The Helipro 2008 NZ Jet Boat Marathon, 20-27 September 2008

Day One, Leg One: Sunday 21, Waimakariri River – Criterium – 60km

Tech Inspection for competitors in the Helipro 2008 NZ Jet Boat Marathon entailed a rigorous inspection of each boat, its equipment and completion of the necessary paperwork. The inspection was held at the premises of Edge Parts & Performance who kindly provided refreshments for the assembled crews. After an initial driver’s briefing crews and boats were dispatched in readiness for the first day of competition – a criterium stage on the lower reaches of the Waimakariri river.Sunday morning, September 21 dawned fine and clear with light noréast winds forecast to turn to gusty nor’west later in the day. The river had the first tinge of green after weeks of muddy brown discolouration and looked to be in perfect jet boat racing condition.Boats and crews assembled at the ramp facility just upstream from the motorway bridges. At 1130 hrs the first wave of racing boats were flagged away by the start marshals. The wave consisted of six boats representing the R, D and C classes. Andrew Stuart got a good start from the south side of the river and immediately powered his alloy blocked 302ci Chev powered Impala into the lead. Aaron Morrison lead out the D class (4.2 litre capacity) in his Nissan V8 powered Stealth tunnel behind Andrew while further behind were the two Toyota /Lexus V8 powered boats of Callum McKenzie – Kwik Kraft tunnel - and Brendon Cameron – Hamilton 182A.The two R class entries of Craig Robertson and Tony O’Laughlon brought up the rear of the field in their Mercury Sportjet powered boats. The order remained the same for the duration of the 5 lap race comprising some 60km of racing. Stuart’s Impala – the only GRP vessel in the race – demonstrated a clear handling advantage over the tunnel hulled rivals especially while rounding the hairpins at either end of the course. He completed the leg in a time of 33:02 ahead of Morrison who recorded a time of 34:39. Callum McKenzie finished third in the heat with a time of 33:35 and Brendon Cameron, fourth 37:48. Robertson and O’Laughlon recorded times of 41:23 and 43:41 respectively.The second heat featured the B class boats that have an engine capacity limit of 6 litres plus the C class tunnel hull of Kruze Davidson and got underway at 1230hrs. A close battle was expected in the class between Daniel Anderson and Bryce Idiens with both of their 360ci Chev powered Keelow Craft tunnel hull boats showing a good turn of speed. Anderson got a great start and powered away with Idiens in second place. Jonnie Sutherland’s beautifully prepared Keelow Craft tunnel had trouble finding plane allowing Kruze Davidson’s similar tunnel, the Outlaw steptech monohull of American racer Ryan Ringer and the Kwik Kraft tunnel of Byron Campbell to get ahead of him. After giving away time, the Sutherland boat finally got up and going quickly hauling in and passing the Ringer and Campbell. While closing hard on Davidson near the end of the first lap, Jonnie attempted a risky passing manoeuvre but caught the full force of Davidson’s jet stream drenching the engine’s electrics causing his boat to immediately loose power and take to the shingle. In the meantime Daniel Anderson put on an impressive display of speed to complete the heat in a blistering time of 28:38. Bryce Idiens drove well also but could not match the Southlander’s speed crossing the line in second place in a time of 30:29. Davidson finished well in third place given his 5 litre engine gave away plenty of capacity in comparison with his rivals to record a time of 33:46. Ryan Ringer brought his boat home in a time of 34:34 ahead of Byron Campbell 35:15.The A class (7.7 litre maximum capacity) also provided some great expectation of close racing. Defending National Champion (NZ1) Darryl Hutton was set to go head to head with seven time Champions Spencer and Russell King from Canada while Christchurch racer James Murdoch had set some impressive boat speeds in testing. At the drop of the flag at 1330 hrs it was Hutton’s 7 litre alloy Chev powered Keelow Craft tunnel that got the best start off the line and led the field up the course. Spencer King was close behind him driving his 7.4 litre alloy Ford powered Eagle tunnel while James Murdoch in his similarly powered Eagle tunnel sat right on Spencer’s rooster tail. Malcolm Jenkins’s 6.7 litre Chev powered Keelow Craft tunnel settled into fourth place ahead of Paul Collings 7.4 litre Chev powered Kwik Kraft. After rounding the top mark in first place ominous noises began to emanate from the back of Hutton’s boat forcing him to pull to the side of the river for investigation. Spencer and Russell King took over the lead although Murdoch continued to sit right on his tail. On the last lap the engine in the King’s boat went off song allowing Murdoch to surge past. He went on to record the fastest time of the day of 28:22 while Spencer finished the leg in 30:05. Malcolm Jenkins finished in third place – 30:36 and Paul Collings brought his Kwik Kraft across the line in a time of 33:38. Hutton’s boat was towed home and subsequently diagnosed with acute engine failure. His title defense now in tatters, the event is wide open for a new Champion.The Unlimited class (engine capacity greater than 7.7 litres) has traditionally been the glamour class, but often suffers the highest attrition. Shaun Kelly had driven through the night to arrive in Christchurch at 0600hrs after having to rebuild his 600ci Chev engine at the last minute and was seen to be devouring numerous cups of coffee prior to the flag drop at 1430 hrs. Rob Pooley was debuting a new Kwik Kraft tunnel and had endured a frustrating week of testing where, by his own admission, they had steadily lost speed with every new ‘improvement’. Chris Campbell, Regan Williamson and Roger Preston completed the field where the big, big block Chevs reign supreme.Kelly, either buzzing from the high caffeine intake or a bursting bladder, leapt off the line and into the lead while Rob Pooley settled in behind him. Chris Campbell’s battle scarred Keelow Craft was trimmed well up and displayed good boat speed to hold third place ahead of Regan Williamson and Roger Preston. The procession continued for all of the five laps with Kelly finishing first in a time of 29:19, Pooley second 30:06, Campbell third, 30:33, Williamson 30:42 and Preston 30:48 – all of them leaving a magnificent carbon footprint!Overall, James Murdoch heads the leader board at the end of day one. Daniel Anderson lies in a strong second place with Shaun Kelly and Spencer King in third and fourth places respectively and Rob Pooley, fifth.Racing tomorrow Monday is on the Waiau river. Gale force Nor’west winds during the course of today may cause the Waiau river to rise during the day tomorrow lending some added spice to the day’s proceedings.Reports / Images - if you would like to submit a Race Report or Race Photos - please email HERE