out the photos in our Image Gallery

If you have any images of this or another event that you think should be in out gallery email the images along with captions to: gallery@nzpba.com
 

New Speed Limit

March 2

90 km/h is now the maximum speed at which vehicles towing trailers or other vehicles may drive on the open road.  A trailer includes a caravan, boat trailer, garden trailer or horse float.

Remember when towing, you should leave at least a 4 second gap between you and the vehicle ahead (even more in bad weather) as the extra weight of the trailer or towed vehicle can dramatically affect your ability to slow down
and stop.

Don't tow a trailer or another vehicle at the maximum speed of 90 km/h unless you're sure you can do so comfortably and safely.  Slow down before curves and avoid braking suddenly — especially on gravel or greasy roads. Use a lower gear when traveling downhill.  Don’t overload your trailer as this will affect its stability and control at any speed.

For more information see the Loading and Towing Safely brochure available online at www.landtransport.govt.nz or call 0800 699 000.

5 km/h

The Police will be applying a 5 km/h discretionary tolerance to all vehicles towing trailers in any applicable speed zone.  This means, for example, if you’re caught going 56 km/h in a 50 km/h zone, you can expect a ticket.

So please ... WATCH YOUR SPEED

News from N.Z.P.B.A Secretary

Feb 23

Wairarapa Power Boat Club Club have applied to run a kilo trial on the afternoon of 5th March or 6th March depending on the water conditions.

The Cambridge/ Waikato Power Boat Club have also applied to run kilo trials at Lake Karapiro on the 10th April.

Please note that we don't have many days left until the closing date for the

nationals entries so can you also remind your members accordingly.

Time is also running out for those clubs whom wish to submit remits to their zones and nominations for Executive positions.

The Bay of Plenty Club are hosting this year's National conference and planning is well under way and you should all be receiving some info in the near future.

Regards
Peter McLeod
NZPBA Secretary
 

Wanganui Motor Boat Club
Major Regatta February 19-20.

An awesome weekend at Wanganui Motor Boat Club as the new committee successfully attempted to breathe new life into the club.
They ran their major regatta to coincide with the local annual Rotary Club raft race, which saw huge crowds at the riverside to view the racing as well as demo runs by the GP hydroplanes “Annihilator1” and “Annihilator3”.
Unfortunately, during testing on Saturday “Annihilator3” suffered a large oil leak after an o-ring in the dry sump system blew out causing a fair amount of damage to the engine’s bearings, and would be unable to compete in Sundays flying lap competition.
Saturday saw a round of scratch racing for all classes before heading into a couple of rounds of handicap racing. Young Grant Pedder flipped the Formula 3 flattie “Wild Thing” in one of the very busy Series 3000 races but would return to race again on Sunday after a busy night of drying out the engine.
Saturdays big race, a sought after trophy hosted by the Wanganui club for many years, the River-City 3000, was very well supported and was comfortably won by Brett Mercer in the fast “Shockwave”. Behind him Ian Warmington was comfortably settled into second place in “Sultan” while the battle was all on for the final podium spot. “Star Trax”, “Miss Weta”, “Megabucks” and new competitor Bruce Packer in “Venom” fought over the third place ribbon. “Megabucks” was out of the battle after flat spinning in the southern turn and Andrea Robinson driving “Star Trax” took home the third place laurels.

Final Placings Rivercity 3000

1st Shockwave Brett Mercer
2nd Sultan Ian warmington
3rd Star Trax Andrea Robinson
4th Megabucks Jason Buttimore
5th Miss Weta Malcolm Packer

Sundays racing was underway with a round of scratch races for all classes before stopping for the lunch break and to cheer home the raft race competitors. Once the festivities of the raft race were over it was straight into the Eaton Flying Laps for the weekend’s fastest boats. As expected the big hydroplanes of Coker and Lupton both struggled on the tight river course. The race was dominated by the four Formula 1 tunnel boats, and a mere 1.5 sec separated them at the end of their laps. In fifth was Warwick Lupton in “Annihilator1” and making a late start to his season was Steve Rosewarne in the ProCom flatbottom “Plum Crazy” in sixth.

Eaton Flying Laps Results

1st Tony Latimer Patriot 34.36 sec
2nd Steve Hughes Total Lubricants 34.48 sec
3rd Luke Sharp Sierra/Humminbird 34.84 sec
4th Allan Dennis California Girls 35.74 sec
5th Warwick Lupton Annihilator 1 35.87 sec
6th Steve Rosewarne Plum Crazy 38.45 sec
7th Scott Coker Fair Warning 42.89 sec

The Columbian Café King of the River saw two V8 runabouts, three hydroplanes and three tunnel boats line up. The first start saw the tunnels get out of the gate well but the race was stopped after Alan Lewis in “Little Cracker” failed too exit the first turn and was well parked in the mud. After retrieving “Little Cracker”, and thankfully undamaged by the soft Wanganui mud, the restart again saw the tunnels lead but this time matched for pace down the first shute by “Plum Crazy”, that was until the first turn, which the tunnels were in and out of and away down the back straight, leaving the big flattie behind them. Tony Latimer in “Patriot” led from start to finish in his very quick Seebold tunnel boat and was chased hard by Alan Dennis in “California Girls”. In third and right with the leaders was Luke Sharp in “Sierra”.

Columbian Café King of the River

1st Tony Latimer Patriot
2nd Allan Dennis California Girls
3rd Luke Sharp Sierra/Humminbird
4th Steve Rosewarne Plum Crazy
5th Malcolm Wotton Renegade

The racing over both days was exciting and closely fought every time out, other incidents over the weekend included Gary Gregory in “Cut Loose” getting drowned by the hydroplanes as everyone dived for the first turn in one of the combined V8/Mod H class races. Steve Hughes in “Total Lubricants” came to grief in the rough at the start turn, when his left sponson parted company with the rest of his F1 boat and in the same corner, new driver Bruce Packer took a swim, when his “Venom” chined in and high sided him in one of the Series 3000 Drivers Club Series Races.
All in all a spectacular weekends racing which was encouraging for both the club and the boaties alike. The bar was well supported on Friday evening and many partied riverside on Saturday evening to a DJ and on Sunday at prize giving to a live band. So well supported that the shop and bar both ran out of stock over the weekend. With the great turn out of boats and spectators the future of the Wanganui Motor Boat Club looks bright.
Congratulations to the members and committee of the Wanganui Motor Boat Club and Thank You to all of their workers who helped to make this a great weekend.

Remember to check out the images in out Gallery
 

NZGP Hydroplane Drivers Club Regatta at Lake Karapiro

Feb 5th & 6th 2005

At Waitangi weekend the GP Drivers Club hosted an excellent regatta at Lake Karapiro with two of our sports top trophies - the Masport Cup (NZ Unlimited Unrestricted Championship), and the A. E. Baker Trophy (Australasian Unlimited Hydroplane Championship).

While the weather threatened to disrupt racing as it had at Auckland the weekend before, the regatta ran without too much drama despite quite strong wind gusts sweeping across the track.
 

Formula 1 North Island Championship

Racing got underway with the North Island Championship for the Formula 1 class. Seven teams lined up for two heats of 8 laps on the triangle track. Both heats saw Luke Sharp in “Sierra” leading the charge, chased hard by Steve Hughes in “Total Lubricants” and Allan Dennis in “California Girls”.

Racing was clean until yours truly mounted the buoy at turn 3 ripping the front 1/3 of the left hand sponson off the “VDO” boat. I managed to drive the boat back to shore and keep the engine dry, which was then put onto “Advanced” so John Hercock could make the rest of the weekends races.

Final Placings 2005 North Island Formula 1 Championship
1st Luke Sharp Sierra/Humminbird
2nd Allan Dennis California Girls
3rd Steve Hughes Total Lubricants
 

Masport Cup

Qualifying for the Masport Cup was an eventful session, also run on Saturday afternoon. All three Annihilator Boats were running fast and well in the field but the surprise was Steve Hughes who took out the fastest lap in his bright red F1 tunnel boat “Total Lubricants”. Allan Dennis had a near miss in “California Girls” when he tried to fly near the start finish line and Tony Latimer in “Patriot” had a wee moment when his boat did a freaky walk at the end of the front straight. The visiting unlimited hydro “Aussie Connection” made the field but seemed to struggle on the tight track. Pete Edmond driving “Advanced” also qualified in his first outing in some years.

Heat 1 was one of the best races in recent history as the three Annihilator boats ran hard and fast out in front of the battling F1’s who were led by “Total Lubricants” in 4th. Thetunnels were being leaned on by the big “Aussie Connection”, the combination of big hydros, leaving the course a mess and making the inside line treacherous for the smaller boats. Thankfully all survived and the final placings were as follows:

1st David Alexander Annihilator 2
2nd Warwick Lupton Annihilator 1
3rd Ken Lupton Annihilator 3
4th Steve Hughes Total Lubricants
5th Peter Edmond Advanced

Heat 2 looked like it would be another great race, with the “Annihilator3” boat taking an early lead. Alexander in “Annihilator2” left his run at the start a little late and came charging from the back of the field only to have the boat climb up and flat spin at close to full speed. Luckily he was okay and the other boats around him all managed to somehow escape the carnage, but “Annihilator2” was looking pretty sad when it was towed to shore. The boat sustained damage to all of the rear floor section of the boat as well as the right sponson and front wing.

The re run of the race was held up while the boat was retrieved, and took place an hour or so later. This time Warwick Lupton in “Annihilator1” led the field ahead of his son Ken in “Annihilator3”, again with the F1 runners hot on the heels of the 2 yellow GP boats. “Aussie Connection” battled with the F1 boats again but damaged an engine and stopped. An engine change was in order so they pulled out one goliath engine and put in another one, a job their team did amazingly quickly considering the great size of their engines. Unfortunately they would miss the A.E.Baker as they went about changing the Rolls-Royce Merlin’s over.

Final placings for heat 2 were:
 

1st Warwick Lupton Annihilator 1
2nd Ken Lupton Annihilator 3
3rd Steve Hughes Total Lubricants
4th Allan Dennis California Girls
5th Peter Edmond Advanced

Overall final points and placings for the 2005 Masport Cup were:

1st Warwick Lupton Annihilator 1 700points
2nd Ken Lupton Annihilator 3 525points
3rd David Alexander Annihilator 2 400points
4th Steve Hughes Total Lubricants 394points
5th Allan Dennis California Girls 264points
6th Peter Edmond Advanced 254points

The A.E.Baker

The A E Baker Was another two heat outing for the big hydroplanes, however sadly “Aussie Connection” and “Annihilator2” were parked for this great title. Still, the two remaining Annihilator boats, would be kept honest by the Grand National and Mod-H hydro’s as this race is an Australasian Championship for Unlimited Inboard hydroplanes.

Both heats saw great head to head battles between father and son with Dad Warwick getting to the inside and taking control of the race line both times. Scott Coker in “Fair Warning” got a hose down that he will remember for quite a while when he went through the rooster tails of the GP boats on the exit of turn one of heat one. Ken finished in second in heat 1 but broke a blower belt in heat two leaving Allan Lewis in “Little Cracker” and Malcolm Wotton in “Renegade” to battle for second place in that heat.

Placings Heat 1
1st Warwick Lupton Annihilator 1
2nd Ken Lupton Annihilator 3
3rd Malcolm Wotton Renegade
4th Alan Lewis Little Cracker
5th Steve Mathieson Midnight

Placings Heat 2
1st Warwick Lupton Annihilator 1
2nd Alan Lewis Little Cracker
3rd Malcolm Wotton Renegade

Final Placings 2005 A.E.Baker Australasian Unlimited Hydroplane Championship

1st Warwick Lupton Annihilator 1
2nd Alan Lewis Little Cracker
3rd Malcolm Wotton Renegade

Results from Class Racing

The Formula 1 class ran their Drivers Club Series Hot Laps as well as two ten lap series races in between the heats of the Masport Cup. Teams were hurriedly swapping from their restricted F1 set ups to the unlimited set ups that they can use in the Unlimited Unrestricted championship heats.

Tony Latimer led both heats of the F1 series races from start to finish in his new Seebold boat “Patriot” (formally “Oceanbridge” owned by John Herzog) and the battle behind him raged as “Total Lubricants” and “California Girls” shared a 2nd and a 3rd placing each, as well as paint on the sprint to the first turn of heat 2. Hot on their heels was Luke Sharp in “Sierra” who got real close to tipping over when he skidded out of turn 2 and had the boat completely sideways coming onto the front straight.

The Tony Marsh Motorsports Modified Hydroplane Trophy, a new trophy, which is a huge 5 blade ‘Rolla’ propeller was one of the great races of the day. “Midnight” and “Little Cracker” traded the lead all race long with “Helter Skelter” close enough to pounce on them, should either of them make a mistake.

Final placings for the Tony Marsh Motorsports Trophy were
1st Steve Mathieson Midnight
2nd Alan Lewis Little Cracker
3rd Nigel Zander Helter Skelter

The F3 class ran on the triangle track and saw battles all day long between Jamie Hargraves in “Instigator” and Stuart Andrew in “Holiday Outboards” and races within races between “Southern Lights”, “Jail Break” and the hydro “Howzat” doing a circle of the triangle track trying to catch the tunnels.

The V8 class was like the ProCom of old with the mix of Grand National hydros, the ProCom flatties as well as a couple of quick marathon jet boats added to the mixture, and had you guessing all day who was going to come out on top in each of their races. The very quick jet “TMR Motorsports” of Robert Thompson was awesome and gave a few of the prop boats a hurry up, winning one of the races, Malcolm Wotton in “Renegade” also won one after forcing the jet boat to cross his wake at turn 3.

King of the Lake

The grand finale, the King of the Lake, was the fifth race of the day for the big hydro’s and one last chance to see the big Merlin powered “Aussie Connection” back out on the water. Ken Lupton’s blower belt was quickly replaced by engine man Grant Rivers and their crew so that they too would also make the show.

Again the yellow GP boats would get out in front, but this time it was Ken on the inside line and he kept his old man out wide, so wide that Steve Hughes in “Total Lubricants” snuck through on the last turn to beat Warwick home for second place.

Final placing 2005 King of the Lake, Karapiro GP Regatta

1st Ken Lupton Annihilator 3
2nd Steve Hughes Total Lubricants
3rd Warwick Lupton Annihilator 1

A spectacular finish, to a truly impressive day of racing – well done to all competitors, and the NZGP Hydroplane Drivers Club.

Check our Photo Gallery regularly as we are getting more pic’s coming through most days and we will post them as they arrive. Also check out the galleries over at NZGP’s own website for pic’s at http://www.nzgrandprixhydroplane.com/