NZ Jetsprint Championship ready for round 2 action in Whanganui

Whanganui racers Rob Coley and Toby Edmonds (pictured) will be in action in round two of the New Zealand Jetsprint Championship at Shelter View Track near Whanganui on December 27. Photo / Jeremy Ward, Shot360 Photography

Round two of the New Zealand Jetsprint Championship will be on show at Shelter View Track near Whanganui.

After an enticing, action-packed first round in Featherston on December 7, racers across all classes will be gearing up for another day of action in Whanganui.

Round two, at Shelter View Track, will start from 9am on Saturday.

New Zealand Jetsprint Association president Julia Murray said everything was set for a busy day on the track.

Murray was pleased with how the first round went, considering there were 43 boats racing and a 45-minute delay after a boat crashed.

The same 43 boats will be competing in Whanganui.

It was a surprise that Matt Hareb and Hayden George beat the New Zealand, Australian and world champions Ollie Silverton and Amanda Kittow in round one, Murray said.

“It will be really interesting to see what happens there between those two in the Group A Class,” she said.

There will be a number of rookies at Shelter View Track, as well as the opportunity for the NextGen Class to have another training day.

The NextGen Class is a new class for up-and-coming youth racers.

They race in single-seated, jetski engine-powered boats with 230 horsepower for safety to build confidence towards being ready for the open classes.

“It was really neat to see them and the smiles on their faces when they came in – it was just priceless,” Murray said.

Whanganui racers Rob Coley and Toby Edmonds got off to a promising start in round one, placing third in the Superboat class on 28 points.

They sit just two points behind first-placed Sam Newdick and Shama Putaranui heading into this round.

Coley said they were “a little disappointed” in round one because they were expecting to try out their new NA (naturally aspirated) motor package but it did not arrive in time.

Fortunately, it is ready to go for Whanganui.

“Hopefully we’ll be a bit more competitive,” he said.

“We can’t get enough of racing, it’s a great sport with great people.

“We are certainly looking forward to being competitive this weekend with a full new package – it’ll be exciting.”

Murray said it was hard to tell how many spectators to anticipate in Whanganui, due to it being Christmastime.

“We hope people keep supporting it because it takes a lot of work to put these events on,” Murray said.

“If the Whanganui people support it then it keeps it going.”

The NZ Jetsprint Championship takes place over six rounds in four different parts of the country – Featherston, Whanganui, Wānaka and Taranaki.

Whanganui will host more action in round five on March 1.

Tickets for the UIM World Jetsprints Championship in Whanganui can be bought on the New Zealand Jetsprint Championship website.

Fin Ocheduszko Brown is a multimedia journalist based in Whanganui.