After a few years absence, the NZ Offshore series returned to sunny Gisborne and what a fantastic weekend it was.
Gisborne turned on the weather and the locals turned on the hospitality, making this event an absolute pleasure to be part of.
We kicked off the weekend on Friday with a meet and greet at NZHL Gisborne, chatting to local clients and signing posters.
Brent Mitchell and his team put in a huge effort all weekend making sure their guests were well looked after for the entire weekend, including a barbecue down on the beach to watch the race.
Gisborne always turn on a fantastic event and this weekend was no different, with a street parade through the main street only 2 hours before race start it was a big effort from the organisers but everything went so well and we could see from the smiles on all the kids faces it was definitely worth the effort.
As for the racing ? Well, This Picture below tells it all !!!
Two evenly matched Super boat 400’s doing battle side by side at over 150 kph with no room for error – we applaud the skill level of both crews especially after watching the on-board footage.
To battle this hard and this close at these speeds takes incredible skill, especially when you consider our driver (Chris) is only 19 years old and Hi Jinx driver (Jason) is in his debut season.
All credit to the skill and experience of the throttle men in these two boats – Karl (NZHL) and Scott (Hi Jinx)
Gisborne race was the traditional offshore race with one 100 mile race and traditionally we would have expected swell with chop on top – However – not this time.
With a 0.3m swell and not a lot of chop Round 3 of the NZOPA series in Gisborne was flat and therefore once again suited to Hi Jinx Racing.
Our boys achieved a great start and lead the first lap but with Hi Jinx superior flat water speed, they could only hold the lead for the first lap with Hi Jinx getting past on the straight along the beachfront.
Hi Jinx stretched out to a 200mtr lead and managed to hold that until the wind picked up slightly at the end of the race.
With only 3 laps to go NZHL started to come alive as the breeze slowly increased, reducing the lead and finishing only 3 seconds behind Hi Jinx at the end of the race.
Another win for Hi Jinx and another 2nd place for NZHL with Refurbgroup not far behind.
Overall results were also impressive (All competitors) with Hi Jinx finishing 3rd Overall, NZHL 4th and Refurbgroup 5th showing everyone these little 400hp cats are very competitive.
Now we get ready for round 4 in Marsden Cove on the 18th March. Traditionally a flat race so well suited to Hi Jinx, but our boys will still be giving their all to grab that all elusive win.
As we say: Winning is not Everything – Wanting to Win Is !!!
So get up to Marsden cove next weekend and cheer our boys on