Travers boys show class in 400's finale

GOOD REWARD: Having invested in a new 400 series boat this season, Ross and Shane Travers won the opening round of the national jet sprint series on Saturday. PHOTOS/LEWIS GARDNER 271214WCLGJETS8

Jetsprints
While the all-Wanganui final in the Suzuki Superboat class at the opening round of the PSP New Zealand Jet Sprint Championship was an impressive feat for the local scene, it paled compared to the shut-out in the Biolytix 400 Class.
As the entry-level division of the national series, Wanganui racers stamped their mark on a great Saturday afternoon at Shelter View.
From a 15-crew field, six local crews made the Top 8 eliminator, four went through to the Top 5, and then the Top 3 final was all-Wanganui.
In his new Radioactive boat with its 410 chev engine, Ross Travers and his navigator son Shane drove consistently in the 51 second range during the eliminators and won the final with a 51.298s effort.
While they had the speed advantage, the pressure of a final can play havoc with a driver's concentration, but Travers would not be denied.
"It was exactly the same as all the other runs - get out there, stay in the water, and finish."
The Travers team had all sorts of troubles with a DNF after a bang during the first qualifying run, but rapidly had their new machine back up to scratch and only briefly surrendered their advantage in the Top 8 eliminator to defending national champion Hayden Wilson in White Noize.
"We'll get the vinyl wrapped, panels fixed, and go have more fun [at Baypark]," said Travers.
There was continuous frenzy of activity around Wilson's two-boat tent as White Noize was in a double drive with 2013 national champion Gerry Linklater, returning to the sport and now competing against his former navigator.
Beside them, also changing in-and-out were Wanganui drivers Paul Tulloch and Bevan Linklater in the 406 chev Bad Boyz boat, being two of six driver and navigator teams who shared a craft on the day.
As a result, some of the better contenders would bookend the qualifiers and eliminators to give them time to transition crews, as opposed to the standard practice of racing in order from slowest to fastest.
Wilson would finish runnerup for the day with a 52.717s time, while Tulloch was third with 53.050s in the Top 3 final.
"It was not too bad, you got into a rhythm, having 12 boats in between," said Wilson about the constant change over.
While Gerry Linklater would have been disappointed to go out in the Top 8 eliminator with a 55.045s time for his comeback event, Wilson carried on and will take the runnerup points with both hands.
"It keeps the championship alive," he said. "I didn't really have anything to give to Ross - he found the new package."
Tulloch was also finally able to take stock on a busy afternoon.
"We didn't see each other all day," he laughed with Wilson when returning to the tent."Really rapt after last season, with the engine problems. We've hopefully got it sorted."
Of the visitors, Hamilton's Ollie Silverton, third in last year's championship, finished fourth overall, just barely ahead of the big climbers on the day - Wanganui's Two A Breast crew of Donna Thompson and Monica Couper.
Showing continued improvement from previous seasons, the women's team drove some smooth lines before bowing out in the Top 5 eliminator with a 53.456s final drive.