There was no doubt that Robertson Prestige International Speedway‘s sixth meeting of the season was gonna be a goodie. We’ve had six weeks of fabulous weather, and this week didn’t disappoint for the Manawatu Superstock and Stockcar Champs.
The Superstock were to run three heats to see who could accumulate the most points and take out the championship. 20 cars lined up on the grid - boy there were some well-presented cars, it's fabulous to see so many colours and amazing graphics. First heat it was 971c Jayden Ward across the line followed by 96g Brad McGee and 38v Zane Dyksta. Once again great to see 97p Byron Rowlands trying to mix it up out on the track. Heat two, 669p Brendan Tye held off 126g Asher Rees to take the win, and third was 41p Scott Williams. It was all down to heat three, nobody was giving up on the points chase. 156p Trent James left nothing on the trailer to take the chequered flag, with 26v Kaelin Mooney second and 79p Kyle Rowe in third. At this point it seemed like it could be anybody’s title, and just as everyone was scratching their heads trying to work out the points, a run-off was announced between Mooney against Williams for second and third place. It was all Mooney to take the win and second place overall, with Williams to stand on the podium in third. But what a fabulous night for 669p Brendan Tye taking out the Manawatu Superstock Champs.
But wait there’s more - once again the Superstocks all lined up on the grid for one heart stopping last race 'Dash for Cash'. You knew it was going to be a great battle when two big names, 126g Asher Rees and 971c Jayden Ward were out in front. Very reminiscent of watching their fathers Peter and Graham battling it on many occasions in past years, but it was Asher well out in the lead. You could see Jayden chomping at the bit with every lap, gaining just a little bit more with the fastest lap time of 18.328 seconds, but he just ran out of laps and 126g Asher Rees took the $500 cash. Great to see some awesome camaraderie with 10g Peter Rees swapping cars with 34p Rebecca Barr.
Now to the Manawatu Stockcar Champs. A very clever tactic to confuse competitors by 39p Graham Munn was to throw out a huge smoke screen. Sadly, in hindsight it may not have been a tactic, but possibly a mechanical fault seeing him pull to the infield. 172p Daniel Burmeister managed to weave his way through the pack to take the chequered flag, followed closely by 668p Paul Gaskin and 135p Jaden Hall. Heat two saw chaos as Hall's car ended up sitting completely on top of Gaskin's machine in the first bend. 89p Andrew Boyce decided to have a little bit of time out as well up the wall on his side. Great to see after all the mayhem 134p Rebecca Barr taking the win, second place was 16p Wayne Vercoe and third 48p Josh Mulcahy. Heat three 226p Liam Metcalfe, 133p Tyler Walker and 11p Brendan Rees all came out with togs-on to do a little bit of synchronised swimming/rolling in front of the grandstand. 62p Brock Gommans managed to keep his nose clean to take out the race, second went to Mulcahy and third 9p Zeon McNabb. But it was Palmy’s golden girl 34p Rebecca Barr who went from grid 33 to sixth place, accumulating enough points to take out the Manawatu Stockcar Champs. Second on the podium went to 11g Ricki-Lee Kauri and third to Burmeister after a run-off with 82p Roydon Winstanley.
The little things with wings were out next, the Minisprints. Heat one, 86s Erin Uhlenberg was way too fast for 3nzp Nathan Jefferies and 2nzp Glen McCutcheon. Heat two, 82s Cameron Hurley took the flag over 5s Reagan Ogle and 97p Jordan McLeod. Heat three didn’t run smoothly, with 14p Jayden Clark taking a big tumble between turn 3 and 4. Once it was back into smooth racing it was 95s Duane Hickman that streaked ahead, until only metres from the checked flag he suddenly seemed to lose power, allowing 18p Daniel Nickel to take the win followed by 53v Dylan Smith and McCutcheon. The final saw Nickel steam ahead and comfortably win by quarter of a lap over Jefferies and McCutcheon.
Another big night for the Youth Ministocks with over 30 cars, leading to a massive pileup in the first turn which required a bit of untangling and back into racing. First across the line was 52p Boston Joblin, second place went to 77p Will Carroll-Holland and 48p Keaton Hercoe a very respectable third. Race two saw Carroll-Holland take the checked flag, closely followed by Joblin and 271p Blake Mudge. 294p Charlie Newman worked his magic in race three to take the win, followed closely by 18p Aidan Waihi who seems to work his way through the pack methodically and quietly no matter where he starts on the grid. And do I need to say more about this young man - Joblin in third. No surprises in the fourth race 52p Boston 'Future Panther' Joblin was first, followed by 77p Will Carroll-Holland and 294p Charlie Newman.
Last on the program, the Adult Ministocks. Race one, 18 cars lined up and it was 33p Jono Mouldey that came out triumphant with 94p Jack Beynon in second and 64p Kevin Penn in third. Race two, the feature and a bonus fourth race was taken out by no nonsense 35p Luke Harris - what a night he had. 7v Devon Wilson had a second and a third place, Mouldey had a third and a second place. Other great drives of the night, 64p Kevin Penn a second and 69p Stephen Mann third.
With the silly season just around the corner it was nice up in the corporate box to see a workplace enjoying their Christmas party, I hope they all enjoyed themselves watching the show unfold on the arena below them. I had the pleasure to sit next to one of Pete’s heroes, a man who’s been racing since before the wheel was invented and nobody had heard of black and white photos. He’s a great talker and can spin a yarn as long as your arm, and I learnt very little from sitting next to him last night lol - the legendary Jack Jack. Thank you to Lisa and Shiyanne who keep the corporate box running smoothly and under control. Looking forward to next week - until then, please take the time to be kind.
Word on the Street
By Nicola
Full results - https://speedhive.mylaps.com/Events/3307052
