Visiting drivers warm up for champs
Visiting superstock drivers were out in force on Saturday night to get a feel of the Palmerston North track ahead of the New Zealand championships, which are raced over two nights beginning on January 2.
More than 12 drivers, including national champion Shane Harwood and team-mate Brent Nicholls, who both made the trip from Nelson, would have found that having pace on the Robertson Holden Speedway track will be a key to who wins the 52nd national title.
As Wanganui’s Kerry Podjursky showed with his brilliant win in the opening heat, having a front-row grid draw in the first race will give that person a strong start, with the pole-setter often winning superstock races, or finishing in the top three in recent times.
Another key factor will be the team tactics sure to come into play, not just in the third and deciding heat, but also in the second heat as well.
One visiting driver sure to challenge for the national title will be former Palmerston North national champion, Peter Rees, these days contracted to Gisborne.
Rees, along with Peter Bengston and another former national champion Wayne Hemi, were the two quickest drivers in the 31-car field at the Arena at the weekend.
Rees won the 15-lap Summer Sizzler in front Bengston, with promising youngster Chevron Taniwha third ahead of Phil Ogle (Stratford), Jason Long (Hawke’s Bay) and Scott Miers, racing his first meeting of the season.
Debuting his new Kelvin Graybuilt car Jack Miers finished the first two races well back, but didn’t appear for the feature.
In earlier races, Bengston and Rees finished behind Podjursky, with Rees finishing second to Hemi in the second race, with son Ethan Rees third.
Peter Rees won the third race ahead of Ethan Rees with Harwood third.
The biggest stirrer at Palmerston North, Wanganui’s Dion Mooney, is continuing to show a different side, after he impressively added the Brent Lowe Memorial title to his 2NZ, with two wins and a third in the final heat, despite a spin.
A Melling family clean sweep was thwarted in the streetstocks by Hawke’s Bay team-mates Brent Redington, who won the second race and was runner-up in the feature.
Otherwise Shayne Melling won the opening race, then had a third and fourth place.
Wayne Melling was second twice, then won the feature, while Darren Melling and Daniel Melling were also up the front end.
Chris Ronud, Ethan Hibell and Dylan Smith won the Ministock races with Ricky Garth, Dylan Barclay and Caitlin Dunn picking up placings.
The big field of 14 sidecars were again limited to one race early on, as the track cut up too much for them, but came back later on as the track smoothed off.
The races were won by the Wayne Lett-tony Carter, Mark Whyte-sam Carter, Derek and Mathew Ramsay, Glen Murrayann Plummer, John Hannanbryce Rose and the Kieran Paynewade Blackley combinations.