Welcome to my review of the second meeting of the season at Robertson Prestige International Speedway - and what a big night it was! The Robin Pratt Memorial Stockcars were the highlight. This is the trophy every Palmerston North Stockcar driver wishes to have their name on.
Established in 2001, the trophy was donated by David Pratt to commemorate his brother, Robin Bruce Pratt (car 24p), who tragically passed away during a Stockcar race in 2000.
Adult Ministocks
But first on the programme for the night were the Adult Ministocks. With a field of 25, this non-contact class was down to business! Race one was smooth sailing for 35p Luke Harris as he zipped across the line to take the chequered flag, followed closely by 33p Jono Mouldey and 22v Miller Andrews.
69p Stephen Mann took control of the second race to cross the line in first place, with 66p Coltyn Bagrie chasing him all the way. Harris took third. The feature race saw a battle between Mouldey and Harris, who had been driving strongly all night. But it was Jono who took the honours, with 491p Daniel Gubb crossing the line in third.
I'd be remiss if I didn't mention Deegan Lambert, who was having his first night out in the very smart-looking track car. He held his own with four wheels on the ground all night, unlike his dad, who chose to ride on three! With no roll cage around him, that was a very smart move, Deegan!
Sidecars
Which brings me to the next event on the programme: Sidecars! It looked like it was going to be a tough night for the bike boys and girls, as the track wasn't playing ball. 17p Tony 'Horse' Hislop & Aidan Foothead took off like a rocket ship in the first race and held a very commanding lead over 17b Nick Holland & Caleb Holland and 57p James Gerrard & Ash Thorby. How hot are these two at the moment? With the bike looking stunning, 1nz Aaron Rose and Nigel Sturgeon took the flag ahead of crowd favourites 5p Kieran Payne (Wingnut) & Sam McNaught and 26b Justin Lincoln & Dylan Morgan in the second race of the opening round.
Round two and 26b Lincoln & Morgan weren't mucking around, taking the win ahead of 57p Gerrard & Thorby and 13p Willy Jensen & Annalyse Jensen. The second race saw 1nz Aaron and Sturge pull ahead of 17p Horse and 5p Wingnut. On to the feature, and there was no stopping them tonight on a challenging track! 1nz Aaron Rose charged hard, with 17p Horse following and 57p James Gerrard taking third. But it was Aaron and Sturge's night. Well done, boys!
Stockcars - Robin Pratt Memorial
This is what we've been waiting for! The Stockcars were out next, with a huge field of 39 cars. We had two qualifying races; 135p Jaden Hall battled his way to the front to hold the lead ahead of 23p Riki-Lee Kauri and 14p Ikey Hautapu in the first, 48p Josh Mulcahy led just ahead of 43p Quentin Hammond and 31p Jared Davis in the second qualifier.
Finals heat one and we had our first rollover of the night right in front of the grandstand - 15v Callum Sturzaker! Was this the beginning of the P making sure the trophy didn't go to an out-of-town car? Through the carnage, it was 237w Thomas Davis who crossed the line first, followed by 52v Mitchell Lockett and 88p Hunter DeRidder. The pace seemed to be picking up in the second heat, and so was the anticipation! 267p Karlin Painter-Dudley took the win ahead of 9p Zeon McNabb, with 23p Riki-Lee Kauri rounding out the top three.
This was it! All the points were on the line in the third heat, and it seemed like the P cars meant business, hatching and dispatching a couple of leading out-of-town contenders. We had our second rollover of the night, thanks to 76p Cameron Renwick, who had quietly been going around stirring things up for most of the evening. That made two rollovers under his belt! But it was the McNabb brothers taking first and second, with Wade getting the better of Zeon and 135p Jaden Hall taking third.
Now the number-crunching and speculation began, with everyone using their fingers and toes to add up the points! On 96 points, taking home the trophy was 91p Wade McNabb. Second on the podium, with 95 points, was 133p Tyler Walker. And third on the podium, with 89 points, was 82p Roydon Winstanley. Well done to all the competitors, and especially to Wade for taking home the Robin Pratt Memorial Trophy!
Saloons
A good turnout by the Saloons, with 14 cars lining up on the grid. The first race saw 77g Daniel Cook hold off 7g Rodney McIndoe to take the win, with 81p Jonathan Mason rounding out the top three. It was the fast and smooth 3nz Bradley Korff who took the second race win, ahead of 242p Ashleigh King and McIndoe. There was no holding back Korff in the feature, taking a commanding lead over Mason and Cook.
Superstocks
Superstocks were out next! Has anyone told Daniel Burmeister it looks like he's run over the Tooth Fairy? There's a purple haze underneath his 172p car! Anyway, it highlighted the chequered flag very nicely when he took the win in race one, ahead of the two V cars: 38v Zane Dykstra and 26v Kaelin Mooney.
What excitement on the last lap of race two! Coming into turn four, the leading pair were battling it out to the end. 156p Trent James turned right and rolled the out-of-town car, 61w Zane Riddick, but still went on to take the win! That left the door wide open for 34p Rebecca Barr to come through in second, with 5p Gareth Edwards taking third.
It was Barr all the way in the feature! Starting on pole, she held off Mooney and Edwards to take the win. Fabulous driving, Rebecca! You're a role model to every young lady coming up through the classes.
Historic Stockcars
The last class of the night: the oldies! And I don't mean the drivers; I mean the cars! Although it may have been getting past some of the drivers' bedtimes by the end of the meeting! Historic Stockcars are a fun class, with a huge amount of work going into restoring these cars. Being a non-contact class, they race for chocolate fish!
It seems 49v Sam Marsh's sugar levels must have been quite low last night, as he took the chequered flag twice! Elvis Rowlands won the last race of the meeting in his 6p tank, which seemed to be flying last night. 6p Thomas Harper seemed to be confused between turns three and four. I think he may have been looking for the doughnut stand, as he seemed to be going round and round! You've got to love this class!
Well, that's this week's review over. I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoy watching!
Next week on the programme, for those who are old enough to remember, it's Show Week! For those who aren't old enough to remember, we have the Fireworks Spectacular, the Ramp Derby, a crane drop and the Ray Tarrant Sidecar Memorial.
Thanks for taking the time to read this. Remember, always be kind.
Full results - https://speedhive.mylaps.com/Events/3768726
