IT TAKES SOME BALLS TO PILOT A JETSPRINT BOAT THROUGH A TIGHT, MUDDY COURSE. THE ENZED UIM JETSPRINT WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP PLAYED HOST TO THE BALLSIEST

Tauranga’s ASB Baypark Stadium usually roars to the sound of motorsport set on terra firma, but it recently swapped wheels for hulls, playing host to the second and final round of the ENZED Union Internationale Motonautique (UIM) Jetsprint World Championship. Each year, the stadium accommodates the only jetsprint event held under lights, and, when you cram a jetsprint track into a stadium and add some international flavour, you have a recipe for success. For the 2016 edition, teams from New Zealand, Australia, Canada, and the US were all present in both the PSP Suntuf Group A and Suzuki Superboats classes. Each country was just as eager as the next to gain a firm grip on the trophy and the title of ‘World Champion’ after the first round at Meremere a week before. Friday was set aside for crews to get a feel for the track, remember the rotation, and double-check their nerves of steel. When it comes to jetsprinting, if you want to see action, you should check out the practice and qualifying rounds, as these usually contain more thrills and spills than the elimination part of the programme. Jetsprinting could be likened to piloting a bathtub with a big block in the back end around the world’s craziest luge track. The boats accelerate at 2.8G, and will go from 0 to 130kph in less than two seconds. The course was tight, twisty, and demanding, as well as being a little shallower than many of the drivers anticipated — in some places, it was only halfway AARON MAI JOHN FAULKNER up the rescue crew’s shins. The biggest challenge facing the teams was just getting the correct rotation memorized. When you are doing 130kph and driving a boat that has the reaction time of a rattlesnake, running a complete rotation is easier said than done. As if the drivers didn’t have enough on their plate already, shelves of dirt were lying just beneath the murky surface, meaning certain places commanded extra caution, no matter how tempted drivers were to shave the bank. The unforgiving course had one final unexpected twist in store for the drivers: powerful 180psi jet units continually shifted the dirt around the track, constantly changing the entire course between runs. Adding all these factors into the mix meant that a lot of boats ended up high and dry on the grass or penguin sliding along the clay racetrack. The organizers were a little worried that more boats were beaching than finishing, so the call was made later that night to dredge the track a little more deeply. The practice and qualifying stages were exciting to say the least, already removing the favourites in Group A from the picture after a spectacular fiery crash that bent their boat beyond repair. Blake Briant and Kate Hoogerbrug were sent to hospital for precautionary X-rays, but the crash visibly rocked the confidence of some of the other drivers. As the confidence among crews returned, so did the penguin sliding across the grass and wrong turns — all part of pushing the envelope. It seemed that posting a solid time was easier said than done,