PSP NZ Jetsprinters return to racing at Waitara

After the disappointment of the PSP NZ Jetsprint Championship’s fourth round at Meremere being cancelled due to the pits being underwater following the Auckland floods, jetsprinters are looking forward to returning to racing at the resurrected Waitara Aquatrack. 

There hasn’t been a race at this venue since 2020, and the tight, technical track will test drivers, while giving the crowd plenty of thrills, this Saturday.

The PSP Championship has some Norwegians coming to race in Waitara. They are filming for the Wildest Sports in the World television show and have decided that jetsprinting fits the criteria. They will be competing in the MTW Group B Class – double driving the borrowed Two A Breast jetsprint boat. Norwegian celebrity Cengiz Al, who is an actor and dancer, along with journalist Nicolay Ramm, will be competing for trophies, but more importantly racing against each other. Come along to Waitara to see who will come out on top. 

A special mention must be made regarding two members of our jetsprint family who will be unable to compete at Waitara due to the devastation wrecked by Cyclone Gabriel.  Bars Bugs’ boat driver, Blake Briant, of Gisborne, is currently leading the Superboats class but is now most likely out for the rest of the season as he begins the clean up and recovery of his business. Another Superboat competitor, Blue Flames’ boat driver David Simmons will also not make it to Waitara as he has no road access out of his property in Patoka, Hawkes Bay.  

MouthFRESH Superboats

The competition in this class is outstanding and it is too hard to make a call as to who will come out on top at Waitara. Current 1NZ Sam Newdick, of PSP Racing, commented on how much he is enjoying the battle this year – where he is having to fight for every point. Hopefully the mechanical gremlins he suffered at Wanganui have been banished. 
Consistency is the name of the game for the Wired team of Aaron Hansen and Julie-Anne Shanks who are currently in third place on 80 points. 
Rob and Ange Coley are hoping that the recent work they’ve put into their Poison Ivy boat (number 111) pays dividends and they get back up the ladder onto the podium. They will have to battle hard as Reuben Hoeksema in Turbo Extreme and Richard Murray in Meaner Machine – who both enjoyed success at Wanganui – will be fighting hard to emulate that success. 

Sprintec Boats Group A

Even though Ollie Silverton and Jess Sit, of PSP Racing, have taken the top step in the first three rounds, they won’t be complacent coming into round five.  There are only 4 points separating them from Ross Travers and Amanda Kittow in the Radioactive boat and as past years have shown, it only takes a split-second lack of concentration in an early qualifier to change the stakes. 
Current 1NZ, Si and Sarah Gibbon in the Novus Glass boat are aiming to go for gold this round after suffering a myriad of issues in the first three rounds. 
Matt Hareb, of No Limits Racing, is driving well and will be hoping to get back up on the podium again.
After a seven-year break from racing, Brett Thompson is enjoying being back out on the track.
Dug Twist will be gunning for a good run at Waitara after having missed the last couple of rounds due to mechanical issues.

MTW Group B

After suffering a big crash in Wanganui, the L J Hooker Racing team of Bryce and Kylie Baron, will be racing hard to make up some points on Nine Lives Racing’s Sam Gray. He has extended his lead in the championship after taking the win for the second time this season at Wanganui.
Karl Brennsell and Hamish Murray, who make up one of the southern teams, are only 1 point behind the Barons and will be piling the pressure on!
The other South Island-based teams – Currie Racing (Richard Currie and Kymber Kennedy)  and 3rd Time Lucky (Andrew Craig and Scott Gouman) – are both in their rookie seasons and are also in podium contention.
It will be interesting to see how the Norwegians stir things up in this class. 

MTW LS Class 

The championship’s new class has another team on board with seasoned jetsprinters Paddy and Jay Haden putting together an LS package and making their debut in Waitara. It will be interesting to see how this former 1NZ Group B pairing goes against John Verry and Leila Burder in the Link ECU stinger. The Hadens are fiercely competitive and will be out to win. 
Matt Nairn and Josh Gowan in the LS Express boat had a great top three result in Wanganui, coming in second after Nairn took his friend Matt Hareb’s advice: “ Put your foot down and win it, or bin it!” 

Sixteen-year-old Dylan Edhouse with his mum Debbie next to him in the navigator seat, has impressed everyone this season. He has a cool head and gets quicker each round.  There are only 5 points separating the teams, so it still could be anyone’s season.

New Zealand Jetsprint Association President Julia Murray wonders whether the long break between round three in Wanganui in late December and this weekend’s Waitara event will mean that the racers may struggle to get their momentum back.

“The drivers and navigators will need to quickly get their heads into the right space. Waitara often has quite tight and technical rotations that could catch some of them out as they settle back into racing.  It’s going to be an interesting day that’s for sure!”

“Our visitors from Norway are super excited to come and join us for their debut in a jetsprint boat, so that will also provide some entertainment. The New Plymouth-based Riddick brothers, Deane and Aaron, have agreed to navigate for them, so a bit of sibling rivalry will be added to the mix as the Norwegians compete for their own bragging rights!” Murray concludes.

PSP New Zealand Jetsprint Championship’s 2022/2023 Calendar

19 November 2022: Round One – Hastings Jet Sprint Track, Hastings.

4 December 2022: Round Two – Kiwispan Jet Sprint Track, Featherston.

27 December 2022: Round Three – Shelter View, Wanganui.

18 February 2023: Round Four – Sprint Bowl, Meremere.

4 March 2023: Round Five – Waitara Aquatrack.

8 April 2023: Round Six – Novus Glass Aquatrack, Wanaka.

CAPTIONS

MouthFRESH Superboats competitor Richard Murray will be driving hard in Meaner Machine.

Current 1NZ, Si and Sarah Gibbon are racing the Novus Glass boat in the Sprintec Boats Group A class.

South Island-based team Currie Racing, of Richard Currie and Kymber Kennedy, are rookies in the MTW Group B class.

MTW LS Class’ 16-year-old Dylan Edhouse with his mum Debbie Edhouse navigating in the Liquid Addiction boat are improving every round.

PHOTO CREDITS: JEREMY WARD – SHOT360 PHOTOGRAPHY.

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To find out more information head to the NZ Jetsprint Association website, or contact secretary Pip Thompson: P: 021 0248 1421, E: nzjetsprint@gmail.com

If you can’t make it to an event, then check out the Drainage Systems Livestream where you can catch all the action from your phone or computer. Or watch out for the PSP New Zealand Jetsprint Championship when it appears on TV3’s CRC Motorsport.