IN LIMBO: Waverley's Ken Lupton will have to wait 28 days to find out if he is the winner of the transtasman EC Griffith Cup. PHOTO/FILE
A serious legal wrangle in transtasman hydroplane racing has started, with Waverley's Lupton family in a tug of war over the EC Griffith Cup after a controversial race in Lake Mulwala on Saturday.
Patriarch Warwick Lupton, his sons Ken and Jack and cousin David Alexander all made the expensive trip to Yarrawonga, north of Melbourne, to race their 2500hp boats for the cup and try to bring it back to New Zealand for the first time since 2012.
Ken Lupton, racing the Lucas Oils craft, was second qualifier behind Australia's Warlord boat, piloted by Troy Marland, and was joined by the rest of his family and current cup holder Grant Harrison for the Saturday final.
In a video footage link sent to the Wanganui Chronicle which was filmed from the lake's far bank, along with pictures of the race, it appears Warlord took off early on the rolling start - speeding ahead of the leading starter boat before the flag dropped - which the drivers were told in the pre-race meeting would result in disqualification.
The Luptons also claimed that as Warlord shot ahead, the Aussie boat left its own racing channel and impeded them, specifically New Zealand champion Jack Lupton in the Rural Fuels GP57.
Warlord went on to win the race with Ken Lupton second and younger brother Jack third, which ultimately was the only playoff race as Sunday's rough weather conditions prevented the rest of the finals being held.
On Saturday, the Luptons and the New Zealand referee at the lake protested the result and the protest committee upheld their complaint over Warlord's crashed start and gave the win to Ken Lupton.
However, the following day the family was left furious when another Australian official over-ruled the committee's decision and reinstated Warlord as the race winner and therefore cup holder.
Warwick Lupton, still fuming yesterday, said they made another protest and now a separate committee of Australian hydroplane officials will review the decision, which will take around 28 days.
"It's gone to appeal, and there's three states [governing bodies]. They bring one guy out of each state."
Ken Lupton was being diplomatic about the situation.
"There's not a lot to say until 28 days when we find out what happened," he said.
"All I really wanted to do is race my boat, which is what I've done."
However, Lupton senior had heated words with the Australian referee on the Sunday, given the protest committee had already interviewed the crew of the starter boat, the crew of the flag boat, and even fellow Aussie racer Harrison, who dropped out of contention with engine problems.
Their unanimous view was that Warlord had gone full throttle prematurely.
"The protest committee all agreed, after talking to everyone, that he jumped the start," said Warwick Lupton.
"In their rulebook, which is totally contradictory, going to the next page [it states] an Aussie referee can over-rule anything he sees as bad.
"So, one person versus three, and he over-ruled it. I said, 'you need to go to Spec Savers, you're blind'."
Lupton called the flip-flop "ludicrous" and a "mockery of the sport".
"Everyone on the shore said, "he crashed the start".
"If you look at the footage, they should all be in a line with the starter boat in front."
The dispute highlights some of the bitter feeling which goes into racing for the EC Griffith Cup, which is held in the country of the last driver to win it.
Warwick Lupton had also previously been disqualified for speeding on a rolling start at an Australian race, and when Harrison won the cup in New Zealand in 2012, he broke a safety rule which stated drivers could not pilot their craft back straight back to shore after the race.
Harrison protested that taking a fair victory away for a minor infraction afterwards went against the spirit of the cup, and the NZ Powerboat Federation committee at the time voted to let his win stand and let him take the cup back across the Ditch.
Lupton said the official who over-ruled the disqualification seemed under pressure to make sure the cup does not leave Australia. "You think common sense will prevail with Australians? Obviously, it's going to be hard to get it back after they lost it. We're [finishing] one, two, three and four out of the 10 - they're history.
"They can understand it's a tough challenge to come to New Zealand and have a crack. It makes you more determined to cut them up. We were going to go out there [on Sunday] and we weren't going to follow any rules. We were going to give them a dealing to."
A NZ Powerboat Federation source, called the fiasco "quite sad".
"They awarded the trophy to Ken, and then they go and take it off him. We were just rail-roaded.
"[In 2012] we could have been like they are and kept the thing. It was their rules, they made it very clear in the briefing.
"When they do a rolling start, you're not allowed to charge the start. Warlord put his foot down and went straight to speed."