Come Saturday 28 June, it was back to business—hard, fast, unforgiving business—as the fleet took on Legs 11, 12 and 13 in a one-day triple-header that would define who had the stamina, preparation, and pace to stay in contention.
Day 5 delivers drama: Kiwis dig deep in the UIM World Jet Boating Championships
Heading into Leg 11, just 16 boats remained eligible in the Overall Standings—the elite measure of who’s fastest across all classes. Among them were two determined New Zealanders: Kevin Hyde in MPH Racing and Justin Hill in Aftershock. Both had endured the brutal attrition that saw New Zealanders Tom Kelly exit from Overall contention earlier in the event, and Regan Williamson fall away after a DNF in Leg 10.
By the end of Leg 13, both Hyde and Hill had held on. Hyde sits second overall, with a time of 4:28:52—trailing Canadian front-runner Gord Humphrey (Unnatural Disaster) who has put together a commanding cumulative time of 4:07:52. With more than 20 minutes between them and just three legs to go, Hyde’s only shot at the top step of the podium would be if Humphrey suffers a major setback on the final day of racing.
Justin Hill, meanwhile, holds fifth in the Overall Standings, almost an hour behind the leader. He continues to post consistent runs in the CX Class and remains competitive, though a leap up the standings now seems unlikely unless others falter. Still, his resilience and pace across the week have been outstanding.
In terms of Class positions, the Unlimited Class has seen a Kiwi reshuffle. Kevin Hyde has now overtaken fellow New Zealander Regan Williamson for second place in the class. Williamson, who had been one of the fastest early on, suffered a DNF in Leg 11, then failed to start in Legs 12 and 13—we can only hope this has little effect on him going into the last legs of the competition. Hyde’s consistency, coupled with Williamson’s mechanical woes, has firmly established Hyde as New Zealand’s lead entry in Unlimited.
There’s no question who is leading that class though. Gord Humphrey continues to dominate the Unlimited Class, posting the fastest times leg after leg and looking untouchable heading into the final day.
In the A Class, Canadian driver Spencer King (Sunset Shaker) continues his clean sweep at the top. His lead over New Zealand’s Tom Kelly now stretches to over 20 minutes. Kelly retains his second-place position in the class, but a DNS in Leg 13 raises concerns. If mechanical issues persist into Sunday’s final legs, his grip on second could be under threat. Regardless, a first-place class finish is now out of realistic reach.
The CX Class remains the tightest of the three, with Justin Hill still breathing down the neck of Canadian Tanner Froelich (Reverse Elevation). Hill made gains in earlier legs, but the time gap is still enough to make a final push for first difficult. That said, this is the closest class battle involving a Kiwi and a Canadian, and with three legs to go, anything can happen on the river.
Sunday 29 June (Canada time) will see the fleet race Legs 14, 15 and 16—the final push. By the end of the day, we’ll know who the 2025 UIM World Jet Boat Champions are in each class and who takes the coveted places on the Overall Standings podium.
For New Zealand, all eyes are on all four Kiwi competitors, each within a stone’s throw of a Class podium finish, and Hyde for an Overall podium position. The odds of winning are not realistic, but their consistency, grit, and boat speed have kept them in the race. Whatever unfolds in the final runs, all four Kiwis have done the country proud on the rivers of Canada.
Boating New Zealand will continue to provide updates as the 2025 UIM World Jet Boat Championships reach their thrilling conclusion.
