Finals Night
NZ Stockcar Title, Woodford Glen Speedway
Unlike any other meeting I've attended this season, weather was not going to be a problem. Christchurch turned on a stunner of a day for the conclusion of this meeting but hopefully the track wouldn't bare the brunt of the scorching sun. The programme for finals night included Superstocks, Supersaloons and Ministocks but as mentioned before, no consolation races for the Stockcars that failed to qualify for the top two tiers. Maybe from recent meetings when this group of cars dwindles rapidly during the course of the night had something to do with that decision?
Finals Heat 1
75p Gavin Taniwha required the 3 minute bell and then we were ready for heat one of the most hotly contested title of the season. Ikey Hautapu grabbed the lead from grid one while most cars managed to avoid the lap one carnage that featured on qualifying night except 581p Jordan Dare and 24c Ivan McPhail who flew onto the infield on turn 3. A half spin for 1nz Rees on lap 2 would be the last time in this race he got touched as he tried to recover lost ground. 4w Josh Kahui was spun not once but twice and was the first to DNF rolling to the infield. By lap 4 Scott Fredrickson had taken the lead followed by 99c Andreassend, 99gm Kookshorn, 14p and 2nz Fox. 18n Shane Harwood appeared to have problems and off the pace at the rear of the field. 22p Zac Hoult spent a lot of time bouncing off the walls while 4r Chris Hall went hard into the wall backwards in turn 4. 15p Rob Miers also being spun in turn 4. Clubmates 73p Mitchell Hill and 1nz Rees were both making up plenty of places, Hill now into the top 5. 22p Hoult pushed 99c Andreassend wide and then managed to spin 99gm Kookshorn in the first of two spins for the Greymouth driver dropping well out of contention. 74b Tony Palmer was next to suffer misfortune as the car slowed and then failed to finish. With a lap or two to go, 8r Fredrickson's car went offsong and although he managed to nurse it over the line and still take the heat win the bad news was he had blown a head gasket and was out after 3 wins and a 2nd place. Post race, both Jordan Dare and 73p Hill were relegated 5 places for cutting the pole line and not re-entering the track where they were taken off. Fastest lap went to local racer 17c Vaughan Fairburn. Biggest movers were 81r Damian Orr from grid 21 to 3rd and Rees from grid 30 to 12th.
8r, 99c, 81r, 14p, 2nz, 24w, 357p, 7w, 22w, 581p, 75p, 1nz, 29a, 4r, 29c, 94p, 38gm, 17c, 107c, 18n, 12n, 99gm, 24c, 15p, 22p, 492i, 89v, 73p, 74b dnf, 4w dnf.
Finals Heat 2
12n Wayne Martin required the 3 minute bell this time, while both 8r Fredrickson and 99gm Kookshorn failed to make the start. Turn four, lap 1 again would catch out 12n, 7w, 107c and 22p. 15p Miers in front of 75p, 94p and 29c as the reds were activated for 12n. 357p Aaron Iremonger's race ended here retiring on the red light too. 14p Hautapu and 24w McIntosh both being spun on lap 3 although the 24w was spun in front of the whole pack. 89v Blair Lockett would smash into 22p Hoult on the backstraight while 74b Tony Palmer meets the turn 4 wall as the reds come on for Hoult. At this stage 22w Gaskin and 1nz Rees are in 3rd and 4th place. Dare was next to spin courtesy of 17c Fairburn dropping to 3rd last place while 29c Jamie Hamilton's good run ended here taken out by a spinning 75p Taniwha. 38gm Oliver retired in a cloud of smoke and Hamilton's steering had collapsed. The locals big hope, 99c Andreassend slowed markedly and was left just circling for last place points. The last three laps were epic with the lead changing several times between 22w Gaskin, 1nz Rees and 15p Miers, Gaskin leading going into the last lap only for Rees to push him wide and dart under both cars for the win. A protest on the race by 75p against 492i was not upheld. 1nz Rees picked up the fasted lap of the race.
1nz, 15p, 22w, 81r, 94p, 492i, 29a, 18n, 73p, 107c, 2nz, 75p, 17c, 4r, 24c, 14p, 581p, 7w, 89v, 24w, 4w, 99c, 29c dnf, 38gm dnf, 74b dnf, 22p dnf, 12n dnf.
Finals Heat 3
Going into heat three Rotorua driver Damian Orr on 55pts had a handy 5 point lead over Richard Gaskin, while incredibly Rees was one point further back in 3rd. Auckland drivers Bernie Fox 46 pts and Scott Tennant 42pts were handily placed making up the top 5 drivers. Palmerston North drivers filled the next three spots 14p, 94p and 75p. Five cars were out by this stage, 8r, 357p, 74b, 99gm and 38gm. Rees was in the box seat with a grid 3 starting position, only bettered by Humphries on grid 2, Orr mid pack with Fox, and Tennant way back on grid 28. The feature of this race would be the teamwork of some clubs, some successful, some not. First to feel the wrath was 2nz Bernie Fox taken into the wall between turns 3 and 4 by 22p Zac Hoult before he could even complete a lap, red lights and Fox removed. 1nz Rees had assumed the lead with 81r Orr in 6th place. Rob Miers, Scott McIntosh and Vaughan Fairburn were all either spun or attacked before the next red light incident. 73p Hill almost straightlined 22w Gaskin into turn 4 and 7w Davis gave Hill a massive hit for his troubles. 12n Martin retired on the red light, Gaskin was able to continue. I wasn't sure of the reason but it appeared 75p was removed also. Fairburn's next attack was on 73p Hill, 4r Hall retired and Miers spun 99c Andreassend. About this stage of the race the Christchurch cars started to attack Orr which seemed odd given the opportunity to remove Rees was there until 591p Dare ran in front of Rees for a number of laps almost clearing the way for him. 24c Ivan McPhail doing the most damage. 4w Josh Kahui was one of the few who got a shot on but Rees incredible skill at avoiding trouble gave him the heat win ahead of 18n Harwood and 492i McManaway. About midway through the race it appeared that Orr had the title in the bag before the Christchurch cars intervened, Orr finishing 15th. William Humphries 4th placing good enough to get him 3rd overall.
1nz, 18n, 492i, 94p, 107c, 29a, 14p, 15p, 24w, 99c, 7w, 581p, 89v, 22w, 81r, 4w, 73p, 24c, 17c dnf, 29c dnf, 4r dnf, 75p dnf, 22p dnf, 12n dnf, 2nz dnf.
Overall Points
1nz Peter Rees 79
81r Damian Orr 71
94p William Humphries 68
29a Scott Tennant 67
22w Richard Gaskin 67
14p Ikey Hautapu 66
18n Shane Harwood 63
107c Colin Cameron 59
15p Rob Miers 59
99c Dennis Andreassend 59
492i Campbell McManaway 58
24w Scott McIntosh 58
7w Shane Davis 56
581p Jordan Dare 54
2nz Bernie Fox 46
73p Mitchell Hill 39
75p Gavin Taniwha 39
24c Ivan McPhail 37
89v Blair Lockett 34
4r Chris Hall 34
17c Vaughan Fairburn 31
8r Scott Fredrickson 30
4w Josh Kahui 25
357p Aaron Iremonger 24
29c Jamie Hamilton 16
38gm Tony Oliver 14
12n Wayne Martin 10
99gm Cleeve Kookshorn 9
22p Zac Hoult 6
74b Tony Palmer 0
Summary
The Ampro Tools second tier championship almost did enough to upstage the actual major title with plenty more action in all three heats with Wellington driver 67w Kane Hargreaves winning with a 2nd, 1st and 5th placing ahead of 33p Brad Powell and 16b Brett Loveridge.
67w Kane Hargreaves 103
33p Brad Powell 94
16b Brett Loveridge 93
229s Kylee Symes 92
52r Mike Herbert 76
24v Wayne Wright 69
11gm Tony Stanton 68
28e Ralph Gilespie 67
74p Chevron Taniwha 65
5c Matt Cockburn 62
So there you have it, another successful running of the NZ Stockcar title and the Woodford Glen club did rather well, not as well as Peter Rees though who continues to push the boundaries of what is supposedly achievable in this class. If he manages to win the Superstock title in Nelson next weekend I doubt you could argue against his being the greatest driver ever, but he must be pretty close now. The gap between North Island and South Island cars has definitely closed considerably with Shane Harwood 7th, Colin Cameron 8th and Dennis Andreassend 10th overall, its only a matter of time before we have a Southern 1nz, and that's got to be good for the class overall. Spare a thought for Scott Fredrickson who managed three wins and a second in his four races, and looked like a certain podium finisher only for engine gremlins to end his hopes. Also I'd like to mention the young guns that continue to impress, this time Scott Tennant, Ikey Hautapu and Jordan Dare, all names that will feature on the trophy at some stage in the future I'm sure.
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