Jet sprint season predicted to be one of toughest yet

RENAMED: Former national Superboat class winning machine PPG Hulk has been renamed Meaner Machine by new owner, Whanganui's Richard Murray.PHOTO/FILE

The top contenders will again jockey for positions on the leaderboard when round 2 of the 2015-16 PSP NZ Jet Sprint Championship hits Shelterview in Whanganui tomorrow.

This six-round championship season, for the first time, includes two rounds in December and will then go into recess in January while the UIM World Series will be held at Meremere and Baypark Stadium in Mount Maunganui.

After that, the nationals will continue with the return of the Shelterview night round in April.

This season is tipped to be one of the toughest and most competitive in recent memory and Whanganui's leading drivers are already in the thick of it heading into Round 2 their on home track in Upokongaro.

In the Superboat class Hamilton's Glen Head picked up where he left off in the final round of last season by claiming the crucial first-up victory in round 1 at Meremere on December 12.

Hot on his heels are expat Whanganui racer Leighton Minnell and new navigator Louise Blythe who finished runner-up in a new Superboat they put together at short notice, with Whanganui's Rob Coley and Kellie Minnell coming third.

Leighton Minnell was originally not going to do the series in order to focus on his new track he was building in Waitara, which is why wife Kellie has teamed up with Coley - the pair also coming Superboat runners-up during the recent Australian season.

After the retirement of Whanganui's Pat Dillon, the race for the championship is wide open again, especially as seven-time world champion Peter Caughey had a spectacular crash at Meremere in his first big roll in 26 years.

Whanganui's former Group A national champion Richard Murray has taken over Dillon's PPG Hulk, which he now calls the Meaner Machine.

While a former Group A champion driving the proven Superboat championship-winning boat makes Murray another contender, he is still coming to grips with the massive difference in horsepower. He was sixth at Meremere, also having a big roll during the day.

The 400's series has been renamed Group B for this season but Whanganui's defending champions Ross and Shane Travers in their 500hp Radioactive boat want the same outcome, which Ross Travers believes will be harder as there are plenty of new boats looking to catch up to their engine package.

At Meremere, Travers finished third behind Te Awamutu's Patrick Haden and Owhanga's Tim Edhouse after a spark plug lead came off during the final Top 3 shoot-out.

Whanganui's all-girl crew of Donna Thomson and Monica Couper, in Two a Breast, continued their good form at Meremere from last season, finishing fifth on the day.

The other local competitor to this grade is the former national champion Hayden Wilson.

In the Group A class, Gisborne's Blake Briant picked up the win in Meremere, with Hamilton's Ric Burke second and Taupo's Warren Farr third.

The gates are open from 11am at Shelterview when practice rounds begin.