In addition to these placings in the series they recorded a second place at a stand-alone event at Mount Maunganui's Bay Park.
"We're pretty happy to be in the top six in the championship. We could have been further up if it wasn't for my brain explosion in Whanganui," Simmons said.
He was referring to their DNF which came after he got the rotation wrong.
"I lost a little bit of focus. In this game you have to learn the rotations and keep thinking about them throughout the day," Simmons explained.
Few would have bet against the pair being reasonably successful in their first summer in the championship. They are second generation racers after all.
Simmons is the son of David Simmons who races Blue Flame 2 in the Superboat class with navigator John Verry. Burder is the son of Pip Thompson who also races in the Superboat class with King Country navigator Megan Brodie.
"It's really helpful having them. They've been to most of the tracks we race at so they know what the turns are going to be like and what lines to take. When all three of our boats are going there is a little bit of rivalry between us too," Simmons said.
There will only be two of their boats in action tomorrow as Thompson's is still awaiting parts and repairs so she and Brodie will share Blue Flame 2 with her partner David Simmons and Verry.
Burder and Simmons named their boat The Flounder Pounder.
"It's the first thing which came into my mind. We didn't want a normal name ... we wanted something different," Burder said.
The teenagers, who are boarders at NBHS, agreed there will be a bit of extra pressure on them this weekend as they will be racing in front of mates on their home track for the first time.
"Obviously it's going to be good to have our mates out there supporting us. But there will be times when I'm going to have to keep to myself and think about the rotations rather than socialise," Simmons said.
The pair will be the first crew out after lunch tomorrow as last season's placings determine the starting order and they are the class rookies.
Like Burder, Simmons, is hoping for a top three finish tomorrow and they want to be among the top three in the class when the series ends. After tomorrow's round Meremere will host the fifth round on March 24 and Waitara the final round on April 14.
"I'm hoping a top three finish will enhance my chances of being able to step up to the Superboats class next summer. I'm going to have to apply to the New Zealand Jet Sprint Association for a dispensation because you have to be 18 for that class," Simmons said.
"If Jakeb goes to Superboats I'll drive in the Group B class and bring in a mate to be my navigator. The goal is to do some international events in the future too," Burder said.
The pair are grateful for the amount of work David Simmons puts into their boat while they are at school. Both intend to head to university in 2020 and they know the importance of keeping up with their academic pursuits.
"I'm happy with the work the boys put into the project too. It's a good way to learn when you are involved with all aspects and Olly does a good job with the data logging," David Simmons explained.
"It's a cool sport to be involved in and it would be good to see more youngsters giving it a go. If that happens the association might look at staging under-25 events in the future too," Jakeb Simmons added.
The Simmons-Burder combo will be one of nine Group B crews tomorrow. Sixteen Group A crews and 12 Superboat crews will also be in action.
Central Hawke's Bay's Tanya Iremonger is the navigator for Bay of Plenty's Nick Berryman who races NZ Riverjet in the Superboat class. They are third after three rounds and Connor is predicting some spectacular runs from them tomorrow.
Canterbury's Peter Caughey and navigator Shama Putaranui have a 12-point lead over Masterton's Rob and Ange Coley in the Superboat class. The Coleys race Poison Ivy, a boat which had previously been raced by Hawke's Bay's Graeme Hill.
