Lake Maraetai, Mangakino | 1–2 November 2025*
The calm waters of Lake Maraetai won’t stay still for long. When the flag drops this weekend, the roar of supercharged V8s will roll through Mangakino’s valley, marking the start of the 2025/26 Lucas Oil Hydro Thunder NZ Series, New Zealand’s ultimate powerboat championship.
Across five rounds from Mangakino to Lake Rotoiti, the country’s best GP hydroplanes will battle for the sport’s most coveted trophy, with returning champions, family dynasties, and fresh contenders all gunning for glory.
A field of heavy hitters
Reigning champion Ken Lupton returns in GP577 Lucas Oil, a 26-foot Henderson/Auld-built missile capable of topping 270 km/h. It’s the same design that last season claimed both the NZ Hydro Thunder title and the Canadian-based Hydroplane Racing League crown, a rare double in international hydroplane racing. With up to 2,000 horsepower from its 510 cu-inch supercharged V8, Lucas Oil remains the benchmark for outright pace and acceleration. Although it is without doubt that it is the skill and determination of Ken Lupton in the driver’s seat that brings the points, and the trophies.
Trying to dethrone him is three-time New Zealand champion David Alexander in GP777 Miss Waverley, a lighter 2019-built Henderson/Auld hull fitted with a 1,300 HP HRL 468 cu engine by Grant Rivers Race Engines. Alexander’s boat is razor-sharp off the turns and built for precision, ideal when gusty crosswinds whip through Mangakino’s narrow basin. After illness forced him out of the Twizel final earlier this year, he’s back, hungry, and chasing a record fourth series title.
Then there’s Scott Coker in GP10 Howzat, fresh from his first Grand Final victory at Lake Karapiro. Built by Bergeron/Henderson/Auld, Coker’s boat trades a little top-end speed for superior mid-corner grip, and it’s that balance that saw him tame last season’s unpredictable conditions.
Steve Preece returns in GP009 Miss Marsden Cove, freshly re-powered by Reece Fish’s FFR Race Engines. Carbon-fibre construction and meticulous engine tuning give Miss Marsden Cove a reputation for consistency, and after a few tough years, Preece says he’s “ready to swing punches again.”
Warwick Lupton returns to the wheel for HRL finale in Beauharnois
And it wouldn’t be Hydro Thunder without a Lupton family twist: Warwick Lupton celebrates his 35th season at the wheel, stepping into GP333, the same hull his son Jack raced last year. Jack himself will field his Canadian GP33, despite suffering transport damage en route and could yet prove the dark horse.
Peter Dudson, meanwhile, takes over Kevin Ireland’s GP21 Gulf Oil Gambler, another 26-foot Auld/Belcer hull boasting 1,500 HP from a 510 cu supercharged V8. Dudson’s known for wringing every decibel out of a boat, and if anyone’s going to push the leaders into the red zone, it’s him. (Steve Symon informs us on the Powerboats New Zealand Supporters and Drivers Facebook group that Peter Dudson’s GP57, before it was sold to American driver, Andrew Tate, has gone to Australia.)
Missing from the list is Andrew Tate, who has graced New Zealand racing over the past few seasons. (Again Steve Symon comes to the rescue, letting us know that Andrew Tate’s hydroplane (originally Peter Dudson’s) has been sold to Tate and Blake Ramsey’s Ramsey Racing and their long-time engine builder Brett Niddrie. Catch the story here. Further, he informs that Ramsey Racing have committed to racing in both the Hydro Thunder series in NZ and the new National Drivers Championship Hydro series in Australia for the 26/27 season.)
Rivalries reignited
Few motorsport stories run deeper than the Lupton–Alexander rivalry. The two Waverley veterans have traded national titles and Masport Cups for over a decade, often separated by tenths of a second. At the 2025 Twizel Hydro Thunder finale, Lupton’s blistering pace met its match in Alexander’s finesse before American driver Andrew Tate claimed a shock win, the fifth different victor in five rounds.
Add in Coker’s resurgence, and Preece’s comeback, and the 2025/26 season is shaping up as the most competitive in series history.
The season ahead
The series runs five rounds:
- Round 1 — Mangakino: 1–2 Nov 2025
- Round 2 — Mangakino: 6–7 Dec 2025
- Round 3 — Twizel (AE Baker Cup): 10–11 Jan 2026
- Round 4 — Karapiro (Masport Cup): 6–7 Feb 2026
- Round 5 — Lake Rotoiti, Nelson: 28 Feb–1 Mar 2026
With every past series champion confirmed, fans can expect top-speed duels exceeding 280 km/h, spray-soaked overtakes, and the deafening thunder that gives the series its name.
