Stilwell crowned after battle with boat engine

Nelson powerboat driver Julian Stilwell has made a winning start to the new season, after claiming the King of the Lake title in Cromwell last weekend.

Competing in his newly named Johnston Associates Chartered Accountants Limited (JACAL) 2.5-litre Mercury-powered Formula 1 boat, Stilwell returned from the Lake Dunstan Powerboat Club regatta with the King of the Lake and Formula 1 trophies.

Stilwell, who finished third in last season's national Formula 1 series in Placemakers, said he and his crew had spent most of Saturday troubleshooting an electrical problem. But once solved, the boat improved with each race on Sunday, culminating in their King of the Lake triumph for the regatta's 10 fastest boats.

"After changing just about every single electrical item on the motor, [it] turned out to be one or more spark plugs," said Stilwell of Saturday's electrical problems.

"On the Sunday, it went really well. Obviously the engine got better as the day went on. We had a good weekend really, we found the problem we'd been looking for and left the meeting with everything running in good order."

A feature of Saturday's racing was a spectacular crash by Cromwell's Matt Pope, whose Formula 1 tunnel The Vatican hit a gust of wind, resulting in a 360-degree blowover.

Pope suffered only minor cuts, despite having his helmet torn off his head.

Stilwell now has a five-week break before contesting the North Island Formula 1 championship and North Island Grand Prix at Mangakino's Lake Maraetai on January 2-3.

He heads to Lake Karapiro on February 6-7 for round one of the New Zealand national series, followed by the South Island round of the series at Lake Rotoiti on February 27-28.

- © Fairfax NZ News