Jetsprints: One wrong turn sees Bay rookie miss out on podium

It was a tough day for these Hawke's Bay competitors. From left Karen Wakelin, Paul Knuiman, Jakeb Simmons, Olly Burder, Dave Simmons and Pip Thompson. Photo / File

One wrong turn cost rookie Hawke's Bay driver Olly Burder a top-three finish at today's third round of five in the New Zealand Jetsprints Championship at Crownthorpe.

The 17-year-old Napier Boys' High School Year 13 student was racing Pounder Flounder in the 13-crew Group B class with rookie navigator, his 15-year-old stepsister Millie Simmons, who is a Year 11 student at Iona College. Burder recorded the third-fastest time but the wrong turn saw him drop to sixth place.

"Olly raced well all day up until that turn. A new rotation caught a few of the crews out," round host Pete Connor said.

Group B leader Hayden Wilson of Whanganui won the round. Second place went to Owhango's Tim and Debbie Edhouse and Taranaki's Bevan Schuler and Grant Gibson were third.

Navigator Amanda Kittow fared the best of the Hawke's Bay competitors. Racing with Whanganui's Ross Travers, Kittow finished second in the 16-crew Group A class, which was won by Hamilton driver Ollie Silverton with Auckland navigator Jess Sit alongside him. Taranaki's Neil Marshall was third.

The Hawke's Bay pair of driver Pip Thompson and navigator Karen Wakelin, the only female crew in the 18-boat Superboat class, finished ninth after Thompson took a wrong turn in their boat The Bitches Box. A motor issue contributed to an early finish for the other two Bay crews in the class who shared the boat Blue Flame 2.

Dave Simmons and navigator John Verry, and Simmons son - 17-year-old Napier Boys' High School student Jakeb Simmons along with navigator Paul Knuiman - were forced out after two rounds.

Waikato driver Glen Head, who had Hayley Todd as his navigator, won the glamour class to maintain their lead in the series. Whanganui's Rob and Ange Coley finished second, the position they held going into the Hawke's Bay event.

Tauranga's Aaron Hansen and navigator Julie Anne Shanks were third, an improvement of one place on their previous position in the championship.

Connor pointed out nobody required the attention of medical personnel but Whanganui's Richard Murray will be busy this week repairing the nose of his boat, Meaner Machine, after a couple of exits from the track.

Whanganui will host round four on March 30.