Ken Lupton wants the EC Griffith Cup, and he is making no secret of it.
With the 2026 running of Australasia's most prestigious powerboat race still the better part of four months away, Lupton has confirmed he will be on the start line. It is a deliberate return to a contest that has defined much of his competitive life, and the announcement carries the weight of someone who knows exactly what he is coming back for.
His credentials in Grand Prix Hydroplane racing are formidable by any measure. Two decades of competition have taken him across the Tasman and well beyond, producing a record that includes multiple major titles and back-to-back Hydroplane Racing League championships in North America. The EC Griffith Cup, however, has remained out of reach, and that absence from his trophy cabinet is clearly not sitting well.
The history between Lupton and the Cup makes his intent all the more pointed. In 2008, racing Annihilator 3, he pushed all the way to second place, beaten only by his own father, Warwick Lupton. In 2016, he crossed the finish line second again, a result that followed a controversial disqualification later overturned. Two near-misses, years apart, against a backdrop of sustained excellence at the highest levels of the sport.
That pattern is hard to ignore. One of the world's best hydroplane drivers has come close to this trophy more than once, and by declaring his intentions this early he has already shaped the conversation around the 2026 event.
The challenge is out there.
