Richard Murray will run the whole Superboats campaign of the NZ Jetsprint Championships, starting today in Wanaka.
It is the earliest start yet for the Altherm Window Systems NZ Jetsprint Championships and only the committed will be in it for the titles as the new season begins at the Oxbow Aquatrack in Wanaka today.
In another significant reformatting of the six-round series, the South Island leg is now the start of the campaign as opposed to the finish, with two rounds scheduled for December again including the return of the December 27 round at Whanganui's Shelterview track.
There is no championship racing in January, although there will be a one-off event at 15,000-seat Baypark Stadium in Tauranga.
The return to Shelter View in December for day racing means the end of the Whanganui night round in April, as this season sees a return to Tauherenikau Race Course in Wairarapa, with the campaign set to climax in late March at the Enzed Sprint Bowl in Meremere.
All the Whanganui regulars will be competing again today amongst the 38 boats in the three divisions, including the return of former Group B national champion Hayden Wilson in White Noize.
Rob Coley (Poison Ivy) and Richard Murray (Meaner Machine) will be competing in the Superboat division, with Murray planning on running the full season once again, while Ross Travers (Radioactive) will have his second tilt in the Group A division, where he came fourth last season.
The other Whanganui connection is Taranaki-based expat Kellie Minnell, who came third in Group B for her rookie year after previously being navigator for husband Leighton in the Superboats.
As owner of the Shelterview track with wife Julia, Murray was happy with the return of the December 27 round, which gives Whanganui back its combined "bikes and boats" motor racing Christmas events, as the annual Cemetery Circuit motorcycles are on Boxing Day.
"Fantastic that we got that one back," he said.
"The public, they said they were disappointed. 'Tell the national executive', we said. And they did."
While it is an expensive proposition travelling to the sole South Island round at the start of the campaign, with Murray's crew taking the boat on the Cook Strait ferry on Wednesday for the trip down, Murray felt it was the best placing within this schedule.
"I've always said that Wanaka should be the first one, because if you're serious about the championship, then everyone will go."
Murray will race with Jo Rathbone as navigator again, while mechanics Russell Hausman and Tim Patterson stripped the engine down in the offseason to make inspections.
They straightened the bow and sealed it back up, as during last season the boat would take on 30-40 litres of water during a round.
"Just the little things you do to make things better," said Murray.
"It's a long way to come if you've got something not right."
Murray has also taken his former Group A national title winning boat Mean Machine to Wanaka after making an agreement with New Plymouth's Neil Marshall, who blew up his boat's engine and so will borrow Murray's craft for this round to collect season points.
The Taranaki racer just has to promise to return it in the state it was given to him
"I know what it's like not doing the championship," said Murray.
On course with his navigator son Shane, Ross Travers is hoping to improve on his first season in Group A, where he picked up a victory and runnerup placing in the last two races of the season.
Marton's Ian Coleman has again worked on their 8 1/4 engine unit, which still uses a wet sump which is based on the original Group B design.
"We haven't really had it on the track as yet with the new package in it.
"Quietly, quite impressed. Really looking forward to seeing what it can do."
Coleman has made "substantial improvement" to the original engine package, "but we got to prove it", Travers said.
"It's a bit of a mission, the last thing at the end of the season was here, and now it's the first.
"It's a big ask, financially."
Travers would like a strong year to set Radioactive up for a decent run at the world championships in Australia next season.
Wilson can appreciate the financial challenges, as this was why he did not run last season.
However, with a fresh navigator in sister Amanda Wilson, whose experience was limited to the "test and tune" practice down a fortnight ago, Wilson would like to get White Noize back to the head of the pack, which is where former champion Gerry Linklater and himself took it in 2014-15.
"That's the plan, as long as the rest of the competitors haven't jumped too much in my season off," Wilson said.
"We're down getting the biggest one out of the way.
"It's a bit of a mission hitting this one first up - if it's last, you can put the effort in and then lax out of it.
"It's just financial [considerations], but we've been planning for this since August."
Nervous eyes will watch the clouds as showers are scheduled for this afternoon in Wanaka, raising the possibility of another washout, which is what happened at the opening round in Waitara last year.
Racing is scheduled from 10.30am-6pm.
2017-18 NZ Jetsprint Championship
Round 1 - Oxbow Aquatrack, Wanaka, November 4
Round 2 - Tauherenikau Race Course, Wairarapa, December 2
Round 3 - Shelterview Jetsprint Park, Wanganui, December 27
Round 4 - Methanex Aquatrack, Waitara, February 24
Round 5 - Riverside Jet Track, Hastings, March 11
Round 6 - Enzed Sprint Bowl, Meremere, March 24