After dubious-looking weather on a great qualifying night, Sunday dawned fine and we all looked forward to another spectacular night of teams racing. Arriving at the track, it was great to see a band on the infield to liven up the atmosphere as the crowds poured in. During the Grand Parade you could feel the electricity in the air - each team was here to win, and it was going to be a great night of racing.
Tier 2 Semi-Finals
Wanganui Warriors v Palmerston North Panthers
The Warriors were up against it when 81v Max Holloway was removed for attacking off the infield, but looked to have evened things out when 3nzp William Humphries ended up sitting up on the wall courtesy of 38v Zane Dykstra. Sadly the two cars were hooked together and no matter how hard Zane tried he couldn’t unhook his car, so both drivers walked to the infield. However the Panthers were unable to prevent 166v Hayden Hart taking the win for the Wanganui Warriors much to the delight of the crowd.
Result: 166v Hayden Hart, 34p Rebecca Barr, 79p Kyle Rowe, 41p Scott Williams, 26v Kaelin Mooney
Warriors 110, Panthers 85
Great Britain Lions v Baypark Busters
The race kicked off with 515gb Frankie Wainman Jr up and over in turn one after spinning 19m Kerry Remnant around and interlocking the bumpers, sadly both Hall of Fame drivers add to make the long trek to the infield. Maybe because of sun strike, race leader 77m Luke Alderdice didn’t see the 364gb car rolling backwards across the track and clobbered him. The impact caused 77m to roll, leaving the lead wide open for Great Britain to take the win courtesy of 175gb Karl Hawkins drag racing to the line.
Result: 175gb Karl Hawkins, 777m Dan Pollock, 5m Elias Dykstra, 555gb Frankie Wainman Jr Jr
Lions 120, Busters 65
Tier 1 Semi-Finals
Gisborne Giants v Canterbury Glen Eagles
This was always going to be a cracker - the first time these two teams have met at the ENZED Superstock Teams Champs. Sadly 971c Jayden Ward was a non-starter with gearbox problems and obviously devastated. 808c Scott Tenant rolled 144g Tim Ross early on, but 5g Josh Prentice struck back by rolling the race leader 557c Darrel Wallace. This left it wide open for 126g Asher Rees to take the win and had the crowd on their feet, what an epic race.
Result: 126g Asher Rees, 808c Scott Tennant, 2nzg Ethan Rees, 5g Josh Prentice, 317c Jay Holtham
Giants 145, Glen Eagles 50
Stratford Scrappers v Rotorua Rebels
Both teams threw everything at this race, with the Stratford Scrappers taking the win. After 30 years since their last victory, do they have a chance to get the hands on the silverware?
Result: 307s Matt Picard, 14r AJ Axtens, 87s Brodie James, 9r Brent Stewart, 89s Tyler James
Scrappers 135, Rebels 60
Finals
5th & 6th: Wanganui Warriors v Canterbury Glen Eagles
A quick turnaround saw 81v Max Holloway dealt a double eagle sandwich from 808c Scott Tennant and 557c Darrell Wallace, to put him up the wall. Once again 166v Hayden Hart was unable to be stopped, taking the win for fifth place over the Glen Eagles. How good is that for the V?
Result: 166v Hayden Hart, 991c Harley Robb, 14c James Thian, 38v Zane Dykstra, 26v Kaelin Mooney
Warriors 130, Glen Eagles 65
3rd & 4th: Great Britain Lions v Rotorua Rebels
A brutal race kicked off with 9r Brent Stewart put 175gb Karl Hawkins up the fence, breaking one of the posts and ripping the mesh fence - what a hit. Working in tandem the Wainman's were able to disable all four Rebels cars, 231gb Tom Bennett crossing the line to give the Great Britain Lions an ecstatic third place on the podium.
Result: 213gb Tom Bennett, 555gb Frankie Wainman Jr Jr
Lions 140, Rebels 0
1st & 2nd: Gisborne Giants v Stratford Scrappers
The race of the night for first and second place on the podium, Stratford scrappers versus the Gisborne Giants. Could the boys from the Giants take out the win for recently retired Peter Rees on his birthday? There is only one answer, and that was yes. Both teams threw everything at this race, including the kitchen sink. The boys from the Scrappers looked terribly disappointed at the end, which they shouldn’t be - they did their families, crews, track, not to mention the whole of the Naki proud. But at the end of the night, it was the Gisborne Giants - what a team. 2nzg Ethan and 126g Asher Rees seem to drive as one, instinctively knowing what the other is going to do. 5g Josh Prentice is a machine all on his own. 235g Regan Penn, how good is it to take the chequered flag in the last race. 144g Tim Ross and 96g Brad McGee should also be very proud of the work you have done over the weekend for the team. Congratulations the Gisborne Giants this year's ENZED Superstock Teams Champions.
Result: 235g Regan Penn, 126g Asher Rees, 28s Blair Uhlenberg, 69s Brad Podjursky, 2nzg Ethan Rees
Giants 150, Scrappers 45
During the night we were also entertained with international Super Saloon drivers from the USA and Australia battling New Zealand's finest. They were clocked at 119km/hr around the track, and it was great to see such a big field of them.
There are also two very special trophies that are given out at the end of the night - the Spike Richardson memorial trophy recognizing the most outstanding or entertaining driver of the weekend. This year it went to 166v Hayden Hart, very well deserved. The second trophy is the Stephen Penn memorial rookie of the year - 45r Dion Henderson was this year’s recipient.
I would also like to mention 19m Kerry Remnant, a true gentleman of the sport. This was his 30th consecutive year of racing at the Teams Champs, and sadly he announced his retirement from teams but will continue to race. Kerry, you are a true legend of teams racing.
And lastly to Sam the drone operator and his now fiancé who got engaged on the infield in front of a full Central Energy Trust Arena, and the person who got David to propose for him over the loudspeaker, congratulations and well done.
Now we can all take a deep breath, calm down and be grateful for Puk, Amanda, Bruce, all of the staff and people who help put on this amazing show once a year - not to mention the drivers, crews and families - without all of your hard work there would be no show. Thousands of fans around the world are very grateful to you all. Until next year.
Word on the Street
By Nicola
Full results - https://speedhive.mylaps.com/Events/3344603
