He admitted he carries the memory with him, but Hamilton's Sam Newdick was determined to erase his previous visit to Shelter View from the history books as he was in another world from his competitors entering the Top 3 eliminator of the Group A class yesterday evening.
Having missed the national title with a disastrous final night time round at the Upokongaro course last season, Newdick dominated in the daylight on his way to the final three, with Wanganui's defending champion Richard Murray and veteran Australian driver Paul Gaston doing their best to keep up.
Newdick drove a dynamic 48.397 seconds in the Top 5 final, leaving Gaston (49.356) and Murray (49.750) hoping once again that the Waikato man would make a mistake.
There were two great rookie stories developing in the 400 class but unfortunately one of them came unstuck during the Top 5 eliminator.
Wanganui's Hayden Wilson has been handed the keys to the championship-winning White Noize boat by Gerry Linklater this season, having been his navigator during their great run last season.