What a night at the Robertson Prestige International Speedway on March 14th - action galore, spills, thrills and even an engagement on the track before we had time to get a hot dog. Josh Henderson, swinger for 21p Glen Murray, got down on one knee for 27b swinger Kayla Meehan and she said yes. Congratulations to both of you; may you have many more years of swinging together.
A huge field of over 20 Minisprints lined up for their North Island Champs, and you just knew there was some good racing ahead. Heat one was all about 14p Jayden Clark, winning by over half a lap from 97p Jordan McLeod and 3nzp Daniel Nickel. 26p Aaron Sowry had some engine problems in heat two, which created a little bit of mayhem and saw 81p Glen McCutcheon do a half cartwheel, only to land back on his wheels and carry on racing. But it was three Stratford cars taking the placings; 82s Cameron Hurley followed by 85s Erin Uhlenberg, and third to 10s Jonathon Noonan. It’s always nice to see 95s Dwayne Hickman take the flag, which he did in heat three, followed by McCutcheon and 53v Roger Smith.
And finally on to the feature for the Top Cat Contracting North Island Championship: 25 laps, 16 cars all wanting the title. 81p Glen McCutcheon was quick to take the lead for 11 laps, but sadly retired to the infield with mechanical issues. 14p Jayden Clark then held the lead until lap 19 when a huge cloud of smoke brought his car to a standstill. One last restart, and this time it was 2nzs Regan Ogle taking the lead and the title over 10s Jonno Noonan and 97p Jordan McLeod. It was fabulous racing and congratulations to the three podium sitters.
The Manawatu Sidecar Champs was keenly contested between 15 riders and swingers. With the track in superb condition for the bikes you knew we were going to see some great riding, and boy we weren’t disappointed. I love it when the crowd around me gasps and cheers at some of the passing manoeuvres these boys (and girls) do, remembering they do not have brakes and are only centimetres away from the track.
Despite it being only the second time out on the track this season, riding a bike he’s just built for a friend, 97p Mike Zachan & Ben Franklin won the opening heat ahead of 7p Matt Stewart & Nick Dunn and 17p Horse & Aidan Foothead. The second heat saw a jaw-dropping battle for the lead, and it was 8p Rob Miller & Jaxon Hannan who eventually triumphed over 89p Wayne Lett & Max Lett, followed by 21p Glen Murray & Josh Henderson. 3nzk David Gannon & Daryl Pearce took the win in the third heat over 5p Wingnut & Sam McNaught and 33b Lance Beets & Kieran Pitcher.
The second round heats were won again by 3nzk Gannon & Pearce, 97p Zachan & Franklin and 8p Miller & Hannan. 89p Wayne & Max Lett won the opening heat of the third and final round of qualifying. The second heat saw 97p Zachan & Franklin take the flag by millimetres from 33b Beets & Pitcher - what a heart-stopper that race was. 7p Stewart & Dunn had a fabulous win over 8p Miller & Hannan in the third heat. Four finalists were found, with 21p Murray & Henderson added after victory in a last-chance repechage.
The final race for the AFC Motorcycles Manawatu Sidecar Champs was contested over four laps by five bikes, with the track in perfect condition. The night belonged to the big H himself: 8p Rob Miller & Jaxon Hannan, a superb team who are now off to Australia to represent New Zealand in the equivalent of the Worlds in Sidecars. We’re very proud of you boys - show those Aussies and Americans what it’s like to get a bit of jandal. In second place, the gentleman himself, 97p Mike Zachan and Ben Franklin. You’d never know they’ve been sitting on the couch eating chips for the last six months, and I bet they’re a bit sore today - this class takes a toll on your body. Hope to see you boys back more often. And to round out the podium, 89p Wayne Lett & Max Lett, who had a superb night’s racing and should be very proud.
The Saloon King of the Arena was next, with 13 cars all wanting the crown. 7g Rodney McIndoe stamped his mark on the first heat with a very convincing half-lap lead over 23s Mike Adamson and 3nzs Bradley Korff. Heat two saw 23p Shane Laking decide to show us how a Saloon car can ride the wall before coming down, spinning across the track and ending up on the grass in spectacular fashion. It was 1nzg Ethan Cook in first, Korff in second, and third place went to 829s Jarrod MacBeth.
The final saw a superb battle between 1nzg, 3nzs and 7g with positions changing each lap. Sadly we saw 17p Ella Hislop have a little bit of an oops into the pit gate. On the restart, crossing the line to take the crown was 3nzs Bradley Korff, followed by 1nzg Ethan Cook, with 7g Rodney McIndoe rounding out the top three.
An added bit of fun for the night was two races of Girls vs Boys Stockcar teams. 55b Asha Penn was rolled in front of the grandstand courtesy of 172p Daniel Burmester, and 134p Rebecca Barr was gently escorted up the wall by 33t Trazarn Ryland-Annabell, who seemed to get a lot of enjoyment untangling his car from Rebecca’s and continuing to race on. He also managed to put 24p Jessica Powell up the wall into turn three - he was obviously having the utmost fun and still managed to cross the line in third place. 1 to the Cowboys, 0 to the Cowgirls.
In the second race it was great to see 134p Rebecca Barr getting a little payback, putting 46v Aston Mooney up the wall. But once again it was the Cowboys who took the win. Cowboys 2, Cowgirls 0. Although the boys may have won on the track, we do have to take into consideration the presentation of the girls’ cars - they were immaculately uniformed and not a piece of duct tape in sight. So, without being biased in one way or another, I feel the girls should add five points to their total for presentation, giving the win to the Cowgirls. Well done girls.
If this wasn’t enough excitement for the night, we also had a field of 21 Stockcars, which is fabulous considering the other meetings being held around the country. The opening race saw 68p Keanu Wallace across the line first, followed by 668p Paul Gaskin and 6p Rinaldo Van Der Mescht. The planets and stars must have been aligning - look at all those sixes crossing the line. 91p Wade McNabb won the second race followed by 172p Daniel Burmester and 134p Rebecca Barr. McNabb completed his excellent night with victory in the feature ahead of Burmester and 76p Cameron Renwick.
With the end of the season in sight and a lot more exciting racing to come, let’s hope the weather gods play nice. Be kind everyone and see you next week.
Word on the Street
By Nicola
Full results - https://speedhive.mylaps.com/Events/3427064
