Hydroplanes at more than 250km/h, offshore boats racing around the coast, jetsprints carving through purpose built channels and river racers taking on some of the South Island’s fastest water. New Zealand’s 2026 to 2027 powerboat racing season covers four very different forms of the sport, with racing stretching from September through to March.
Beyond this season, New Zealand will host the UIM World Jet Boat Championship in November 2027, while another world level marathon is planned for November 2028, subject to UIM ratification.
Circuit powerboat racing
The Lucas Oil Hydro Thunder NZ Series is down from five events to three this season. Lake Maraetai at Mangakino opens proceedings in early December, followed by the Masport Cup at Lake Karapiro in February and the AE Baker Cup at Lake Rotoiti, near St Arnaud, in March.
Jack Lupton is the current Masport Cup holder in JLM, taking over from his brother Ken, who won the trophy the previous year. Ken Lupton still holds the AE Baker Cup after winning it at Lake Rotoiti in 2025. The scheduled January 2026 contest at Lake Ruataniwha, Twizel, was abandoned without a result as the weather deteriorated, leaving the trophy with Lupton.
Hydro Thunder weekends are about much more than the Grand Prix hydroplanes. Formula One Tunnels, Series 3000 and Modified Hydroplanes are also part of the circuit programme, while Pro Com and Pro Stock crews race for their own silverware.
The pits are a big part of these meetings. Crews and families work around the boats between races, while in some of the smaller classes you will see them standing in the water, holding boats before the start. Spectators can get close to the machinery and crews, which helps explain why the meetings pull good crowds.
Among the other trophies is the Matt Morrison Memorial Trophy, currently held by Karl Weller and Rat Attack 001. There is also a junior class for drivers aged 12 to 15, putting the next generation on the same programme as some of the fastest circuit boats in the country.
| Round | Date | Venue |
|---|---|---|
| Round 1 | 5–7 December 2026 | Lake Maraetai, Mangakino |
| Round 2, Masport Cup | 5–7 February 2027 | Lake Karapiro |
| Round 3, AE Baker Cup | 13–14 March 2027 | Lake Rotoiti, St Arnaud |
New Zealand Offshore Powerboating
The New Zealand Offshore Powerboat Association’s season carries its own recent milestone. Gulf Harbour returned to the calendar for 2025/26 after more than twelve years without an Auckland round, and this year’s opener keeps the city in the mix. Organisers have listed the rest of the season as Marsden Cove, Napier, Wellington and a Whitianga finale in March.
Two of those venues are a change from the completed 2025/26 season, which visited Taupō and Gisborne rather than Marsden Cove and Wellington. Gulf Harbour, Napier and Whitianga are all proven offshore venues with good spectator viewing. Marsden Cove and Wellington should add something different, while still giving spectators plenty of opportunity to watch the racing from shore.
Last season’s title fights are a reminder of how tight the fleet is. Rainbow Haulage, driven by Colin Dunn and Darren Butterworth, won the Superboat 600 and 100 Mile championship on 4,450 points, 1,375 clear of Langslow Engineering. Sports 200 went to GEN2, with Mikey Smith and Shane Rumens aboard, who took the title on season-long consistency after Triple Trouble had actually led the class following the Napier round. Both crews return among the favourites.
| Round | Date | Venue |
|---|---|---|
| Round 1 | 17 October 2026 | Gulf Harbour |
| Round 2 | November 2026, TBC | Marsden Cove |
| Round 3 | 30–31 January 2027 | Napier |
| Round 4 | 27 February 2027 | Wellington |
| Round 5, Finale | 13 March 2027 | Whitianga |
New Zealand Jetsprint Championship
The NZ Jetsprint Championship runs five rounds this season, one fewer than 2025-26’s six, opening at Featherston’s Kiwispan track on 6 December before a double visit to Wanganui’s Shelter View circuit, then Timaru, then a Wānaka finale on 28 March. It is the most technical of the four codes to watch trackside, with boats navigating narrow channels at speed rather than covering open water.
There will also be plenty of familiar names to chase when the new season gets underway. Four national titles were decided across the main classes in 2025-26, with Sam Newdick and Shama Putaranui taking the Southern Jet Superboats championship. Ollie Silverton and Amanda Kittow claimed Group A, Paddy and Jay Haden won the MTW LS Class, while Gemma Johnson and Richard Currie finished the season as MTW Group B champions.
The next generation was represented by Cooper Silverton, who was crowned the 2025-26 Next Gen Champion. With Ollie also taking a senior class title, the Silverton name finished the season with championships at two different levels of New Zealand jetsprinting.
| Round | Date | Venue |
|---|---|---|
| Round 1 | 6 December 2026 | Featherston |
| Round 2 | 27 December 2026 | Wanganui |
| Round 3 | 21 February 2027 | Wanganui |
| Round 4 | 14 March 2027 | Timaru |
| Round 5, Finale | 28 March 2027 | Wānaka |
River Racing
River racing’s calendar looks different this year. Rather than building toward a single marathon event, the New Zealand Jet Boat River Racing Association has moved to a full-season points format for 2026, opening with the Southland Rivers Race on the Ōreti River in late September and the Coast to Coast River Race across the Waiau and Grey Rivers in November. The committee has said stepping back from a marathon year is deliberate, giving the sport time to prepare ahead of hosting duties in 2027 and, ratification permitting, 2028.
| Event | Date | Venue |
|---|---|---|
| Southland Rivers Race | 26 September 2026 | Ōreti River |
| Coast to Coast River Race | 18–21 November 2026 | Waiau and Grey Rivers |
The 2027 UIM World Jet Boat Championship runs 19 to 28 November, starting in Queenstown and finishing in Christchurch, roughly 1,000km of river country through Central Otago and Canterbury. It is the first time New Zealand has hosted the event, and it will be big.
