A sixth season driver, Thompson, and her first-season navigator Karen Wakelin are placed 11th after two rounds in the 18-boat Superboat class, one point ahead of 17-year-old Napier Boys' High School Year 13 student Jakeb and his navigator Paul Knuiman.
A Napier City Council customer service team leader, Thompson, is impressed with how Havelock North bookkeeper Wakelin has grasped her role in Thompson's boat which has an appropriate name The Bitches Box.
"She didn't flinch when I almost beached it. We've combined well and can aim for a top nine finish this weekend," Thompson said.
They are the only all-female crew in the Superboats class.
"I just loved watching it for the last five or six year so when Pip gave me the call I jumped at it," Wakelin said.
Jakeb is the youngest driver in the Superboat class and 56-year-old Knuiman, a field technician for NOW, is the oldest navigator. This is their first season racing together and Knuiman has been a back-up navigator for Thompson over the years.
"Our aim is to finish this weekend one place ahead of Pip. Anything after that will be a bonus but if we can tick that off we can then target the old man," Jakeb said referring to his father Dave Simmons who also races Blue Flame 2 in the Superboat class with navigator John Verry.
Jakeb is in his first season in the class after racing in the Group B class with step brother Olly Burder as his navigator last season.
"We finished 10th in the last round at Meremere and I'm happy with the progress we're making," Jakeb said.
"It's a big step up from Group B. The steering is a bit different and your reactions have to be a lot faster."
"A few of the boys from school and other mates are coming out this weekend so we're hoping to put on a show for them," Jakeb added.
It will be his final opportunity for some time to race in front of his home crowd as he will head to Canterbury University next year to begin an engineering course. His father and Verry are in their sixth year racing together and are placed eighth.
"We finished eighth in the first two rounds so have been pretty consistent. We're only half a second off the top six and that's where we want to finish this weekend ... it's just a case of finding that fraction more. There's nothing much in it," Simmons, a 44-year-old engineering draughtie with Industrial Manufacturing Services, explained.
He pointed out Blue Flame 2 is a new boat which was built over the winter. Plenty of work has been done with its 1000 horse powered LSA engine but there is still more to do.
Simmons and 43-year-old Verry, the owner of SMB Productions Ltd, have an extra incentive to shine tomorrow. They have booked a corporate site for friends and sponsors and are keen to put on a good display for them.
Simmons agreed class leaders Rob and Ange Coley of Whanganui and seventh placed Nick and Richelle Berryman of Rotorua are likely to be among the top three crews tomorrow.
Thompson's son Burder, who is also a Year 13 student at Napier Boys' High School, will race with step-sister Millie Simmons in the 13-crew Group B class.
They finished fourth in the Whanganui-hosted first round but didn't race at Meremere because of an oil malfunction.
"We're eighth overall but are hoping to be fifth after this weekend," Burder said.
"I prefer the driving role more than the navigator's job because you are in control," he added.
He intends to study product design at Canterbury University from next year.
Fifteen-year-old Millie, a Year 11 student at Iona College, is progressing well in the navigator's role.
However she has already told her father with Jakeb and Burder heading to university next year she will be keen to step up to the driver's role.
