Waverley's Ken Lupton too strong in round one of Hydro Thunder hydroplane series on Lake Taupo

Waverley's Ken Lupton leads the new-look Hydro Thunder Grand Prix series after round one at Lake Taupo at the weekend. Photo/Jeremy Ward

Sheer power, no fear and a touch of luck with grid positions handed Ken Lupton the win in round one of the new-look Hydro Thunder Grand Prix on Lake Taupo at the weekend.

His unbeaten run in GP009 Lucas Oil, which included the fastest lap, not only gave him the lead in the three series event, but also the one-off North Island Grand Prix Championship.

The series continues at Lake Karapiro this weekend and ends with the final round at the Blue Lakes in Rotorua on March 3-4.

Ken Lupton, of course, is one of the strong Waverley crew featuring father Warwick Lupton (GP.007 Annihilator), brother Jack Lupton (GP57 Penrite-Repco), cousin David Alexander (GP777 The Steeler) and good mate and neighbour Chris Picard (GP24 Waverley Harvesting The Tiger) racing Warwick Lupton's original Annihilator built in 2000.

They were all up against four other hydroplanes from around the country.

Unfortunately, Picard broke a camshaft ending his chances, while metal was found in Warwick Lupton's oil filter after just one run ending his racing for the weekend.

Ken Lupton qualified best to take pole position in heat one, while Jack would have been alongside in pole position two had he not hit a buoy. He was relegated to pole four making his job that much harder.

"Ken kicked all our arses," Jack Lupton said.

"His boat was just way too strong on the day and he drove very well. Pole positions are crucial, especially at Taupo. I won the next heat, so should have been given pole, but they mucked up and left me out in four.

"I managed to catch Ken, but was just a bit down on power to get passed him."
Jack Lupton was breaking in new hardware bought from world renowned hydroplane builder Bert Henderson from Canada.

"This was my first time on the water with the new gear and it went okay, although I've still got quite a bit to dial in yet. I've had a good talk to Bert on the phone since Taupo and I'm confident my boat will be going strong at Karapiro."

Alexander produced one of his best performances yet in his far less powerful GP777 Steeler to finish second in the series to Ken Lupton. Scott Coker from Cambridge racing GP10 Fair Warning sits third.

"David drove seriously well at Taupo in his small boat and I think he's the man to watch," Jack Lupton warned.

All the Waverley boats are expected to line up for a busy round two at Lake Karapiro this weekend where there are up to eight races up for grabs over the two days.

The series continues with two heats and a final, while the coveted Masport Cup is also run over two races. Then there is two more heats for the A E Baker Trophy (an Australasian championship event).

No Australians have entered for the A E Baker Trophy currently held by Alexander.

The Masport Cup was been won for the last three years running by Jack Lupton with the holder getting to chose at which venue to defend the title. This year Lupton chose Karapiro.

"We all love coming to Karapiro each year to race," Ken Lupton said.

"It is definitely the best venue in New Zealand we have to race on because of the protection of the hills. The winds don't chop up the water which makes it easy to really unleash the throttle."

On Lake Taupo the GP hydroplanes weer clocking speeds of up to 250kph, while on the roomier Lake Karapiro they will be churning out up to 1800hp at speeds of close to 300kph.