Mustangs trample Hawkeyes
The Manawatu Mustangs could be a surprise package at February’s Teams Champs after the way they dismantled national champions the Hawke’s Bay Hawke’s in Palmerston North on Saturday night.
After rain caused the postponement of last weekend’s meeting, it must have been a relief for the Robertson Holden Speedway promotion to get Saturday’s meeting completed after heavy rain all week looked like curtailing speedway for a second consecutive week.
With the two meetings joined together, the big crowd that always turns out for show night got more than they expected with the teams race, a massive Manawatu Standard fireworks display, while the popular ramp derby closed the night’s competition.
Palmerston North’s second superstock team the Mustangs, who have won the national title twice in 35 years, showed they won’t play second fiddle to anyone next February, winning the race against the Hawkeyes with a superb display of teamwork.
From the start, Chad Ace, who along with Shane Mellsop, has been in outstanding form this season, cleared out to a halflap lead.
From there, Jordan Dare played the anchor role, holding up three Hawkeyes cars at times, while Mellsop and Wayne Hemi rode shotgun in front and behind Ace, protecting him against the Hawkeye block cars.
In a rare feat these days, Hemi then won two races, while Peter Bengston won the opening race. Both Mellsop and Ace showed they’ve made big strides from last year, not only with plenty of pace, but an ability to get through traffic from well back, a weak point for both drivers in seasons past.
Jake Baker was so close to securing his best win when he led the field in the feature and not looking as though anyone could get to him, until a couple of small errors allowed Hemi past in the final lap.
Josh Prentice won two of the stockcar races, but the highlight of the night was Luke Healey winning his first feature after he had brilliantly rolled Wanganui’s Chet Swan in the previous race.
There was so much action in the stockcars, especially the second race where only nine of the 30 cars finished, with Brendon Tye rolling Neil Coley, who was almost on his lid again in the feature.
The sidecars was halted after just one round when the track cut up too much for them to compete safely.
However, the track conditions caused a bit of mayhem for the youth ministocks, as they bounded down the grandstand, straight leaping through the air if they hit a rut.
Liam Metcalfe tipped over, while others bounced into the walls.
It was a night for the visiting drivers in the ministocks, with Brad Uhlenberg (Stratford), Sam Parker (Wellington) and Rotorua’s James Wong winning the races.
The Kairanga Lions Club fireworks display was even bigger than usual as it never seemed to end, pleasing.