Faram at last!

TWS New Zealand Superstock Title
Huntly Speedway, January 28 + 29





At last years NZ title held at Rotorua, Joe Faram was possibly the first man eliminated, sent skyward on the infamous turn 1 push, failing to complete a single lap. Fast forward a year and Faram is the last man standing after a run-off for first place at the hugely successful 2011-12 version of the New Zealand title, completed last night at Huntly Speedway. A fairytale comeback for one of the most popular competitors in the class. Also a fairly amazing feat considering he was the only non-Palmerston North car with a realistic shot at the title heading into heat three. Two of those P cars did manage to fill out the rest of the podium, 79p Kerry Humphrey in second and 7p Shane Penn rising from the ashes of the repercharge to claim third spot.

A big crowd was in fairly early for the finals night's first act of attrition, to reduce 28 last chance hopefuls in the repercharge down to two, to complete the line up of finalists in the three heat championship. A few cars failed to front for various reasons and were replaced including 31p McCabe, 16b Jude and 10r McRobbie. This meant 115h, 87n, 5r, 24h and 591p Wayne Hemi would get one more go, albeit from the rear of the field. 87n Stanaway required a 3 minute bell but was unable to fix a brake line and pulled to the infield. Green lights and with only 2 chaotic laps completed, most of the front runners had been eliminated including both Ngatai brothers, Karl Ross and Kerry Remnant. 7p Shane Penn escaped the carnage to lead from 33r Robbie Mabey but of more interest was 591p Wayne Hemi having powered his way up to 8th place already. The race restarted and then it was a full on drag race for those prized first two places. Penn cleared out to consolidate his place but 5n Nick Fowler and 23h Lance Ashton battled for second with Fowler's last corner lunge at Ashton not enough to qualify. Hemi's progress was halted somewhat with a ride over the wheel of 16h Headington a few laps previous but at least we saw a glimpse of what the new Red Waka can really do.

Championship Heat 1
41b Jason Long required the 3 minute bell but had he known what was coming he might have just quietly headed for the infield! Turns 1 and 2 the pack managed to negotiate okay but like a steam train the pack barrelled in to turn 3, 1nz Dale Ewers was spun and dragged causing a pile up which 7n Craig Boote narrowly managed to avoid, unfortunately for 41b Long he rode up over the front of 62p Joblin and was rolled. Also involved was 5v Taylor who received damage to his roll cage ending his night, 118r Bryce Steiner DNF, and the very unlucky 8h Dave Roigard who was sent infield for moving on the red light. 8p Miers and 1nz Ewers were left on the track but were firmly last. 92r Kyle Fraser lead 23h, 4b, 7p, 2nz, 79p and 4p Chad Ace. The next drama to play out took two real prospects from the competition, what started as a simple spin of 58p Peter Bengsten by 135r Scott Hewson ended up with the 58p rolled and the 135r perched on top. Hewson was given the chance to drive the car off the 58p but failed with DNFs recorded for both of them. Between red lights 23h Lance Ashton had been spun out of the leading pack and Craig Boote had moved up to 8th with Fraser still leading. The next stanza of racing claimed both 54p Bevan Humphrey and 8p Miers both with terminal issues ending their nights. 92r Fraser went wide on turn three letting both 2nz Scott Joblin and 4b Faram through the gap with 2 laps to go the 2nz was putting distance between himself and the whole field. A big lunge by 79p Kerry Humphrey in turn 3 gained him 2 vital spots at the expense of Shane Penn and Kyle Fraser. Palmy cars would finish 1, 3, 4, 6 and 7th but a post race relegation for 2nz Joblin would drop him two places. 88p Jack Miers recorded the fastest lap, 16.99 seconds while 282s Phil Ogle moved from grid 23 up to 9th.
Heat 1 Top 10: 4b Faram, 79p Humphrey, 2nz Joblin, 7p Penn, 92r Fraser, 72p Joblin, 14p Ace, 7n Boote, 282s Ogle, 89w Robertson

Championship Heat 2
In contrast to the full on action of heat 1, heat two was a straight out drag race and points grab. Early spins for 92r Fraser and 282s Phil Ogle were costly as was 32p Graeme Barr's wall ride courtesy of 118r Steiner but unluckiest of all was 7n Craig Boote puncturing the right rear early in the race and relying on other cars retiring to gain any sort of decent points. 41b Long retired early while 72p Simon Joblin lead for most of the race until held up by Fraser, 88p Jack Miers inheriting the lead, recording the fastest lap again for heat two but unable to hold off Joblin who recaptured the lead late in the race. 8h Dave Roigard impressed with a solid third place. 14p Ace spun dropping a few spots while 32p Barr also dropped 5 spots from his starting grid. The result left 5 of the 6 top cars from Palmy with only 4b Joe Faram sitting in third on points the odd one out. Heat 2 Top 10 : 72p Joblin, 88p Miers, 8h Roigard, 16r Osborne, 79p Humphrey, 37r Hunter, 4b Faram, 135r Hewson, 7p Penn, 62p A Joblin. Points after two heats 79p 47pts, 72p 47pts, 4b 46pts, 7p 41pts, 88p 40pts, 2nz 38pts

Championship Heat 3
Any person in their right mind looking at the points after two heats knew we were going to have a new champion and he was most likely registered to Palmerston North, also that Joe Faram was going to have a very short and spectacular third heat. Anyone with a video camera was focusing it on the bright orange tri-rail. Perhaps the only upset would be some of the Rotorua cars might get up for a podium spot if they worked together. Faram and Osborne both appeared out of the pits with new colour schemes on the front and rear of the cars in the faint hope of avoiding detection. Faram had a grid 18 start, Osborne 25 but the obvious favourites for the title Humphrey and Joblin were on 12 + 13. 23h Ashton was slow off the start and 7n Boote was sent into the wall, 135r Hewson was first to be spun and Faram quickly moved up to 6th place. The major action erupted as Boote had a shot at 62p, 118r Steiner took 4b Faram to the wall in a shot that could so easily have ended his run, luckily able to refire and continue. 1nz Ewers took 72p Joblin into the wall between turns 3 + 4 and 88p Miers smashed into the pair, facing backwards into the wall where his race, and title hopes would end. Red lights to remove 72p Simon Joblin. At this stage Faram was still running, Simon Joblin was out, Scott Joblin was tangled up with Boote on the infield and Shane Penn had moved his way up to 5th spot. 58p Bengsten held up 16r Osborne and both 135r and 118r starting put in some big shots and most of the damage to the Palmy cars, Steiner making a telling blow by spinning 79p. Red lights for Rees and Miers who were stalled at either ends of the track, Miers not having moved since the first red. 32p Barr was leading but points-wise it was 79p Humphrey on 67, Penn on 65 and Faram on 64 having lasted longer than most people expected. The final couple of laps involved a big group of the leading cars all coming together on turn 3 including Osborne, Humphrey, Steiner and Joblin, Faram seized the opportunity and ultimately made the move that would win him the title, passing the entire group with a daring outside manoeuvre. Despite some blocking from Bengsten on the final lap, Faram would end up tied for 1st with Humphrey on 68pts requiring the runoff that he would deservedly win. Rotorua cars did manage to get up behind 2nz Scott Joblin for 5th and 6th, Ken Hunter and Mark Osborne respectively.
Heat 3 Top 10 : 32p Barr, 282s Ogle, 7p Penn, 37r Hunter, 4b Faram, 79p Humphrey, 135r Hewson, 16r Osborne, 92r Fraser, 2nz Joblin

An incredibly popular win going by the reception the Hawkes Bay driver received on his flag lap after outpacing Kerry Humphrey in the runoff. It did make me wonder how many more accolades this talented driver may have collected over the years had he not been out in the wilderness as the lone Gisborne representative at so many meetings. It's unimportant now, having finally captured the big one. Well done also to the Huntly club for putting on a great finals night, plenty of atmosphere, strong programme, a fantastic heat three finale requiring a runoff for the title with excellent commentary, buildup and updates throughout the night - a vital part of any championship.

Meeting rating : 8.5/10
Programme : $5, good quality, collectable
Driver of the night : 4b Joe Faram, quite an achievement
Parking : $2, with security
Best Moment : The first two laps of that repercharge, carnage!

NZ Superstock Title, Night 1

Part of being innovative these days means you have to have a hide like a rhino, there are always going to be masses of critics ready to kick you when you are down and that I'm sure is the feeling in the Red Waka camp today following a qualifying night that can best be described as 'below expectation...' Rumours that the Waka was leaking more oil than the Rena, that the engine was blown, the steering wiped out, it was made of pastry and that Elvis was actually driving summed up the fervour for Waka news during the night. Hemi wasn't the only one of course to miss the cut, a number of pre-meeting favourites will now be in a star-studded repercharge that almost resembles a finals night field. There was plenty more action than your usual qualifying night, delayed 24 hours because of rain, 82 cars split into four groups battled it out on a surface that rutted up early on and brought out the best in some drivers whilst others will be rueing missed opportunities.

Red Group
99r Mark Decke was officially the first DNF with a heat 1, lap 1 incident ending his night. DNFs for 31p Andy McCabe, 46w Alan Levien and a puncture for the reigning champ 1nz Dale Ewers. The win went to 72p Simon Joblin ahead of 16r, 19c, 73h and Joe Faram in 4b. Heat 2 had early punctures for 19c Ngatai and 48n Nicholls which would ultimately cost them both there chances of qualifying, 72p Simon Joblin taking another win from Faram, Ewers and McCabe in a fast close race. 7p Shane Penn had recorded a 6th in heat one but a broken driveshaft gave him a DNF for heat 2. It was about 10.10pm by the time heat three for this group emerged from the pits with quite a few gaps in the grid. Points leaders were Joblin 42pts, Faram 37pts, 16r 35pts, 73h 34pts, 5v on 30pts and 1nz hanging in there on 27pts. The top six would qualify. An early shunt to the wall and a spin later in the race would eliminate 73h Ross from the qualifiers while 55h Allen Van Den Ven was happy to stir up trouble almost getting Joblin on lap 2. Penn recorded the win but not enough points to get through.
Top 6 : 4b Faram, 72p Joblin, 16r Osborne, 5v Taylor, 1nz Ewers, 54p Humphrey
Notable omissions: 31p, 48n, 7p, 19c

Blue Group
Heat 1 would claim 10b Sam Bartholomew, a wild ride over 5n Nick Fowler was followed a lap later by rolling over 118r Bryce Steiner in turn 4. 18n Shane Harwood was next to go involved in a pile up with 73a, 712p and the stationary 33h. All three removed on a red light. The big story from this heat though was after a race long battle with 282s Phil Ogle, 591p Wayne Hemi lost steering hit the wall and then retired to the infield on about lap 9. 41b Jason Long lead from start to finish ahead of 282s Ogle, 23h Ashton, 71p Mellsop and 2nz Scott Joblin. Heat 2 had a big pile up on the back straight sending race one winner Long spinning on to the infield and then rear of field, but once again that man Hemi in the wrong place with a collapsed front end, wheels akimbo bringing on the reds. 118r Bryce Steiner would lead early but Joblin would chase him down for the win. 79p Kerry Humphrey home 3rd. 5n Nick Fowler was up to 2nd place mid race from grid 20 until a spin left him 10th and struggling for points. Going into the final heat the leading group were 2nz and 282s tied on 38pts, 41b Long on 37, 79p Humphrey and 71p Mellsop tied on 35, 118r Steiny on 33pts and local hope 8h Dave Roigard had quietly amassed 30pts. Heat 3 had Scott Joblin on pole but a bad start dropped him down to about 12th place, 6k Graeme Ward put a huge hit on 71p Shane Mellsop all but rolling him and bring on the red lights. 79p Kerry Humphrey had the lead and would hold it to the finish. Hemis night ended with a spin and stall on turn 2, 3 heats, 0 points unbelievable. Ward wasnt finished stirring and an expensive spin on 38r Redfern ended his hopes along with 23h Ashton who ended up stranded in the turn 4 wall.
Top 6 : 282s Ogle, 79p Humphrey, 2nz Joblin, 41b Long, 118r Steiner, 8h Roigard
Notable omissions: 5n, 591p, 18n

Yellow Group
Scott Hewson took the lead early and impressed with a start to finish win. 32p Graeme Barr had a early spin but would manage to recover to 7th with the fastest lap of the night, a 16.95 second flyer. Costly spins for 11r, 10p, 52w Paul Fairbrother dropped them all well down the pack. Kyle Fraser came home second from Canterbury's 55c Matt Ngatai. 7n Craig Boote seemed cautious in this heat with 4p Chad Ace biting at his heels for the duration pipping him on the line for 4th. Heat 2 had a nasty prang into the wall for 5k Brad Ridland leaving him knocked out for a moment and bringing the race to a halt. 37b Gary Foley and 55c Ngatai had managed to get caught up in the same incident. Upon the green it settle into a big flag race with everyone playing safe, I did notice the 7n taking very wide lines into the turns leaving himself exposed to a tap and spin but nothing eventuated. Barr wins race with , Boote, Hewson, Ace and Wade the top 5. Points going into heat 3 had 135r Hewson on 40, 7n Boote on 37, 4p Chad Ace and Graeme Barr both on 36, followed by Fraser, Wade and Ngatai. 16h Headington was on pole for heat 3 and first casualty was 859p Wade tangling with 10p Asher Rees and retiring. 4p Ace had a spin and when 32p Barr attempted to spin leader Headington they both dropped a number of places. 115h Darren Short spun and brought on the red lights just as he refired. 87r Elsworth took the win from Barr and out of nowhere 8p Scott Miers had done enough to tie for 6th spot overall with 55c Ngatai requiring a runoff that Miers would win.
Top 6 : 32p Barr, 135r Hewson, 7n Boote, 92r Fraser, 4p Ace, 8p Miers
Notable omissions : 859p, 87r, 62h

Orange Group
The track surface started cutting up in the corners for Orange groups first heat and it would catch out 87n Thomas Stanaway spinning, digging in and ending up on his side. A big pile up in turns 3 + 4 with Kerry Remnant going over the bonnet of 66b Meechy causing the Bay driver to retire infield. 58p Bengsten was spun early from a front grid start and spent the race gaining back places eventually up to about 12th. 89w Dale Robertson taking the win but the fastest lap to 2nd placed 88p Jack Miers, Rees home 3rd ahead of 37r Hunter. Heat 2 for this group I noted as being 'very tame' spins were about it for 71h Wootton, 27p Gargan and 10r McRobbie. The win went to 37r Ken Hunter from yet another Joblin, this time 62p Adam, 3nz Rees, 58p Bengsten and 89w Robertson. Heat three for orange group finally rolled out of the gate at 10.55pm! 27p Phillip Gargan took a wild ride down the length of the back straight dragged along by the pack, 10r McRobbie spun almost taking out 89w Robertson. Mid way through and 16b Steve Jude was leading and in with a good qualifying chance only to be spun by Gargan and then after refiring and trying to gain race speed the frontrunners caught him on turn 3 with Miers sending him heavily into the wall bringing on the reds. Unfortunately a long delay before the red lights came on with Jude's thumbs down, he was hit by 66b. Two laps away from qualifying, Jude was the hard luck story from this group. 88p Miers took the win.
Top 6 : 62p Joblin, 88p Miers, 37r Hunter, 3nz Rees, 89w Robertson, 58p Bengsten
Notable omissions: 16b, 10r, 6h, 87n

So there you have it, a great night of qualifying with a few surprises getting through, the repercharge first up tonight should be a ripper, 28 cars vying for the last two spots in the finals. Hopefully the meeting wont drag as much as it did last night, not getting home until 1.15am, the support programme was too much. Also my pet peeves, the cars parked on the infield before the meeting so you cant have a look at them or photograph them. The pits were empty and void of any atmosphere unless as Smeats pointed out to me, head down to "Ngatai Fun Park" at the end of the pits, at least there was something to do there! Also reading out results while the race is still going - WE CANT HEAR YOU! Wait until the cars are leaving the track and then give us the race result. We were awash with points last night, some right some wrong it was very hard to keep track. Apart from those minor points, a bloody good meeting and well above what I expected for night 1, roll on the finals...

Damn the rain!

It's looking like a rainout at Huntly for tonights NZ Superstock qualifying meeting. So here are a few flashbacks to previous NZ Superstock titles I've been to until I can put up some fresh content from Huntly. Turn on the sun!




Underwhelming
2006 at Waikaraka Park here

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Del and Rex Neild's visit to Dunedin
2007 at Dunedin here

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Hurricane Warning!
2010 at Kihikihi here

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Four Nights in Paradise
2011 at Rotorua here

Like father, like son

Auckland Stockcar Title, January 21
Waikaraka Park, Auckland






Stone the flamin' crows as Alf would say, not only did the Auckland Stockcar drivers work together to get one of their own home for the local stockcar title, they annihilated all the visitors and made it a 1-2-3 Auckland podium! Im lovin' it. It could have something to do with the fierce warning I saw Marissa Gough shouting out in the pits before the meeting "if any Auckland car takes out another Auckland car they are gonna get the bash from me!" A field of 37 cars turned up to contest the Auckland Stockcar title, including a decent amount of Huntly cars and four Rotorua drivers. Split into two groups, the top 10 from each group would go through and then a repercharge for the remaining cars to get the final 10 for a 30 car field, then 3 x heats to find the champion.

Group 1, heat 1
91a Paul Chatfield was spun in front of the whole field and had a massive effort to claw his way back to 5th place to qualify. Biggest disappointment was 14r Matt Nilsson who was actually leading for a couple of laps (flag racer) being spun late in the race and slipping to 11th place. 2nz Bernie Fox managed to finish 4th even with a puncture. Biggest casualties, 15a Carl Campbell and 81r Damian Orr dnf. 69h Callum Whiter took an impressive win from grid 15.
Top 10 qualifiers : 69h, 12a, 57a, 2nz, 91a, 7a, 34h, 8a, 85a, 137a

Group 2, heat 1
Defending champ 88h Justin Hutchby was in this group but a race long battle with 51a Mark McNabb meant neither would get through. Hutch almost had McNabb over on his side on lap 1 and a flat right front tyre ended his chances. 8r Scott Fredrickson took the lead early and was a convincing winner. 55h Neville Hazeltons hit on the 981r tank of Steve Gray cost him his place finishing 11th. 61a Leroy Neill took two huge hits, one from Hazelton and one from 59a Mason who was letting nothing get in his way.
Top 10 qualifiers : 8r, 95a, 59a, 29a, 5h, 981r, 78h, 67a, 10a, 22a

Repercharge
Last chance to dance and there were a few cars you wouldn't expect in this race. From the green flag 42h Lance Gribble was on the brakes holding up the inside row and when both 51a McNabb and 88h Hutchby were leading with neither wanting to go ahead of the other, the race turned into slow motion! 13h Jamie Symon was spun in front of the pack and then it was a mad scramble for those remaining spots to qualify. Both Hutchby and 81r Orr made slow progress but did enough to get through, 15a Campbell and 51a McNabb both dnf. 14r Matt Nilssons night ended here in a huge cloud of smoke. Eleven cars qualified from the repercharge for a 31 car field.
Top 11 qualifiers : 55h, 69a, 11h, 65a, 88h, 81r, 77a, 38a, 51h, 28a, 13h

Finals Heat 1
It only took until turn 3 of lap 1 before the first pile up and rollover. 10a Chanelle Gordon spun in front of a group of cars including 28a, 11h, 5h and 13h with 38a Ryan Smith left with nowhere to go except over onto his side. 95a Gary Lonergan was just able to sneak round the outside. Both 38a Ryan and 5h Stenson removed to the infield. On the red light 59a Trevor Mason had taken the lead and would eventually take the chequered flag. 88h Hutchby would retire soon after spinning 95a Lonergan who was able to hook reverse and take Hutch to the wall, they had been running in 2nd and 3rd place. 8r Scott Fredrickson was taken to the infield losing valuable places, while 69h Callum White would smash into a spinning 28h. 67a Krizo was slowed by a puncture but biggest stirrer of this heat was 85a Shannon Savage, spinning 34h Anton Leek and landing a huge hit on 51h Alistair Van Amsterdam. Biggest movers were 81r Damian Orr from grid 24 and 12a Mike Stanaway from grid 30 up to 4th.
Top 10 : 59a, 81r, 29a, 12a, 77a, 95a, 137a, 55h, 2nz, 8a

Finals Heat 2
This heat had plenty of action with Anton Leek and 22a Leigh Cossey having a great race long battle. 29a Scott Tennant had the early lead until 8r Fredrikson took over but a spinning 67a couldnt be avoided, then a massive hit from 85a Savage sent Fredrikson into the wall taking a while to refire the car. 69a Dave Seymore's promising start ended in turn 2, stuck in the wall for a number of laps before rejoining the race. 88h Hutchy served 137a Jamie Fergusson into the wall in turn 1 almost tipping him over before once again retiring. Tennant held on for the win from 81r Orr, Lonergan, Mason and Fox.
Top 10 : 29a, 81r, 59a, 95a, 2nz, 57a, 65a, 91a, 12a, 69h

Finals Heat 3
Going into the final heat there was a three way tie for first between 81r Orr, 29a Tennant and 59a Mason with 95a Lonergan 6pts adrift in 4th. There were about 5 empty spaces on the starting grid. 12a Mike Stanaway sitting 6th on points was on pole postion with Lonergan handily placed on grid 4 while Tennant was starting well back on grid 26, Orr (13) Fox (18) and Mason on grid 24. On the green 85a Shannon Savage, easily the best stirrer of the night put 34h Leek up the wall, 95a Lonergan had smoke emitting from the engine bay and when 8a Laurie Maber went hard backwards into turn 4 bringing on the red lights, the 95a was also pushed from the track, not sure what the story was but a certain podium positon was gone, one contender down. On the restart 81r and 8r lead 12a Stanaway and 65a Adam Mills. Next it was Scott Tennants turn to be attacked and first it was 69h Whiter taking him to the grass, only for 8r Fredrikson then to have a go. It was good to see Tennant one of the few drivers who would turn back on to the grass and re-enter back where he was taken off unlike many others who took the fastest way back to the track. 81r Orr had driven a blinder up to this stage and pushed both 137a Fergusson and then 85a Savage out of the way but next lap (or should I say Nek Minnit) Fergusson got him good and while Orr reversed to get out of the way 12a Stanaway ploughed into him. 59a Mason had a flat right front wheel but was still able to circulate gaining points. 2nz Bernie Fox took over the lead and held it to the finish. Time though for one more big hit and Mason managed to roll 34h Leek on the back straight just for good measure. The Auckland stockies had managed to eliminate every visiting car except Scott Fredrickson, awesome stuff.
Top 10 : 2nz, 65a, 12a, 77a, 29a, 59a, 85a, 8r, 137a, no other finishers.

On paper this meeting looked okay, the quality of the show was definitely going to be how good the Stockcars performed and boy did they perform. Scott Tennant had an outstanding night and proved he's not only fast around the WP track in the Marx chassis but also he can now take the hits and work his way out of trouble. If he's anything like his Dad we are in for a long and successful career and its great to see it really blooming in this, his second season of racing. The new Auckland champion and finalist at the NZ Stockcar title, a pretty good month for Team Tennant! Trevor Mason taking second in the very fast 59a and Bernie Fox rounding out the top three, another driver having a golden run at the moment.

Meeting rating : 7/10
Programme : $2, good quality
Driver of the night : 29a Scott Tennant
Parking : Free
Meetings Best Moment : 85a Shannon Savage, the terminator absolutely took to the visiting cars helping give the locals their best result in ages.