Powerboat racing: Hat trick delivers historic silverware haul

Triple cup-holder and water speed record-breaker Graeme Weller will be looking to defend the EC Griffith Cup on the Manukau Harbour in two weeks. Photo / Jeremy Ward, www.shot360.co.nz.

West Auckland grand prix hydroplane racer Graeme Weller is enjoying a history-making run.

When Weller drove his grand prix hydroplane, G Force, to victory in the AE Baker Cup at Lake Karapiro two weeks ago, he did something no other racer has managed to achieve.

He became the only man in the history of powerboat racing to simultaneously hold the country's three most prestigious trophies.

By adding the AE Baker Cup to his overflowing trophy cabinet, Weller completed a treble not even legendary racers like Sir Len Southward or the father and son Peter Knights of Christchurch had managed: holding the Masport Cup, AE Baker Cup and the EC Griffith Cup at the same time.

The AE Baker win capped off a remarkable run of success for the quietly spoken West Aucklander.

His golden year began almost exactly 12 months ago, on February 6-7, again at Lake Karapiro.

There, Weller set Kiwi hearts soaring by steering his 2500hp grand prix hydroplane to victory in the coveted EC Griffith Cup. The cup is the oldest motorsport trophy in the Southern Hemisphere and the most sought-after trophy in powerboat racing.

It is the sport's equivalent of rugby's Bledisloe Cup and, as powerboat racing's ultimate symbol of transtasman supremacy, it has been contested between New Zealand and Australian racers since 1912.

The Australians, it is fair to say, have enjoyed the ascendancy more often than not in that time.

In fact, a New Zealand racer did not get his hands on the trophy until the 1950s when Sir Len Southward in Red Head broke the long drought.

Unfortunately, it was to be a short break and, as they say, a long drink between innings. Until Weller's victory, only two other New Zealanders have succeeded in prising the Cup from Aussie hands: Peter Knight jnr in CRC Latimer Lodge in 1989 and Warwick Lupton in Annihilator. Lupton enjoyed Griffith Cup success twice: in 2001 and in 2009.

Weller again enjoyed success at Lake Karapiro this January when he added the prestigious Masport Cup to his trophy cabinet.

While there is not the transtasman element with the Masport as there is with the Griffith, competition is often just as fierce. The Masport Cup's legacy is almost as strong, too - the annually awarded trophy was first competed for 86 years ago.

Weller completed his hat-trick by winning the AE Baker Cup on Karapiro on February 5 and 6. Like the Griffith Cup, the AE Baker is open to both New Zealand and Australian racers, and has a fine heritage.

Putting the icing on the cake, Weller also celebrated the start of 2011 by adding the U.I.M World Grand Prix Hydroplane Water Speed Record to his CV, blasting G Force to a sizzling 165mph (265.5km/h).

While the triple win is good for Weller, it's also good news for his Auckland-Manukau Speedboat Club.

As in that pinnacle of yacht racing, the America's Cup, the winner of both the EC Griffith and the AE Baker Cups gets to choose when and where the next event will be held. (In the case of the Masport Cup, it is the winner's club that gets to choose.)

While it is too soon for dates to be set for either the next Masport or the next AE Baker, the 99th EC Griffith Cup regatta will be held in just two weeks, on March 5 and 6.

In a bonus for Auckland powerboat racing fans, it will be held on the Manukau Harbour, at the Mangere Boating Club, just off the Kiwi Esplanade, and, unlike when the event is held at Karapiro, members of the public will be able to watch the races without having to pay any admission.

Although, at this stage, no Australians have signalled their intention to try to wrest back the Cup, Weller will certainly not have everything his own way. Among his fiercest competitors is likely to be former Griffith Cup winner Lupton.

Lupton is also the current U.I.M World Grand Prix Hydroplane Champion so, while he is trying to snatch the Griffith Cup from Weller, Weller will be looking to secure the bragging rights that come with having beaten a reigning world champion.

The Griffith Cup regatta will be held over the two days of the weekend and will feature around 50 competitors in a variety of different powerboat classes.

These will include Formula One and Two tunnels, Formula Honda offshore boats, V8 Pro-Com racing runabouts and, of course, the glamour grand prix hydroplanes.

Those intending to attend should be aware that, unlike in other events of this type, the feature races for the EC Griffith Cup will be held on the Saturday, not the Sunday.

EC Griffith Cup

What: The oldest motorsport trophy in the Southern Hemisphere

Where: Mangere Boating Club, Manukau Harbour

When: March 5-6

Griffith Cup races: Saturday, March 5

Admission: Free

More info: nzgrandprixhydroplane.com