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