Two days of high octane thrills
The six shooters in action at Taipa Speedway. Image Carole Teixeira.
Torrential downpours and overnight rain over the long weekend failed to prevent the dedicated Taipa motorheads from wrapping up the 2014/15 season in style and completing the full card of the annual season-ending two-day meet.
A heavy shower cut proceedings in the Percy Poharama Memorial Queen’s Birthday Weekend extravaganza short on Saturday, forcing organisers to carry over the remaining races on the first day’s programme to Sunday morning. However, as heavy rain continued throughout Saturday night, everyone was left wondering if racing would be allowed to continue.
It was, thanks to the hardworking track committee who were out from first light to prepare the track with racing eventually beginning at 11.15am and enabling organisers to not only get through the 45 races on Sunday’s card but also the 12 races left over from day before. The “awesome effort” was, local motorsport commentator Carole Teixeira noted, a tribute to the hosting Taipa Stock and Saloon Car Club’s track committee, and was much appreciated by both drivers and spectators.
To the racing, then, where the main event saw nine entries from all over the top third of the North Island contest the $1000 cash prize up for grabs in the Placemakers Saloon Showdown. Local maestro Roy ‘Inchman’ Walker was able to amass enough points to take the 2015 title by just one point over Auckland’s Scott Lansdowne.
“The racing was fast and furious and a couple of spectacular tangles had the huge spectator following up on the bank on their feet,” noted Teixeira. The show-
Taipa’s Ray Inchman Walker on way to winning the $1,000 purse up for grabs in the Super Saloon Showdown at Taipa Speedway on Sunday afternoon. down field included three from Taipa and six of the best from Auckland and Warkworth, although two drivers had to retire with mechanical breakdowns before all six races had been completed: Auckland’s Phil Mainland and Taipa’s Kyran Van Iperen.
There was further local success in the Coulston Memorial Production Saloon Trophy, won in fine style by Taipa’s Craig DeWaal in his ‘new’ Honda Prelude. After a slippery start which saw DeWaal was involved in a three-car pile-up on the pit bend, he went on to pass (son) Daniel DeWaal and then Rotorua’s Dion Heron to take an impressive lead through to the chequered flag.
Also notable was Allen Hallet winning both trophies up for grabs in the C-grade, the MacKenzie Welding Cup and the Percy Poharama Memorial Trophy, despite strong competition from Taipa stablemate Rob Weal, the pair sticking to each other “like glue” for the 10 laps of both races with both drivers running identical DeWaal-built 1600-injected Honda Civics.
Elsewhere, Hallet’s daughter Monique narrowly finished runnerup to Whangarei’s Bradley Smith in the battle for the Cortesi Youth Trophy albeit as the only two drivers left in the field — for youth and upcoming racers — after Whangarei’s Daniel Collier spun out Rotorua’s Shaun Heron and both were forced to retire to the infield.
Meanwhile, one of the best parts of the weekend for the Taipa fraternity was being able to greet old friends and rivals — and new ones — from down country, with an extraordinary number of visiting racers from as far south as Rotorua making the annual pilgrimage to participate in various grades not normally seen in the Far North including sprintcars, modifieds, six-shooters, midgets, TQ midgets, quarter midgets, and historic midgets.
Other highlights from the two days of high-octane racing included the six shooters of Darryl Hanlon (76a) and Brad Quigley (36a) putting on a strong showing against Maramarua driver Mike Sparrow’s modified and Rob Corscadden’s sprintcar, with the latter throwing up a wheelstand at every opportunity down the start straight, much to onlookers’ delight. Shane ‘Macca’ McInteer and ‘Kiwi’ Keith Wilson put on a spectacular display of raw horsepower and driving skills in the super saloon grade; while lady driver Chanelle Gordon stole the show in the brutal stockcar class — also contested by a field comprised entirely of visiting drivers — passing the finish line ahead of Auckland’s Fat Matt and Gary Lonergan after much push- ing and shoving.
All in all, Teixeira noted, both days delivered “speedway entertainment at its best” and provided a fitting end to Taipa’s 2014/2015 season and also represented the very last race meet of the national speedway summer.
“Taipa Speedway really did bring the family of speedway to the family of the Far North, in a tribute to Percy Poharama someone regarded as the Father of Taipa Speedway once again,” she said, adding thanks on behalf of the organisers to the local businesses and individuals who provided sponsorship for every race over the two-day meet.
“This level of sponsorship for a modern-day speedway meet is exceptional and without it this annual speedway event could not be the great success that it has grown to be.”
Following the end-of-season prizegiving on July 11 and the AGM in August, Taipa Speedway will prepare to start racing again in October.