Jetsprints are unlikely to return to Baypark this summer after concerns were raised regarding the safety of the infield race track.

Soil erosion along the sides of the channels caused shelves to form, endangering drivers in last January's event.

New Zealand Jetsprints Association president Paul Gaston says although he would like to bring the event back to Tauranga, the safety issue needs to be resolved first.

'At this stage I don't see it being reinstated for 2017,” says Paul.

'I don't think there's enough time to get it sorted out properly. There's just a bit too much risk to the teams, drivers, and spectators inside the stadium.”

The issue this year was the rapid degradation of the track, which occurred much faster than in previous years.

'The first time we dug the track was fine, because the soil hadn't been disturbed before. The second time it wasn't too bad, although on the second day the track really copped it. We had to get the excavators back in to sort the track out that time.”

However, this year when the first test boat went around, the walls of the channels began caving in, creating shelves just under the waterline.

'It's quite dangerous, because you can't see them. In places it was ankle deep, causing the boats to behave erratically. Crossing suddenly from deep water to shallow water lifts the boats, even though they don't touch the bottom. And at the speeds these boats are travelling, it's just not safe.”

Paul says a couple of accidents occurred as a result, causing them to put the event on hold until the problem can be resolved.

'At the moment we're trying come up with some engineering solutions to keep the track holding up a little bit longer to complete an event. We've been talking to Baypark since the event earlier this year, and hopefully we'll see the Jetsprints back there in 2018.”