fter Covid cancelled the series last year, drivers had plenty of pent-up adrenaline to unleash. In the big boys’ toys MouthFRESH Superboats class, defending champions and pre-round favourites Hamilton’s Sam Newdick and navigator Shama Putaranui’s 1000hp boat held out against the hard-charging superboat of Tauranga’s Aaron Hansen and Julie-Anne Shanks. superboat, driven by Gisborne’s Blake Briant, was third. Returning to racing after a break of a few years, Briant and navigator Cassandra Norman were the fastest boat going into the Top Three Shootout. However, a wrong turn in their final outing knocked them off the top of the podium.
