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[BOAT] Pretty leads world title chase..
by Sean Henshelwood
(Archived)
Pretty leads world titles after round one
Rnd#1 UIM World Jetsprint Championships - Meremere, New Zealand
January 4, 2009
The opening round [of two] of the 2008 UIM World Jetsprint Championships has been completed at Meremere on the North Island of New Zealand with Australian V8 Supercar star Nathan Pretty upholding Australian honour after taking a narrow win in the final of today's event, which signalled the end of the first half of the championship series.
Pitted against the best drivers in the world (predominantly local New Zealand stars), Pretty faced off against former world champion Slade Stanley and reigning New Zealand champion Rex Briant. Campaigning True Blue Too alongside Brooke Dixon, Pretty, the man who defeated the Kiwis on home soil over 12 months ago in Australia, set the top mark for International Group A with Briant second and Stanley third.
For former world champion Stanley, it was a strong end to what was a difficult start to his campaign, the Wagga local destroying his engine in opening practice yesterday, and after planning to join Tremayne Jukes in his Australian built Stingray, elected to join Greg 'Crusty' Mercier in Az-U-Do, the boat that finished runner-up in the 2008 Australian championships, Stanley putting in a stunning finals run to take the final podium step.
Whilst quick early, Mercier was unable to stick with the top New Zealanders and just narrowly missed the finals cut, pipped again by the same driver that defeated him just a week prior at Wanganui, fellow Victorian Brooke Dixon who was classified eighth by the close of Sunday's competition.
"It was a hard track to learn," Brooke admitted post-race. "A lot of drivers went the wrong way, two even in the finals - it was just a difficult track to pick up. I had a great race, was looking really good and very happy with how I was driving, but stuffed up the top eight, but all in all it was a good weekend for the True Blue team."
For the rest of the Australian teams, it was a matter of dialling themselves in in preparation for next weeks second and final round.
"The pace of the local drivers was stunning" Australian Jetsprint President Greg Harriman admitted. "They've certainly lifted their game since we last saw them. The top two boats were in the high 49s, the rest of the field in the 50-54 second bracket, it was that close.."
Sadly for Harriman, he was unable to crack the top 16, joining fellow Aussies Mick Manini, Brooke Lucas and Jukes outside of the final group. "There were 32 teams in Group A so it was pretty competitive," Harriman confirmed. "TJ [Jukes] was looking for a run in the final 16, but he crashed out in the final heat."
Like Stanley, reigning Australian Group A champion Phonsy Mullan was forced to compete Sunday's finals in someone elses boat, having destroyed an engine in his all new Triple X Superboat. After surveying the damage, Mullan slipped into Peter Freckleton's Superboat for qualifying, but decided late Saturday that he would return to his Group A boat alongside regular team-mate Ted Sygidus; sadly the rule regulators would not allow it, Mullan instead punting Freckleton's boat to eighth.
For multiple Australian champion Phil Dixon, he too missed the final four shootout, instead watching Wanganui foes Richard Burt and veteran Peter Caughey battle for the victory more than two seconds faster than the True Blue Racing pilot. At the close of competition Caughey held on to the win, with Burt a close second, Dixon ultimately classified fifth.
More information as it comes to hand..
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