King of the Arena carnage
The final King of the Arena race was one of the greatest, as the field was destroyed by attacking drivers trying to ensure victory for a team-mate.
Thirty drivers began the three-heat final at Palmerston North’s Robertson Holden Speedway on Saturday night and after two of the heats the top five drivers were separated by just one point.
With competitors from four different tracks and plenty of visiting drivers, action was guaranteed, though no-one could have predicted what eventuated.
As the drivers headed into the third heat of the Steve’s Appliances Spares Stockcar Championship Palmerston North’s Roydon Winstanley was a point ahead of 18-year-old teammate Kyle Rowe, who was level on points with Christchurch’s Jay Holtham, Wellington’s Josh Prentice and Whanganui’s Dion Mooney.
At the end of the race only 12 cars were left running and there was mayhem all over the track – the race was halted on five occasions to remove rolled cars or cars hanging off the wall. Prentice’s fourth-place finish was enough to secure the title by three points from Winstanley.
Stratford’s Tyler Walker came from well back on points to beat Holtham in a runoff for third.
The action began as soon as the flag dropped, with Rowe’s chances finished when he barrel rolled at least three times in one of the biggest rolls seen in Palmerston North. Taylor Lampp, Kyle Lampp, Stu Rackham, Tony Wealleans and Luke Miers tried their hardest to ensure a hometown victory.
Wellington’s Bryce Jensen did a brilliant job holding Winstanley up long enough to force him into eighth place, despite being a lap down. Holtham did well to even finish without any help and being on the receiving end of everyone.
Father and daughter Graeme and Rebecca Barr held on to their substantial points lead to take out the Auto Interior Best Pairs superstocks title.
It wasn’t all plain sailing for them though, with Graeme Mccabe and Stratford partner Blair Uhlenberg putting them under a lot of pressure, closing the points gap to just over 20 after the first of three heats on Saturday night. Their chances took a nosedive when Uhlenberg could only circulate slowly after a he punctured in the second heat.
Despite Graeme Barr being forced down the field in the last two heats after taking punishment, Rebecca Barr proved she is the most improved superstock driver this season, with three top10 finishes. Her consistency meant she topped Saturday’s individual points, followed by Shane
Mellsop in one of his best performances. Mccabe was next, followed by Jordan Dare. Mccabe and Uhlenberg finished second overall, followed by Brett Hislop and Gisborne partner Tim Ross.
The Mike Zachan-ben Franklin duo, and their Gisborne partners Jason Rees and Callum Innes, took out the sidecars’ Gary Douglas Engineers Best Pairs title, with both teams scoring highly. Zachan was the top individual, with 26 points, and Rees was fourth, on 23 points.
Their 49 points was 10 points ahead of their nearest challengers, the Mark WhyeJacob Cooper and Sam CarterHaydn Coombs partnership. After being the only unbeaten team on Friday Whyte had only two second placings on Saturday night, then a fourth place on a borrowed bike. Third place, a point behind, was Auckland’s Dylan Moohan, with swinger Sean Mason, and their Hawke’s Bay partners Daniel Satherley and Adrian Bogan.