After a stunning opening round win on Lake Taupo, Cary Gleeson and Sam Fillmore in ‘Doosan Construction Equipment' consolidated their 2010 Rayglass NZ Offshore Powerboat Championship lead with a fine third place finish in Gisborne.
It was the first time back in Gisborne for the NZ Offshore Powerboat Championship for nearly ten years, and a huge crowd lined the Gisborne Waterfront and beaches, to watch the 1100 horsepower Superboats do battle on a challenging course. From land it looked like ideal condition's, with a hot, sunny day greeting everyone in Gisborne, but the course provided some challenges, with a combination of swells, wind, and the tide causing many dramas during the race.
‘Fairview' and ‘Team 3' jumped out to the early lead, followed by ‘Doosan' and ‘A1 Homes'. ‘A1' were playing catch up after making a navigational error not long after the start. ‘Doosan' settled into a comfortable third place, happy to let the two leader's battle it out together.
Then on lap eight of twelve, with ‘Fairview' and ‘Team 3' still only a few seconds apart, Wellington father and daughter team Kelly and Grant Smith in their ‘Rayglass' Superboat Light 28 ft Skater, rolled at the bottom mark along the Gisborne waterfront. The Marine Paramedics Rescue Helicopter was right on the scene, but with two divers in the water rendering assistance, the race had to be red flagged. Thankfully Kelly and Grant were both OK.
With the race over, the results went back to the order on lap seven, with ‘Fairview' winning from ‘Team 3', ‘Doosan' and ‘A1 Homes'.
"The condition's were not nice at all, especially out the back of the course, and Sam and I decided early on that we were going to play the conservative game, and let ‘Fairview' and ‘Team 3' chase each other all over the course" said Cary Gleeson after the shortened race. "They were going at it pretty hard, and in these conditions, we were waiting for something to happen. It's only our second time in the boat, and with the ‘snotty' conditions further out, we were happy to run third in the end".
"That was hard work", explained Sam Fillmore. "I loved Taupo, but while it was windy there, the condition's suited the Superboats. Here, you had to be on full concentration the whole way around, because the swell and tide along the water front were tricky, and the waves were big and inconsistent out the back".
‘Doosan' continues to lead the Rayglass NZ Offshore Powerboat Championships after two rounds by 100 points over ‘Team 3', with ‘A1 Homes' third, followed by Gisborne winners ‘Fairview' in fourth.
The ‘Doosan' team would like to thank their sponsors for their 2010 NZ Offshore campaign; Doosan Construction Equipment, AB Marine, Placemakers Cook St., Gleeson Builders, Hydraulink, Porter Hire, Schaeffer Premium Oil, John Fillmore Contracting (JFC), and Intertruck.
The next round of the Rayglass NZ Offshore Powerboat Championship will be raced at Gulf Harbour on Auckland's North Shore, Saturday February 20.
www.doosan.co.nz
www.extremeoffshore.co.nz
www.nzoffshore.co.nz
