Long time coming

Superstock World 240's
Paradise Valley Raceway, Rotorua








In recent times the domination of Palmerston North cars at major titles, heck any title, has made them rather unpopular to say the least. First there was the "Smash the P" campaign and now the "Plastic P" reference to describe imported drivers who register to the Palmy track. So it comes as no surprise that at this title, those familiar 'P' cars were once again at the pointy end of the field going into the final race. What was a refreshing change though was that one of the real journeymen of the Superstock class, 31p Andy McCabe picked up that elusive BIG title, 240 World Champion, sounds grand doesn't it, and I don't think a single person at the stadium would have denied him a title that has been a long time coming.

Friday nights qualifying had been cut short with you guessed it, rain, a meeting I couldn't make it to, so Saturday nights programme included an entree sized starter beginning at 5.30pm to finish the last two group heats and a stockcar race - a great bonus for the big crowd who turned up. As 7pm rolled around, the finals night proper began with the always spectacular repercharge to find the last qualifiers for the 26 car World 240 championship. 89w Dale Robertson looked the likely winner but a flat tyre ended his hopes gifting the lead to local 10r Alan McRobbie, 72p Simon Joblin grabbed the second spot while the real battle was for the last spot between 48n Brett Nicholls, 87n Thomas Stanaway and 38r Scott Redfern. A last corner lunge by the two Nelson drivers ended up costing them both as Redfern darted through.

Heat 1
As expected the turn one push claimed yet more victims and 4b Joe Faram must wonder what he has to do to get safety round this track on the first lap! The chaos was caused by 4p Chad Ace spinning 2nz Scott Joblin in front of the whole pack. The result left defending champ 3nz Peter Rees, 88p Jack Miers, 97r Pat Westbury, 4b Faram and 2nz Scott Joblin either on the infield or right at the back of the field. Then began a massive flag race from the rest of the field turning the track surface black after only a few laps. 2nz Joblin had a flat left front but was still managing good speed, 515gb Frankie Wainman Jnr punctured mid race dropping well back. 8uk Mick Harris in the Rees Superstock tank was spun in turn 1 and was stranded for a few laps. 32p Graeme Barr was making a charge for the front and pushed both 8p Scott Miers and 2nz Joblin out of his way in his drive to win, the 2nz left facing the wall in turn 1. 19c Malcolm Ngatai whose good fortune to make the finals came at the cost of 135r Scott Hewson who had withdrawn with a damaged car, looked out of sorts in this race perhaps getting the setup wrong. Big chunks of track from turns 3 + 4 were flying up into the crowd and it was going to be a battle all night to keep on top of the track conditions. 7p Shane Penn made huge moves up to 5th place ahead of 31p Andy McCabe. 38r Scott Redfern was left stuck in the wall on turn 1 unable to refire the tank. There were a few poleline indescretions and post race 18n Shane Harwood was dropped two places for passing 58p Peter Bengston on the grass. Six of the top seven drivers were from Palmerston North, only 282s Phil Ogle managing to get a look in.
Top 10: 32p, 282s, 72p, 4p, 7p, 31p, 58p, 1gb, 18n, 87r

Heat 2
Rees was on pole for this one but after a dnf in heat one, would he run or play? 87r David Elsworth spun 4p Chad Ace and 282s Phil Ogle was an early casualty. This heat again was a big flag race with the field separating in to two distinct groups at either end of the track for a number of laps. Whatever was wrong with the 19c Ngatai car in heat one, was fixed for this one as he diced with Rees for the lead eventually winning the race after Rees ran foul of the refs and was relegated one spot for a pass on Ngatai. A mid race red light for the muffler off 515gb saw 7p Penn retire to the infield along with 1nz Ewers and 10r McRobbie. After an early hit into the wall, 32p Graeme Barr moved from grid 24 up to a finish of 11th.
Top 10: 19c, 3nz, 18n, 31p, 58p, 87r, 1gb, 4b, 72p, 16r

Heat 3:
Going in to the final heat 31p Andy McCabe was leading on 44pts ahead of four cars on 42pts, Peter Bengsten, Simon Joblin, Shane Harwood and Graeme Barr. Barr had the best starting position on grid 6 while most of the major players were in a tight group mid pack. It took until lap 1, turn 2 for things to turn ugly with 16r Mark Osborne taking a wild ride on top of 32p Graeme Barr's bonnet. Barr's throttle stuck open and he ended up backwards into the wall on turn 3, adding to his impressive resumé of spectacular heat three demises! On the red light, 18n Harwood retired along with 16r Osborne. 10r Alan McRobbie was the chief stirrer having pot shots at most Palmy players but with both 87r Elsworth and 31p McCabe battling side by side McRobbie was unable to get McCabe. Elsworth managed to pass McRobbie and put some distance between himself and McCabe but with the 10r eventually being despatched bringing on the red lights, Elsworth would not get the necessary points to beat the Palmy battler. A late semi-spin attempt on the 31p by Joe Faram would cost McCabe a spot but finishing third the title was his. Only 14 cars crossed the finish line.
Top 10: 87, 4b, 31p, 97r, 38r, 58p, 282s, 8p, 1gb, 8uk

31p Andy McCabe 68pts
87r David Elsworth 64pts
58p Peter Bengston 63pts
1gb Paul Harrison 57pts
72p Simon Joblin 56pts
4b Joe Faram 55pts

So then, two weeks out from the NZ Superstock title in Huntly and a number of drivers will be fairly pleased with their progress, 32p Graeme Barr, 19c Malcolm Ngatai and 58p Peter Bengston to name a few, but one or two will have concerns. Reigning national champ Dale Ewers had a night to forget, with a 15th and two dnfs, hopefully this was just an off night. 89w Dale Robertson, 37r Ken Hunter and 7p Shane Penn also must have wondered what they had to do to get a break. Well done once again to the Rotorua Club for what was a superb "effortless" show, in reality a lot of work must go into it of course. The bobcat driver in turns three and four deserves a medal for the work he did all night on the track surface! The support racing was first class, saloons were hotdog time for me though. For the record, winner of the Superstocks in Paradise was 118r Bryce Steiner, gaining his automatic entry into next seasons 240's final.

Meeting rating : 8/10
Programme : $10 collectable, excellent
Driver of the night : 32p Graeme Barr
Parking : Free
Meetings Best Moment : 31p McCabe winning and his speech at the finish of the race with Barry Brown, "Awesome, Bloody Awesome!"

Teams Update Vl

After a lull in teams racing it has roared back to life with the two nights of action at Palmerston North for the NZ Stockcar Teams title. Hit of the night can be viewed HERE Stockcarscene video by Wal86. Here is the table after both nights results. The Wanganui Vulcans may not have won the title but their efforts as runners-up have moved them to the top of the table. The victorious Pumas and the Tasman Thunder are the only two unbeaten teams this season although Tasman have had a few less races! Also I heard that the next Rees shield challenge at Waikaraka Park will be against the Wanganui Vulcans.





October 29
Rees Shield 1
At Waikaraka Park
Auckland Alleycats def Gisborne Gladiators

October 29
At Stratford Speedway
Kihikihi Crusaders def Stratford Stormers

November 5
Eastern States Speedway Blenheim
Canterbury Crushers def Eastern States Titans
Ken's Cowboys def Canterbury Crushers
Eastern States Titans def Ken's Cowboys

November 11
At Woodford Glen
Canterbury Crushers def Team Moon Goon
Ken's KB Cowboys def Eastern States Titans
Canterbury Crushers def Ken's KB Cowboys
Eastern States Titans def Team Moon Goon

November 19 & 20
TWS Huntly Teams Night 1
Manawatu Steelers def Meeanee Maulers
Auckland Alleycats def Stratford Stormers
Huntly Raiders def Wanganui Vulcans
Rotorua Rascals def Gisborne Gladiators
Wanganui Vulcans def Meeanee Maulers
Auckland Alleycats def Gisborne Gladiators
Waikato Raiders def Manawatu Steelers
Stratford Stormers def Rotorua Rascals
Night 2
Meeanee Maulers def Stratford Stormers
Manawatu Steelers def Gisborne Gladiators
Auckland Alleycats def Wanganui Vulcans
Waikato Raiders def Rotorua Rascals
Stratford Stormers def Gisborne Gladiators
Meeanee Maulers def Manawatu Steelers
Wanganui Vulcans def Rotorua Rascals
Auckland Alleycats def Waikato Raiders

November 26
Palmy Teams Invasion
Palmerston North Pumas def Wellington Young Guns
Manawatu Steelers def Stratford Stormers
Waikato Raiders def Meeanee Maulers
Wanganui Vulcans def Manawatu Minors
Palmerston North Pumas def Stratford Stormers
Manawatu Steelers def Wellington Young Guns
Wanganui Vulcans def Waikato Raiders
Manawatu Minors def Meeanee Maulers
Waikato Raiders def Wanganui Vulcans
Palmerston North Pumas def Manawatu Steelers

At Nelson
Tasman Thunder def Greymouth Grizzlies

Stockcar Teams Title Palmerston North
Night 1
Meeanee Maulers def Auckland Alleycats
Auckland Alleycats def Stratford Stormers
Meeanee Maulers def Stratford Stormers
Wanganui Vulcans def Gisborne Gladiators
Wanganui Vulcans def Waikato Raiders
Waikato Raiders def Gisborne Gladiators
Eastern States Titans def Wellington Young Guns
Eastern States Titans def Kihikihi Crusaders
Wellington Young Guns def Kihikihi Crusaders
Palmerston North Pumas def Canterbury Crushers
Canterbury Crushers def Rotorua Rascals
Palmerston North Pumas def Rotorua Rascals
Night 2
Rotorua Rascals def Auckland Alleycats
Wellington Young Guns def Waikato Raiders
Palmerston North Pumas def Meeanee Maulers
Wanganui Vulcans def Eastern States Titans
Meeanee Maulers def Rotorua Rascals
Wellington Young Guns def Eastern States Titans
Palmerston North Pumas def Wanganui Vulcans

Costello wins

Finals night for the Grand Prix turned out to be one of the best nights of the season with what can only be described as a 'fairly decent' support class, the international Sprintcars. Even the Ministocks came to the party and put on a great display. The track surface was still not 100% but it was a vast improvement on the night before. The crowd size had improved but Im guessing a large amount of those people had come for the Sprintcars, hopefully they enjoyed some of the Stockcar racing too. A couple of times during the evening it did feel a bit like the feature class were being pushed to the side for the Sprintcars but when they weren't running lap after lap on yellow lights they were stunning to watch.

First job for the night though was to find the final four cars from the repercharge, and surprisingly their were only 17 cars for this race. A rather straight forward flag race ensued with 47c, 84m, 45r and 73c qualifying. I may be mistaken but I thought I heard 84m Ryan Smyth set a lap record during this race? If someone can confirm that would be good to know. A couple of cars that I thought had qualified were missing from the field, 92g Brett Lloyd and 517s Mark Woods.

Heat 1
24r Shane Newlands, 97m Stacy Keatch and 321v Hilton Parker were the front row for a monster field of 36 Stockcars. Green flag and on turn two 321v Parker was spun and with a field this big at least four other cars were tangled up in the melee. 21s Duthie punctured, 4r Shaun Stewart took the lead from local hope 35m Eben Young, Newlands and 98r Costello. 8r Scott Fredrickson spun 84i Taylor which held up 95a Gary Lonergan, and within a lap or two 95a had a flat right front tyre. 15p Rob Miers had made huge moves forward in the field. The leading cars were 4r, 24r, 35m, 97m, 24m and 557p the first of the Palmy contingent in 6th. 35m Young tried to spin 24r Newlands costing them both a lot of places and opening a gap that Miers darted into to grab 2nd place. It was at this point Im guessing a little bit of payback from the NZ title at Rotorua took place as the crippled 95a took Miers out of the race. 41c Ben Jacobs retired to the infield and 97m Keach seemed to lose a bit of power dropping lots of places. 33r was ailing and retired and slowly 581p Jordan Dare was moving into contention up to 6th place. After the red light to remove Miers, 45r Vallance stalled, 24r Newlands went off along with 17r Kitt and 97m. Reining champ 67w Hargreaves was in trouble and retired too. It left a 5 way battle for the lead that finshed with a win to 4r Shaun Stewart ahead of the 24m tank of Ian Daniel. 581p had moved up an incredible 33 places.
Top 16: 4r, 24m, 581p, 35m, 98r, 557p, 73p, 86r, 29m, 15r, 17b, 72r, 29a, 8r, 81r, 229s

Heat 2
67w Hargreaves was supposed to start on grid 1 but was a DNS. 72r David Rumney pulled infield right off the start ending his title hopes. 24m Ian Daniel was the first to be spun dropping to the rear of field. 98r Costello took the early lead ahead of 557p and 35m. 24r Newlands attacked the 23m tank. 17r Murray Kitt was spun in turn 1 and the 29m car of Ryan Hunt began smoking heavily but was able to continue. 321v Parker joined the growing list of puncture victims with the entire tyre then coming off. 21s Todd Duthie retired. 35m Eben Young moved up to 2nd from his grid 10 start. 86r Keijzer pulled to the infield and heat one winner 4r Stewart was slowing due to yet another puncture. 81r Damian Orr made his big move at this stage taking the lead with 2 laps to go by negotiating the lapped traffic best. Both 24r and 73c ended up in the wall and 23m tank blew a tyre dragging himself home in 22nd.
Top 16: 81r, 98r, 35m, 557p, 17b, 8r, 52r, 581p, 84m, 84i, 41c, 15r, 229s, 29a, 24m, 29m

Points after the second heat were hard to come by as the Sprintcars were showboating and somewhat stealing the limelight so I did my best to work them out myself and I think they were something like this:

35m Eben Young 67pts
98r Mark Costello 67pts
557p Darrell Wallace 64pts
581p Jordan Dare 63pts
17b Aaron Iremonger 58pts
81r Damian Orr 58pts
24m Ian Daniel 57pts
8r Scott Fredrickson 54pts
15r Paul Mabey 52pts

Heat 3
There were a few gaps in the field and Jordan Dare had the best possible start position with grid 1. 86w Hawkins and 73p Hill made up the rest of the 3 wide front row. Upon the start 17b Iremonger was the first to strike trouble taken infield by 23m and forced to rejoin last. 581p Dare was then spun which would ultimately cost him the title. 229s Kylee Symes lead from 8r Fredrickson, 84i Taylor, 29a Tennant and 81r Orr in the box seat. 35m Young was attacked and spun sending him to the rear while the stirring tank of 23m Karl Daniel then had a go at 557p. Unfortunately for the Daniel clan the other tank who was in with a title shot, 24m punctured at this point. 86r Keijzer was next to have a go at Dare while the Palmy challenge was faultering with 73p losing pace and slowing. 84i and 29a both spun with Tennants race ending. Just time for one more puncture, the unlucky Orr this time ending his hopes dropping to 21st place. 23m had one last go at Dare pinning him in the wall but not before he crossed the line in second behind 8r Fredrickson. 98r Costello had pretty much kept out of trouble and coasted home in 4th securing the title by two points from Dare. Eben Young had managed to claw his way back from last to 11th place to grab third overall.
Top 16: 8r, 581p, 229s, 98r, 4r, 15r, 94r, 29m, 41c, 84i, 35m, 86w, 17r, 557p, 73p, 84m

98r Mark Costello 100pts
581p Jordan Dare 98pts
35m Eben Young 93pts
8r Scott Fredrickson 90pts

Meeting rating : 8/10
Programme : $4 some in colour, good photos and content
Driver of the night : 35m Eben Young
Parking : Free, and miles of it!
Meetings Best Moment : 14r Matt Nilsson's stirring

NZ Stockcar Grand Prix

Bay Park Speedway, Mt Maunganui
January 2 + 3, 2012






About seventy stockcars took the same risk I did and travelled to Bay Park despite dire weather predictions. Just like the New Zealand title in Rotorua, the rain held off long enough to complete the two day elimination process to find the 2012 NZ Grand Prix champion. The crowd size was pathetic considering the calibre of cars competing but it didn't stop the racing from being first class with drivers split into two larger than normal groups to find the final 36. 16 would progress from each group and a further 4 through a repercharge on night 2. There were many positives about this meeting but I cant in all honesty put a positive spin on the track surface. It was terrible, cars were bouncing over the moguls in turns three and four and the number of breakages, tyres popping and wheels shearing off was testament to the harsh conditions. A number of drivers failed to complete all three heats in qualifying.

Qualifying
Red Group
Heat 1 14r Matt Nilsson was the stirrer supreme in this group putting 6m Colin Denize into the wall on the first lap of the first heat signalling his intentions for the night. 15p Rob Miers took the first heat win with 45r Nick Vallance the biggest mover finishing 12th from grid 32. 29a Scott Tennant and 23m Karl Daniel also making great progress.
15p, 52r, 8r, 17b, 4r, 73p, 517s, 15r 29a, 23m
Heat 2 A great four way tussle for the lead between Tennant, 35m Eben Young, 8r Scott Fredrickson and 15p Rob Miers with Fredrickson grabbing the lead with about 6 laps remaining for a solid win. 47c Chris Hall joined a number of dnf's on the infield. 557p Darrell Wallace survived a moment when 14b Jemma Palmer spun infront of 24v Wayne Wright causing him to swerve sending Wallace into the wall on the back straight in a huge hit, Wallace only managing to finish in 16th place. 517s Mark Woods and 73c Nathan Taylor both puncturing. 15r Paul Mabey biggest mover.
8r, 29a, 35m, 15p, 73p, 97m, 17b, 15r, 52r, 4r
Heat 3 Last chance to qualify and with all the damage and dnfs from the previous two heats it was still possible for a number of cars to get through. First incident involved 73c taking 557p, 23m and 89r Ray Channing into the wall causing the side rail to come off the hot yellow coupe bringing on the red lights. 73p Mitchell Hill was leading at this point from 47c Hall and 15r Mabey. 97m Stacy Keach sent 8r Fredrickson into the wall with a decent hit, but hit of the race was a massive shot from 23m Karl Daniel into 557p Wallace like a freight train, sending the hapless 36m Mike Lowe into a big rollover. Mabey and Hill battled on with almost a dead heat on the line, the win going to 15r. 17b Aaron Iremonger had a quiet night but still managed a 4th, 7th and 3rd in trying conditions making him a real prospect for the finals.
15r, 73p, 17b, 4r, 517s, 15p, 35m, 52r, 29a, 8r


Photo above by Zach Rayner, Pitbull Creations

Qualifying
Blue Group
Heat 1 95a Gary Lonergan on the front row had a superb battle with 92g Brett Lloyd for the entire race until puncturing 2 laps from home, ending up well down the pack. 84i Mark Taylor drove a near perfect race to finish 2nd from an incredible grid 29 start. Biggest incident was 22m Les Hepworth becoming airborne on turn one (with some help from 25m, 878r and 123r) and damaging the safety fence. 74b Tony Palmer was the other red light incident in this race. Defending champ 67w Kane Hargreaves in the tank came home in 10th.
92g, 84i, 981p, 86r, 72r, 84m, 24m, 98r, 29m, 67w
Heat 2 Going by my lack of notes on this heat, it was pretty action packed. 98r Mark Costello was in trouble on lap 1 turn 2 held up in a 3 car crash, both 86r Richard Keijzer and 84i Mark Taylor circled the track with damage just trying to collect points. The turn 3 and 4 ruts really showed up in this race with big craters causing cars to actually bounce their way round the bend. Heat 1 winner Lloyd finished mid pack in 16th.
72r, 74b, 24m, 67w, 81r, 21s, 95a, 29m, 32h, 24r
Heat 3 87w Malcolm Ayers was the first spinner in this heat as 98r and 32h Darcy Meurant diced for the lead. 84i Taylor spun Costello with Meurant taking over the lead and Ill go out on a limb and say this is by far the fastest tank racing at the moment, incredible to watch. Unfortunately it became yet another victim of the track with the right rear bursting in spectacular fashion sending the tank into the wall just passed the start finish line bringing on the reds. On the restart 229s Kylee Symes lead 84i Taylor and 92g Lloyd. Taylor stalled on the restart losing heaps of places. Lloyd eventually worked his way to the front and took the chequered flag. The car was sounding pretty sick on the victory lap though and he didnt front for night two despite qualifying.
92g, 229s, 81r, 29m, 24m, 94r, 21s, 67w, 72r, 321v

Qualifiers:
4r Shaun Stewart
8r Scott Fredrickson
15p Rob Miers
15r Paul Mabey
17r Murray Kitt
17b Aaron Iremonger
21s Todd Duthie
23m Karl Daniel
24r Shane Newlands
29m Ryan Hunt
29a Scott Tennant
33r Kieran Hines
35m Eben Young
41c Ben Jacobs
52r Mike Herbert
67w Kane Hargreaves
72m Hamish Curd
72r David Rumney
73p Mitchell Hill
81r Damian Orr
84i Mark Taylor
86r Richard Keijzer
86w Kent Hawkins
94r Shaun Stewart
95a Gary Lonergan
97m Stacy Keach
98r Mark Costello
229s Kylee Symes
321v Hilton Parker
557p Darrell Wallace
581p Jordan Dare
Repercharge
47c Chris Hall
84m Ryan Smyth
45r Nick Vallance
73c Nathan Taylor


























Finals night review coming...