Tight points battle in every finals class
The consistent Hamish Mcleod (57 points) may have an 18-point lead over another of the more consistent drivers in the stockcar class, Matt Phippen, but with double points up for grabs, the stockcar season points title at the Robertson Holden Speedway is still wide open.
In his impressively prepared 667P, Mcleod has an important lead, but in a class where more than 30 cars start, getting through traffic without dropping placings is crucial to a finishing position that will keep Mcleod ahead of Phippen, who realistically is the only driver who can take the points title.
Phippen has been in hot form this season, taking out the keenly-sought-after Manawatu title and then showing his ability to stay out of trouble but keeping his speed up with a strong runner-up finish in the Robin Pratt Memorial behind Taylor Lampp last weekend.
The chasing pack are led by Kyle Rowe and Lampp on 28 points; probably too far back to catch Mcleod, unless he has mechanical problems as he did when put out of the Robin Pratt last weekend.
Gisborne’s James Clarke (26 points), Cameron Renwick (24 points) and Hawke’s Bay’s Brandon Symes are next best.
SIDECARS
As shown last weekend when Kieran Payne and Mikey O’neill only managed one win and two minor placings from their four races, their 9-point lead at the top of the sidecar class is tenuous.
Payne and O’neill have 39 points ahead of last season’s points winner Tony Hislop and Adrian Foothead. Hislop and Foothead won’t go away though, and produced strong form to finish with two second placings as well as runner-up in the highcollecting points feature.
Apart from last weekend when they appeared to struggle, Payne and O’neill have been in dominant form and if Payne is missing a swinger he could always call on New Zealand superstock champion Asher Rees with whom they dominated the celebrity races recently.
With double points up for grabs over the three races on the final night of the season at the Robertson Holden Speedway any of the top five could take the points title but it will be hard to overhaul Payne and O’neill or Hislop and Foothead.
Matt Stewart and Dean Harding (28 points), Glen and Anne Murray (26 points) and even Rob Miller and James Gerard (24 points) all have mathematical title winning chances.
MINISPRINTS
With the grid draw so important and the difficulty in passing others drivers out wide in the minisprint class, it is another class where the season points title is up for grabs next week when racing begins at 5pm.
Like all the classes the points totals are considerably lower this season with all the early season disruptions from the poor weather, but it has made for very tight points positions in all classes with Nathan Jefferies’ 29 points having him on top. His lead came courtesy of the 21 points he secured at the points meeting on March 27.
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