The pin was pulled early for the fourth round of the Mouthfresh 2018-19 NZ Jet Sprint Championships at Shelterview in Upokongaro today after a series of violent crashes sent a steady stream of drivers and co-drivers off to the ambulance for assessment and caused an unceasing number of time delays.
With no chance of getting through the elimination rounds before the scheduled 6pm cut out time, when the track would be affected by sun-strike, the New Zealand Jetsprint Association (JSA) committee ended the event before the conclusion of the Top 9 eliminator for the Superboats.
That meant the two title contenders in Hamilton's Glen Head and Whanganui's Rob Coley were denied their important head to head competition.
However, safety had to be paramount as a gasping audience had already watched New Plymouth's Group A competitor Deane Riddick and his co-driver brother Aaron cartwheel and barrel-roll up and over the fence on the far side of the track in the most vicious spill seen at Shelterview since Coley's own accident in 2015.
Shortly afterwards at the start of the Superboat's Top 9 eliminator, Te Awamutu's Patrick Haden went too straight on a back course turn and was launched up-and-over the far island to also crash through the barriers and leave the trackside area.
With two ambulances now operating at Shelterview, as Aaron Riddick needed assessment for a sore sternum, it was decided the Top 9 eliminator for the Superboats would be the end of the event, with the Top 6 points for the Group A and B divisions being decided by their already-completed Top 9 results.
But the finale did not even progress that far, as the third Superboat driver out of the chute in Tauranga's Aaron Hansen was coming to the end of his fast run when he skimmed off the side of the track and smashed into a dead stop on the tyre barriers just opposite the old spin-out pool finishline.
It took a long time for the busy safety crews to extract Hansen and shaken navigator Julie-Anne Shanks from their craft, and by then an upset track co-owner Julia Murray had already run out of the control tower to ask the JSA officials to stop the event.
Three violent crashes in the space of four runs, after a day where there had already been a number of spin-outs and engine failures for some drivers, was more than enough for all.
Then followed a spirited drivers meeting between the Superboat wheelmen who will be heading to Wanaka for the final round on April 20.
A proposal to make that event a double points round and run it as a virtual series final understandably did not find favour with Head, leading Coley overall by just one point, and unwilling to open up the prospect of the Whanganui driver overtaking him by finishing on the positive side of a 1-2 result.
Ultimately, it was decided that given the first eliminator was not completed, the standings had to stay where they were.
"Even points today and no double [points] for Wanaka. He keeps a one point lead," Coley said after the meeting.
"He didn't want double points for Wanaka, but at least he knows we were on him and running great."
Although Coley had a spin out of his own on the hairpin during the fifth and final qualifying run, he had already posted what would be the day's fastest time in 46.249s, which was narrowly in front of Head's best effort in 46.256s.
Coley's beaching on the final qualifying run was by no means the worst incident of the afternoon.
And given the destruction he had witnessed, Coley was consoled that he, navigator wife Ange and their Poison Ivy boat had come out of the day in one piece, given they had colleagues on their way to hospital while Riddick's boat was a total write off.
"It's always great to put the boat back on the trailer and be ready for the next one," Coley said.
"It's a tough day at the office, but the boat's going exceptionally well.
"The rotation was tough, I have to say.
"It flowed, but you had to think about where you're going. It was technical."
Coley and Head had swapped 1-2 finishes at the three previous rounds.
If Coley should win at Wanaka with Head finishing runnerup, therefore being tied for season points, the two drivers would have to compete again immediately in a runoff to decide the title.
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The early finish at Shelterview came too late for the two local contenders in the Group A and B divisions, whose title aspirations were upended by engine problems.
Sitting second overall in Group A behind Hamilton's Ollie Silverton, Whanganui's Ross Travers, and by extension his son Shane, who also competes in the Radioactive boat, had their day ended when the motor died on the fourth qualifying run.
It was the most simplest fault which also does the most permanent damage – a rod came loose and punctured the engine sump, which means the whole unit will need to be replaced.
"Threw a lead out the sump. I felt it go," said Ross Travers.
"I didn't see the smoke until it was [stopped] on the island and the smoke passed us."
Mathematically, the Group A title is gone and even finishing in the Top 3 for the season is unlikely, as Silverton (48.736s) finished runnerup for the day after the Top 9 to Christchurch's Simon Gibbon (48.451s), who had been sitting in sixth overall for the series.
There was nothing between Gibbon and Silverton, as the sport's internationally renowned commentator Tim 'Caveman' Barrot marvelled that they posted an identical fastest qualifying time of 48.462s.
"That is unheard of, and I've called this sport for a number of years," he said.
"To have the top two qualifiers in the Top 9 with the exact same time."
Hayden Wilson and navigator navigator Aaron Greeks were having a strong day until calamity struck on the first and only eliminator.
In Group B, Whanganui's Hayden Wilson had the catbird seat coming into Shelterview with an eight point series lead, only to lose the lot when his engine grille fell off during the Top 9 eliminator.
Struggling on, the loss of power meant Wilson finished with a slow 56.942s time, leaving him to finish eighth overall.
The only saving grace was Waikato's Karl Beaver, sixth overall before Shelterview, won the round in 52.544s, ahead of new series leader Tim Edhouse (53.047s), with Beaver denying the Owhango driver a crucial extra point.
"It stripped the threads out the back of the grille," Wilson said, adding he kept on driving because he hoped it was just a reverse bucket.
"It just means the championship's jammed up a little bit.
"We were all pretty close to start with [on qualifying times].
"I knew we couldn't bugger around, there were plenty behind us."
Points for Round 4
Superboats: Incomplete, all drivers awarded 30 points to their season totals.
Group A: 1. Simon Gibbon (Canterbury); 2. Ollie Silverton (Hamilton); 3. Neil Marshall (New Plymouth); 4. Sean Rice (New Plymouth); 5. Tim Coleman (Marton).
Group B: 1. Karl Beaver (Waikato); 2. Tim Edhouse (Owhango); 3. Sam Gray (Carterton); 4. Craig Shaw (Upper Hutt); 5. Daniel Reade (Waitara); 6. Bevan Schuler (Eltham).
