TUESDAY 24 February 2015 20 WEDNESDAY 25 February 2015 18
Nelson Weekly
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Peter Knight’s ‘The Boss’, driven by Raymond Hart.
The Acceleration on Water Festival of Speed Tour continues this weekend with a two day regatta of full-on racing. The Lake Rotoiti Power Boat Club is proud to host the Lake Rotoiti Nelson Lakes Regatta, the third round of a five series national competition. The annual event is continually growing and watersport event manager from Acceleration on Water, Denise Preece, says numbers of those coming to watch last year’s regatta were good. “It was pretty spectacular last time and we were really impressed with the number of people who drove up there. It’s not far from Nelson, only a 50 minute or so drive.” This will be the third time out in the water for drivers, although it’s the first of three rounds for the South Island. The power boat
season kicked off in November last year, with the first round hosted by Wanganui and the second held at Lake Karapiro in Cambridge on February 1. After the Lake Rotoiti Nelson Lakes Regatta, drivers will travel to Hokitika for Easter weekend races and then things will come to a close in Cromwell on Anzac weekend. It’s one of the biggest events on the power boat calendar and will determine who gains the title of 1NZ Champion for 2015. Drivers will be coming from around the country to compete; as far north as Auckland and as far south as Invercargill. “It’s the third round of our national series and I’m currently sitting on third place on the table,” says locally-based driver and 1NZ champion for 2013, Julian Stilwell. “We were first after the first round so I’m quite
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keen to get back up the table. We had a good round last round but it’s quite competitive and quite tough, we’ve got probably seven other guys that are quite capable of winning the round. The biggest thing at Rotoiti is altitude, it’s a lot higher than most of the other venues we race on, which has quite a lot to do with turning. Formula 1 as a class is becoming quite strong nationwide and this is the closest season we’ve ever had, with the most drivers that we’ve had capable of running at the top. It’s very competitive this season compared to others.” For spectators, the chance to see the power boats in action is an opportunity not to be missed. “It’s unique in that it’s unpredictable. When you go car racing you’re on a race
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