Nikolay Ramm (left) and Cergiz Al from Norway went head-to-head in jetsprints for their television show about sports around the world. Photo / Bevan Conley
Nikolay Ramm (left) and Cergiz Al from Norway went head-to-head in jetsprints for their television show about sports around the world. Photo / Bevan Conley
Levels of fear and adrenaline were high for two Norwegian television personalities during a visit to Whanganui’s Shelter View Jetsprint Park.
Nikolay Ramm, 34, and Cengiz Al, 25, are experiencing the weird, wacky and wonderful sports that countries outside Norway have to offer for their show The Wonderful World ofSport.
Having recently completed a desert marathon in Abu Dhabi and ice relay swimming in Sweden, the pair aim to show Norwegians what other countries consider “normal” sports.
“The criteria for the show is that our content must have a ‘what the hell is this’ element in it,” Ramm, a journalist, said.
The pair’s New Zealand visit involved jetsprinting, and they had a training session in the Chevy V8-powered 550-horsepower boat Two A Breast at Shelter View alongside local jetsprint teams.
“We travel globally and try out-of-the-ordinary sports that people from our country have never heard of,” said Al, who is also a Dancing With The Stars international champion and an actor.
Nikolay Ramm (right) with Whanganui's Rob Coley and Cergiz Al (blue in background) at Shelter View. Photo / Bevan Conley
New Zealand Jetsprint Association president and Shelter View park owner Julia Murray was elated when the crew contacted her to use the site where the local team was training.
“It’s been awesome being able to have the Norwegian duo and their film crew here with us,” Murray said.
“They looked terrified after watching the locals do it.”
Waitara was their next stop, where they took part in the PSP NZ Jetsprint Champs and entertained the crowd and other competitors.
They double-drove Two A Breast in the MTW Group B class, where they competed against the other competitors, but also against each other. Kiwi brothers Deanne and Aaron Riddick stepped in as navigators for the pair, so there was also a sibling rivalry in the mix. Ramm was slightly faster than Al in qualifying rounds three and four, but then Al gritted his teeth and laid it down where it mattered – posting a time of 56.374 seconds in the top six and taking out the battle.
After leaving New Zealand, the pair travelled to Indonesia to take up fireball, a sport where a coconut is ignited and kicked around like a football.
