Two from two for Gisborne jetsprinters

Jetsprints. File picture

GISBORNE couple Blake Briant and Kate Hoogerbrug have made it two wins from two rounds of the New Zealand Jetsprint Championship.

Driver Briant, with Hoogerbrug in the navigator’s seat, powered his Harvest Transport/Performance Automotive machine to victory in round 2 at Wanganui’s Shelterview track on Sunday.

The pair posted a time of 46.12 seconds in the top 3 run-off to beat reigning national champions and arch-rivals Sam Newdick (Hamilton) and Glenn Mason (Gisborne) by just 0.29 secs.

Briant was consistently fastest in the group A class, including a fastest time of the day of 45.79 in the top 5 run-offs.

Only two boats in the superboat class won by Peter Caughey went faster than that.

The win gave Briant and Hoogerbrug the maximum 60 points after two rounds of the six-round series, five points clear of Ric Burke, with Newdick third on 54.

The focus now shifts to the highly-anticipated two-round UIM world championships at Meremere on January 24 and Mount Maunganui’s Baypark on January 30.

Briant is looking to add his name to the family legacy of world champions — father Peter (superboats) and uncle Rex (group A) having won world titles.

The third round of the nationals champs is at New Plymouth on February 28.