Fireworks spectacular at Stratford Speedway
After being rained out the week before, there were no weather issues on Saturday, November 11, at MG Taranaki Stratford Speedway when the Hinton Contracting Fireworks Spectacular was held.
A large crowd packed into the speedway venue on a near-perfect day to witness some good racing before the fuse was lit on the fireworks later in the evening.
Four of the six classes on hand were racing for trophies.
With the Sentry Hill Motel New Zealand Stockcar Championship being held at Stratford in mid-January, interest from visiting drivers has been high in the stockcar class as they look to test the track and set their cars to suit before the national title.
This generated a large field of almost 50 competitors to race for the Michielsens Transport Taranaki Champs, too many for one group of cars and thus qualifying was held to find the top 30 competitors to race in the main event.
The locals were intent on keeping the trophy local and used their bumpers throughout the night to ensure the visiting drivers had no chance of getting their hands on it.
Liam Whelan, who raced a few meetings last season and is now a fulltime campaigner in the class, proved his worth when he won the event by a three-point margin after winning the first heat of the finals and coming home third in the other. Mason Woods was second and Mark Woods third to make an all-Taranaki podium.
Super saloons made a rare appearance to race for the Graham Harris Ltd Taranaki Champs with a field of eight competitors that included two locals in Joe Ingram and Richard Dreaver. Heat races were won by Steve Flynn, Joe Ingram and Grant Flynn, the results of these setting the grid for the one-race final.
Starting from grid one, Joe Ingram headed out for an early lead and looked to have the pace and handling to stay there until mid-race when Grant Flynn ran wide off turn four and made a pass down the straight.
A couple of laps later, Ingram’s car lost all power and he pulled to the infield, allowing Steve Flynn to settle into second place. Further Back, Bodie Abrahamson was trying everything he could with his car to move up the order, resulting in some big gains forward and clipping the wall and a half spin, eventually finishing third behind the Flynn brothers.
A field of 10 saloons raced for their City of New Plymouth classic and included three Palmerston drivers in the grid. Jarrod MacBeth just managed to pick up the race-one win from an in-form Blake Hooper.
Former New Zealand champion Thomas Korff won race two and Bradley Korff won race three. Hooper recorded two seconds and a sixth to win the event by one point from Bradley Korff. Thomas Korff and his father, Craig, were tied on points for third equal with the old man passing his son on the last lap of a run-off to take third place.
Adult ministocks raced for their City of New Plymouth with race wins going the way of Loyd Clarke (2) and Brayden Shaw. Clarke’s wins and second place made him the clear winner ahead of Luka Phillips and Katelyn Symes.
Minisprints and youth mentor drivers completed the race programme.
Minisprint races were won by Duane Hickman, Cody Ogle and Karl Uhlenberg while Tim Corrigan won all three youth races.
The next event at MG Taranaki Stratford Speedway is on Saturday, November 18. It will feature the Taranaki Saloon and Streetstock Champs along with the Modified and Midget City of New Plymouth Classics.