Jetboats: Duo smart prospect on home course

BAY HOPES: Hawke's Bay's John Verry (left) and David Simmons will take on many of the world's best at Crownthorpe tomorrow. PHOTO/Duncan Brown

In a lighthearted manner Hawke's Bay navigator John Verry downplays his and David Simmons' progress on the national jetsprint racing scene during the past three years.

"Not bad for a couple of idiots," Verry laughed as he reflected on their world ranking of eight in the Superboats class.

The pair are far from idiots. They hold sixth place in their 15-strong class and will aim for a top-five finish when the fourth of six rounds in the PSP New Zealand Championship is staged on Pete Connor's Crownthorpe property.

It's a realistic goal considering three of the crews above them on the table are either current or former world champions. Waikato's Glen Head who races Althern Window Systems with navigator Darren Todd are the reigning world champions.

Verry, the owner of SMB Productions Ltd, and Simmons, an engineering draughtie with Industrial Manufacturing Services, have an extra incentive to shine in their boat Blue Flame tomorrow. They have booked a corporate site for friends and sponsors and are keen to put on a good display for them.

It will be their third event together on their home track and their previous best placing at Crownthorpe was an eighth last year.

"The rules haven't changed in the championship over the years. We don't have the opportunity to have a spin on our home track before the round because this is seen as an unfair advantage. But we were out there for a working bee a couple of weeks back and the track was nice with clear water. We're expecting some very quick times," Simmons said.

A fortnight ago they finished sixth in the Waitara-hosted round despite collecting a large amount of damage in a roll.

"In this series you are rewarded for consistency. We just have to keep chipping away," Verry said.

Getting traction on the corners is the biggest work-on for the pair and mechanic Alan Williams of Waipukurau.

"We're still to get our blade configuration right. A lot of factors come into play like the density of water," Simmons explained.

The pair named their Stinger hull boat Blue Flame due to the colour of the flames that come out of their 6.2-litre Chev LSA engine's exhaust when they fire it up in the evenings. The 950-horsepower engine has a Vortech Supercharger and guzzles 18 litres of straight methanol a minute.

Another incentive for the pair tomorrow is the fact they don't want to be upstaged by Simmons partner Pip Thompson, who races The Bitches Box in Group B with Canterbury shepherd Megan Brodie as her navigator. Thompson will start the round in fourth place on the overall standings in her 10-strong class.

"There isn't too much flak tossed between the two crews because we support each other so much. But you're right, the prizegiving won't be as flash if they finish higher than us ... Pip is hoping to move up to Superboats class and no doubt that will be when things get serious between us," Simmons said.

The other current world champions entered tomorrow are the Waikato Group A crew of Ric Burke and navigator Alf Kill who will race Firewater.

In addition to Blue Flame and The Bitches Box, Hawke's Bay will be represented by Liquid Gold in the Superboats class. Liquid Gold will be driven by Graeme Hill and navigated by Amanda Kittow.

Hawke's Bay's Tanya Iremonger will navigate for Bay of Plenty's Nick Berryman in another Superboat class entry, NZ Riverjet.

Thirty-six crews will be in action tomorrow and all spectators who buy a programme go into the draw for a Suzuki Swift car. Whanganui will host the fifth round on March 27 and Featherston will host the final round on April 24.