4th April 2005 - Bay of Plenty Media Release



The Bay of Plenty Power Boat club held its annual power boat regatta at Blue Lake in conjunction with Classic Hits 97.5FM. The event was a huge success with boats as far away at Riverton in the south and Whangarei in the north travelling to the event. On the whole the weather was excellent with the exception a light downpour on Saturday afternoon.

The results of the features events were

Truss Jewellers Modified Hydroplane Challenge
1st - Helter Skelter Nigel Zander (Hamilton)
2nd - Tempo Too Colin Gapper (Levin)
3rd - Don’t Know Allan Ballantyne (Riverton)


North Island Grand Prix Championship
1st - Annihilator Warwick Lupton (Waverley)
2nd - Annihilator 3 Ken Lupton (Waverley)
3rd - Total Lubricants Steve Hughes (Wellington)


North Island Series 3000 Championship
1st - Sultan Ian Warmington (Taupo)
2nd - Madison Blues Mike Wotton (Wellington)
3rd - Mega Bucks Jason Buttimore (New Plymouth)


North Island Formula 3 Championship
1st - Instigator Jamie Hargraves (Wellington)
2nd - Howzat Scott Coker (Otorohanga)
3rd - Holiday Outboards Geoff Morrish (Auckland)


One of the other main feature races was the V8 Challenge which is open to all automotive non supercharged engines. It is a hard fought trophy to get hold with over the years that it has been run there have been some disappointed competitors and this year was no different with a number of the favourites having major engine problems.
The results for this year running are
1st - Fair Warning Scott Coker (Otorohanga)
2nd - Helter Skelter Nigel Zander (Hamilton)
3rd - Renegade Malcolm Wotton (Rotorua)


The final race of the event was the King of the Lake and this had it own drama’s with a restart required due to one competitor namely California Girls driven by Allan Dennis (Hamilton) hitting the 1st course buoy and totally destroying it. With the restart a number of competitors were not able to restart their engines thus had to with draw. It was a hard fought race right down to the wire.
1st - Annihilator 2 David Alexander (Waverley)
2nd - Total Lubricants Steve Hughes (Wellington)
3rd - Patriot Tony Latimer (Wellington)


The weekend was a well run event with only one competitor needing medical treatment this being Barry Maunder (Whangarei) driver of the boat Hill Billy whom spun the boat out in practice and was thrown from the boat and in doing so broke his leg.

The Bay of Plenty Power Boat Club wish to thank all those companies and organisations that assisted in making this regatta a great success.

BAY OF PLENTY POWER BOAT CLUB 1996 INC
P.O. Box 830
Rotorua New Zealand
Phone 07 343 6493
Fax 07 343 7493
Peter McLeod
Secretary

3rd April - Annihilator 2 Back to Winning Form

At Blue Lake today David Alexander powered to his first Win in his rebuilt Boat "Annihilator 2", David was too good for the rest of the field in a top test for his rebuilt boat and has proven that the Boat will have what it takes to take on the Australians in Next Months EC Griffith Cup Meeting.


The Annihilator Teams had a good weekend with only minor niggles all of which were quickly sorted and some which are a result of the Salt Water runs from last weekend. All that's left for the Team now is the Repainting of David's Annihilator 2 Boat, and a solid Mechanical overhaul of all 3 boats as they make sure they are all good for the EC Griffith Cup on May 7th - 8th 2005

King of the Lake

1st - Annihilator 2, David Alexander, Wanganui



2nd - Total Lubricants, Steve Hughes, Wellington



3rd - Patriot, Tony Latimore, Wellington

2nd April - North Island Grand Prix Championships

At Blue Lake today the Annihilator Teams went out to fight for the honor of the North Island Title. It was a good hard contest over two heats which saw Warwick Lupton too strong for all the opposition as he stormed to two wins with Ken Lupton trying hard to keep Warwick Honest. Steve Hughes in Total Lubricants did his best to stay with the big GP boats but the waters were a little rough on the turns for his F1 Tunnel Boat.



David Alexander was using the Day as a test run for his rebuilt Annihilator 2, David was happy with the boats handling as he brought it up to speed slowly with a number of test runs.
Tomorrow the Team will test some new Rudders and then they will Repaint the Boat ready for the Trip across the Tasman for the EC Griffith cup

North Island Grand Prix

1st - Annihilator, Warwick Lupton, Wanganui



2nd - Annihilator 3, Ken Lupton, Wanganui



3rd - Total Lubricants, Steve Hughes, Wellington

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31st March 2005 - Pictures from Wellington Prize Giving

Here a few Images from the Prize Giving that was held on the Sunday at Wellington. Sorry I have no Pictures from Saturday as I wasn't Thereon that day.

Russell Harris the Voice of Jet Sprinting was the Commentator for the weekend	Ken Lupton Accepts First Place in The Grand Prix Class Championship	Ken gives a Brief Speech of thanks
Tracy Gapper "Tempo Too" was Second in the Grand National Hydroplane Championship	Tony Hall "Tempest" took First Place in the Grand National Hydroplane Championship	Steve Hughes Thanked all those who helped get the old "Patriot" Running	Warwick Lupton up to get his King of the Nationals Trophy
	Mike Wotton "Madison Blues"	Phillip Stilwell "Southern Lights"	Alan Dennis "California Girls"
Gary Gregory "Cut Loose" up for a Trophy	Gary goes up for More	Gary Accepts the Canadian Trophy for the Wellington Power Boat Club	Ooh Err

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31st March 2005 - Update on Grant Harrison


Image is of Grant and GP101 at Taree shortly before his accident. Thanks to John Murphy, Australia for this Image

Grant Harrison has now been moved out of ICU and is eating, drinking and talking. He will soon be fit enough to move back to Melbourne.

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30th March 2005 - New Boats and South Island Boats

At the recent New Zealand Championships run by the Wellington Power Boat Club there were a few boats that were new to me and some that had traveled up from the South Island to Compete. Here a few Images of them.

Eagle Rock - Renegade	Eagle Rock - Renegade - Fair Warning	Mike Harvey and Eagle Rock	Jeff Price and Exported
Exported	Don't Know	Mike Wotton and Madison Blues	Madison Blues
Sheldon Renner and Maximum Boost	Outlaw	Dancing Bear	John Ryan and Dancing Bear
Anthony Robinson and Tunnel Vision	Daniel Mooney and Willy Flippit	Willy Flippit on the inside of Instigator	Tunnel Vision passes by Willy Flippit

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29th March 2005 - Update on Grant Harrison


Grant Harrison, crashed while practicing at Taree he was not going very fast when the boat blew over and did 1 1/2 Turns
The boat went in nose first and landed upside down. The canopy collapsed. Causing his helmet to be ripped off, left him with a broken nose, cheek bone, collar bone.

On Sunday Grant was still in an induced coma in the Sydney Spinal Unit. He has feelings in his legs and will be in traction for 6-12 weeks.

This information came from Paul Cunningham GP 555
The boat is destroyed, Paul praised the rescue team they had grant out of the water in no time.

Grant will thankfully be okay in time.

Best wishes for a speedy recovery from the NZGP Hydroplane Drivers Club and the NZ Powerboat Association to Grant Harrison and his Family

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29th March 2005 - Young Rookie Wins Hydroplane Title
The Wanganui Chronicle posted this Article Today on Ken Lupton's Win at the weekend
Click image to see a bigger version

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28th March 2005 - Ken Lupton New Zealand Champion

Ken Lupton proved age is no barrier to winning the New Zealand Grand Prix Hydroplane Title at the Weekend. Ken is now the Youngest National Title Holder for Grand Prix Class racing boats in the World. Later this year Ken will attempt to take the World Title in Australia at Taree, NSW in June.


David Alexander's return to the water was a disaster with the Rudder breaking away from the Transom. Although disappointed with the Damage David was pleased that the repaired boat handle very well during its time on the water which is a credit to the craftsmanship of Tom Heffernan. Its believed the older style Rudder used was the main reason for the failure on the weekend and the new Rudder which is being made at the moment will be done to the computer specs and the Boat should then be back in full swing.

There was plenty of drama over the weekend and and over the next week I'll post Pictures and News of the various classes that were racing. It was good that I got to see a few of the South Island Boats that have traveled up for the Championships.


Alan Dennis flew the the New Zealand Grand Prix Drivers Club Flag High in the New Zealand Formula One Title taking out First place. I will have more Pictures on this later in the week as well.

"Annihilator 2" Still to be painted after its intensive rebuild	The rear section will need more work to repair the transom so its just as well it wasn't painted	The First corner in the second heat of the NZ Grand Prix Title	Steve Hughes battled hard to keep Warwick Lupton Honest in the King of the Nationals
Steve Hughes looks rather small as he powers through the inside of the turn and the Big GP boats go Wider<	On the back straight and Warwick can just be seen on the outside of Ken	Ken leads a very hard charging Warwick	"Annihilator" makes the salt water fly coming out of the turn
Steve Hughes Made a return and was extremely competitive on Sunday taking wins in all the Formula One events and taking on the Big GP Hydros right down to the wire	"VDO" approaches "California Girls" shortly afterwards they would Collide with "VDO" suffering damage to its Right side Sponson	Kent looks down at the damage as he makes his way to shore	Damage looked pretty bad from the outside

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28th March 2005 - Grant Harrison In a Major Accident


We have received word that Grant Harrison while Driving GP101 at Taree, NSW on Saturday 26th March.
When we get some Official Information on the state of Grant's Injuries we will keep you up to date.

The Annihilator Team wishes to extend there best wishes to Grant for a Full Recovery and Hope to meet him on the water in the Future again.

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27th March 2005 - New Zealand Championship Results

The New Zealand Championship's were run on this Easter Weekend with most classes having both there heats on the Saturday and only GP and GNH having to run there second Heats on the Sunday to decide the Titles.
I will put more pictures up Tomorrow along with more info on the Championships.

Briefly there was Damage to Annihilator 2 who after rebuilding the Boat from a spectacular accident in February suffered Damage again this time the Rudder ripped out part of the rear of the Transom. David said the main reason was the Rudder was an old design and probably not suited to the Boat they are still awaiting a new Computer designed Rudder. With this and the repairs the Boat it should be set to go to Australia on schedule in April.

Results from the New Zealand Speedboat Nationals held on Porirua Harbour 26-27th March.

NZ Grand Prix
1st - Annihilator 3, Ken Lupton, Wanganui
2nd - California Girls, Allan Dennis, Hamilton
3rd - Annihilator, Warwick Lupton, Wanganui


King of the Nationals
1st - Annihilator, Warwick Lupton, Wanganui
2nd - Annihilator 3, Ken Lupton, Wanganui
3rd - Total Lubricants, Steve Hughes, Wellington


NZ Modified Hydroplane
1st - Little Cracker, Alan Lewis, Auckland
2nd - Armageddon, Brendan Hall, Palmerston North
3rd - Tempest, Tony Hall, Christchurch


NZ Grand National Hydroplane
1st - Tempest, Tony Hall, Christchurch
2nd - Tempo Too, Tracy Gapper, Manawatu.
3rd= - Little Cracker, Alan Lewis, Auckland
3rd= - Fair Warning, Scott Coker, Otorohanga


NZ Prostock
1st - Cut Loose, Gary Gregory, Wellington
2nd - Maddison Blues, Mike Wotton, Wellington
3rd - Miss Weta, Malcolm Packer, Wellington


NZ Formula One
1st - California Girls, Allan Dennis, Hamilton
2nd - Twister, Ian Thomas, Auckland
3rd - Patriot, Tony Latimer, Wellington


NZ Series 3000
1st - Shockwave, Brett Mercer, Hamilton
2nd - Maddison Blues Mike Wotton Wellington
3rd - Star Trax, Jeff Robinson, Wellington


NZ Formula 3
1st - Instigator, Jamie Hargraves, Wellington
2nd - Holiday Outboards, Jeff Morrish, Auckland
3rd - Willy Flipit, Daniel Mooney, Wellington


NZ Procom
1st - Cut Loose, Gary Gregory, Wellington
2nd - Plum Crazy, Steve Rosewarne, Wanganui
3rd - Dancing Bear, John Ryan, Christchurch

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25th March 2005 - Weather and News
The Weather is looking rather Dicey for racing in Wellington. Lets all hope the weather gods are smiling on the Wellington Power Boat Club this weekend and there is a suitable break in the Weather for a successful running of the New Zealand Championships.

The Bay of Plenty is hopefully using up its quota of bad weather this weekend and should be good for the weekend of the 2nd & 3rd of April for there meeting on Blue Lake

We are starting a Kids Page on the site the intention is to publish Photos and Artwork from, and or about Children who are either fans or are involved in Power Boat Racing. We hope to have some competitions with Prizes a up for grabs if there is suitable interest in the page.

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21st March 2005 - Wanganui Jet Sprints

The Jet Sprints came to town at a new course just 10 km from Wanganui. The Spectator area is the best Viewing anywhere in the country with the only let down the parking and one lane to get in. The Track proved to be a Challenge and while new is still to be refined a little and once the Grass grows will be a very beautiful Arena.

This SuperBoats got it wrong in Qualifying	All Shook Up look as good as it ran	Oopsy There was some water here somewhere	A good course was a challenge to all boats
Ian Easton gets it all wrong on the back of the course	The Boat was still carrying speed when it slammed the wall	Front looks badly damaged as sit and wait for help to arrive	Damage was such that they floated the Boat back to the trailer, But did return for one more run

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21st March 2005 - Tom Heffernan

The Annihilator Teams would like to thank Tom Heffernan from Australia for the fantastic job he has done to get Annihilator 2 repaired.

Tom went back to Australia last Monday after spending three weeks solid repairing the boat. All the repairs have being done and the crew is now working hard to get all the hardware back into the boat.

They will be burning the midnight oil this week to have the boat ready for Wellington this weekend where they will compete in the NZ Nationals.

David is keen to get back out their and get the boat running at top speed before they ship the three Annihilator Boats to Aussie for the Griffith's Cup.

Thanks again Tom you are a legend ! .

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11th March 2005 - Media Release 2005 EC Griffith Cup



The Victorian Council of Australian Power Boat Association are proud to announce the signing of major partners for the 2005 EC Griffith Cup to be held on 8th May 2005.

Grant Harrison the current holder of the EC Griffith Cup today announced that he will be defending his championship as the "2005 Mulwala Water Ski Club E.C Griffith Cup"

The Victorian Council of APBA are very pleased with the signing of the Mulwala Water Ski Club which offers the region world class facilities in dining, recreation and entertainment. The Mulwala Water Ski Club is located on the Mulwala side of Lake Mulwala and provides an ideal venue for competitors, fans and patrons to enjoy the facilities during the EC Griffith Cup Regatta.

For further details in relation to Mulwala Water Ski Club including accommodation please visit
Mulwala Water Ski Club or
call (03) 5744 1888.


The Gold sponsorship package has been proudly supported by Hadar Classic Homes. Hadar Classic Homes is based in Acacia Street Yarrawonga and has established a reputation for building unique quality homes to the Yarrawonga, Mulwala, Rutherglen, Corowa and now Cobram, Barooga, and Tocumwal regions.

For further information on the quality homes and display sites of Hadar Classic Homes, please visit
Hadar Classic Homes or call
Sharon Walsh on (03) 57 44 2735.


The signing comes in conjunction with the confirmation that three New Zealand Grand Prix Hydroplanes and one NZ displacement will be taking on the Aussies for the most prestigious trophy on the Australasian PowerBoat Circuit.

For further information please contact Paul Cunningham on
E-mail Paul_J_Cunningham.
Mob 0419 680 627


Robert Paula
President
Victorian Council
A.P.B.A.

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9th March 2005 - Annihilator II Rebuild

Work is progressing very well on the Boats Rebuild with Tom Heffernan of Dragula Boats Flying in from Australia to Work on the Boat. Work is progressing and is expected to be mostly completed by the coming weekend with only minor touch ups to do between then and the Boats next race in Wellington at Easter

The Damage to the Front of the Boat	The Damage to the Rear of the Boat	The Bottom Rear of the Boat is almost finished, when the boat is turned over the Transom will be replaced as well	The Boat sits on top of Hay Bales upside down at present
Tom and Dick Corbett Maintenance Chief, work away on one of the runners	David watches on as Tom Glues some of the timber together	Tom preps the sponson	Warwicks Boat sits in the shed awaiting the Motor

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8th March 2005 Masport Cup on Sky TV


Sky TV will be showing Race Coverage of the Masport Cup raced at Karapiro on Wednesday 9th of March on Sky Sport 2 at 5.30pm
And Repeated again on Sky Sport 2 at 10.30am & 10.30pm on Thursday 10th of March
Get a friend to tape it or try a Pub if you don't have Sky TV.

Updated Schedule
HYDROPLANE RACING TELEVISION SCHEDULE

Wednesday 9 March
SKY SPORT 2, 5.30PM Hydroplane Racing – Masport Cup
SKY SPORT 1, 9Pm Hydroplane Racing


Thursday 10 March
SKY SPORT 1, 9AM Hydroplane Racing
SKY SPORT 2, 10.30AM Hydroplane Racing – Masport Cup

Friday 18 March
SKY SPORT 2, 8.30PM Hydroplane Racing GP Hydro’s Round 1

Sunday 20 March
SKY SPORT 2, 1.30PM Hydroplane Racing

Monday 21 March
Sky Sport 2, 9.30PM Hydroplane Racing GP Hydro’s Round 1

Tuesday 22 March
SKY SPORT 1, 10.30PM Hydroplane Racing Competitors race over two days to win the coveted Masport Cup

Sunday 27 March
SKY SPORT 2, Noon Hydroplane Racing Round 2

Wednesday 30 March
SKY SPORT 1, 8.30PM Hydroplane Racing NZ title @ Karapiro & Wanganui Round 2

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8th March 2005 - Bay of Plenty Media Release



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 2nd/3rd 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 EC 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 meters.

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.

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2nd March 2005 - Annihilators to Conquer the Worlds

The 3 Annihilator Boats of Warwick Lupton , Ken Lupton and David Alexander have entered the World Championships in Taree, Australia in June they will also Compete in the EC Griffiths Cup in Victoria, Australia in early May.
I will put more details up of the trip at a later date.


P.S. the Webmaster is going to be in Melbourne, Australia for the Formula One Grand Prix from Tomorrow, so I wont be at Wairarapa for their Regatta and there wont be an update here for a whole week.

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2nd March - EC Griffith Cup - Media Release



The Victorian Council of the Australian Power Boat Association (APBA) regrets to advise that the 2005 E.C Griffith Cup scheduled for 24th April 2005 at Lake Mulwala, Yarrawonga has been postponed, and it is now envisaged that the event will take place on 7th and 8th May 2005, at Lake Mulwala.

The scheduled event was to be a partnership between the Yarrawonga Yacht Club Inc and Victorian Council APBA, and feature both a sailing and powerboat regatta, which would enhance not only both forms of water sport to the public, but also the local economy of Yarrawonga and Mulwala.

Due to the yacht racing scheduling, the Victorian Council APBA was left with no alternative but to seek to postpone the power boat racing. Paul Cunningham Vice President Inboards Victoria has advised "The APBA has been very conscious of the Yarrawonga Yacht Club's tradition of staging their major Regatta over the Anzac weekend, and the APBA Victorian Council has been working with the Yarrawonga Yacht Club to combine efforts to form a major sporting event. The timing of the yacht program however, would only provide the powerboats with an opportunity for an hour during the yachts lunchbreak on Sunday and from approximately 4.00 pm Sunday afternoon. Given the large outlay for insurance and cost to host the event, the window of powerboat racing opportunity is too narrow.

The EC Griffith Cup is the most sought after trophy in Australasian PowerBoat Racing, and it is expected three New Zealand Teams will compete with one already in Australia. Given the events status, the Victorian Council of the APBA is now working towards a change in date.

Discussions have been positive with Maritime NSW, Moira Shire Council and Yarrawonga Tourism to move the E.C Griffith Cup to 8 May 2005. The Victorian Council APBA will be working toward this date in which an extended program could be undertaken providing race fans with 80mph to 180mph action"

The APBA is now working toward securing the required permits for the 7th and 8th May, and has re entered into discussions with prospective sponsors, which expressed they were keen to support the combined regatta. It is still expected that 40 plus competitors from around Australia including, NSW, Tasmania, Queensland, South Australia and Victoria will compete along with the New Zealand teams for the 2005 EC Griffith Cup.

Should you have any queries please do not hesitate to contact Grant Harrison on 0418 122 340 or Paul Cunningham on 0419 680 627.

Yours faithfully
e-mail: Marie Baker
Secretary

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27th February 2005 - Wanganui Regatta Gallery

The Gallery is now up with 50 extra Pictures added. not all the pictures have a caption/information yet but I will do that shortly

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24th February - Formula 3 Wanganui Regatta

Formula 3 is always a class that is well represented at Power Boat Racing. All the newer Boats look just like there big Brother Formula One Boats but there is still room for the Older Formula 3 classed Boats to race with them. This is considered to be a very good class for Beginning Power Boat Racing in and you will find all the Competitors more than willing to help out.

Racing on the weekend was very clean in the F3 class. Jamie Hargraves "Instigator" was easily the fastest on the water and his only letdown was a small breakdown in a race on Saturday. Geoff Morrish "Holiday Outboards" drove well to finish runner-up and had some good battles with Scott Coker "Howzat". Phillip Stillwell "Southern Lights", Duncan Ellis "Outboard Marine" and Luke Dawson "California Girls II" were fighting together the whole weekend. Jeremy Thomas "Pure Magic", Dale Prendergast "Susie IV" and Grant Pedder "Wild Thing" are also F3 boats and sometimes run with this class or can be put into the Series 3000 class as well

"Pure Magic" in front of "Outboard Marine" and "Holiday Outboards"	Phillip Stillwell "Southern Lights" is always keen to get out for early testing	Grant Pedder "Wild Thing"	"Howzat" Scott Coker has this cracking little F# hydro for sale
Geoff Morrish "Holiday Outboards"	Geoff Morrish "Holiday Outboards"	Scott Coker "Howzat"	Phillip Stillwell "Southern Lights"
Jamie Hargraves "Instigator"	Jamie Hargraves "Instigator"	Phillip Stillwell "Southern Lights"	Duncan Ellis "Outboard Marine"
Dale Prendergast "Susie IV"	Jeremy Thomas "Pure Magic"	Luke Dawson "California Girls II"	Duncan Ellis "Outboard Marine" looks to pass on the outside of Luke Dawson "California Girls II"

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23rd February - Series 3000 Wanganui Regatta

Series 3000 was well Represented at Wanganui this Year with 9 Boats entering for the Racing "Shockwave", "Star Trax", "Pure Magic", "Susie IV", "Megabucks", "Sultan", "Venom" "Miss Weta" and "Wild Thing".

There was action a plenty from all these Boats throughout the Weekend. As posted earlier "Wild Thing" and Grant Pedder had a big incident on Day 1 but returned for more on day 2. "Miss Weta" and Malcolm Packer had a Spin on the upriver Corner during the Balgownie Cranes River City 3000 and the very next lap "Megabucks" and Jason Buttimore went round at the same spot. In a later Race Newcomer Bruce Packer in "Venom" turned over on the down river corner.
All Drivers were ok after the incidents.

Final Results in the
Balgownie Cranes River City 3000
1st - "Shockwave", Brett Mercer
2nd - "Sultan", Ian Warmington
3rd - "Star Trax", Andrea Robinson

Brett Mercer took the Spoils away in "Shockwave"	Ian Warmington in "Sultan"	Jeff Robinson in "Star Trax"	"Megabucks" Jason Buttimore showing his form
"Miss Weta" Malcolm Packer gets it all wrong in the upriver turn	"Miss Weta" Malcolm Packer gets it all wrong in the upriver turn	"Miss Weta" Malcolm Packer gets it all wrong in the upriver turn	"Miss Weta" Malcolm Packer gets it all wrong in the upriver turn
"Miss Weta" Malcolm Packer	"Pure Magic" Jeremy Thomas and "Susie IV" Dale Prendergast	"Pure Magic" Jeremy Thomas	"Megabucks" got it all wrong on the upriver turn
"Venom" Bruce Packer	"Venom" just about to Roll. I actually missed it to take Pics of Shockwave and Sultan approaching me Bugger	Diver Dan acts as counter Balance on the tow in	Everybody lends a hand to get "Venom" back on the trailer
Brett Mercer "Shockwave" presented with the Balgownie Cranes River City 3000 Trophy	Grant Pedder "Wild Thing" took this time to thank the other competitors and crew who helped get him back racing on Sunday	Bruce Packer "Venom" was none the worse for wear after his roll	Ooh Err

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22nd February - Ken Lupton is Mr Man 2005

Ken Lupton was nominated to compete in a Mr Man Competition run by 92.8 More FM in Conjunction with Placemakers and Subway and held as part of the Days events at the Wanganui Regatta.
This event was between Ken and two other Competitors and involved a number of tasks such as Skipping, Using a drill to screw and unscrew 5 screws, Carrying 6 eggs on a shovel, Eating a Foot Long Subway Sandwich and Blowing a Balloon until it pops. the competitor who finished first and had the least time penalties would Win.
Ken got off to a slow start in the skipping but powered into the lead with the Screwdriver section and arriving at the Eating section first to have a comfortable lead. Ken was urged on to wolf it down and was easily holding his own, until one competitor cried enough and jumped to the next section Ken quickly followed taking the time penalty and retook the lead unscrewing the Screws. The final section involved blowing up a Balloon until it Popped and Ken proved too good in this section as well and won the Mr Man Competition. Along with his Title came a number of Vouchers from Subway and Placemakers.

The Wanganui Chronicle posted this Article Today on the Noise Levels. I will keep a lookout for any more developments on this story


Tomorrow Night I will Post Some Series 3000 Pictures and on Thursday there will be action from the Formula 3 put up on site, and the weekend will see the rest of the Gallery completed

Ken takes the lead in the Screwdriver Section

A Footlong Subway was not quite to Ken's Tastes but he kept going until the other competitors bailed early

Ken proves to have too much Hot Air for the Other Competitors

Ken congratulates the other competitors

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21st February 2005 - Wanganui Regatta
The Wanganui Chronicle posted this Article Today on the Weekends Racing
Click image to see a bigger version
I see they manage to post there photographers name on there pictures!

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