Aussies in their sights

Warwick Lupton and his Wanganui family team of Annihilator grand prix hydroplane boat drivers are sick of coming second to the Aussies.

So Lupton, his son Ken and cousin David Alexander were at Lake Karapiro this week doing their homework and getting in some rare testing in their boats ahead of yet another attempt to bring the EC Griffith Cup back from Australia next month.

They also have the 2009 UIM World Grand Prix Hydroplane Championship in New Zealand next January and February in the back of their minds.

But it is the Griffith Cup, which Warwick Lupton won in 2001 but promptly lost to the Australians the following year, that is the immediate priority. There have been failed Kiwi attempts every year since to get it back, including two Annihilator boats in 2003 and all three for the last three years.

"We are sick of coming second to the Aussies," said Waverley farmer Lupton. "Last year David was leading and broke a blower belt."

A heat win is no guarantee of a place in the eight-boat final with only the eight fastest times across all the heats qualifying. It means boats have to be pushed hard all the way and in the world of highly-tuned, turbocharged massive GP hydroplane engines that leaves little room for error.

"We've never really done a lot of testing in the past. We don't have a lot of time and like most people we have to go to work," Lupton said.

But with the Australians looking stronger than ever with the likes of last year's cup winner Brett Niddrie in ex-New Zealand boat Warlord, Grant Harrison in new boat GP10, Ian Bryant in Mathemagic, Tom Heffernan in Dragula and Bobby Fisher in Wasp, the New Zealanders realise the competition is going to be hot.

"There's also a lot of new boats coming out for the worlds and if you're not on the pace you're going to get dusted.

"You're going to need to run at 10 tenths and we hardly ever run at 10 tenths."

Bigger, more powerful engines and hi-tech carbon fibre hulls that weigh 500kg less than the Annihilator boats are being developed for the world championships at Tauranga and Karapiro, with star US driver J Michael Kelly also signed to race the ex-Peter Knight boat The Boss.

"We've got to keep developing and practising, that's about all we can do. If we can get them singing then we've got a chance but we don't want to come out with egg on our faces."

Lupton finished Wednesday's test session well pleased with the way things had gone, but for a bit of fine tuning still to be done.

Alexander also tested a new ex-Big Chief engine supposed to develop up to 2500 horsepower 600-800 more than their present engines. Lupton has a new boat being built in Wanganui in time for the world champs, which he describes as being totally different to any other design.

- © Fairfax NZ News