Wilson had stepped effortlessly into those shoes and was looking like a sure fire contender to win the round, having the fastest times in the Top 12 and Top 8 eliminators.
However, the curse that struck down so many other Wanganui drivers hit Wilson and navigator Chris Hausman hard in the Top 5 race as they beached on the far side of the course and spun out of contention.
Making the final were Thompsons Piopio's Brett (53.849) and Te Kuiti's Ray (54.572) alongside the other surprise package of the day, Hamilton's Ollie Silverton.
Another former navigator whose partner, Mark Newdick, had moved up to Superboats, Silverston made the most of his turn behind the wheel and drove rapidly into the final with a 53.895 time, although he did have a close call after hitting the tyres in the finishing bay.
As the first round of the NZ Jetsprint Series, it was notably to see both rookie drivers as well as veterans pushing hard and in some cases over-compensating as the familiar tyres on the hairpin got given a fair nudge, while other boats spun wide on several occasions.
From the eagle's nest, doyen Aussie commentator Tim "Caveman" Barrot was right there with the appropriate audio cued up should any team suffer misfortune.
Sound-bites from the Australian cartoon series Beached Az played as New Plymouth's Richy Carr ended up on the grass during the 400 class qualifiers.
Christchurch's Si Gibbon was serenaded by the Little River Band telling him to "Hang On, Help Is On The Way" after he ended up unwillingly parked on a verge in the Group As, while former national champion Bevan Linklater had to listen to Queen's Another One Bites the Dust when his 400 boat's engine died on one run.
But, as was seen with the Rob Coley and Pat Dillon wrecks, some moments are a little too sombre for musical jokes.
