Hometown driver sprints to NI title
Palmerston North’s Jamie Larsen showed the rest of the field a clean pair of heels as he convincingly won the North Island Sprintcar title in Palmerston North.
In a big season at Palmerston North for the sprintcar fraternity, Larsen made no race of the final big event for the big-winged monsters on Saturday night.
Larsen set up the win with two brilliant qualifying heats, where he was one of the few drivers to get out wide against the concrete wall to overtake those ahead of him. In a display of maturity, Larsen wasn’t rash in his overtaking – rather he picked off his opponents one by one.
In the opening qualifying heat, newcomer Dean Cooper, who despite having come up from minisprints in the off-season is already making a big impression in the class, looked to be heading for his first win, only to be passed by Larsen on the final corner.
Larsen’s drive in the second heat was even more emphatic. Starting from the rear of the field, he picked off nine of those in front of him to finish third behind Eggleton and fellow Palmerston North-contracted driver Greg Pickerill to secure the important pole start in the title race.
Larsen blasted away from Eggleton in the 30-lap feature and, though lapping cars was always where Eggleton may get his opportunity to close in on Larsen and pass him, Larsen always appeared to have a little in reserve as he carefully worked his way past the slower cars.
With the race headed for a rare incidentfree event, fourth-placed former national champion and winner of the national grand prix title at Palmerston North before Christmas Jamie Mcdonald hit the wall, with a tyre coming off and sailing across the track.
The restart allowed Larsen a clear run to the title ahead of Eggleton and the consistent Pickerill. Stephen Taylor at last showed he’s growing in maturity to finish strongly in fourth, ahead of Cooper.
Dean Dingwall has long flown the flag for Palmerston North in the streetstock class, since Bryan Menefy won the national title in 1994, but has been made to pay by being taken out whenever he’s in the hunt for titles.
On Saturday, he finally remedied that by finishing second in the Manawatu¯ Championship, just a point behind Rotorua’s New Zealand champion Chris Shingleton. This was despite two Wellington drivers attempting to take him out in the third heat.
The title was a two-horse race, with Shingleton and Dingwall easily the quickest in the 30-car field.
Shingleton won the first of three heats, ahead of Dingwall. Dingwall reversed the second-heat result when they finished third and fourth after starting at the rear of the field.
Shingleton flew to a big lead in the final heat, but Dingwall, who started in the midfield, closed up in second place, but was unable to get close enough to pass Shingleton for the title.
Wellington’s Tristan O’donnell beat Hawke’s Bay’s Tim Towler in the runoff for third place.
Despite rarely racing over recent seasons, 10-times Teams’ Champs star Scott Miers showed he’s still a class act by taking out a superstock race, driving Jake Baker’s impressive car.
Veteran Clive Elliot showed after more than 25 years of racing he’s still good enough to match his younger opponents by taking his second win of the season in the opening race. Brett Hyslop won the third race, ahead of Peter Bengston.
Stewart Rackham showed the form of a few seasons ago, winning the first stockcar race, ahead of Brendon Learmonth. The other races went to Rotorua’s Sheldon Arapere, ahead of Rackham, and Luke Healey, ahead of Brendon Jurgeleit.
Kyle Rowe was the star of the show in the ministocks, with two wins.