5 January 2007
Thundercats Hit Matarangi Beach As Summer Carnival Continues
Matarangi Beach will resound with the roar of Thundercat racing boats this Sunday as round two of the national surfcross
competition gets underway at the popular Coromandel Peninsular beach.
Thundercat racing is a high adrenalin, high action sport featuring tight competitive surf racing in tunnel hulled
inflatable boats. The two person crews use their own body weight to stabilise the craft and achieve optimum speed.
Matarangi is the second stop in a three leg national surfcross series which began at Whangamata and will conclude at
Lyall Bay in Wellington on January 20.
Surfcross races begin with a Le Mans style start and feature spectacular jumps, thrills and spills with boats reaching
speeds of up to 80 kph. The races end dramatically with the boats skidding to a stop on the beach and the co-pilot
running to the finish line.
A special feature of the Matarangi Thundercat race day will be a four boat celebrity race. All the action starts at
Matarangi Beach from 11am.
The Thundercat racing is the final event of the highly successful Matarangi Summer Carnival which has included the first
round of the Pro Beach volleyball tour, the annual Miss Matarangi competition and a sold-out Donald Reid concert.
ENDS