|
             |
News March 2007 Copies
of Current and past New Zealand Hydroplane Drivers Club Newsletters can
be found at the bottom of this page. The Major News from Each News Letter
will be Posted here as well as any relevant News Story you care to Submit
to the Webmaster
for posting on the Site. Check for past News Stories on our News Archive pages using the Links at the bottom of the Page.
The Racing continues but this is my last update with a few Race pictures
11.00am au time. Warlord has won the Cup in Convincing Fashion with Warwick Down a Cylinder he didn't have the Power to keep up with the rest of the Pack. Warlord and David had a very good battle for the first few laps but then David started to lose power as well and drifted back to a hard Charging Ken Lupton EC Griffith Cup Final 2007
9.45am
au No Times Brett Niddrie has come home in 1st place and a hard Charging
Greg Holland wasn't far behind but approaching the Line the Boat died
and it only just drifted across the Line.
Duggan Balancing was a no show and Bob Webster missed the start and had to catch up a bit after his Boat failed to start with the Flag Boat. Darryl Hamilton Broke Down I will try to get the Times and grids for the Finals Heat Three
9.30am
au No Times Wasp took the win despite a half Spin on lap 2 which nearly
took him out of the results. Dragula broke down on Lap 3
Heat Two
9.15am
au No Times Kenny has a problem with a hole in the boat. Rythum Did not
Start Warwick lead out from David and Kenny with Kick Ass drifting away
at the back the Three Annihilators finished close together
Heat One
Just a few
Images of the Day More on the Gallery soon
Heat Two
Heat Three
I will do some Pictures later on Tonight for the Gallery after Tea etc so they should be up tomorrow morning which will be a very Busy few hours.
 This is the new Rythum Boat Its Blurry because I have dropped my small lens on the ground this is the second of three incidents to befall me this trip. Just cant wait for number Three. The Parade was done tonight at 6pm which in real time was 6.20pm there were very few boats in the Parade noticeable absentee was Duggan Balancing. Kens Boat was also not in the Parade due to the Team being down to only Two Tow Vehicles. The Aussie's go back to a Two hour time difference on Sunday Morning.  David and the GP008 Crew relax in there Motel Pool Australia is currently only 1 hour behind New Zealand on Time Difference. Its a Bad Start to the Weekend with Warwick's Tow Vehicle breaking down just out of Melbourne with Transmission Problems. Its very Hot Today and the Water is very Rough didn't Stop Warlord from Having a Run Earlier in the Morning Though. Yesterday the Lake Was as Flat as a Pancake. I had a Troubled Trip with My Van Overheating I had to Confiscate another Vehicle to make a mad dash to Auckland just knew i should have got that Hilux.  Warwick Lupton as he appeared not long ago on Pitlane getting questioned by Shane Drake, Marty Roestenburg, and Jamie McCarthy. The Show will be Rescreened at various on Sky TV during the Week and they will no doubt have news on the Cup next week in there sporting round up section. I have Shortened up the news Page with all previous March news on the Archive page link at the bottom of this page or direct link the News Archive Page March 2007 this should make things a bit easier for the EC Griffith Cup News over the Weekend Next update will be on Friday Evening from Yarrawonga all going well. Due to the time Difference between us and the Aussie's who are a good 2 hours behind us(see they cant even win that race either) the EC Griffith Cup will be run around 5 - 5.30pm on Saturday by the time it gets on the Website it could will be 8pm New Zealand Time  Press Release: 21st March 2007 Denise Moughan Shafted in 2006! Kiwi teams go back Prepared for Attack! Waverley based Grand Prix Hydroplane trio Warwick Lupton, David Alexander and Ken Lupton will return this weekend to Yarrawonga, Melbourne Australia to compete for the 94th running of the EC Griffith Cup an Australasian Unlimited Championship, after Warwick Lupton was sensationally disqualified from last years cup after allegedly being across the start line when the flag dropped. Lupton says' they still have not given me the proof that I broke the line" we are going back because we can't let it go and we have a score to settle! Last year we were ripped off something that one of their officials has recently admitted too. The kiwi team is prepared for what the Aussie's might dish out this time, they are taking well known ex top Grand Prix Hydroplane driver Warwick Jones 'Radical Rat' who will be the Official New Zealand representative on the protest committee for the event. The EC Griffith Cup has only been won by a handful of New Zealanders in its 94 years which include Sir Len Southward 'Redhead', Peter Knight Jnr 'CRC Latimer Lodge', Warwick Lupton 'Annihilator' and was last held in 2001. The EC Griffith cup is the oldest contested Motor sport trophy in the Southern hemisphere it is the most prestigious trophy to win in this form of powerboat racing. David Alexander 'Annihilator 2' would be the kiwi favorite with his winning form so far this season. Alexander has won everything in New Zealand this season which includes The AE Baker another Australasian Hydroplane Championship, the Masport Cup, and was recently crowned the New Zealand Grand Prix Hydroplane Champion for 2007. Not to rule out current World Champion and 2007 King of the Nationals winner' Warwick Lupton Annihilator" who has been plagued with minor engine problems this season, is now confident he too has the power and speed to take on the Aussie's. Son 'Ken Lupton's "Falcon Engineering" sponsored Annihilator 3' will be the dark horse of the team, engine mechanic Grant Rivers has given Ken another 500 horse power , after testing before the boats left for Aussie Ken said ' It's pretty alert there's plenty of power there. Qualifying heats and the final for the EC Griffith Cup will be this Saturday, Sunday the teams will compete in the Yarrawonga Gold Cup. Check out the website www.nzgrandprixhydroplane.com for regular updates during the weekend. Its really late notice in fact the news starts in 5 minutes but Warwick Lupton will be interviewed on the News/Sports segment tonight
 The Entries for the Griffith Cup have been Released with some Strong Competitors to take on the Kiwis including Brian McCosker in "Liberty" Boat Entries Annihilator GP007 - Warwick Lupton Annihilator GP008 - David Alexander Annihilator GP009 - Ken Lupton Tabasco - Greg Holland Warlord - TBA Dragula - Tom Heffernan GP55 - Paul Cunningham The Wasp - Bobby Fisher Hyper Active - Ricky Howard KT11 - Darryl Hamilton Kick Ass - Darryl Hamilton Another Madam - Bob Webster Image - Craig Lewis Liberty - Brian McCosker The Chase - Mal McCall Sweet Talkin - Mal McCall Decision - Brent Lewis Typhoon - Nigel Agnew Rythum - Stewie Fergusson Duggan Balancing - Robert Psaila 20 Entries after Closing but I don't expect they will all show up They have Hot Laps to pick the Heats then 1 Heat for each Boat to get the Fastest 8 or so Boats for the Final all on Saturday.  We now have a new contest each week in conjunction with GT Radials. It's called the GT Radials 'Good Bastard of the Week', and can be accessed off the Karcher Pitlane Website, Links or Contests links. Just vote on the panels nominations each week, and you will go into a draw for some fantastic GT Radials prizes. You can also nominate someone or something to Jamie each week as well. If you would also like to register your support for the Karcher Pitlane show on Sky, please feel free to E-mail SKY TV and give your feedback to help keep Pitlane on air for the future. Shortly we also hope to have an archive of all of this season's episode's on the Karcher Pitlane Website, so if you want to see a particular show you will be able to in the not too distant future. Again, thanks for watching the show.  The Team from Karcher Pitlane. Karcher Pitlane screens on SKY Sport 2 at 8.30pm on Wednesday Nights 12th March - Wellington Offshore Pictures  John Hercock Driving "Sassy Red" Got a few images up on the Gallery of the Offshore Racing.   Craig Stewart - Jo Lomax - Warwick Lupton - Steve Rosewarne Wellington turned on a stunning day with temperatures over 25 degrees and just a light breeze blowing through the harbour. Placemakers stormed to commanding Lead but broke a Gearbox. To Finish First, First you must Finish must be becoming a right pain the unreliability of Placemakers, It actually made the race for First quite exciting though with Sleepyhead and Fairview doing battle to the Wire. Perry Morris in High Impact lead for most of the race in the Superboat Lights but had problems and Addictive and then right on the line Rayglass got Through. The Aussie Red Bellies Team had dramas from the start at testing and were still repairing the engines when all the boats started to enter the water for the race. A late Alternator Change seemed to help but mid race they had dropped off the Pace and were cruising around for a finish.  Jo Lomax & Craig Stewart race by in Chindit  Jo & Craig finished First in Class  The Crawford's Greg and Philip had a nasty spill at the last turn but continued on in the race  The Building Solutions Formula Honda Broke his steering which put him in this spot and out of the race in a rather spectacular frame of shots.  The Course at Wellington this year was very good for the spectators nice and close There will be a lot of shots put up on my Gallery sometime during the week including the two big spins above. Busy time got the Local Jetsprints at Wanganui Tomorrow should be plenty of action there as well.  Jo Lomax & co-driver Craig Stewart Warwick Lupton will be at Wellington Tomorrow as Support Crew for Jo Lomax and her Boat "Chindit". David Alexander was Also to Attend but has been waylaid by the Flu. Taking David's Place will be Annihilator GP009 Crew Chief Steve “Tradge” Rosewarne So if your in Wellington pop down to the Pit Area to have a look located at the Tugboat Restaurant.
The Boats have made it onto the Wharves at Auckland and are packed onto
the Flatracks for transport to Australia. This didn't go without dramas
though as first David's Trailer broke its Axel going in to the Truck Wash
and there was a mad rush to find someone capable of fixing the Trailer
at short notice.
GT Trailers worked overtime to get the David's Boat ready for Shipping 
Then it was off to pack the Boats on the Flat racks where they were then loaded on to trucks for transport to the Wharves only one small problem the load was considered to tall for the trucks. Lucky for us the team at Discount Cranes were happy to stay around while we tracked down some low loading trucks. 
The Team at Ultimate Transport came to the rescue and at 9.00pm the Boats were finally on the way to the Wharves for Loading onto the Ship for Australia  The Boats are being shipped out with long time New Zealand Grand Prix Hydroplane Drivers Club Supporter CP Ships which are now incorporated with Hapag-Lloyd 
The Series 3000 Drivers' Club wish to extend their best wishes to the "Annihilator" Teams on their upcoming Challenge for the E C Griffith Cup. Good luck to you all!
Also, congratulations to Dave, and his Team, on his recent achievements...and hopefully the next one! You've all done so well! Keep safe Andrea Robinson
David Alexander, Ken Lupton and Warwick Lupton will be shipping the Boats
out this Weekend for the EC Griffith Cup Race in Yarrawonga, Australia.
raced on the 24th March 2007
 Click the Image to see a bigger picture of the Article in the Wanganui Chronicle Today. I did cut and paste it a bit as it was a funny shape.
 Steve enters the corner with Nigel Zander outside and Kevin Thorburn Inside  Spins around prop may have broken its tip at this point  Steve already has his hands up to warn Undertaker and Country Boy  Daniel Pollack in Undertaker is already into his turn  Undertaker took evasive action to avoid an accident  Nigel Zooms on by as Steve awaits Country Boy and then rejoins the race pulling out a lap later with a vibration that turned out to be a Broken prop. Have some more images up on the Gallery, Still yet to do Sundays Pictures
This picture was snapped by Alana Hargraves
  Geoff Tomkins at Hazelwood in February. Image courtesy of Wayne Johnstone  ONE of Australia's top powerboat racers who was killed in a horror race accident in Tasmania at the weekend was 'a great bloke and a fierce competitor'. Geoff Tomkins, 42, of Beaudesert had been a member of the Gold Coast Power Boat and Sports Boat Club for 17 years, and recently had finished second in the World Cup in NSW. Club commodore Jim Thompson said Mr Tomkins was 'well loved by everyone in the sport across Australia'. "The whole Australian world of powerboat racing is in mourning and shock," he said. Mr Tomkins was competing in his boat Iron Nuts in the final of Tasmania's richest powerboat event, the Cock of the Mersey at the Devonport Apex Regatta, when the accident occurred at 3.40pm on Sunday. Race organizers said he was running second and about two-thirds of the way through the race. "He was chasing Tasmanian racer Chris Palmer in Outlaw, trying to get into the lead and was about 100m from the north turning buoy when Tomkins' boat struck part of Palmer's wash and it veered right, throwing Tomkins from the cockpit," said an event organizer who did not want to be named. "Tomkins bounced across the front of his boat a number of times as he tried desperately to hang on, but in the end he was slung into the water. Seconds later, the boat flipped, sending up a huge spray of water." The race was stopped and rescue boats sped to the stricken racer and there were cheers from the crowd when a rescuer dived into the river and signalled that he had hold of Mr Tomkins, but the cheers faded as rescuers pulled the Beaudesert racer from the water and CPR efforts proved futile. Mr Tomkins' boat sank as he was being rushed to hospital, where he was pronounced dead on arrival. Racing was abandoned. In January, Mr Tomkins finished second in the Unlimited Displacement World Cup which included teams from the US and New Zealand. Mr Thompson said Mr Tomkins was married with two sons and worked as a diesel mechanic in a business near Beaudesert. "Iron Nuts was a Bruce Everingham-built boat with a 400-cubic inch, fuel-injected inboard engine capable of 217km/h," he said. "He was close to the top of this type of racing. He traveled all over Australia to race and he was well liked everywhere he went. He was a big fella with a big sense of humour and he loved a beer on a hot day." Mr Thompson said hitting another powerboat's wash was always potentially catastrophic. Mr Tomkins' death was the second in the 49 years of the Cock of the Mersey River regatta and the third powerboat death on the river since 1981. 
 Peter Thomas doing Battle with Luke Sharp in the Final of the Manakau-Auckland Gold Cup (formally known as the Moult Gold Cup which is still lost i understand)
Here's a few pictures doing the email rounds of the crash . I'm not sure
who took them?
    I will start uploading a few Pictures over the next few days to the Gallery so remember to check them out. Also just a reminder the Pictures on the Gallery are saved for internet quality at a very small size so they will not print out on A4 paper in your printer very well. If you are after prints for your self or your programme's just sing out, I don't Bite......well never convicted of it anyway......Yet.  Josh Preece had trouble in an F3 Race when the boat delaminated on the top turn and started to sink pretty quick. Josh got out pretty quickly.  Apart from the big Hole the Metal Concepts Team also had to patch a split in the Hull from Saturdays Racing. The Boat was brought in from the States and the plan was to be racing by new year but this was the first time out for the Boat  Steve Preece took the Boat out for the first race of the Weekend and won
Today at a Race Meeting in Tasmania Blown Alcohol Displacement Driver Geoff Tomkins from the Boat "Iron Nuts" Passed Away.
Geoff finished second in the recent BAD World Championship held in Australia. The New Zealand Grand Prix Hydroplane Divers Club wish to pass on there sincere Condolences to the Tomkins Family during their time of Grieving.  Steve Hughes Blew over in his F1 Tunnel boat at the far end of the course. At the Time Steve was running hard on the outside of Luke Sharp. Steve said after the crash he was watching Luke and Luke almost blew over but caught it in time. Steve was unhurt in the crash but the Boat suffered badly.  Steve gets told by the Medic to go to the Ambulance for Check over    Of Course Steve can now Boast about how he catches Shell Fish for Lunch with his Race Boat now, don't need to dive for them and don't need any Rods or Nets just an Engine Mount. The Boat will be sent to Peter Stillwell for Repairs in Nelson. Josh Preece also had dramas in the Next F3 Race when his Boat sunk after delaminating on a turn he was upset but ok I will have details on that later on. Last Race of the day is about to start the second heat of the Moult Gold Cup without Total and without Fair Warning who damaged a valve in warm up.  Daniel Pollack in Undertaker was out of the water as much as he was in it it seemed.  NZGP Member Scott Coker in Fair Warning drove very well in all his races but couldn't match Steve Hughes for Pace finishing second in both North Island GP races and in the first Heat of the Moult Gold Cup.  Second Heat of the North Island GP and it was all on into the First Turn with Scott Coker, Luke Sharp and Steve Hughes.  Jason Moughan in the Jam Boat was driving very well picking up a 2nd place in one of the F3 Races. Today's action should be just as entertaining and check on Tuesday morning for some more pictures and details etc  The Auckland regatta gets underway early tomorrow morning with racing at about 9.00am to fit around the Tides at Mangere Almost all the News Stories and Pictures are to be found somewhere in the Archives Just try and remember when the event occurred and pick the page that matches those Dates |
|||
|
© New Zealand Grand Prix Hydroplane Drivers Club 1984 - 2009 All
pictures in these Gallery's are either the Property of the New Zealand
Grand Prix Hydroplane Drivers Club or have been Loaned to the New Zealand
Grand Prix Hydroplane Drivers Club for use in the Gallery and for Promotions.
Any Image or Text can not be reproduced for commercial use without the
express permission of New Zealand Grand Prix Hydroplane Drivers Club
|
