Powerboat racing: Fairview in lead as series heads to Maraetai

Espresso Engineers are strong competitors, but not yet winners. Picture / Cathy Vercoe

Offshore powerboat racers Warren Lewis and Chris Hanley will take a handy lead into this weekend's third round of the Rayglass New Zealand Offshore Powerboat Championship at Maraetai.

Lewis and Handy have won both the opening rounds of the championship (Taupo on January 22 and Gisborne last weekend) in their custom-built Skater 36 Fairview Windows & Doors.

This has given them a handy lead over current New Zealand champions Gary Gleeson and Sam Fillimore in Doosan, who are in second place. The experienced Scott Lewis and Murray Tuffin in their newly renamed Schick Hydro are lying a distant third after a third placing in Taupo and an uncompleted race (DNF) in Gisborne.

In the Superboat Lite class, hot favourite NZBlokes.co.nz, driven by Bob Smith and Flea Koolen, has justified her pre-season popularity by also making it two out of two. However, she didn't have it all her own way in Gisborne with the Red Steel team of Tony Carson and Brook Faulkner leading the race at times and proving extremely competitive - until they hit debris and lost a propeller.

In the 60-mile section of the championship there are two distinct classes: the Super 60s and the Formula Hondas. Both usually provide close, exciting racing and this is likely to be the case again this weekend.

In the Super 60 class, the two unusual-looking "bat boats" Back2Bay6 and Espresso Engineers are the leaders, although the former has won both races so far, partly because the latter damaged a propeller halfway through the Gisborne race.

The Formula Honda class is in a similar situation where, despite close racing, Auckland District Collections have two wins to their name.

After Maraetai, the Rayglass New Zealand Offshore Powerboat Championship moves to Napier (February 26), Whitianga (March 12), Whangarei's Marsden Cove (March 26) and Auckland (April 9) before finishing in Wellington on April 23.