Cromie swaps jet boat for McLaren

Former jet boat river racer Nigel Cromie will swap his 1500hp jet turbine-powered race boat for a 462hp McLaren 570S GT4 when the Rodin Cars Super GT Series gets underway at Highlands Motorsport Park in January.
 
The Christchurch based driver is relatively new to circuit racing, albeit with a start in Karting before taking to the flowing rivers of Canada and New Zealand. In 2019 he and navigator Bruce Alexander placed third at the world championships event in Canada.
 
“It’ll actually be nice to race something that has brakes!” quipped Cromie.
 
Jet boat river racing involves high-powered race boats navigating the challenging waterways of New Zealand and North America at speeds of over 200km/hr.
 
“There aren’t really too many similarities between the jet boat and the McLaren. Obviously the boat is incredibly fast – We could get 242km/hr out of the boat when the conditions are right.”
 
“It’ll be nice to race something without getting wet and certainly having had a couple of big accidents in the boat, the car will be a lot safer.”
 
Cromie says he is eager to get behind the wheel of his Cromie Motor Group McLaren 570S GT4, when the series gets underway in January.
 
“The field of cars and drivers looks very exciting and there are some quality drivers in the field. I think we’re going to four of the best circuits in New Zealand, and the compactness of the calendar of the summer is really great.”
 
“I’ve got no real expectations for the season, would like to be consistently in the mid pack in the GT4 class.”
 
“The car is new, we’ve just had it sign written up at Hampton Downs. Now it’s just a matter of waiting for the Covid-19 levels to allow us to get up there and do some testing.”
 
“Until then, I have been doing some driver training down here at Ruapuna with Chris Hyde which has been really great.”
 
The Rodin Cars Super GT Series will consist of four rounds over three months commencing January 15, 2022, at Highlands in Cromwell.
 
This will be followed by the second round at the Mike Pero Motorsport Park, Rupauna in Christchurch on January 22-23, before heading to Hampton Downs on February 12-13. The final round will be in Taupo on March 26-27, 2022.