Wake Up Auckland - There's Thunder In The City

PRESS RELEASE
New Zealand Offshore Powerboat Series
Race Seven - Auckland - Thunder Under the Bridge
Saturday 28th April 2012

Wake Up Auckland - There's Thunder In The City

Race Seven of the 2012 New Zealand Offshore Powerboat Racing Series takes place on Saturday 28th April on Auckland Harbour, with the race starting at 1.00pm.

Auckland has always been one of the showcase venues for the New Zealand Offshore Powerboats, and with so many of the teams Auckland based there are always plenty of crowds to witness the spectacle of these huge and noisy boats thundering up the Auckland Harbour at speeds in excess of 100 miles per hour.

This year sees the boats and teams based in the viaduct outside the new Viaduct Events centre, the perfect venue for anyone who wants to see the boats up close while sipping that morning coffee. If the coffee doesn't get you alert, these boats will soon have you wide awake as the roar of engines resonates off the surrounding high-rise buildings. If you're one of the locals you won't get much of a sleep in, so if you can't beat them, come down to the viaduct and join them. There's even free coffee available!

The boats will parade through the main streets of Auckland at 2pm on Friday and will be on display in the Wynyard Quarter from then until they are launched at about 12.00pm on Saturday before departing from the viaduct for the race course.

Two races take place simultaneously, a 60 mile race for the Classic, Super 60, Sports 60 Restricted boats and a 100 mile race for the Superboats and Superboat Lites.

With only two races remaining in the season there are a lot of vital points at stake. In the Superboat Class 'Fairview' driven by Warren Lewis and Andrew Koolen are leading the class on 2650 points, with their nearest rivals 'Fujitsu Better Heat' driven by Tony Coleman and Chris Hanley chasing close on their heels on 2450 points. With the boats separated by only 200 points there is still potential for Fujitsu to win the next two races and create a tie for the season. Both these teams have won the national championship in the past, so know what it takes to claim victory, and know also the thrill of taking the title at the end of the season. If Fujitsu claim victory in Auckland, the boats will be separated by just 100 points and the final race in Tauranga will be a thrilling event. To make the race even more interesting the two top Superboats will be joined by 'Schick Hydro' driven by Scott Lewis and Murray Tuffin, currently sitting at third place for the season. Joining the regulars is another past combatant; 'Doosan' driven by Sam Fillmore and Cary Gleeson, who raced to victory in Auckland in 2010.

'Red Steel' driven by Tony Carson and Brooke Faulknor have a firm grasp on the Superboat Lite title for 2012 and will no doubt enjoy the racing now that the pressure is off to finish in first place. Don't think for one moment that having secured the title they will be slow, these boys don't know how to race slowly and will be out to put on a good show and look for points in the 100 mile overall stakes.

In the Sports 60 Restricted Class Mikey Knight in 'Auckland District Collections' continues to nip at the heels of Mikey Smith in 'Konica Minolta' who leads this class by 425 points. While looking safe at the top of the points table Konica Minolta must finish the next two races to maintain their position. Meanwhile further back there is still a scramble for points as the third place on the podium for the end of the season is far from secure. Total Oil currently sits on 1496 points, but are only 166 points ahead of Yeaa Nah on 1330 points and Energizer currently on 1271, 225 points behind Total Oil. One thing is for certain, this class will be putting on another spectacular performance this week with a full-on assault for the points available.

In the Super 60 there is keen competition between the two batboats, 'Back2Bay6' driven by father and son team Glenn and Chris Powell and 'Espresso Engineers' raced by Mike Gerbic and Allan Branch. Mike was originally competing in his Superboat Lite 'Espresso Engineers', but after irreparably damaging the boat at Napier, he swapped classes and brought his retired Batboat out to compete in the Super 60 Class. Despite starting late in this class he has built up an impressive 850 points and trails the leaders 'Back2Bay6' by only 325 points Due to injury, and a rather unfortunate crash in Wellington two weeks ago 'Back2Bay6' have failed to complete the last two races, and as a result have less points than could be expected by this stage of the season. This puts them under added pressure as to they must complete the next two races to ensure a win for the season, and at this stage it is not certain whether they will make an appearance at Auckland or not.

The teams are all looking forward to the Auckland race and anyone with the ability to drive, walk, run or crawl to the waterfront should definitely make the effort to witness what promises to be a truly exciting event. The boats will be racing over a circuit course from the Hilton, up under the bridge to Kauri Point and back down under the bridge to complete either 60 miles for the smaller boats or 100 miles for the larger Superboats in one hour. There are plenty of places to view the race, particularly along the Curran St entrance to Westhaven, along the front of the Ponsonby, Richmond and Royal New Zealand Yacht Clubs, The Tank Farm, and the end of Princes Wharf where the boats turn by the Hilton.

The NZ Offshore Powerboat Association hold a family oriented event and are happy to talk to anyone who has questions about the boats and the way they are raced. The NZ Offshore Powerboat tents and Headquarters will be set up in the viaduct outside the events centre. Some of the boats will be on display both before and after the race and it's free to wander around the "pit" area, and to watch the race from the wharf or other vantage points.

The NZOPA would like to thank Fusion Electronics, MarineWorkz, Stonebridge, Need a Nerd, Marine Medics, Ocean Bridge Shipping, Trade A Boat, Fish City (Brett Archer), Placemakers Pakuranga, AB Marine, CRD Automotive, Rainbow Haulage, Fulton Swim School, Scarborough Brothers Ltd, Eaton Hydraulics, Bob Smith, Building Solutions, Domobar Espresso Machines, Mazzer Coffee Grinders, D & H Steel, Profloors, Total Access Ltd, Profloors Concrete, Global Pacific Corp, Veltex Electrical, and O'Hagans for their support in making the Auckland race possible.

The final race of the 2012 New Zealand Offshore Powerboat Season will be held in Tauranga on May 12th.

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

ENDS

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