Cure Kids takes NZ Offshore Powerboat Championship lead in Whangarei

10:24 AM Tue 21 Apr 2009 GMT

'Cure Kids in action' Greg Olesen Click Here to view large photo

Close racing among the offshore powerboats on a new inner harbour Marsden Cove course near Whangarei saw 'Cure Kids' the ultimate race winner and move into the championship lead with one round to go.

In generally sheltered conditions, 17 competitors lined up for the seventh round of the 2009 Rayglass New Zealand Offshore Powerboat Championship.

Greg Brinck, spokesperson for the New Zealand Offshore Powerboat Association (NZOPA), says there was very close racing between 'Cure Kids', 'Fairview Windows & Doors' and last year's champion superboat 'Sleepyhead' in the 100-mile race.

'But then 'Sleepyhead' broke down, which left leader 'Fairview', with Rotorua's Ted Taiatini at the helm and Auckland's Warren Lewis on the throttles battling with Tony Coleman, from Auckland, and Mount Maunganui's Chris Handley in 'Cure Kids',' said Brinck.

'Then 'Fairview' turned to avoid a shallow water marker and flipped right over. Luckily both Ted and Warren are okay - the enclosed superboat cockpits have oxygen masks for exactly this kind of situation, but unfortunately Ted seems to have sucked in a bit of water, so he's a bit shaken.

'The major issue for the 'Fairview' crew is now getting the boat ready for our final round at Gulf Harbour in just two weeks. When the boats have been over and filled with seawater, it's quite a big deal getting them right again with engine rebuilds and the like.'

'Cure Kids' won the 100-mile race from Scott Lewis and Murray Tuffin in 'A1 Homes' and Sam Filmore and Cary Gleeson in 'Doosan'.

In the 60-mile race current series leader 'Konica Minolta', driven by Brinck and Eldon Archer, both from Auckland, were out in front from the start. 'Mike Gerbic and Haydn Mearns in 'Espresso Engineers' were close for much of the race, but as we started lapping the smaller boats, we were able to pull away,' said Brinck.

When 'Espresso Engineers' suffered some gearbox issues, the 'Konica Minolta' crew were able to extend their championship lead.

Brinck says conditions on an inner-harbour course are traditionally challenging with tide and wind to contend with. 'It could be tricky at times, but was generally sheltered. It was a high speed course; we ran at 80 miles an hour or more for the whole race.'

The event itself was simply fantastic, according to Brinck. 'The team at Hopper Developments has created a superb facility at Marsden Cove. The atmosphere was great with drift cars, drag bikes and a lot of family activities to enjoy. A huge crowd came out from Whangarei to watch the event.'

The 2009 Rayglass New Zealand Offshore Powerboat Championship concludes at Gulf Harbour on Saturday 2 May.

Rayglass NZ Offshore Powerboat Championships

Round 7, Marsden Cove, Whangarei

OVERALL RESULTS

Placing	Boat	Boat Number	Name	Home Town
100 MILE
1	Cure Kids	51	Tony Coleman Chris Handley	Auckland Mt Maunganui
2	A1 Homes	81	Scott Lewis Murray Tuffin	Auckland Auckland
3	Doosan	320	Sam Filmore Cary Gleeson	Auckland Auckland
4	Rayglass	S-5	Kelly Smith Grant Smith	Wellington Wellington
DNF	Fairview Windows	91	Ted Taiatini Warren Lewis	Rotorua Auckland
DNF	Sleepyhead	NZ1	Wayne Carson Craig Archer	Auckland Whangaparaoa
60 MILE
1	Konica Minolta	84	Greg Brinck Eldon Archer	Auckland Auckland
2	Espresso Engineers	6	Mike Gerbic Haydn Mearns	Auckland Auckland
3	Holsam	80	Mike Cameron Duncan Field	Auckland Wellington
4	Mark Diggelmann Car Sales	7	Mark Diggelmann Kevin Ireland	Tauranga Tauranga
5	Hopper Team Racing	15	Travis Thompson Ryan Bailey	Whangaparaoa Auckland
6	Auckland District Collections #2	H9	Mike Urquhart Darren Woods	Whangaparaoa Whangaparaoa
7	Bryant Marine	71	Graham Pike Bevan Antonelli	Auckland Auckland
8	Buildings Solutions	H18	Mike Knight Shannon Thickpenny	Auckland Auckland
9	Honda Marine	H15	Mitch Thompson Allan Stevenson	Auckland Auckland
10	Electropar	H19	James Taylor Regan Micklewright	Auckland Auckland
11	Morrell Motors	H17	Logan Morrell Blake Wall	Taupo Taupo

CLASS RESULTS

Placing	Boat	Boat Number	Name	Home Town
SUPERBOAT
1	Cure Kids	51	Tony Coleman Chris Handley	Auckland Mt Maunganui
2	A1 Homes	81	Scott Lewis Murray Tuffin	Auckland Auckland
DNF	Fairview Windows	91	Ted Taiatini Warren Lewis	Rotorua Auckland
DNF	Sleepyhead	NZ1	Peter Turner Craig Archer	Auckland Whangaparaoa
SUPERBOAT LITE
1	Doosan	320	Sam Filmore Cary Gleeson	Auckland Auckland
2	Rayglass	S-5	Kelly Smith Grant Smith	Wellington Wellington
SUPER 60
1	Konica Minolta	84	Greg Brinck Jeff Weakes	Auckland Auckland
2	Espresso Engineers	6	Mike Gerbic Haydn Mearns	Auckland Auckland
3	Mark Diggelmann Car Sales	7	Mark Diggelmann Kevin Ireland	Tauranga Tauranga
4	Hopper Team Racing	15	Travis Thompson Ryan Bailey	Whangaparaoa Auckland
5	Bryant Marine	71	Graham Pike Bevan Antonelli	Auckland Auckland
CLASSIC CLASS
1	Holsam	80	Mike Cameron Duncan Field	Auckland Wellington
FORMULA HONDA
1	Auckland District Collections #2	H9	Mike Urquhart Darren Woods	Whangaparaoa Whangaparaoa
2	Buildings Solutions	H18	Mike Knight Shannon Thickpenny	Auckland Auckland
3	Honda Marine	H15	Mitch Thompson Allan Stevenson	Auckland Auckland
4	Electropar	H19	James Taylor Regan Micklewright	Auckland Auckland
5	Morrell Motors	H17	Logan Morrell Blake Wall	Taupo Taupo