Hydroplane pilots have scores to settle in Oz

Three Waverley-based Annihilator hydroplane pilots have a score to settle across the ditch next month.

Three Team Annihilator boats and their drivers from the South Taranaki town head to Victoria for the 95th running of the EC Griffith Cup at Yarrawonga, near Melbourne.

The trans-Tasman trophy is the pinnacle of hydroplane powerboat racing on both sides of the Tasman.

Senior Annihilator driver and current world champion Warwick Lupton last won the prestigious trophy in 2001 when his Waverley team-mate David Alexander was runner-up.

For the past three years Team Annihilator has had to settle for second, in 2007 filling second, third and fourth berths.

In the previous running of the event, Lupton was first across the line in the final, only to be sensationally disqualified after allegedly being across the start line when the flag was dropped.

"So the guys have had enough and we're determined to win this year," said team spokesman Alexander yesterday, adding it isn't going to be easy.

"The Aussies are a pretty tough bunch and pretty hard to deal with."

This year's Griffith Cup is raced on November 29-30 and Alexander is expecting a field of about 25 will line up in the heats this year. "The fastest eight boats make it through to the final so it's important to record fast times in the heats."

Team Annihilator is made up of Lupton, his son Ken and Alexander, while a raw newcomer to the powerboating scene is Chris Picard, also of Waverley.

Picard is unlikely to drive in the Griffith Cup event, but is expected to make his race debut in an Annihilator boat in the New Zealand series early next year.

Alexander said Picard had his first serious test driving Annihilator One in the test run at Lake Karapiro, near Cambridge, this week. "He told us he'd never had as much fun with his pants on," quipped Alexander.

The three boats - named Annihilator one, two and three - are capable of speeds up to 175mph (280km/h) and will be flown to Australia on November 12. They will be joined by their drivers a few days out from the competition.

If a Kiwi-based team does happen to win the Griffith Cup, New Zealand wins hosting rights next year.

Alexander, 27, expects to pack a greater punch this summer having built a new Big Chief engine which is expected to develop up to 2500 horsepower - 500 more than the engines in his boat last year.

Ken Lupton will be racing in his bright orange Falcon Engineering-sponsored Grand Prix Hydroplane with increased horsepower.

Ken's boat boasts between 400-500 more horsepower than last year and reached speeds of between 170-175mph down the first straight at Lake Karapiro this week.

Warwick Lupton is building another new boat in Waverley in time for the world champs, this one expected to reach speeds of up to 200mph.

After the Griffith Cup, the Annihilator team return home to prepare for a busy schedule around powerboating spots of the North and South islands.

The first "home" meet is the Downtown Tauranga event late in January. The event doubles as round one of the UIM World Grand Prix Hydroplane Championship and the 84th Masport Cup.

Other events being lined up by the Annihilator teams are Lake Rotoiti on January 31-February 1 which is also round one of the New Zealand powerboat nationals. That is followed the following weekend with the Cambridge finals of the World GP and round two of the nationals on Lake Karapiro, near Cambridge.

The races closest to home for the teams are at the Downtown Wanganui flying lap competition in the river city on February 21-22. Finishing off the season is the Lake Rotoiti Nelson Lakes event, the final of the powerboat nationals.

- © Fairfax NZ News