Round 1 Rayglass NZ Offshore Powerboat Series- Fairview are back!

by Cathy Varcoe on 22 Jan 2011
After a challenging season last year in the superboat class Warren Lewis and Chris Hanley drove a very demanding race to win today on Lake Taupo in Round 1 of the Rayglass NZ Offshore Powerboat Series

Warren Lewis said ' It was a tough race, not physically, but mentally'. Fairview started slowly but by Lap three were back in the race. It took the crew a while to get the trim right, then the team were able to ' Run hard, cornering at 105mph (169kmh), we didn't have to get off the throttles' said Lewis.

Fairview passed the 2010 champion Doosan for the lead on Lap 9 and led to the finish. Despite a navigation error at the start of the race Doosan had led for the first nine laps, and Sam Filmore said ' We were coming in too fast to the corners and had trouble with our line, but the boat ran well'. The third superboat 'Schick Hydro' driven Scott Lewis had a very good start to the race lying second for the first three laps before being overtaken by Fairview. On lap ten they lost a blade on their prop and struggled to keep the boat on the plane and maintain their third place. 'Our sponsors Schick Hydro have introduced a five blade shaver so we thought we'd try out a five blade prop'

The fourth superboat 'Profloors' started the race to get their race points but pulled out after only 100 metres with an over heated engine after damaging a water pump. Wayne Valder said,' We went through a water pump nearly every race one season, but I think the engine will be Okay'

In the Superboat Lites the 2010 champions 'NZ Blokes' led from the start and had a commanding lead of nearly half a lap by the end of the race to the second boat 'Red Steel'. The bright yellow hulls of 'Lil Doosan / Barracuda Kayaks' were hot on their heels but were unable to overtake 'Red Steel'

'Espresso Engineers' were back to defend their 2010 tiltle in the Super 60 class, this year up against another batboat 'Back2Bay6'. With a new boat the father and son team of Glen and Chris Powell had a fantastic race and finished 28 seconds ahead. 'Espresso Engineers' had made a number of modifications over the winter and will no doubt be looking to fine tune their boat's performance.

Jono Hanley had some real competition in the Sports 60 Restricted with Mikey Knight ( 2010 NZ Honda champion) at the helm of 'Auckland District Collections'. The two boats had an exciting race with Jono in 'Marineworkz' closely chasing the other modified Honda boat on every lap.

The distinctive sight and sound of 'Go Otaki Go' certainly stood out on the lake in the Sports 60 class. They had a fantastic time chasing their arch rival 'Thin Ice' and both boats were making short work of the chop on the lake.

In the classics there was plenty of drama with 'Topaz', winner of the NZ title in 1972 blowing a turbo in the middle of the first lap. With the smoke clearly visible for miles it was relief to find it was not something more serious. 'Konica Minolta', another new runner in the classic class looked stunning running round the course. Another former NZ Champion from 1989 and 1992, the boat looked to be cruising at times, and with five crew clearly having a fantastic time, the boat looks set for an exciting and enjoyable season. It was great to see the return of Haaker Le Suer and Gavin McBeth in the Scarab. Renamed Gull Force 10 for the season, the boys are grateful for the sponsorship of the fuel company in helping them afford the cost of filling the tank for each race.

In the Hondas Mike Urquart led the fleet in 'Auckland District Collections'. 'Total Oil' had a fantastic race finishing second with James Taylor saying ' We had a great race. We topped out at 58.4 mph and since the boat has only ever reached 62 mph we're pretty happy'. 'Rayglass' were hard on their heels finishing 2 seconds behind them. 'CRD Automotive' finishing fourth looked to be getting plenty of air, as did father and daughter team Grant and Kelly Smith in 'The Gambler' who finished fifth.

The Rayglass series continues in Gisborne on Saturday 5 February. The remaining six rounds in the 2011 series are: Maraetai (12 Feb), Napier (26 Feb), Whitianga (12 March), Marsden Cove outside Whangarei (26 March), Auckland (9 April) and the final round in Wellington on 23 April.

More information and updated championship points' tables can be found on the New Zealand Offshore Powerboat Association website, www.nzoffshore.co.nz.