Spiers ready for powerboating challenge

Whangarei's Haydon Spiers racing in his new boat in the 2018 New Zealand Offshore Powerboating Series. PHOTO/SHOT360

Whangarei's Haydon Spiers is relishing local waters on the first Northland leg of the national powerboating series.

The 2018 New Zealand Offshore Powerboating Series is a seven-race competition touring a range of North Island locations with Taipa Beach holding the latest leg.

Spiers said racing at home is something he always looks forward to.

"It's always good to race on the home tracks. We travel right down to the likes of Gisborne and New Plymouth so to have these shorter trips and racing in our own waters is great," he said.

"We did some testing in Whangarei before heading up to Doubtless Bay. Hopefully we've picked up a bit of extra speed but we'll see on the water."

Spiers has teamed up with Allan Branch in 2018 to race in a different boat than he's used to after previously racing in the Superboat 600 class.

Spiers won the national title in 2016 in the Superboat 600 category.

He said they're enjoying the challenges that come with a change of speed.

"This is our first season in the Superboat 1000 class. It's a development year for us, trying to dial in the boat but we're progressing well," he said.

"We were running a Superboat 600 class which has outboards but we've gone to the new class this year.

"Allan is on the wheel and I'm on the throttles so we're trying to gel together. We're pretty happy with where we are at."

An established water sport with a wide following in New Zealand, offshore powerboating is sometimes described as the ultimate motorsport on water, where vessels can reach up to 200 kilometres per hour.

President of the NZ Offshore Powerboat Association John Shand said the reception to last year's event sealed its return to Taipa.

"Taipa Beach is a beautiful part of New Zealand and the prime location of Ramada Resort Reia Taipa enhances the event by putting the crowd close to the action, while also offering high-quality accommodation and excellent food and beverage options to competitors and spectators," he said.

The first race starts at midday with the second and final race commencing at 1.15pm.