Speedwaymeeting Covid-style
Finally, the opening of the Palmerston North Speedway season got underway, and what a spectacular night’s action the fans got to see, with massive fields in the superstock and stockcar classes.
With face masks adorning almost all the fans’ faces as they wandered around, and seating areas for those ordering food and beverages, it was a slightly surreal scene, but well-organised, and one everyone will need to become accustomed to.
It may have been a massive field of 34 superstocks, but it was a Saturday night at the Robertson Prestige International Speedway where the Gisborne visitors and the Peter Rees-built cars had a decided edge in pace, taking out all three races.
They featured in the podium places as well.
Starting near the front of the field almost guarantees a win in either stockcar class, and so it proved with Ethan Rees winning the first race of the season.
He was chased hard by up-andcoming Palmerston North driver, David Lowe, who split two more Gisborne drivers, Josh Prentice and Jamie Hamilton.
New Zealand champion Asher Rees took no prisoners to win the second race as he smashed race leader Peter Bengston out of the way to win easily ahead of Hamilton and William Humphries, who showed good form.
Hamilton then won the feature ahead of Auckland’s Randal
Tarrant, with Humphries third.
Although he did not get near the front after starting all three races at the rear of the field, the bright orange superstock of Jack Miers showed the same pace as the front-runners.
Wanganui’s Maddie Wise was another with plenty of pace.
Usual front-runners from last season Kyle Rowe and Matt Webb took out the opening two races.
Taylor Lampp won an actionpacked feature where only 16 of the original 38 cars that began the first race finished the night on the track.
Rowe and Webb completed the podium feature.
Daniel Burmeister, Brandon Jurgeleit and Kyle Taylor all had their moments, while Humphries was an interesting newcomer to the stockcar class.
Kihikihi’s James Dahm took out a deserved win in the sprintcar feature ahead of first race winner Rodney Wood, with
Tony Uhlenberg winning the second race.
Paul Donovan and Greg Pickerill took out podium finish along with Kendall Savage, who was a surprise package.
The super saloon feature came down to a battle between Sam Waddell and NZ2 Chris Cowling. With getting an edge at the start proving crucial, Waddell got the jump and from there the outcome was never in doubt.
It got close when Waddell got into traffic, but the slick surface made it difficult for Cowling and fast-closing Steve Flynn to get into a passing position.
In one of the speedway races of the night Mark Whye and Jacob Cooper won the sidecar feature after a stunning pass of 2NZ Jamie Moohan and Patrick Larsen, who despite multiple efforts over the four laps were unable to find a way past.
Glen and Emma Murray, who had won two heat races, finished third.
The Kieran Payne-James Gerrard combination picked up in a win with John and Jaxon Hannan, Rob Miller-Daniel Bradley and the Craig Boaler-Ann Plummer picking up good placings.
In the B Grade, where most of the drivers have hardly been on their sidecars, a bad crash between the William Jensen-HardScott Sowry and Nick PetersenLetitia Lovejoy combinations in the warm-up was not a good start.
Lovejoy was left lying on the track and requiring ambulance treatment.
It is understood that, other than being battered and bruised, she was alright.
Justin Maulder and Justin Power won the opening B Grade race with Barry Smith and Blair Meyer dominating the next two races.