Powerboating: Late entry heats up Superboat finals

At these speeds crews from the the 2008 Auckland finals won't want to repeat costly spills. Photo / Brett Phibbs

Close contests in several classes ensure a good spectacle on the Waitemata.

Things just got hotter for the New Zealand Offshore Powerboat final on Auckland Harbour today with the return of Fairview Windows and Doors in the Superboat class.

Fairview was thought to be unable to race for the rest of the season, so the late entry will come as a surprise to many. Driven by Warren Lewis and Ted Taiatini, it was seen out on the harbour earlier this week and Lewis confirmed they aim to be back on the racecourse today for the last race of the season if all goes to plan.

The current leader Doosan, driven by Cary Gleeson and Sam Filmore of Auckland, will have to work even harder to ensure a Kiwi win as Fairview has complicated the mix and put pressure on the leading two boats.

Doosan had fuel problems in their last race, finishing third to their biggest challengers, the Australian boat Team Three, which has travelled to New Zealand for the season and made impact on the Kiwi racers.

The second-placed Australians with Pete "Mudguard" McGrath, well known for his prowess in the Maritimo Class One Powerboat on throttles, and Steve Nugent at the wheel, will be fighting to gain a place on the New Zealand podium. Doosan leads the competition with 2700 points and must finish third to ensure first place from Team Three.

These are big, fast boats, spectacular to watch as they leap off the wake of boats in front. In the last race held in Auckland in 2008 one of the superboats, Profloors, driven by Wayne Valder, came unstuck on a rogue wave and flipped dramatically before racing even started. Profloors will be back this year with Valder, joined by his co-driver Richard Shores, intent on finishing the race.

One of the Superboat Lites, formerly known as CatAttack and now branded NZ Blokes.com, driven by Bob Smith, also ran into trouble in 2008, flipping at the Kauri Point end of the race. The crew, who are equipped with oxygen and have to complete a "dunk" test each season, were able to free themselves and were towed off with no serious injuries.

The team in NZ Blokes (Bob Smith and Andrew "Flea" Koolen) lead in the Superboat Lites on 2875 points and are looking at a season win in Auckland.

Red Steel, driven by Tony Carson, is in second place after the race at Marsden Cove, and with only 200 points separating the top two there will be some close and dramatic racing for the class win.

The father and daughter team of Rayglass (Grant and Kelly Smith), who had to pull out of their last race with gearbox issues, are in third place on 2050 points, no threat to the two leading boats. After a dramatic flip in Gisborne and mechanical issues, this has proved a difficult (and expensive) season for them. The other boats compete in a 60-mile race with the popular AB Marine Formula Hondas making up most of the field. All are 19-foot Sonic Boats with identical 150-horsepower Honda outboard motors.

The propellers are numbered and a draw allocates a prop for each boat on the morning of each race. With near-identical boats, a lot depends on the skill of drivers negotiating the course with the help of co-pilots in the most efficient way.

Though it looks spectacular when boats are leaping high out of the water, the aim is to race as level as possible to cover the most ground in the fastest time. With no harnesses, the crews are prone to injury as they are bounced against the solid hull or thrown from the boat at speed, so few drivers try to leap off waves deliberately. With only two weeks between races, teams don't have a lot of time to get their boat and crew match-fit between races.

The AB Marine Formula Hondas also have a war on their hands. The big contest this year is between Honda Marine, driven by Mike Knight and Yael Pook on 2844 points, and Rayglass, driven by Mike Smith and Matt Hopkins on 2650 points, who were leading in the last race at Marsden Point but pulled out after a nasty broach.

Boats are still allocated 75 points if they start a race and don't finish but this is a far cry from the 475 points up for grabs in first place. Though the leaders seem to be clear, it doesn't take much for the boats to run into difficulties and drop out, leaving the field wide open for those further down.

Total Oil, driven by James Taylor and Shannon Thickpenny (1792 points) and Auckland District Collections, driven by Mike Urquhart and Darren Woods (1765 points) are fighting a close battle and are still within reach of a podium place. With only 27 points between them, there will be a huge duel for third and if either of the leaders runs into trouble, they could finish even higher up the placings.

The Super 60s are running single 250-300 horsepower engines which, with more contemporary-looking boats like Konica Minolta driven by Greg Brinck and David King, include the rather odd-looking Batboats. With their flared stern, the boats have plenty of lift and often appear to race around with only the tip of their propeller in the water.

This year's winner is already assured as one of the Ocke Mannerfelt designed Batboats, Espresso Engineers driven by Mike Gerbic and Dave Vazey, are clear leaders on 2825 points. Konica Minolta had several problems after submarining in Wellington Harbour and missed the race in Whitianga with the boat still being repaired. They have 1750 points going into the last race but are unable to threaten Espresso Engineer's lead.

The Sports 60 run a single engine up to 225 horsepower, and the main contestants this year are two skater boats, rather like a smaller version of the Superboat Lites. Spannerworks Otaki, driven by Tim Fellows and Mark Coburn, lead the class on 2725 points from Thin Ice, formerly known as V Max, driven by Graham Pike. This boat also has an uncomfortable history on Auckland harbour where it flipped badly in 2008, seriously injuring one of the crew.

Pike races this year with Brett Archer and will be keen not to repeat history, but on only 1950 points after pulling out of the last race in Marsden Cove, Thin Ice can only win the class if Spannerworks fails to start the race.

SUPERBOAT STANDINGS
1. Doosan (Cary Gleeson) 2700pts

2. Team 3 (Steve Nugent) 2469

3. Fairview Windows (Warren Lewis) 1977

4. A1 Homes (Scott Lewis) 1783

5. NZ Blokes (Bob Smith) 1533

6. Red Steel (Tony Carson) 1312

7. Rayglass (Kelly Smith) 1156

RACE CARD
* The boats are on display from 10am today at the Westhaven marina carpark by the Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron.

* Racing starts at 10.30am with the Big Boat Race for production motorboats, followed by hot laps of the course by individual race boats.

* The NZ Offshore Powerboat final is at 1pm.

* Best viewing is on Curran St from the harbour bridge to the carpark by the Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron.