Atom XI N.Z. Speedboat Champion Again
Arnold Johnson, of Christchurch, probably the most consistent speedboat driver in New Zealand, triumphed again on Saturday, winning the New Zealand 75 cu. in. v-bottom championship race at the New Brighton Power Boat Club’s regatta on Lake Forsyth.
Johnson, in Atom XI, has now won the title four years in succession. On Saturday, he led from start to finish, increasing his lead in each of the six laps over a course of about five-eighths of a mile.
Juella (J. Stokes) and Powerflyte (A. Irvine), both New Brighton club members, were second and third.
lan Burns (North Otago), in Commando, won the New Zealand 140 cu. in. v-bottom championship held yesterday. Anita (P. Calvert), a new boat with the engine at the stern, led from the start, but Commando was in front and never headed after the first lap was completed. Atom XI moved past Anita in the second lap and held Commando on the straights. But Commando, with a 95 cu. in. engine, had more acceleration out of the corners and gradually built up a comfortable lead, to win by 100 yards from Atom XI. Anita was 200 yards further back, in third place. Bel Air (P. Knight), of the New Brighton club, took the South Island unlimited auto hydroplane championship. He overtook Eve 111 (J. McCaa)
in the second lap. Spot On (J. Ryan) moved into second place but could not catch Bel Air, losing ground on the corners. Bel Air won by half a straight from Spot On, with Eve 111 well back for third. J. Sagar, in George, holder of the New Zealand B class outboard hydro title, won the South Island C class petrol outboard title comfortably. Miss Print (D. Cameron), from Lake Rotoiti, holder of the New Zealand unlimited auto v-bottom title, proved to be the fastest boat at the regatta in winning the King
of the Lake (eight fastest boats present) from Bel Air and Spot On. Miss Print, powered by a Corvette 283 h.p. engine, outgunned her rivals coming away from the corners, and was able to corner much more tightly than the hydroplanes. Miss Print again showed her power and acceleration in the drag racing when speedboats raced in pairs over a quarter-mile straight from almost a standing start. Miss Print did the quarter-mile in 10.5 sec—a speed of about 90 m.p.h. across the finish line. Bel Air and Te Mahia (W. Stokes) did the sprint in 11 sec.
Panther (D. Allsop) won the special race for skiffs from Thunderbird (N. McVicar). The round-bottom boats thrilled the crowd of several thousands by rounding the buoys with boats rolling up to 60 degrees.
Atom XI N.Z. Speedboat Champion Again
Press, Volume CIV, Issue 30711, 29 March 1965, Page 17
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