Humphrey and Monk share Canterbury Memorial Weekend honours on Waimakariri and Rakaia

Two days of hard racing on the Rakaia and Waimakariri rivers gave Canterbury's jet boat community a Memorial Race Weekend to remember, with fire, attrition, and outstanding driving combining to make the River Racing NZ event one that will be discussed long into the off-season.

Heading into the weekend, Gord Humphrey and Mike Pooley held the top position in the 2026 National Championship Series overall standings. The Canadian world champion and his Kiwi navigator had secured Round 1 at the Otago Rivers Race in March, guiding Unnatural Disaster to overall honours with a combined time of 1:30:22 across the Dart and Matukituki rivers. Riley Scott had finished second at that event, with Justin Hill third. Their strategy heading into Canterbury was straightforward: race clean, avoid costly errors, and let the rest of the field shed time elsewhere.

Justin Hill and navigator Scott Smith carried their own momentum into the Canterbury weekend, having claimed the CX class world title at the Idaho World Jet Boat Championship just a fortnight earlier and finishing second overall behind Humphrey's more powerful Unlimited machine. With both crews converging on the same course, the contest for overall honours had genuine edge to it.

2026 Norm & Simon Bagrie Memorial Race

Rakaia River, Saturday 30 May

The Rakaia has long rewarded composure, and the field was reminded of that almost immediately when drama unfolded before a boat had barely cleared the start. Richard Foster and Brent Millar's U185 caught fire off the start line and was eliminated from the race before it had properly begun. Both crew members walked away unharmed, though the boat was not so fortunate.

For context, the 2025 Bagrie Memorial had itself been assembled at short notice after the NZ Marathon was postponed owing to low river levels, with competitors scrambling to make the start in under a fortnight. Run over four short legs and a full river run, that earlier event saw Richard Foster and Andrew Scott trade blows through the Unlimited class, with Adam Wilton dominating CX and Justin Hill leading A Class.

With the Foster/Millar boat out of the running, the remaining field pushed on across the Rakaia. Brad Monk and Jeff Lancaster were the standout performers, their CX-class machine delivering a measured, composed run to take overall honours in 1:06:28, built from an upstream leg of 33:48 and a downstream return of 32:40. Justin Hill and Josh Hamilton were second overall in A Class, crossing just four seconds later in 1:06:32. Craig Robinson and Liam Robinson completed the overall podium in third, also claiming second in CX, with a combined time of 1:15:50.

Matthew Bagrie and Nick Heney raced in Matt's father's boat for the first time in the FX-Evo class, competing in a memorial event that carries the Bagrie family name. They finished first in class and fifth overall in 1:19:20. In the Unlimited class, Andrew Scott and Nigel Young took class honours in 1:28:02, with Gord Humphrey and Mike Pooley second.

Overall Results

Overall Results

Unlimited Class

Unlimited Class

A Class

A Class

CX Class

CX Class

FX-Evo Class

FX-Evo Class

Penalty DNS DNF indicated where applicable per official results.

2026 Stuart Blanchard Memorial Race

Waimakariri River, Sunday 31 May

The 2025 Stuart Blanchard Memorial had set a demanding benchmark. Richard Foster and Brent Miller had taken that race with a combined time of 46:23 across the Waimakariri's 120-odd kilometres, leaving Andrew Scott just over two minutes back in second. Neither crew was present at Sunday's start, which left the Unlimited class wide open and Humphrey and Pooley well positioned to take full advantage.

Saturday's attrition had cut deeply into the field overnight. Only eight boats lined up on the Waimakariri, and with the course stretching approximately 60 kilometres upstream and 60 kilometres downstream between the SH1 Bridge and the Gorge Bridge, every remaining crew was racing with little margin for error.

Humphrey and Pooley reversed their Saturday Unlimited result to claim the overall win in 0:57:36, splitting the course with near-perfect symmetry across an upstream leg of 28:49 and a downstream of 28:47. Hill and Hamilton were second overall again, finishing in 0:58:49 on a 29:59/28:50 split. Riley Smith and Zane Rich took third overall and the CX class win in 1:17:50, with Craig Robinson and Liam Robinson fourth overall and second in CX at 1:20:47. In FX-Evo, Mike Hanson and Roger Wilson were the sole class finishers, completing the course in 2:05:49.

Overall Results

Overall Results

Unlimited Class

Unlimited Class

A Class

A Class

CX Class

CX Class

FX-Evo Class

FX-Evo Class

Penalty DNS DNF indicated where applicable per official results.