Merry Christmas!

Hope you all have a great Christmas and safe New Years. We are heading into the best part of the season and as they say at WP... get your backside trackside! Personally I hope to get to the NZ Stockcars at Stratford, a couple of big meetings at Rotorua and fingers crossed my first trip back to the Palmy Teams in a few years...

Cheers, Gregobro!

North Island Stockcars, Kihikihi

I have never been to the Kihikihi track before and for some strange reason have always had an impression of it as being a sort of 'Rangeview' type of track. How wrong I was! An impressive set up and not unlike Rotorua in that the track sits in a natural sort of ampitheatre with a high bank at one end. No seating, but masses of room and free access to the pits which was great. Not a bad drive down from Auckland either and the little "Speedway, this way" signs from Te Awamutu were a simple but great guide for anyone like myself who had never been this way before. One hint I will give is don't stand by the fence on turn 1, as by the end of the race you will resemble a Chokito bar. There was alot of track surface sent flying our way!

A big field of about 95 cars had turned up split into 5 groups with a noticeable lack of Palmerston North and Gisborne entrants and a few late withdrawals but still a great field anyway. I dont need to go into great details as the excellent Kihikihi website will no doubt have all the facts and figures so here a just a few random thoughts from the meeting.

The amount of action in the first round of heats was a bit of a surprise in what usually is only a flag race and points grab at most championships. One of the highlights was the Rose Halfpenny v Mike Hohneck battle that resulted in a win for 74r but huge respect for 117a with her never say die attempt to win the heat and give out some punishment! The flawless performances of both 109h Jason Brown and 58m Graham McRobbie who both look strong contenders qualifying easily for todays finals. Also the quality of some of the machinery is awesome. I dont get to see many of the Wellington cars often but the presentation is superb. Also the 517s of Mark Woods would have to be the best looking car I've seen this season. The dominance of the Rotorua cars in qualifying which is something we see quite often but will it follow through to results in the finals? Its good to see a few different cars qualify like 78b Powell, 64a Chestnutt and 484s Barker which will add a new element into the finals.

Unfortunately for me I will have to check Macgors for results as I can't make the meeting today but for my first visit to KK I came away well satisfied and will be making the trip down again in future.

Meeting Rating : 7/10

Blue Group
109h Jason Brown
36r Mike Ranger
1nz Gerry Linklater
29a Steve Gavin
517s Mark Woods
95a Gary Lonergan

Green Group
226s Blair Luscombe
2nz Keith Spanhake
64a Martin Chestnutt
28w Rhys Greig
48m Scott Gallop
78b Andrew Powell

Yellow Group
3nz Steve Axtens
18v Tony James
72s Bevan Phillips
74r Mike Hohneck
117a Rose Halfpenny
484s Haydin Barker

Orange Group
58M Graham McRobbie
168a Billy Neil
81r Damian Orr
89r Paul Mabey
84r Greg Viles
92m Scott Hayward

Purple Group
22w Richard Gaskin
89w Dale Robertson
86r Richard Keijzer
16r Clive Pritchard
81a Rod Smythe
510s Jay Knight

WP Celebrity Stockcar Cup

This meeting each year is for a pretty good cause, the Child Cancer Foundation. A few celebrities turn up for a go in stockcars and this year included Steve Devine, Shane Cameron, April Ieremia, Isa Nacewa, Steven McIvor and Robbie Rakete amoung others. I wasn't expecting much going on previous years performances but when they actually took off some of them showed a bit of pace and there were a few good hits going in from Devine and Dean Lonergan. Breeze DJ Tony Uda was a cut above the rest taking the win from Sky TV's Steven McIvor and Outrageous Fortune actor Antony Starr taking third in a pretty enjoyable race. Michelle Pickles turned in a performance to rival Raybon Kan from a few years ago that could only be described as 'cautious' driving. No shows from Mike King, Matthew Ridge and Tony Veitch which was unfortunate, I almost expected a BMX display from Ridgey. I also think it would be interesting (and easier on the very trusting owners of the stockcars) to try putting the celebs in ministocks for future events perhaps?

The rest of the programme was not too bad including 12 Superstocks, all but one registered to Auckland (46r Jamieson the visitor) and they put on some good racing. 26a Lance Randall and 61a Tim Nicholls first appearances of the season and also Paul Vasey who took the first win of the night in the immaculate looking 351a. Wins also going to 36a Ricky Mitchell and 16a Aaron Headington.

The Saloons and SuperSaloons were racing together in possibly the best racing of the night. Action a plenty, with a few massive hits going in including a pile up at the end of heat 1 and a rather nasty looking accident for Lance Jennings in heat 2. Heat 3 was won by 5a Daniel Knight who is showing so much promise in his rookie season. Easily the most watchable class and what a turnaround from last season. Saloons 13 cars, SuperSaloons 5 cars.

9 Modifieds fronted for some good close racing but I have to mention 3nz Jamie Fox. Last night he stepped up another level and produced some performances that actually had me clapping during a race, this doesn't happen often. Now in this field were some outstanding drivers and in heat one Fox performed an outside passing manoeuver on the leading group of cars that was so spectacular words don't do it justice. In heats 2 + 3 all eyes were on Fox just wondering how far he could push the car. It seemed to me (Im no expert) that as other cars buttoned off for the corners he slowed then powered into them just making up so much ground and really wowing the crowd. Gees I hope he is having as much fun driving the new car as we are having watching it. Performer of the night without a doubt. One to watch in this class will be 78a Ray Chatfield who when he gets it right is one of the fastest on the track.

The Stockcar drivers took over from the celebs for three heats of their own and even minus the 5 Alleycats put on a great show. Visitor 9k was dealt to in all three races and had a fairly torrid night but it was a massive hit on 7a Aaron Cooper by 168a Billy Neill that possibly ranks as the biggest of the season so far, ouch!

Also racing last night were 20 MiniStox and a small field of 7 Streetstocks. Overall not a bad meeting, not a huge crowd but it was pretty cold and standing on the bank at cemetery bend got pretty windy by meetings end. I had wanted to go to Huntly for the second night of the teams but with WP only 5 mins away and the hassle it took to get to Huntly on Friday, the charity meeting won the day. I think its good that WP do meetings like this, hopefully there will be some mainstream coverage of the meet too as a little thank you for their efforts.

Meeting rating : 6/10

Huntly Teams Night 1

If, like me, you drove from Auckland then you deserve a pat on the back for perseverance having had to endure some appalling traffic just to get to Huntly and then a five car pile-up before Manukau on the return trip home added just a bit more travelling time to the trip. Last season I went to this meeting with high hopes and was left with a feeling it hadn't quite sparked like it should have (review is here if you want to read it, and even the season before here). The crowd for Friday nights racing was bigger than last year but still a bit down on what I would think a teams racing meeting would drag in. Because it seems that Wellington and Palmerston North have such a stranglehold over the national teams title that will be contested in Wellington again this season we don't see as much Stockcar teams racing as we would like up here so you would think this would be a must see.

This year the teams taking part were Northland, Auckland, Waikato, Bay Park, Rotorua and Hawkes Bay. The draw for groups was done in the crowd pre-meeting with A, WR and M in one group and R, H and B in the other. I wont go into detail about each race but the racing was definitely up a notch from last season and some big hits went in from the very first race and ended with a great R v B race to round out the programme.



Race 1 : Auckland Alleycats v Baypark Bulldogs
Any thoughts that Auckland would be rusty after a few seasons off were blown away in just a few short laps as they took control immediately and eventually reducing Baypark to one mobile car. 29a Steve Gavin was the Auckland runner and even with half of the flash new-look Alleycats body missing from the car, took the win. Nick Krisnic was left on the infield for this one but with damage to Carlos Chesnutt would probably be out for the second heat. The points total for this race changed three times and a Baypark car was credited with 30 points who didn't appear to finish as he crossed the line ahead of Gavin and didn't complete the last lap?
Auckland 150 v Baypark 30



Race 2 : Waikato Raiders v Meeanee Maulers
There was trouble for both teams before the race even started and a few cars failed to make it to the starters flag. A brutal race with the points fairly evenly spread but Justin Hutchby was the difference between the two even with the always entertaining Beatle Tarrant hitting anything he could even with a heavily damaged tank.
Waikato 110 v Meeanee 85



Race 3 : Northern Bulls v Auckland Alleycats
Before the meeting I went into the pits and was a little worried when I saw Northland had only 3 cars and one of them without a body on it! Two of their drivers had been unable to front and their places were filled by 55h Neville Hazelton and a Hawkes Bay driver. Auckland must have been feeling confident of an easy win but after a few laps Juanita Leveridge was leading and looking good with all Northland cars still going but a team as classy as Auckland weren't about to let the first upset of the night happen and eventually managed to bring home a win. A much better race than I had expected. Nick Krisnic set a new lap record and raced as the runner which was a surprise.
Auckland 155 v Northland 40



Race 4 : Rotorua Rascals v Waikato Raiders
Always a good match up but after a few seasons the trend has been towards Rotorua wins and this race wasn't going to change that trend. A huge hit on Mike Hohneck by Brendon Ashton brought on the red lights but wasn't enough for Waikato leaving them in danger of not making the semis. Rotorua looked strong as always.
Rotorua 155 v Waikato 50



Race 5 : Baypark Bulldogs v Northern Bulls
Baypark were going to need a huge win to make sure of defending their title and they pulled it off but 55h Neville Hazelton was left to circulate up until the final lap when he was finally dealt to but was still able to cross the line and deny Baypark a valuable 50 points, not enough in the end to deny the Bulldogs a semi's position.
Baypark 145 v Northland 50



Race 6 : Meeanee Maulers v Rotorua Rascals
Easily the best race of the night with so much action and great hits including a massive hit on Steve Macpherson when he was leading by Reagan O'Brien which got a huge roar from the crowd. Not enough to deny Rotorua the victory though but if points were awarded for effort and entertainment Meeanee would be the champs!
Meeanee 000 v Rotorua 000

So the semis will be a repeat of the first and last races which coincidentally were the best races of the night.
Semi Finals:
Auckland Alleycats v Baypark Bulldogs
Rotorua Rascals V Meeanee Maulers

Overall not a bad nights racing by the teams, a bit of confusion reigned in some teams and some painful mistimed shots but it is early in the season and there were a number of cars with big damage from incidents that didn't seem so bad shows the power of some of the hits going in. Now at risk of upsetting the 'Huntly hit squad' as someone called them last week, the support programme was a bit shabby. The TQ's were okay and had good numbers but are they what teams racing fans come to see? The Production Saloons were not up to much. In fact some of them looked only good enough for a ride round in grandad's paddock not racing in what should be a big speedway meeting. MiniStox also had a few heats. I think this meeting could be huge every season with a couple more teams and less filler, or in fact no filler. I'm sure the Palmy teams event started off small and now is the meeting to aspire to but something is not quite 'clicking' with this meeting.

In light of last weeks 'lively discussion' on Macgors, I hope the Huntly faithful don't attack anyone who gives a less than glowing review because sometimes you should perhaps take on board what's being said and stop alienating the people sitting in the crowd. There always seems to be this response that you have to be a driver or volunteer or connected to the club to have any right to say anything and that the role of being a spectator is to sit there and 'say nowt' or bugger off if you don't like it. When did speedway suddenly become above critcism of any kind?

Meeting rating : 6.5/10

Not shaken, not stirred.

A martini without the Olive. Something missing, that best describes last nights meeting at Waikaraka Park, the Ollie Browne Superstock Spectacular. This was round one of three, in memory of Ollie Browne who was described in the programme as the 'grand dame of stockcars' in a well written article by Ian Abrahams although it did have an unfortunate typo that read "her gasket did a lap of Waikaraka" when her casket did a circuit of WP as part of her funeral service. On paper the meeting was a great idea but during the week I learned that not only would the support programme be missing the Modifieds but also the Stockcars... alarm bells were ringing.

The success of this meeting then would almost solely rely on how many SuperStocks were in attendance and after suggesting at last weeks meeting that 30 would be there, the figure dropped during the week to perhaps 23, then a solid 17 only to have 13 in the pits and then 12 making it to the track after engine problems forced 96h Scott Redfern out before a race had even begun. 'Overpromise, underdeliver' is a classic way of losing business and going by the amount of people, including me, who left before 10pm it was not a great night. The small crowd size would also have indicated before the meeting even started that people are wising up to the hyperbole.

Of the cars who did turn up, 6 from Auckland, 5 from Huntly and Stan Hickey from Rotorua in the brand new Gordge, the racing wasn't too bad and a decent hit from Hickey on 414a Warwick Ansty sending him into and then up on top of the wall got the blood pumping. Ansty gave back as good as he got too in the third heat which sent Hickey to the infield for a few laps but the general attrition rate in all three heats meant action was spread pretty thin throughout the night. In fact everything was spread pretty thin in most of the classes and had a feel of a club night to me.

I think the WP promotion team should reconsider any programme that has Stockcars on standdown at this stage of the season, or at least be sure they have a pretty good replacement for them. Someone also has to look into why the predictions for Superstock numbers are so woefully out of sync with who is actually going to appear. For the record the rest of the programme involved 10 Streetstocks, 15 Saloons, 20 MiniStox, 4 Sidecars who were reduced to 3 after the warm ups and about 7 SuperSaloons. Of these the Saloons easily provided the best action with 59a winning two heats and performing a spectacular flip in the feature.

There was also a great buzz around the Hickey car in the pits pre-meeting which I haven't seen since Neil McCoard turned up with the Concoard a few seasons back. Quite a crowd gathered around checking out the new look 515r and I have to say it looked the goods. It seems quite narrow. Well done to everyone involved and for daring to try something a bit different. Lets hope something a bit different happens on the track in the next few weeks at WP...

Meeting rating : 5/10

Flashback 010

4a Peter Dawson



Next to my desk at work I've got a few photos of favourite stockcars and a while ago a guy I work with said "Jesus, do those tanks still race?" or something along those lines referring to a Podjursky tank. Little did I know that Peter Dawson used to race a stockcar during the early 70's at Waikaraka Park. I asked him if he had any photos of his car and he brought some in this week. Going by some of the photos he was lucky enough to race against some of the best in the business. Here are a few photos of a completely different era of stockcar racing and a great writeup in the newspaper to make any driver proud.












Previous flashbacks:

Flashback 009
Flashback 008
Flashback 007
Flashback 006
Flashback 005
Flashback 004
Flashback 003
Flashback 002
Flashback 001