A ‘rubbish day’ but Mason and Newdick still third

A109 Light Utility Helicopter flight with mayor Gisborne City from the air in November 2023.

Canterbury jetboat racer Peter Caughey extended his lead at the midpoint of the SuperBoat championships with a commanding win at Waitara, despite getting airborne at 120 kilometres an hour.

“It’s always nice to win an event with a fastest time of the day,” said Caughey, who recorded 40.3 seconds, after Rob Coley threw down the gauntlet with a 40.8.

Gisborne navigator Glenn Mason and his driver Sam Newdick, from Hamilton, are third on the points table and had what Mason described as a “rubbish day”.

“Our mechancis worked round the clock to fit a new engine but, even so, we missed the first qualifying round,” Mason said.

“In the second round, which was our first, we had a sighter to get the rotation right; then on the next round we had an electrical failure.

“To make matters worse, in the next round we lost oil pressure midway through, and that was it for us.

“I feel for the mechanics and Sam, who put a lot of time, effort and money into getting the boat ready.

“Sam’s one of the most aggressive drivers on the circuit. He puts his foot down and leaves it there . . . because he can.

“He’s a good driver.

“We just have to build a boat that suits him.”

Mason said he was unsure whether the PSP Racing team mechanics would have the boat ready for the fourth race, in Hastings on March 11.

“Knowing these guys, I think they’ll be working flat out to get it ready.

“Our other two boats, Group A and Group B, won their races and are the defending champions in both classes.”

Gisborne’s Blake Briant and navigator Kate Hoogerbrug did not compete at the weekend.

Provisional results after three of six rounds —

Top 8: Peter Caughey 90, Rob Coley 76, Nick Berryman 76, Sam Newdick 71, Richard Murray 69, Aaron Hansen 67, Baden Gray 62, Ted Sygidus 57.

Remaining rounds

R4: Hastings, March 11.

R5: Meremere, March 24.

R6: Waitara, April 14.