Caughey extends champs lead
North Canterbury racer Peter Caughey extended his lead in the New Zealand SuperBoat championships with a commanding win despite getting airborne at 120km/h at Waitara on Saturday.
The defending champion Caughey now holds a 14 point lead at the top of the standings with three rounds to race.
The win in Waitara makes it three wins from three events so far this season, with Caughey again proving the quickest on the water in Waitara.
‘‘It’s always nice to win an event with a fastest time of the day,’’ Caughey said.
Wanganui’s Rob Coley threw down the gauntlet with a 40.8 second time early in the day at only the second event he’s raced in his new craft.
However, Coley couldn’t repeat it in the final when he had an issue at the hairpin.
Rotorua’s Nick Berryman had been consistently quick but also had a navigation issue in the final to clock 50.064s
Coley’s moment at the hairpin meant he hit a 42.57s, and Caughey crossed the line in a blinding 40.3s.
‘‘It would have been nice to have got a 39, but we’re racing a championship, we have another round in two weeks and we need to keep the boat straight.
‘‘If it was the last event of the season we’d have gone all out to knock out a 39, as it was we were well pleased with our race.’’
Waitara is a famously tight and tricky track with ‘‘absolutely no space for error’’.
‘‘We always picked this would be a navigator’s track, there were a lot of very tricky sequences, and it’s such a very small track you don’t get any extra time to gather your thoughts.
‘‘In the final there were a couple of places the boat was in the air, hitting wakes at high speed is not easy on the boat or the crew, and makes for an exciting ride to put it mildly.
‘‘Hitting a wake and taking off at 120 or 130kmh as you’re spearing into a turn is alright if you land in the water, but if you don’t – or land crooked – that will end it, right there.’’
Caughey now has a perfect 90 points from the three rounds, also winning in Wanaka and Wanganui, with Berryman and Coley tied for second on 76.
Round four takes place in Hastings on March 11.
The championship then heads to Meremere on March 24 and concludes with round six back in Waitara on April 14.