Featherston delivers tight racing, breakout performances, and a strong start to the six round national series.
Featherston sets the tone for the season
The Round 1 2025 New Zealand Jetsprint Championship thundered into life at Featherston’s Kiwispan Jet Sprint Track, shaking the Tauherenikau Racecourse with the familiar rhythm of spray, noise, and raw horsepower. Backed by Gray Bros Concrete, the opener drew crews from across the country and launched a six round campaign that will carry teams through Whanganui, Wānaka, and Stratford. With clear skies and full spectator banks, the season began in the way every fan hopes for: fast times, tight margins, and a few surprises to set the tone.
New teams and new stories in the pits
The day began with a wave of pre season movement. Matt Hareb’s No Limits / Moist-ER #22, part of the Pulse syndicate, rolled out for its championship debut. David Thomas and Anna Hareb joined the LS field in their newly acquired GFX, adding further depth to a busy class.
The biggest shift came from Systems Racing, the outfit rising from the long running PSP Jetsprint team. After years of Group A dominance, the familiar crew unveiled a refreshed identity and an expanded programme. Cooper and Tilly Silverton also stepped into the new NextGen class, a development category already shaping the future of the sport.
Hansen Racing were absent while an engine awaited completion in Canada, but the team still had a presence with Julie Shanks’ daughter Dana navigating for Jackson Hopkins in LS.
A heavy rollover tests the safety systems
Late in the morning the round produced its most dramatic moment. The MTW LS boat Island Time clipped a tyre near the exit channel, barrel rolling across the infield before coming to rest against the safety fence. Driver William Beazley and navigator Lizzie Cook were taken to Wairarapa Hospital in a moderate condition and later confirmed to be walking. The Jetsprint Association praised the response time, with rescue crews on the boat within seconds and all safety systems performing exactly as designed.
Superboats: Newdick strikes first
Southern Jet Superboat opened with Sam Newdick and Shama Putaranui setting the early benchmark in SBQ1, with Reuben Hoeksema and Suzi Katavich close behind and Rob Coley and Toby Edmonds recovering from a slower start. As the qualifiers unfolded, Hoeksema found his rhythm, firing the quickest SBQ2 time and pushing Newdick to within half a second again in SBQ3. SBQ4 delivered mixed conditions, yet Newdick held firm while the rest of the field drifted backwards. Into the elimination rounds the two front-runners tightened the fight, Newdick leading Top 9 before Hoeksema delivered the run of the day in Top 6, edging ahead by just 0.115 seconds. Newdick returned when it counted, sealing the final and the round win, with Hoeksema and Coley completing a familiar top three.
Southern Jet Superboat Superboats
1st – Sam Newdick and Shama Putaranui – Systems Racing
2nd – Reuben Hoeksema and Suzi Katavich – 2JZ Jetsprint Team
3rd – Rob Coley and Toby Edmonds – Poison Ivy Jet Sprint Super Boat
Group A: Silverton leads, Hareb surges
Group A built steadily through the day, with Ollie Silverton and Amanda Kittow setting the tone by topping every qualifier and trimming their times run after run. Behind them, Ross Travers and Jackie Hawker held a firm grip on second while Bryce Baron and Kylie Baron chipped away to stay inside the top three.
The real surge came from Kris Rasmussen and Holly Sutherland, who carved more than nine seconds off his early deficit and became the closest challenger to thetop two by mid-afternoon. Then the story flipped. After a quiet qualifying phase, Matt Hareb and Hayden George stormed into contention, posting the fastest Top 9 time of the entire class before pushing Silverton hard again in the Top 6. By the final, Hareb, Silverton and Rasmussen were the clear standouts, each finding another gear when it mattered.
Group A
1st – Matt Hareb and Hayden George – No Limits Racing (No Limits / Moist-ER #22)
2nd – Ollie Silverton and Amanda Kittow – Systems Racing
3rd – Kris Rasmussen and Holly Sutherland – Venom
MTW LS: Verry and Alder take command
The MTW_LS class settled into a clear rhythm as the round unfolded, with John Verry and Grace Alder taking command after a slower opening run. Their leap from 1:06 to the low 50s set the tone and no one matched their consistency. Early leaders Tim Edhouse and Debbie Edhouse stayed in the hunt, while Paddy Haden and Jay Haden held pace until their challenge faded in the Top 6. The middle of the field produced the best action, especially in Qualifiers 3 and 4 where up to four crews were split by only tenths. The standout surge came from Jackson Hopkins and Dana Doyle, who climbed steadily to take second in the Top 6 before Verry sealed a dominant win.
Mikes Transport Warehouse LS Class
1st – John Verry and Grace Alder – Link ECU Jetsprint Team
2nd – Tim Edhouse and Debbie Edhouse – Liquid Addiction
3rd – Jackson Hopkins and Dana Doyle – Base Racing
MTW Group B: Clarke rises through the chaos
MTW Group B produced one of the most unpredictable storylines of the round. Early pace-setters Andy Darling and Gemma Johnson traded the lead through the qualifiers, with the third qualifier delivering the tightest fight of the day at just 0.058 seconds between them. Then Hamish Clarke found another gear when it mattered. After a confusing first qualifyier, Clarke stormed through the eliminations, topping both sessions and converting that form into a well-earned win. Behind them, Greg Wilson built speed all afternoon, climbing to third in the final. Johnson’s consistency held firm with another podium, rounding out a fiercely contested class.
Group B
1st – Hamish Clarke and Lisa Seator – Loud N Thirsty
2nd – Gemma Johnson and Richard Currie – Black Forest Jet Sprint Team
3rd – Greg Wilson and Katie Wilson – No Idea Racing
NextGen Juniors: the sport’s future takes shape
The NextGen class delivered an energetic mix of raw pace and rapid improvement, a reminder that these young drivers really are the future of Jetsprint racing. Mason Hareb was the standout performer, rising to dominate the second and third training runs with commanding speed. Cooper Silverton held steady pressure early on, consistently second through the first two rounds. Summer Hareb opened strongly but saw form fluctuate until a late resurgence in the fourth qualifier. The Verrys produced some of the closest gaps of the day, with Ruby and Sam split by less than a second in the third training run. Across the board, the class showed impressive development with every run.
THE INSIDE TRACK FROM THE NZ JETSPRINT ASSOCIATION
2025-26 Jetsprints Round 1 FeatherstonRacing fuel, adrenalin, and the roar of V8 jetboats kicked off the 2025-26 Gray Bros Concrete New Zealand Jetsprint Championship in fine style and clear weather at Featherston’s Tauherenikau race-course on Sunday the 7th of December 2025. Southern Jet Superboat drivers Reuben Hoeksema (navigator Suzi Katavich) and Sam Newdick (navigator Shama Putaranui) battled for supremacy all day. Going into the final “Top 3”, Hoeksema looked best with a “Top 6” elapsed time of 47.498 seconds, the quickest ET of the day: So far. In the final Newdick was too good, clocking a loud, spectacular and faultless 47.165 to Hoeksema’s 47.481. Veteran Rob Coley and navigator Toby Edmonds took third with 49.273. Group A featured a close, multi-round tussle between eventual winners Matt Hareb and navigator Hayden George (final round ET 49.366 seconds), defending champions Ollie Silverton and Amanda Kittow (49.550), and Kris Rasmussen and navigator Holly Sutherland (50.019). Competition in the popular MTW LS Class was intense, with five crews in the “Top 6” elimination round separated by less than 1.6 seconds. John Verry and Grace Alder took the win (52.598) ahead of Tim Edhouse and Debbie Edhouse (53.702) followed by Jackson Hopkins and Dana Doyle (53.856). Greg Wilson and navigator Katie Wilson quickened pulses during the MTW Group B final round when they went sideways into a tyre barrier and their boat “No Idea” spun along the grass. Still, third place was a great result for the rookie. Next up, fellow rookie Gemma Johnson and navigator Richard Currie clocked their best ET of the day: 57.434 seconds. It wasn’t good enough. Hamish Clarke and Lisa Seaton took the win, completing their run in 56.957 seconds. The day also featured a training demonstration of the Nextgen class: Single-seat jet sprint boats powered by a jetski engine that’s powerful enough to challenge younger drivers without overtaxing them. Seven drivers shared three boats, driving a shortened course that retained the difficult hairpin and the long front straight. Summer Hareb clocked the quickest ET (46.024 seconds), earning the right to practice a victory lap flying the chequered flag. Cooper Silverton clocked a very close second place with 46.247, while Mason Hareb finished the day with a 56.085. The meeting packed a lot of action into a single day. NZ Jet Sprint Association President Julia Murray summed it up: “That was a great start to the season! We are all super proud of the new Nextgen Class and how they handled their event day training! In the competition classes, one crash with both driver and navigator walking away, maybe a little battered and bruised but otherwise fine. Your heart always sinks when you see a crash. It’s a testament to the safety within the boats, and a relief to have them both home and relatively unscathed.” Racing continues on the 27th of December, with the Lincoln Automatics Round 2 at Shelter View Jet Sprint Park, 598 State Highway 4 (12 km north of Whanganui). |
Looking ahead
Featherston has once again set the standard for the Round 1 2025 New Zealand Jet Sprint Championship. The season now heads north to Whanganui, where the tight, technical Shelter View Track will challenge teams in a different way. Early favourites have emerged, rookies have signalled intent, and the championship already feels as open as it has been in years.
Ready for the next one.
New Zealand Jetsprint Championship
