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» 13,90 € |
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» 29,90 € |
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» 545,- € |
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» 228,- € |
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» 646,- € |
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A BLINDING SUCCESS ON DEBUT
31.12.2007 |
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| While in Detroit watching the Unlimited Hydroplanes a discussion with Florida based John Haggin, a powerboat racing visionary and owner of the AMF Offshore powerboat racing team lead to the development of the AMF / H20 Full Throttle Jetsprinting team. Following the AMF powerboat racing team’s theme all three hulls are painted in bright fluorescent chartreuse enhanced with a fleck that sparkles. Leading the team in the Superboat Class is number 113 - Bryan Smith a Logging Contractor from Taupo. Peter Briant from Gisborne returns to the sport to compete in the restricted Group A class in boat. A double crewed NZ Lites boat will be driven by two rookies from Christchurch. Mike Harris (23) a jetboat engineer and Website company owner/Jetsprint promoter Clark Marshall (23A). |
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A successful debut at the opening round of the 2008 Parker Enzed New Zealand Jetsprint Championships was witnessed by a crowd of 5000. It was up to Clark Marshall and navigator Lydia Duport racing in the Jetpro NZ Lites Development class to introduce the crowd to the team colour scheme that’s as bright as a yellow road sign. Only a few moments later it was out on the track again, this time Mike Harris was at the wheel and Kerry Hume navigating. An exciting combination as their 5.7 LS1 all alloy V8 engine is being evaluated as a development motor for the sport to see if an out of the crate package is comparable to the existing restricted engine rules in the Jetpro NZ Lites Development Class. The top 16 elimination saw both AMF drivers in the top four positions with Harris leading by 0.59 seconds over Marshall sitting at number four. Unfortunately, it was not to be their day as Marshall took no further part as part of the development package is only one of the team will go through to the eliminations. Harris was setting a quick pace only to miss a turn on the last corner of the run and was promptly eliminated when he was unable to correct. Both combinations gained much needed track time and will consolidate their driver/navigator roles in round two. Returning to the sport was 2005 Superboat World Champion Peter Briant and his navigator Robyn Briant as part of the AMF / H20 Full Throttle team. Beginning again they same way he finished in the World Series Peter Briant set the pace after the first qualifier. It wasn’t long before brother Rex Briant alongside Simon Campbell, Bevin Muir, Baden Gray, Shane Wood, Ray Ferguson and 2007 NZ Lites Champion Brian Kelly were also chasing a podium spot. Ferguson headed out first in the top four, followed by Peter Briant, Simon Campbell and Rex Briant. A trend was occurring as once again it was a navigational error that saw the AMF / H20 Full Throttle team eliminated and settling for fourth place. That left the familiar combination of Rex Briant and Campbell battling it out in the finals. Beaurepaires Superboats are always a crowed pleaser and the AMF / H20 Full Throttle entry of Bryan Smith and navigator Brent Jellyman was unexpectedly entered as a double driven boat. With Daryl Hutton and navigator Jonny Schick aboard the AMF / H20 Full Throttle Stinger was thrashed around the corners. As he bounced along several sets of tyres he was dangerously close to ending up on the bank and was lucky to make the hairpin in the top four run. Hutton’s usual Big Chief failed to fire at the start of the day and Smith offered a lifeline to Hutton by giving him the opportunity to test his new Stinger Hull. Test it he did with Smith waiting on the ramp for his turn to take to the water. In a contrasting style, Smith expertly guided the 1100 horsepower Chev Donovan around the fast paced rotation and each round saw the chartruse coloured Superboat getting faster and faster. Smith and Jellyman secured a dream win on debut with a time of 54.14.
Haggin was full of compliments for the team when he received news of the results. “These are insane boats and we are looking forward to taking them to a wider audience around the world and I couldn’t have asked for a better start”, commented Haggin. All three teams head to a another twilight meeting at Gisborne’s Electrinet Thunderpark on Saturday 26 January for Round two of the 2008 Parker Enzed NZ Jetsprinting Championships. |
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Hyperlinks
»» www.amfoffshoreracing.com
»» www.h2ofullthrottle.com |
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