New Zealand Grand Prix Hydroplane Drivers Club

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 Denise Moughan or 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.

14th August 2010 - Kiwi Annihilator Racing

Kiwi Annihilator Racing will be racing at this years 2010 UIM World GP Hydroplane Championships in Yarrawonga, Australia on 27th - 28th November 2010. At this stage they are looking at taking three GP Hydroplanes and may be taking a fourth. This will be decided after a test day at Lake Karapiro, the date of this test day is still to be confirmed. Keep checking back for more updates on the 2010 world champs, it's going to be big!

14th August 2010 - Shamrock is Back

Many thought that the Cunningham family had retired from power boat racing after the sale of their 2005 GP World Championship and 2006 E.C Griffith Cup winning hull “GP 55”. However it seems as if the lure of another World Championship is too much for the owner - mad Irishman Con Cunningham. To the delight of friends and fans he announced recently that “Shamrock GP 454” would enter the 2010 World GP Championships to be staged at Yarrawonga over the weekend of November 26-28.

“Shamrock” is a Ron Jones designed hydroplane built in Sydney by Graham Troy. It is a timber Grand Prix Hydroplane with composite Ron Jones capsule. The boat has been in storage since the 2004 E.C Griffith Cup. After a clean and some touch up work Shamrock commenced its campaign towards the worlds in literally a “dust her down” run at the St George Motor Boat Club Spectacular last weekend.

Con Cunningham and the team worked hard to even be at St George with parts arriving only Friday night from the US which saw the team work late Friday night and into Saturday morning. A run late Saturday afternoon did not go to plan with engine gremlins forcing the team take the safe option and swap engines over night. Con advised “no point in taking risks here, we have a spare so we will use it and do the check on the other engine later in the week”

Sunday saw the team complete another hit out but on return to the bank it was noticed that an oil leak had developed in the gear box. It was just a split in the gear box oil fitting however this saw the team sit out the rest of the day. Driver Paul Cunningham (PC) advised “for an old GP she went well but we just did not have another fitting for the gear box with us, however it’s great to be back and to iron out some bugs or should I say rats given the time in storage” PC went on to say “the run was planned as a hit out to see where we were at.
Given the time in storage with this hull, a weekend with e few gremlins is actually seen as a success for the team, we are now in aposition to improve a few things in readiness for our worlds challenge”.

The team has strong ties with Ireland through Con “the Irishman” and is looking to add another World Championship to their trophy cabinet. Con has commented “we may not be the newest boat out there or the fastest but we will be there to be sure and we are looking forward to the challenges ahead” well at least that is what we think Con said!

Some of Shamrocks achievements are:
WINNER A.E BAKER AUSTRALIASIAN CHAMPIONSHIP
WINNER MARY & ERNIE NUNN AUST GP SERIES
2ND MARY & ERNIE NUNN AUST GP SERIES (TWICE)
WINNER PAYNESVILLE GOLD CUP
WINNER EPIGLASS SPRINT SERIES (TWICE)
2ND EPIGLASS SERIES New Zealand
2ND E.C GRIFFITH CUP (TWICE)

23rd July 2010 - 2010 100th Cambridge Classic, Maryland

It's the biggest race this weekend, From friday through to sunday we will have a live feed from Cambridge, Maryland thanks again to Art and the team at Hydroplane Quebec. Thursday is testing, friday through to sunday is racing. Over 150 boats have registered so far, with more registering on thursday and friday.

Live Streaming by Ustream.TV

21st July 2010 - 2010 UIM World GP Hydroplane Champs - Australia

The Kiwi Annihilator Race Team are hoping to compete in the 2010 UIM World GP Hydroplane Championship at Yarrawonga, Australia, but are still in the process of working through shipping arrangements. If and when these details are finalised they will then confirm their entry.

Grand Prix Hydroplanes are like lightning - here and gone in less than a second leaving nothing but the roar of an angry engine and a massive wall of water.

Seattle based GP-12 team pilot N.Mark Evans is excited about coming down under to contest the U.I.M World Grand Prix Hydroplane Championship. Competing on the U.S.A. Grand Prix circuit the GP-12 team are currently in 2nd position in the point standings and are hoping to take out another National Championship to go with their 2007 and 2008 titles. The team missed out last year due to a spectacular crash which put them on the sidelines for quite a few of the championship rounds.

GP-12 team owner Bob Schellhase and pilot N.Mark Evans are very well respected racing personalities in America. Schellhase holds many records and is the current world record holder in a limited outboard. Evans has also won National championships, competed for over 30 years and is an icon in the world power boat scene. Having previously retired from driving duties, Evans was lured out of retirement by Schellhase to pilot the very impressive GP-12.

A journey down under to race is one goal both men have yet to achieve however this will be accomplished in late November when they compete for the GP World Championship on Lake Mulwala, Yarrawonga against the Aussie and Kiwi Grand Prix teams.

It is expected at least 10 teams will compete and fight for the U.I.M World Championship. GP hydros are the fastest automotive power boats in the world and can reach speeds in excess of 180mph (270kph) on a liquid race track over an 1800 metre oval circuit.

Also being showcased are the Blown Alcohol Displacement boats and many other high speed classes. The festival has grown to include an on water and land exhibition of the fabulous and beautiful Classic Wooden Power Boats of times gone by for the history buffs. The amazingly beautiful Sea Craft Syndicate boats will also be on show along with the magnificent drag boats. Displays throughout the day, by the nimble and powerful Jet Sprint boats will literally get you wet with spray as they do demo runs close to the shore.

On land the festival has an array of ski and fishing boat trade displays together with the usual market stalls of clothing, wine tasting and all types of produce, plus scenic helicopter flights over beautiful Lake Mulwala.

For the first time the Lake Mulwala Power festival has the dare devil Whip Industries Dirt Bike display to wow those needing more rushes of adrenalin.

The event has now extended to four days with international teams setting up on Thursday and testing and tuning. Friday is official practice time for all teams and classes with the Grand Prix Hydroplane qualifying heats in the afternoon. Saturday and Sunday will be two days of furious racing action and Monday is reserved as a backup race day in case of inclement weather.

Keep the last weekend in November (25-28th) free to be in Yarrawonga to witness the world’s fastest power boats in action vying for the U.I.M. World Championship.

17 July 2010 - Formula 1's are Back!!!!

2011 is set to be the biggest battle seen on the water in over 10 Years. Maybe the recession is easing with the boats & engines that have been pulled out of the garage & exchanged for cash recently, now sitting in new garages getting prepped for the 2011 Boat racing season. It’s been a long time since we have seen a line up like this — Come the first race - Grid positions won’t be gifted to racers that turn up they will be battled for in Qualifying & Hot Laps.

F1 Preview

Stilwell Racing

Stilwell brothers Racing (2 boat team), Recently purchasing “Red Chilli” from Dave Duthie including a Composite Seebold hull, S3000 Mercury Engine Complete & props — This will be one to watch! This boat won the NZF1 series a few years ago. Likely pilot is older brother Julian. Phillip has moved to Cambridge to get closer to the main events. Team boat builder Peter Stillwell has repaired the damage hull and you can be sure to see it at the first event looking like new again.

Jeff Price Racing

Jeff Price after taking a season off He booked the Inter Islander Ferry to himself to drag back the loot he traded off Tony Latimer. Including a Hoffman hull “patriot” & Brendan Powell Engine & spares to Africa. This boat been very competitive in the Champ Boat Series USA raced by Max Toller.

Hughes Racing Team (HRT)

Hughes Race Team (HRT) Steve campaigned a Seebold hull “Stealth” Previously raced by John Hertzog “Oceanbridge” This boat & driver are not new to taking the chequered flag & with stealth’s last years engines making their way to the HRT Burgess driven by Sam Hughes. Steve will be hunting for the #1 again with new power plant!??

Sharp Racing

The Sharps (2 boat team) Defending F1 Champ Luke Sharp in “Promt Parts” has the fastest parts in New Zealand! The question is can he maintain his position at the top? Brother Richard has joined forces with Geoff Morris multiple NZF3 Champ to share the driving in the only Evinrude powered boat. Can this hull be tamed? It was rolled and tipped more times last season than a commercial concrete truck. Nick named “shake and bake”. The hull is at Onehunga Panel & Paint after some reconstructive surgery & Geoff is busy building a brand new engine to comply to the current F1 Rules.

KRB Racing

KRB Racing's Two Kiwi Race Boats are on their way back to NZ after the F2 racing was cancelled overseas. These beautifully prepared hulls are equipped with the best of everything. Built & Rigged by KRB Racing NZ — NZ’s largest shop for the F1 Tunnel boat. Used by many racers for engine builds, hull’s, boat repairs & High Performance Parts. If you want to go faster start at www.krbracing.com Malcolm Jamieson & crew will be busy converting the boat back to F1 & you can bank on a very reliable fast rig.
Anthony has been campaigning a KRB race boat he brought new a few years ago, Jamieson Marine has been given the go to build a new F1 Engine. You can expect an aggressive drive from this team!

Steve's Marine Racing

Steve’s Marine (2 boat team), Steve & Mathew shared some driving last year in “Vatican” recently purchasing Hoffman hull “The Advocate” & new SSM 4 gear case—look out for this team to stamp their presence in 2011.

Kelly Racing

AGIP OILS Has been running F2 for the last few seasons. I hear he’s in the market to upgrade his underwater gear & move up to F1—Who has a gearbox they can sell Damien Kelly??

Cain Racing

Richard Cain's new to the sport. Has brought a mid section from Stillwell Bro’s Racing & weighing up options weather to run his boat Previously know as “The Business” raced by Sam Hughes or upgrading the hull aiming to run at the pointy end of the field.

Thomas Racing

Peter & Ian Thomas I thought they retired but they refuses to sell the brand new S3000 Engine in his ga¬rage. He hasn’t ruled out a return to the sport! - Watch this space!

Preece Racing

Demon Energy Team Owner Steve Preece gets faster and faster every time on the water. With a few season’s under his belt he’s one of the more active drivers & has been busy buying up engine parts & preparing his boat for next season. With the promise of Demon Girls This will be a popular tent in the pits.

Cornes Racing

Brendon Cornes has purchased a re¬cently rebuilt hull that was raced by Steve Hughes as “Total” in 2004. I’m sure a few beers have been had in the shed admiring the lines. Brendon has had many years in the sport & has made the move from F3. He’s in the market for an engine — who can help

9th July 2010 - 2010 Valleyfield Canada - 2010 Black Lake USA

The biggest of the Canadain season is here this weekend and live on NZGP once again thank to Art Smith and the team at Hydroplane Quebec Also GP West will be live here too with there Western Divisional Champs held in Olympia, Washington. There will be replays also on the links below for those not keen on getting up in the early hours of the morning. The H1 Unlimited Detroit Gold Cup will also be live this weekend. Click on this GOLD CUP link to view the live stream. There is also video link here to the 2010 Madison Cup from the weekend just gone, featuring NZ season regular J Michael Kelly.

Valleyfield, Canada

Live Streaming by Ustream.TV

Black Lake, USA

Broadcasting Live with Ustream.TV

23th June 2010 - Happy 21st Jamie Lupton

Happy Birthday Jamie from the NZGP Hydroplane Club. Jamie is seen here with her father Warwick after her first run in Ken Lupton's GP Hydroplane at Mangakino in January 2010. Maybe a new Hydroplane for her birthday aye Warwick!

18th June 2010 - Watch GP Hydroplanes at Syracure, New York Live

Once again we will have a live feed to the racing this weekend in Syracure, thanks to the team at Hydroplane Quebec if for some reason the video is not working, click on the Hydroplane Quebec link where you may find they may have made some last minute changes to the live feed.

Live Streaming by Ustream.TV

12th June 2010 - Watch Grand Prix West Racing Live

Broadcasting Live with Ustream.TV

GPW will be live streaming this weekends racing covering the Grand Prix Heats at Tastin 'n' Racing in Issaquah USA and we have it here for you live on NZGP. For more information go to www.gpwracing.com and event info can be found here www.tastinracin.com

12th June 2010 - 2010 Masport Cup and Griffith Cup upcoming show times.

8th June 2010 - 2010 Masport Cup and Griffith Cup on Sky TV.

Sky Sport 2 Fujitsu Motorsport NZ will be airing the 2010 Masport and Griffiths Cups from Thursday June 10th at 7.30pm, the show will be replayed at least three or four times over the balance of the week and into the following Monday/Tuesday. The show will also feature an interview with Graeme Weller in the studio with Clint Brown.

5th June 2010 - Watch GP Hydroplanes from Brockville, Ontario, Canada Live.

From 3am NZ time sunday morning and 3am NZ time monday we will be bringing you the racing from Brockville, Ontario live all thanks to Art Smith and the team at www.hydroplanequebec.com

With about 10 GP Hydroplanes this will be one to watch. Last weekend at Long Sault Bert Henderson in the Crush 2 won the final in convincing fashion. But Pierre Maheu came away with the weekend high points. Check out www.grandprixhydroplane.com for more A.C.H.A GP news. If 3am is to early to get up never fear there will be replays of the racing here too till the next GP event.

Live Streaming by Ustream.TV

2nd June 2010 - NZGP is now on Facebook

The New Zealand Grand Prix Hydroplane Club now has a facebook page. Click on the facebook logo below to view the page, if you are not on facebook, you may have to sign up first, but when thats done feel free to make a comment or ask a question, i'm sure there will be someone that maybe able to help. There will always be a link to the NZGP facebook page in place of the old forum link at the top of the page.

1st June 2010 - Shot360 Photos

Shot360 Photography has been updated with photos from the Kilo's at Keeley's Landing. Click on the logo above to view photos.

30th May 2010 - Kilo Speed Run - Keeley's Reserve, Cambridge

With a day that started with where's the water, oh thats right behind the Waikato fog. Plenty of time was spent waiting for the fog to lift, but once it did what a beautiful day and Karapiro was in near perfect condition.

Australasian GP Hydroplane Speed record Holder, Graeme Weller in G-Force (speeds to follow). More results can be found at www.nzpba.com

29th May 2010 - Watch GP Hydroplanes from Long Sault, Canada Live.

Thanks to our friends in Canada at Hydroplane Quebec we have a live feed to the GP Hydroplane racing this weekend in Canada, Live streaming will start at 3am NZ time. We are looking to do this with all the meets in the US and Canada to keep everyone interested as our season draws to an end. Hope you all enjoy.

29th May 2010 - Kilo Speed Run - Keeley's Reserve, Cambridge

I will be posting the times etc from the Kilo Speed Run via the NZGP twitter page and will update the website when i return to Hamilton. All the best to the teams looking to set records tomorrow from the NZGP Hydroplane Club.

25th May 2010 - Kilo Speed Run - Keeley's Reserve, Cambridge

5 days to go (30-05-10), till the kilos at Keeley's Reserve, Cambridge. Graeme Weller will be there with his GP Hydroplane G-Force, attempting to set a new GP Hydroplane Australasian speed record. As well as G-Force there will be a good number of boats there including Dean Probyn in Lucky Break looking to set a new disabled person record in a boat, this will be a first in New Zealand. See you all there.

17th May 2010 - Central and Northern Zone Meetings

The Central Zone AGM is to be held on the 23rd May 2010, Morning Tea at 10.00am and Meeting will start 10.30am Sharp at Manawatu Club Rooms

The Northern Zone AGM is to be held on the 30th May 2010, at 2.00pm at Lake Karapiro, Cambridge.

14th May 2010 - Peter Knight Snr

On behalf of the greater boating community we would like to wish you a happy 80th birthday.

14th May 2010 - 2010 UIM World GP Champs Promo Video

Here a link to the promo video for the UIM World GP Champs to be held in Australia.

14th May 2010 - Kilo Speed Run - Keeley's Reserve, Cambridge

The Cambridge Waikato Power Boat Club is holding the Kilo speed run at Keeley's Reserve, Karapiro on the 30th May 2010. Starting at 7am to 4pm.

14th May 2010 - Muscular Dystrophy - Bowtie Week

Below is a article from the Intouch magazine on the Muscular Dystrophy Bowtie Stand at Lake Karapiro. The NZGP Club is very proud to be associated with the Musular Dystrophy Association. Special Thanks to Mike Wotton for putting this together.

21st April 2010 - Moult Gold Cup

I as one of the winners during the missing years, I get to hold it for a couple of days before passing it on to the other winners over this time, ( Steve Hughes and Sam Hughes) and in a month or so Scott Coker the current holder will get to look after it until next year 's race.

21st April 2010 - Andy - Team G-Force

21st April 2010 - Club Marine

15th April 2010 - Happy 21st Grant Pedder

6th April 2010 - Manukau-Auckland Speedboat Club

The Manukau Auckland Speedboat Club appreciate the efforts that go into organizing an event and would like to take this opportunity to sincerely thanks Johnny Weller for the many many hours that he has put into running events for this club, we acknowledge Johnny that what you have done is huge for the club and we sincerely thank you.

We would also like to thank our sponsors Manukau City Council, Segedins Auto Spares, Demon Energy & The Trillian Trust who financially allowed us to host this event and give us the opportunity to bring our sport to Auckland.

6th April 2010 - Dave Bryant USA

Our very deepest condolences to the family and friends of Dave Bryant also a true legend in the USA and known around the world. Our thoughts also go out to the crew, family and friends of She's the Culprit race team. Another shocking terrible tragedy in our sport. Rest in peace.

4th April 2010 - Brian McCosker

On behalf of the NZGP Hydroplane Drivers Club we extend our deepest sympathies to the family and close friends of Brian McCosker who was tragically killed in a powerboat race at Taree (Australia) yesterday afternoon. An awesome driver and a true legend in the sport. Our thoughts and best wishes are also with the Taree Power Boat Club and the Australian Power Boat Association. It is a very sad day for the powerboat faternity.

4th April 2010 - AE Baker - Shot360 Photos

I have update Shot360 with photos from the A.E Baker Regatta, click on logo to go to the images.

3rd April 2010 - AE Baker - Mangere Bridge 3.00pm update

A.E Baker Champion for 2010, Scott Coker in Fair Warning winning in style from Helter Skelter and Undertaker.

Scott also won the Moult Gold Cup from Demon Energy and Dead Keane. Steve Preece in Demon Energy won the Trillian Trust Trophy from Dead Keane and Jafa.

3rd April 2010 - AE Baker - Mangere Bridge 2.00pm update

Scott Coker in Fair Warning took a first up win in heat 1 of the A.E.Baker Cup after leading from start to finish. Defending champion Graeme Weller failed to complete a lap with a engine not firing a 100%. Helter Skelter took a second placing with Daniel Pollock in Undertaker taking third. Heat 2 will be up soon. In F2, Demon Energy is flying taking two heat wins, Richard Summerville is having a run in JAFA after crashing his boat in Wellington two weeks ago. The F1 guys are having a few problems with Steve Hughes blowing a engine and Luke Sharp having problems and has taken it back to there workshop to try and get it going.

3rd April 2010 - AE Baker - Mangere Bridge 7.30 update

Well today is the day, the AE Baker Trophy and the Moult Gold Cup are up for grabs. Weather is looking good for a good days racing at Mangere Bridge, Auckland. I will be updating the Twitter page with race results and will try and update this page a couple of times also with photos and comments from the days racing. Entry is FREE.

29th March 2010 - AE Baker - Mangere Bridge this Saturday

This weekend will see the running of the Australasian Trophy, the AE Baker Cup. Graeme Weller of Auckland is the current holder after winning the trophy at Lake Karapiro last year. This year the AE Baker is looking to be contested by Warwick Lupton in Annihilator 1, Ken Lupton in Annihilator 3, current holder and EC Griffith Cup champion Graeme Weller in G-Force, also look for the return of Scott Coker in Fair Warning. Racing is set for Saturday the 3rd of April with a rain date set for Sunday the 4th of April. With a good field of support racing this Saturday looks to be a good days racing.

25th March 2010 - NZ Offshore Powerboat Association - Wellington Preview

The New Zealand Offshore Powerboat Championship takes place in Wellington this Saturday "Thunder on the Harbour"

22th March 2010 - New Zealander UIM World Jetboat Marathon Champion Again!!

Congratulations to the Carlton Bar and Grill New Zealand entry of Ross and James Murdoch and their crew of Fred Merkin and engine builder Steve Webber on taking their second world title in succession. This time held in Mexico, Congratulations from the NZGP Hydroplane Club.

15th March 2010 - Boys Day Out - Hamilton

The New Zealand Powerboating Federation had a stand at the Boys Day Out in Hamilton on the weekend, with a awesome display including Formula Boats (Boss Mobil 1) Demon Energy F2 Tunnel the stand was a hit. Special thanks to Brendon Cornes for organising and manning the stand, and also thanks to Kevin Ireland, Benni Riddiford, Steve Preece and Jeff Peak for their help over the weekend.

5th March 2010 - Shot360 Photos from Lake Rotoiti, Nelson

3rd March 2010 - Rotoiti Updates

Congratulations must go to Luke Sharp and his team in the Promt Parts F1 tunnel. Winning his first New Zealand Formula One title has come after many years of hard work. To top the NZ Champs off for Luke Sharp he also won the New Zealand King of the Nationals.Well Done to the Promt Parts F1 Team from the NZGP Drivers Club

3rd March 2010 - David & Sarah

Congratulations to David Alexander and Sarah Hodges on their resent engagement from the NZGP Drivers Club

28th February 2010 Evening - NZ Nationals Rd 2 Nelson

With two brilliant days racing in perfect sunshine, saw a number of different winners, With the NZ Champs listed below, today's Perlorus Jack Trophy going to Jamie Knight in The Phantom, Arther McCaa Memorial going to Ken Lupton in Annihilator 3, The beach start King of the Lake going to David Alexander in Annihilator 2. Star of the weekend has to go to Luke Sharp in Promt Parts, winning his first Formula One title, and King of the Nationals. Richard Summerville went for i swim as his F1 tunnel started to take on water, with a lot of work they had the boat back on the water later in the day.

Right: F2 Champ Sam Hughes and Phillip Slilwell 2nd. F1 Luke Sharp 1st, Steve Hughes 2nd, Sam Hughes 3rd

Right: ModVP Champ Andy Morris with Paul Morris Jnr collecting the 2nd place prize for Paul Morris

28th February 2010 - NZ Nationals Rd 2 Nelson

27th February 2010 - NZ Nationals Rd 2 Nelson Day 1 7.50am

What a fantastic place Lake Rotoiti is, today set in perfect blue sky although a little colder than up north. A few boats about the place now, with the New Annihilator Race Boat here, a few changes have been made to help in the turns. I will be again updating NZGP Twitter with race results so keep a eye on that. If you have questions txt 0274360336 and i will try and answer via the NZGP Twitter. (link to the left).

24th February 2010 - NZ Nationals Rd 2 Nelson

With only three days to go before Round 2 of the Masport New Zealand Nationals, all classes are shaping up to be good battles out on the race track. In the GP classes, can Warwick and Ken Lupton stop David Alexander after 3 wins in the first round, only time will tell. Luke Sharp and Steve Hughes will be going head to head in F1 for the title, can Steve Hughes keep that 1nz on the side of 'Stealth'? With Provocative all repaired, will we see 1nz go south for 2010 or will leading north island contender Micky Wooton in Bowtie Boogie see that the north get the prized trophy. In F2 Phillip Stilwell will be racing Julian's Boat to try and claim the title after damaging his boat in Foxton a week and a half ago, or will we see Wellington's Sam Hughes win his first F2 title. The hotly contested ModVP classes looks to pick up the pace with Andy Morris in Desert Storm running a new engine with more horsepower, will it be enough to win?

If you are local keep a eye out for the Nelson Mail, The Leader and The Waimea Weekly for race weekend news, reminder to all that want up to the minute race news on saturday and sunday sign up to NZGP on Twitter to the left of the page.

21st February 2010 - Western Leader

Click on the Western Leader logo below to read Graeme Weller's local newpaper, who has an article on the G-Force team's resent win in the 2010 E.C.Griffith Cup

21st February 2010 - Promt Part F1 Team Press Release

Karapiro—ROUND ONE OF THE N.Z. NATIONALS Karapiro is undoubtedly the best venue in New Zealand, It’s well protected with hills on both sides of the lake making great viewing for the crowd. Allot has changed since the first race meeting held there in 1950 by the Cambridge yacht and power boat club shortly after they flooded the dam. Its a shared facility that’s often booked out for water ski, yachting & international rowing events. With onsite campground & lodge to house everyone that wants to stay the night. 6 heats make up the NZ Formula 1 title, 3 held on Saturday 6th Feb & 3 Saturday 27th Feb All F1 Championship races are on a triangle track, beach start 35—40seconds, 1 warm up lap, 8 laps, grid positions pulled from the hat.

Heat one, we had a blistering start leading the pack around the first turn buoy making 5 boat lengths on second place. On lap 6 we were navigating through lap traffic & this brought on our first issue for the season turning in tight was causing the boat to stop near dead on the track, by the second stall I could see second place coming up fast & couldn’t build up speed quick enough before he barrelled past—fired up by getting passed when it seemed we had it in the bag, I was on the up trim to make up ground but it was too late & there wasn't enough time left. (finishing 2nd)

Heat two, The Promt Parts Race team on the shore was sitting nervously as we lead the race only for the same issue to occur in lap 5. (finishing 2nd.)

Heat three, Thinking the problem was a fuel surge happening on tight corners, it was decided to go around any lap traffic even if we had to take the longer route, we couldn’t afford for it to happen again, stopping that suddenly in a corner would make it dangerous with the chance of following traffic running up the rear of the boat. The intermittent issue was playing on my mind the closer we got to the chequered flag—the outside route paid off taking the win.

Running the rest of the weekend on the longer track didn’t bring the problem on again winning Champion of Champion Outboards & King of Nationals. Another fun weekend of racing—but some time needed to install an extra fuel pump and surge tank. All the work has been done and tested & we are now going over the boat with a fine toothed comb before the long haul this weekend down to the south island for the second heat of the Nationals. First Race Starts 9.00am. Saturday. Lake Rotoiti near Nelson— For those of you that want to come & haven’t booked flights Keep an eye out on “grab a seat” for cheap flights. Regards Luke Sharp

21st February 2010 - NZ Nationals Rd 2 Nelson Lakes

17th February 2010 - 12th Annual UIM Photo Competiton

On behalf of the New Zealand Powerboat Federation we would like to congratulate Jeremy Ward for his placing's in the 12th Annual UIM Photo Competition Awards. To enter this competition you have to send photos taken from a UIM World event. Jeremy sent in three photos he had taken from the 2009 UIM World GP event he was placed third in the Retouched Photo Section and 4th and 7th place in the Circuit Racing Section. This is a great achievement for Jeremy its also good to see New Zealand recognized in this UIM World of Powerboating competition. Once again congratulations from us all.

9th February 2010 - E.C.Griffith Cup and UIM World Mod H Champs

Who would of guess the E.C.Griffith Cup Champ and the UIM World Modified Hydroplane Champ before the weekend began, well my brother did and he won't stop going on about it. In the weeks leading up to the E.C Griffith Cup and the UIM World Modified Hydroplane Champs there was a lot of questions, Would Warwick Lupton run in the new Annihilator Race Boat or would he run the older tried and proven Annihilator 1? Would Chris Picard get a run in his first major championship? How would UIM Unlimited Hydroplane Champion J Michael Kelly from Amercia go in the renamed Formulaboats.com formerly Boss Mobil 1? Would the hard charging Kenny Lupton add the E.C.Griffith Cup to the Masport Cup he won two weeks again? How would Greame Weller and his hydro G-Force go now with a bit more horsepower? How would David Alexander go in the oldest hydroplane in the field? Also in the World Modified Hydroplane field there was a few unknowns, the new hydro Rage all the way from Southland how would it go? How would the 2 litres go against the 3 litres? How was John Shewbrooks going to do in Summerwine?

As we got closer to the E.C.Griffith Cup with practice on friday Scott Coker in Fair Warning destroyed his engine, ending his weekend. With J Michael and Graeme Weller having engine problems also it started to look like a race against time for them also. The 4 strong Kiwi Annihilator Team had a busy time ahead of them, with Warwick Lupton running in both Annihilator1 and the new Annihilator Race Boats. from the word go this new boat looked quick on the straights and turned tight on the turns with a lot of work being done to sort this by Peter and Malcolm Jamieson. Graeme Weller's engine problem were such that they left Karapiro on Saturday and headed back to Auckland and built one good engine out of two, returning to Lake Karapiro at 5.45am Sunday. Well his efforts paid off come race time. Heat 1 saw Weller leading comfortly before the race was red flag with Ben Ryan in Mainland Miss on fire on the third lap. Annihilator 1's weekend ended with a hole in the sponson from the marker bouy. The decision was made to rerun the heat. The Rerun saw a battle between Weller and Alexander, with Weller taking the top spot, Alexander second Ken Lupton third and Warwick in the new ARB fourth after a first corner spin with the boat wanting to turn sharper than the rest of the field. With Weller's win in heat one Alexander had to turn the table in heat two, but unfortunately missed the start as Annihilator 2 didn't fire, leaving Ken Lupton to take the battle to Graeme Weller, With all the overnight work paying off for Weller in G-Force he got of to another flyer, leaving Ken to chase him down over the four laps, as Ken Lupton was reeling Weller in, he stopped dead in the water, leaving Weller to take the win and the E.C.Griffith Cup for the first time and gifting second place to Warwick Lupton, and Tony McCaa in his BAD boat third.

The UIM World Modified Hydroplane Final was shaping up to be a good one the three winners from saturday's races in the final. Kevin Ireland in Challenger was leading Nigel Zander in Helter Skelter till his steering wheel came lose, giving the lead and title to Zander with Steve Mathieson in Midnight third. this maybe the first time New Zealand hydroplanes have taken all three top spots in a UIM World Championship.

The F1-F2 racing over the weekend was awesome, Richard Summerville less cowling in the final race of the day

7th February 2010 - E.C.Griffith Cup

2010 E.C.GRIFFITH CUP CHAMPION

GRAEME WELLER - G FORCE

Graeme on his way to a win in heat two and the E.C.Griffith Cup, Warwick Lupton in The new Annihilator Race Boats came second with Tony McCaa third.

Graeme Weller with the E.C.Griffith Cup, after a long night rebuilding a engine and two heat wins in the Cup, Graeme deserves to be a happy man.

7th February 2010 - NZGP on Twitter

Another reminder to check out the NZGP Twitter Page for race day results. Thank You to the people that joined and followed yesterday. Thanks also for the feed back. There will be a Day 2 Review Tonight. There is a video on the TV3 News Website, although when i last checked they had loaded cricket video in place of the Hydro's, the Waikato Times have a story also.

6th February 2010 - Lake Karapiro Day 1 Review

All eyes today were on one boat, Warwick Lupton's new Annihilator Race Boats, with the team still sorting out the problems practice and race time were very important, something Warwick said could take two weeks or a year. With a second in the boats first race has to be a good start.

The UIM World Modified Hydroplane Champs was set for a good weekend of racing with 11 entries in the UIM Worlds, Endorphin Rush being a early morning scratching. Alan Wells taking one for the team and suppling parts to John Shewbrooks in Summerwine so as to get his boat on the water. Heat 1a Started off with Rage from Southland setting the pace, over Brody in Meridian. Heat 2a saw the flying Kevin Ireland in Challenger taking line honors with Helter Skelter second and a ever relaxed Steve Mathieson in Midnight 3rd. With one more round before the one race final tomorrow 07-02-10 Heat 2a Kevin Ireland showed why he was the one to beat with a fine win, lapping second placed Tempo Too. Nigel Zander in his boat Helter Skelter held off Midnight and Foreno Tapware for the heat 2b win.

Points from the UIM World Modified Hydroplane Champs with the final to be run on Sunday.

The First round of the GP Nationals saw David Alexander put one hand firmly on the NZ GP Title with 3 wins from 3 starts, with Warwick Lupton placing 2 second in the first heat inAnnihilator 1 and second in heat two in the New Annihilator Race Boat, giving him third in the NZ GP Championship, Outboard Marine's Richard Summerville placed two thirds and a second to give him second place after round one. Ken Lupton looked good in all three heats with minor problems ending all three races early. J Michael Kelly came close to win the run to the first corner before his engine expired, leaving the Formulaboats team with a lot of work to do to get the boat back up and running ready for tomorrows E.C.Griffith Cup, after blowing two engines in two days.

F1 and F2 put on some awesome racing with a field of 9 boats on the water. the Formula One round one points leader Steve Hughes came from behind to win race one and two with Luke Sharp having a few problems, these were sorted for the third race with Luke in his boat Promt Parts showing the way. Julian Stilwell in Jacal was ever improving with a best result of third in the heat three, Phillip Stilwell in his boat Nelson Metals F2 was happy he also entered the F1 title with a fine third overall after the first round. Phillip also is leading the F2 standings with a second and two firsts, Sam Hughes had it all going his way in the first heat, but had to settle with been shown the way in the next two. Instigator and Demon Energy had a close battle for third with Instigator coming out on top.

After the North Island verses South Island battle between Bowtie Boogie and Provocative, round one went to the north, more of the same for round two or will the south bounce back?

We are all in for a treat with the E.C.Griffith Cup just around the corner and 7 drivers all just as keen as each other to see there name on the cup, Graeme Weller in G Force had taken off to Auckland to machine heads, while all the Annihilator crews were working on there four boats well into the evening, the Formulaboats team were off sorting the gremlins outs and Hi Tension looking faster all the time. We will see you all tomorrow, remember the Twitter Page for race day results.

6th February 2010 - NZGP on Twitter

5th February 2010 - Trade-A-Boat

Trade-A-Boat has put together a very special offer for the Lake Karapiro Weekend.

5th February 2010 - Practice Lake Karapiro

For the first time ever 7 GP Hydroplane were in attendance for a friday test at Lake Karapiro, The new Annihilator Race Boat hit the water flying today with the first tests going well, testing will continue tomorrow, with a decision to be made tomorrow on which GP 007 Warwick will run in the E.C.Griffith Cup. A few photos of the New Annihilator Race Boat and J Michael Kelly in the new Formulaboats.com.

4th February 2010 - Karapiro Race Program

3rd February 2010 - Annihilator Racing

'NEW'S FLASH'

The New Annihilator Racing Hydroplane hit the water for the first time late today in Waverley. With Warwick Lupton and the Annihilator Racing Team very happy with the progress of this new state of the art hydroplane. Warwick Lupton has confirmed his entry to be running this weekend at Lake Karapiro. The new hull will also be at Lake Karapiro on the friday the 5th February where Warwick and the Annihilator Racing Team will spend the day testing.

29th January 2010 - NZGP on Twitter

Come along and join the NZGP on twitter for all race day updates and discussion, A twitter link has also been added to the top left hand side of the new page for a easy link to the NZGP page.

28th January 2010 - E.C.Griffith Cup Profile

In his sixth year on the ABRA circuit, J. Michael Kelly has made a name for himself by driving some of the most challenging boats to handle on the circuit. The 2004 “Rookie of the Year”, Kelly is a three-time inductee into the APBA Hall of Champions racing smaller classes of hydroplanes. In his first race as an unlimited class driver in 2004, he took home third-place honours at the Columbia Cup in the Kennewick, Washington. In 2009, J. Michael Kelly switched from the U-13 team over to the U-7 Graham Trucking. He began the 2009 season strong, finishing on the podium seven out of eight qualifying heats. A crash at the third race of the season slowed his high-level of performance. After rebuilding the boat, it only took Kelly one race before he resumed his winning form. Evansville, Indiana, Kelly placed second in his three qualifying heats and finished the “Winner Take All” final in second place. Kelly went on be crowned the 2009 UIM World Unlimited Hydroplane Champion in Doha.

J. Michael Kelly is not new to New Zealand he competed in the 2009 UIM World Grand Prix Hydroplane Championship driving ‘The Boss’ ‘ Owned by Peter Knight Snr. The H20 Full Throttle sponsored Kelly finished third in the UIM Grand Prix Hydroplane Championship. The Boss has now be repainted and renamed ‘Formula Boats.com and J.Michael Kelly will compete in the EC Griffith Cup. Special thanks to Ned Dawson and Ted Porter for putting this together.

28th January 2010 - E.C.Griffith Cup Corporate Tent Tickets

Tickets Available for the Corporate Tent on Sunday, from 11am to 3pm

26th January 2010 -2010 Masport Cup Downtown Tauranga

A fantastic weekend was enjoyed by all in Tauranga at the 85th running of the Masport Cup, the second time the cup has been held in Downtown Tauranga. Congratulation to Ken Lupton for winning this event, his first Masport Cup win, with a second in the first heat and a win in the final. For the Annihilator 3 team this is reward for all the hard work put in behind the scene on the first day, making hull repairs to the rear of the boat, after the rudder worked it's way loose. Not only that but the team now have there work cut out to get Annihilator 3 ready for the E.C.Griffith Cup to be held at Lake Karapiro on the 6th and 7th February 2010, after contact with Graeme Wellers G-Force in the first heat and a hole in the boat and broken wing after the final. Warwick Lupton was happy with his weekend after a lot of time and attention has been put into the new Annihilator Race Boat in preparation for the E.C.Griffith Cup, to come out and post the fastest time in Saturday's flying laps and winning the first heat, for a second overall in the 2010 Masport Cup showing that Annihilator 1 still has a lot in her. 3 times Masport Cup holder David Alexander had two heats to forget after drawing pole 7 in the first heat, the run to the first corner did not leave a lot of room for Alexander and by time the time he rounded the first turn the rest of the field were well down the back straight leaving Alexander to be happy collecting points. The Final heat got worse for Annihilator 2 as he missed the start and had no show of catching the field. With points from both heats still giving David Alexander third overall, just reward for collecting points from both heats. Scott Coker in GP1 Fair Warning found himself in unusual situation at the start of the first heat after Warwick Lupton in Annihilator 1 left for the race start the wake pushed Coker's Hydroplane in behind the jetty, for Fair Warning to miss the start of the first heat, Scott made sure he was first to leave the dock at the start of the final to race a brilliant race to finish second in the final heat. Tauranga Flying Lap Champion Graeme Weller had the fastest hydroplane all weekend and after a coming together in heat one with Ken Lupton on the start finish straight, finished third in the first heat, Weller got of to a flyer in the final heat to be leading the first two laps before mechanical problems put an end to Wellers Masport Cup bid. Steve Hughes in his new Seebold F1 has a weekend to forget which saw a rope from the harbour tangle around his new propeller putting a end to his weekend. Luke Sharp in his Promt Part F1 running against the hydro's ran a fantastic race, with the wake at one point sending his F1 pointing to the sky. Special thanks again goes out to our event sponsors Masport, 4 Guys, Pollock Cranes, Tauranga City Council, Earth2Ocean, Project Kitchens, Gene Hollands Building, Pete's Takeaways, Firewatch Tauranga and BOP FM. Also to the rescue crews, officials, racers, race teams and families who make our wonderful sport what it is.

24th January 2010 -2010 Masport Cup Downtown Tauranga

2.45pm

2.00pm

7.45am

Brilliant day here for the MASPORT CUP, blue sky, calm water and Grand Prix Hydroplanes what else do we need!!! Best place for the action and results is at the track, i will do my best to get info updated as time allows.

23rd January 2010 -2010 Masport Cup Downtown Tauranga

...............Richard Sommerville in Outboard Marine.....................Ken Lupton on his first hot lap.......................

.......Scotty Coker was one of the quickest today.....................Steve Hughes new F1 'Stealth'........................

..................................Ski Racing...................................................Steve in Midnight had a win in Heat 3.......

..Luke Sharp was unbeaten in the F1/F2/F3 Heats.............G-Force looking good with the new engine....

After the ModH Heat 3 race, racing was stopped and testing open till 4.30, with some of the big boats posting some quick times, fastest of the day was Warwick Lupton in Annihilator. Some repairs were been made to Kenny's boat by KRB racing where the rudder had been working lose. The Modified Hydroplane racing was close with Team13 taking the wins in all three heats, all looking good for the UIM World Modified Champs in two weeks time at Karapiro.

6.00pm

2.30pm

The GP Hydros have being doing hot laps throughout the day with Scott Coker leading still one round to go, Race results for ModH/GN, F1/F2/F3 and the ski racing below.

8.00am

Busy place down here as everyones setting up for the days action, harbour is calm and hopefully the weather is going to play it's part and add to the spectacle. Check back for race updates and photos thoughout the day.

22nd January 2010 -2010 Masport Cup Downtown Tauranga

All is set for a big weekend here in Tauranga as David Alexander looks to defend the Masport Cup, with strong challenges set from Warwick, Ken along with Graeme Weller in G Force who has a new power plant behind him, and the ever strong Scott Coker in GP1 Fair Warning. Steve Hughes has his new F1 'Stealth' here to show the hydros a thing or two.

Click the More FM to hear Warwick Lupton's Radio interview with Wanganui's More FM

19th January 2010 -2010 Masport Cup Downtown Tauranga

This Weekend - Downtown Tauranga - Masport Cup - Don't miss the action, starting 11am both Saturday and Sunday.

19th January 2010 -2010 NZGP 25 Year Anniversary Souvenir Programme

A 28 page NZGP 25 Year Anniversary Souvenir Programme will be available at Tauranga and Lake Karapiro, this will include race schedules, driver profiles and the wonderful history of our sport.

If you are unable to attend the race meetings, but would still like a Souvenir Program, you can order them. Price $5.00 + $3.00p&p Email Denise: denisemoughan@xtra.co.nz Be in quick!!!

19th January 2010 - NZ Nationals Race Programme

Click on the image below or on the image on the events page for the Nationals programme of events.

13th January 2010 - Watch the race from inside the track!

KEWPIE CRUSIER

On board the Kewpie Crusier on Sunday 24th January 11am - 3pm $60 per person this includes finger food, lunch, beer and wine.

13th January 2010 - Sunlive Tauranga Masport Cup article

13th January 2010 - Masport Cup Update

The Tauranga events page has been updated with the Downtown Tauranga race program.

11th January 2010 - Manawatu Power Boat Club Gold Cup Entry Form

Please find enclosed your entry form for the 39th running of the Manawatu Power Boat Club Gold Cup Regatta.

Trailer Money – due to finances being tight this year we need your support and if sponsorship allows we will pay trailer money.

Saturday evening Dinner is only $8.00 per head. Please book in advance so our ladies can plan ahead.

11th January 2010 - UIM 2.5 Modified Hydroplane Entry List

11th January 2010 - Shot360 Update

Click on logo below to view photos from the Wanganui Flying Lap and Mangakino Events

6th January 2010 - 2010 Matt Morrison Memorial

List of entries for 2010 Matt Morrison Memorial Event to be held on Saturday 9th January 2010 at Lake Hood

Boat - Driver - Club
Dancing Bear Too - John Ryan - New Brighton
Ballistic - Richard Smith - New Brighton
Gladiator - Barry Kennett - New Brighton
Guns & Roses - Ben Ryan - New Brighton
Provocative - Paul Burtenshaw - New Brighton
The Toy - Lyall Davies - New Brighton
Satans Pride - Jeff Hauschild - New Brighton
Kaos -Craig Stevenson - New Brighton
Bowtie Boogie - Mickey Wotton - Wellington
Razors Edge - Kent Dunlop - Manawatu
Bold Move - Steve Rosewarne - Wanganui

4th January 2010 - E.C.Griffith Cup Entries as of 04-01-10

Fair Warning – Scott Coker
G-Force – Graham Weller
Annihilator – Warwick Lupton – Defending Champ
Annihilator 2 – David Alexander
Annihilator 3 – Ken Lupton
Annihilator 4 – Chris Picard
Fomulaboats.com – J Michael Kelly
Mainland Miss – Ben Ryan
Hi-Tension - Tony McCaa

4th January 2010 - Masport Cup Entries as of 04-01-10

Fair Warning – Scott Coker
G-Force – Graham Weller
Demon Energy – S Preece
Total – Steve Hughes
Promt Parts – Luke Sharp
Annihilator – Warwick Lupton
Annihilator 2 – David Alexander – Defending Champ
Annihilator 3 – Ken Lupton
Annihilator 4 – Chris Picard
Mainland Miss – Ben Ryan

3rd January 2010 - Lakeland Powerboat Regatta - Mangakino

Des Geddes Memorial Trophy: 1st Fair Warning, 2nd Prompt Parts, 3rd Annihilator 3

Chris Picard getting a few race laps in...... NI Champ Steve Mathieson ...........V8 Challenge winner Aftershock

Wild Thing started to take on water, with Hamish having to go for a swim....... A crash in the F2 race saw Demon running over Outboard Marine

Promt Parts 2nd in the Des Geddes Memorial..........Kent Dunlop 3rd........Ken Lupton 1st in the beach start Des Geddes

Scott Coker was leading the Master of Mangakino till this happened and brought a early end to the race and the day, with the lake getting a little to rough

Move over Ken, YOUR FIRED, says little sister Jamie Lupton after she had a run in Ken's GP Hydroplane Annihilator 3

2nd January 2010 - Lakeland Powerboat Regatta - Mangakino

N.I Grand Prix Hydroplane - NI Champ - Annihilator 3, 2nd Annihilator, 3rd Fair Warning

1st January 2010 - E.C.Griffith Cup Entry Form

Attached is the entry form for the E.C. Griffith Cup to be held on 6th and 7th February 2010 this is only open to Inboards.

31st December 2009 - Mangakino 2nd - 3rd January 2010

31st December 2009 - 2010 NZ Nationals Update

We will be proceeding with our two round National Series as planned.
We will open it up to allow one-round entrants to pay half fee $200 and gain points for their championship.
If you dont wish to pay this then you can pay regatta entry fee anyway and may be able to race with your class or in mixed fields subject to numbers (No championship points).
We have a sponsor who will pay $200.00 travel money returned to interisland-traveling championship entrants.

We are still holding entries open as they are still trickling in.
Bottom line is we have enough numbers to contest most fields and classes and we will be going racing at Lake Karapiro and Lake Rotoiti.

30th December 2009 - Whanganui Flying Lap - Downtown Wanganui

New Zealand Grand Prix Hydroplane Club would like to thanks the following for there support of the Whanganui Flying Lap Event:

With an estimated 6000+ Crowd the Wanganui Flying Lap was huge success, with it being right in the city and close to the spectators it attracted people that may not normally attend a motorsport event, which was good to see, and we may even see them again.

All attention now turns to Mangakino on the 2nd and 3rd of January 2010, best of luck to all the teams.

28th December 2009 - Whanganui Flying Lap - Downtown Wanganui

Wanganui Downtown Fly Lap Champion, NZ Champ Scott Coker with a time of 38.21. With three Grand Prix Hydroplanes in the 38's it was the closest battle seen in Wanganui.

..............David Alexander on his way to a close 2nd.............................Ken Lupton on his first run....................

.........If all else fails phone a friend.................Firing up Hi-Tension.....................Tony McCaa in Hi-Tension.........

......Warwick having a senior moment..............Bold Move running strong..............Undercover Uncovered.............

The day is set for some awesome action, we will be updating with progress throughout the day.

27th December 2009 - Whanganui Flying Lap - Downtown Wanganui

Today was testing for the Wanganui Flying Lap Challenge tomorrow, with all Boat putting in some good laps, tomorrow is heating up for a even competition. Tomorrows racing starts at 11am sharp with more testing from 9am.

24th December 2009 - Whanganui Flying Lap

The Whanganui Flying Lap is fast approaching with testing on the 27th December 09 from 3pm till 7pm, racing proper on Monday 28th December 09.

See you all there, if you can't make it, there will be updates throughout the day posted here.

24th December 2009 - Merry Christmas

8th December 2009 - CRC Latimer Lodge 2009

Here's a you tube clip from Mike Smith - http://www.mikesmithgraffix.com of CRC Latimer Lodge at Yarrawonga, Australia on the 29-11-09. Awesome to see the boat still on the water. Thanks Mike for letting us post the clip.

6th December 2009 - NZ Powerboat Nationals (Round 1), E.C.Griffith Cup, UIM World 2.5 Hydroplane Championship Entry form 2010

Click Attachment below for the NZ Powerboat Nationals (Round 1), E.C.Griffith Cup, UIM World 2.5 Hydroplane Championship Regatta Entry Form, Event to be held on 5th - 7th February 2010 Lake Karapiro

6th December 2009 - Masport Cup Entry form 2010

Click Attachment below for the Masport Cup, Masrh Motorsport Trophy, King of the Harbour Regatta Entry Form, Event to be held on 23rd - 24th January 2010 Downtown Tauranga

1st December 2009 - Central Zone Dunk Test

Here are a few shots from the Dunk Test held in Waverley over the weekend. The testing Machine worked very well and many thanks to Tony Latimer on his preparation of it. Thanks also to Andy Laurie and James Donald for their assistance with the training and all those who helped on the day.

29th November 2009 - LadyBug in Sweden

Here is an update from Sweden, where GP Hydroplane Ladybug (formerly Mike Southward's) now resides, all new colour scheme but the name remains.

29th November 2009 - New Webmaster - Jeremy Ward

This website is now up and running and the NZPBA site will also be updated shortly. We wish to introduce Jeremy Ward whom some of you may have already met around the boat racing. Jeremys family have followed our sport for more than 20 years taking Photos and his younger brother Mike providing Artwork to many of the teams, Jeremy also has his own website www.shot360.co.nz and specialises in Motorsport Photography. Please forward any news items, event information, classifieds or anything of interest that you wish to go up on either websites. We will do our best to keep these updated as the information and results come to hand. Thanks Denise

26th November 2009 - UIM World Jet Sprint Championships, Australia

Last weekend the first round of the UIM World Jetsprint Championships were held in Temora, NSW, Australia. With Kiwi Peter Caughey leading the way, click on link for reports from last weekend. http://www.321ignitionmag.com/ With the final round held this weekend can the Kiwi keep the crown? Go the KIWIS.

26th November 2009 -Archive New Zealand Speedboat and Hydroplane Racing Video

A speedboat and hydroplane regatta in Evans Bay New Zealand can be found here at:

www.ziln.co.nz

25th November 2009 - Wellington Powerboat Club

23rd November 2009 - J Michael Kelly - UIM World Unlimited Hydroplane Champion

For those of you who have been following the UIM World Unlimited Hydroplane Championships in Doha, Qatar on the weekend will be well aware of J Michael Kelly's winning run in the final. Well done JMK from the NZGP Drivers Club.

J Michael Kelly will be again running Peter Knight's THE BOSS in the E.C. Griffith Cup in February 2010, THE BOSS will be painted in the colours of J Michael Kelly's Unlimited Hydroplane. RED

Thanks to Ned Dawson for the Photo. Video's of JMK's Win and the blow overs of Steve David's U1 and Jeff Bernard's U5 can be found here

23rd November 2009 - 21st - 22nd Cromwell, Lake Dunstan Regatta

1st Cliff Jordan Bugger Me

2nd Michael Harvey Aquanaut

3rd Alan Ballantyne Don't Know

27 boats lined up on the beach for the Lake Dunstan Powerboat Club Regatta in Cromwell this weekend. There was a fair mix of styles, classes and sizes of boats with a lot of experienced drivers mixing it with a pleasing number of new license holders. Only one accident to report was Matt Pope who kited 'The Vatican' F1 tunnel in a wind gust on front of the crowd. Matt suffered minor cuts but was well enough to make the enjoyable prize-giving at the Cromwell Town & Country Lodge overlooking the race venue. There were 7 starters in both the Mod-VP race and the Grand National heats with different winners and placings in all heats to make for some exciting racing. The two Annihilator's 1 and 3 had many good runs competing with Julian Stilwell in F1 Jacal and two marathon Jet-Boats on the relatively short track. Local Anthony Robertson spent the weekend testing F2 engines in preparation for an overseas series based in Dubai. Richard Smith in 'Ballistic' was able to get the better of 'Provocative' and 'The Toy' in a few Pro~Com V8 events. The newly repowered 'Aquanaut' went well until a damaged fuel line filled the hull with petrol with a high risk of fire putting Mike out of contention on the Sunday afternoon. Both Colin Maunder and Tony Hall travelled down from the North Island for the two Southland and Cromwell regattas with both having better luck at Invercargill the week prior with Hall winning the South Island Mod-H from Maunder. Both were put out through the weekend with minor engine problems and a hole in the hull respectively. The second last event saw both Annihilators put on the trailers with new driver Chris Picard putting a small hole in Annihilator 1 and Ken Lupton in Annihilator 3 hurting the engine after running strong all weekend.

Here are a few photos from the weekends racing in sunny Cromwell, Thanks to Julie McLeod for the photos and results.

23rd November 2009 - Lake Mulwala Power Festival 27th-28th November 2009

Attached below is a Media Release from the Lake Mulwala Power Festival that is to be held this weekend in Australia

21st November 2009 - Oryx Cup UIM World Unlimited Hydroplane Championship

We will update with a few photos over the weekend, click on the link below for all the info you will need.

19th November 2009 - Scale Unlimited Hydroplane Association

19th November 2009 - Matt Morrison Memorial

Matt Morrison Memorial Entry Form. Date: 9th January 2010, Venue: Lake Hood, Ashburton.

18th November 2009 - Central Zone Dunk Test

Central Zone will be holding a Dunk Test at the Waverley Pool, Main Road, Waverley on 29th November at 1pm. There will be a charge of $50 for this. All those wanting to participate please contact Andrea Robinson either by email on Andrea.Robinson@ccdhb.org.nz or cell phone 027 269 1223 so that numbers can be confirmed . Please bring your Dunk Test form with you, although Andrea will have extras if you do not have one.

15th November 2009 - Kevin Ireland & Liz Macdonald Wedding 07-11-09

Kevin Ireland married Liz Macdonald on 07-11-09 aboard the Karapiro Kruiser. The boys went up to the Hora Hora
domain in Kent Dunlops boat. Congratulations to the new couple from the NZGP Club.

15th November 2009 - Grand Prix West Hydroplane Association

Click on the above logo to go to GRAND PRIX WEST, Its a new racing club promoting GP racing in the USA

15th November 2009 - Dunk Test Auckland Sunday 6th December 2009

There is dunk test course now available to circuit guys in Auckland at The Orakei Dive shop. The test will be held on Sunday 6th December. There is also few spaces available on Saturday 5th December 2009

14th November 2009 - Entry form RACEWEEK Wanganui 27th - 28th December 2009

12th November 2009 - Entry Form Lake Maraetai, Mangakino, Jan 2 - 3 2010

Lake Maraetai Mangakino 09-10

11th November 2009 - 2010 World Grand Prix Hydroplane Championship

In a major coup for Australia, and most importantly for the rural tourist destination towns of Yarrawonga - Mulwala a World Championship boating event has been confirmed.

At last weekend’s meeting in Rome, held by the Union Internationale Motonautique (UIM) the 2010 World Grand Prix Hydroplane Championship was announced and the Lake Mulwala Power festival was chosen ahead of other finalists the U.S.A, Canada and New Zealand.

The dates confirmed are for the event to be held over consecutive weekends of 20th/21st and 27th/28th November 2010.

Lake Mulwala Power festival has been lobbying for over 6 months to the UIM and when the announcement was made at the UIM General Assembly it was a huge reward for both the Australian Power boat Association and the Yarrawonga-Mulwala Tourism team working on the Lake Mulwala Power festival event.

‘We are over just so exited to have this as part of our Lake Mulwala Power festival for our 2010 event, it just goes to show that we are well on the way to making this event the biggest outdoor leisure boating show in Australia” said an exited event co-ordinator Barb Macdermid.

Recently in 2008 for the first time in the UIM history Australia and the Gold Coast was host to the General Assembly. It is at the General Assembly at which the Worlds boating governing body meets in different countries each year to discuss and decide rules, regulation and events for coming seasons.

Grand Prix Hydroplanes are the Worlds Fastest Automotive circuit race boats in the world and reach speeds up to 180mph (270Kkph) on inland waterways. Entrants from USA, Canada, New Zealand and Australia are expected to attend.

This years event at Lake Mulwala Power is on later this month, Nov 28th/29th where Australia’s fastest power boats will be competing for the ‘Hayes Wood Trophy’ for the Title of Australian Champion.

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