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Contact Belinda at Wellington Toyota Dismantlers for tickets or email: wss@wellingtonspeedway.co.nz

A service to celebrate Sharon’s life will be held at the Upper Hutt Cosmopolitan Club, 11 Logan Street, Upper Hutt, on Friday 11th May at 1:00pm

Group one’s first heat demonstrated how close the racing would be for the rest of the night with the 45P, father and son duo Phil and Simon McNab, getting past the 96P of Matt Stewart and Jacob ‘ Ropehead’ Cooper to take the win. 31P, brothers Richard and Alistair Horne came in 3^rd. In their second heat Stewie and Ropehead on the 96P got their revenge taking a good win from the 31P and the 45P. The third heat saw the McNab’s grab their second win chased home by 5P Kieran Payne aka Wingnut and Bryce Rose with the 96P in 3^rd spot. This put 31P, 45p and 96P into the final.

Group two also demonstrated close racing with heat one seeing the 42P Steve King and Shaun Carter pull off a fine pass to grab the win from 78P Paul Humphrey and Ben Franklin with husband and wife team Andrew  ‘Spud’ Buchanan and Phillippa Burns  on the 2NZ coming in 3^rd. The next heat Humphrey’s and Franklin went one better on the 78p taking the win from 2NZ and 42P. The first corner of the third heat saw Sidecar racing at its best as 4 bikes vied for the lead with 42p temporarily coming out on top only to have the 2NZ duo snatch it back. On the line there were only centimetres between the 2NZ and the fast finishing 78P, with the 42P settling for 3^rd. The qualifiers for the final were 2NZ, 78P and 42P.

The consolation race saw the only Hawkes Bay entrant 51B Kim Johnson and Andrew McNamara streak away to take a commanding victory from Wingnut and Rose on the 5P with 25P Dave Shepherd and Corey Austin coming in 3^rd and 58P Simon Windleburn and Tony Carter completing the field.

The final had its share of drama with several false starts and the 45P swinger Simon McNab go flying from the bike on the start. When the race finally started the drama continued when 96P Stewart and Cooper were forced out to the wall, contact careered them across the track to the infield where they displayed amazing skill in avoiding emergency staff and other riders. Meanwhile the 2NZ took out the win and the title with 42P in 2^nd place and 45P rounding out the podium.

The new 2012 SJ Roofing Wellington Sidecar Champions: 2NZ Andrew Buchanan and Phillippa Burns.

The other title up for grabs was the Resene Paints Production Saloon Wellington Champs. Wanganui visitors 81V Trevor Greig, 53V John Caird, 73V John Huijs and 5V Marshall Harris looked set to take the title back to their home track. In Heat 1 they proved that they not only had the inclination but the ability to do so. From the off 73V John Huijs grabbed the lead chased hard by 5V Marshall Harris. Harris dogged Huijs’ steps until, when lapping 78W Matt Hutchinson, the 73V took the outside line and the 5V made the correct choice and, taking the inside line, got the race victory. 18W Darren McKay grabbed 3^rd spot. In the second heat 32W Tim Gaskin took a start to finish win but the best battle in the race was between 5V Marshall  Harris and 53V John Caird, who coming from the rear of the field diced for 2^nd and 3^rd spots for most of the race. Again the correct line in passing a lapped car gave Harris 2^nd place behind Gaskin with Caird settling for 3^rd by a few centimetres. In the final heat drama again ensued with spectators being left wondering what class they were watching and believing that some of the drivers would be better suited to Streetstocks. At the front Marshall Harris in the 5V grabbed the trophy with both hands taking an emphatic win but behind him carnage raged. The 53V, John Caird ended his race against the pit corner wall and at the restart the 73V, John Huijs and the 32W Tim Gaskin fought over 2^nd place with Huijs edging Gaskin out on the line, but not in the points. Tied on points for 2^nd they were unable to have a runoff as by the time the referees had sorted out the race issues involved the Demo Derby was underway. Marshall Harris 5V was crowned a deserving winner of the 2012 Resene Paints Wellington Production Saloon Champs.

Support classes on the night were The Moving Company Super Saloons, which saw Mike Eckersley get back behind the wheel in the 69G of Donald Gregory while Donald drove Brian Comerford’s 88W. 9W Mark Pitcher had his first run at Te Marua in his new Hypermac and Johnny Brown drove the 12B for the night. Race winners were 88W Donald Gregory, who won the first 2 races but was edged out by a nose in the third by 5W Graeme Strong.

The Moving Company also sponsor the Saloon class which saw the grand old man of Te Marua, Vic Abbott, 38W take out the first race in convincing style. The second race win was claimed by 24W Gary Marshall while in the third Ian Shingleton took the controls of Vic’s (for Sale) 38W to storm home for 1^st place.

The Hirepool Stockcars had visitors 66B Randall Tarrant and 27B Josh Smith grace our pits again while Shane Davis 7W reappeared in his new acquisition (Darren Gray’s old 11W). Todd Jenkins, Stacey Cox and Nathan Heyburn shared the cockpit of the 46W stockcar while Alan Levien piloted his Superstock alongside Dale Robertson’s new purchase, the ex-64P Superstock of Kevin Smith. Race winners on the night were Scott McIntosh appearing in his Young Guns team body 51W, 35W Jason Kinsey, 22W Richard Gaskin and 6W Paul Gaskin. Obviously some of the Young Guns took the opportunity to practice their teams racing skills as 669W Brendan Tye, 35W Jason Kinsey, 4W Josh Kahui and 86W Kent Hawkins all hindering their fellow competitors at times. Hopefully this will be good preparation for their assault on the Peter Barry title on the 28 April at Meeanee.

The C & M Modifieds had 2 and a half races during the night as the field dwindled. The 57W of Ben Cawthra took on the persona of its sponsor and became a very ‘Sick Puppy’ needing to be taken home, Blair McPhee having a run in Jonas England’s 17W found himself on the infield with racing over for the night and Paul Hodson lost his battle to start the 4W. Tama Arapere, driving the 91W was the only driver to have an incident-free night. Winners were 4W Paul Hodson, Jonas England in the 9W and Tama Arapere, 91W.

The Century Distributors Ministocks had their first race abandoned after a couple of laps due to track conditions. Winners on the night were 15W Daniel Austin and 97W Jordan McLeod.

The Baxter’s Catering Double Ramp Demolition Derby saw a large field of 46 cars take to the track. The action was fast and furious, spurred on by the valiant efforts of stockcar sheriffs 46W and 4W. The crowd were enthusiastic and vocal in their encouragement and appreciation of all the driver’s efforts.

            So ends another season at Max Motors Family Speedway, while we didn’t see our ambition of zero rainouts quite fulfilled the fact that there were very few has made for a great season. See you in October for the start of another one.

ELS Data

We have no ELS Data for this event as the timing system failed.

The Wellington Super-Saloons saw the 4 Wellington entrants: 24W Martin Halcrow, 88W Brian Comerford (making his first outing in his new Hypermac), Donald Gregory in the 69G and the rarely seen 63W David Spears joined by Hawkes Bay drivers 1NZ Steve Flynn, 6B Grant Flynn, 12B Peter Black, 54B Simeon Howard and Graeme Strong in the 5W of Brian McPhee, Te Marua regular 31P Rod Clifton and 24A Ben Harding all the way from Auckland. The field looked set for some great driving action and the crowd wasn’t disappointed.

The first heat saw Gregory in the 69G retire to the infield before the off and not hit the track again for the rest of the night. Brian Comerford in the 88W showed a satisfying burst of speed to lead out only to be relegated to last place after a race incident that saw the field reset under the orange light. At the restart 24W Martin Halcrow stormed away into the lead chased hard by 5W Graeme Strong who had 1NZ Steve Flynn and 24A Ben Harding right on his tail, dogging his every step. With none of them giving quarter they finished in this order but the drive of the race must go to 6B Grant Flynn who, separated from the front runners by a large margin, managed to pull them back to finish right behind them in 5^th.

The next heat belonged to 1NZ Steve Flynn as he showed his class and a clean pair of heels to the rest of the field. A racing incident with 5W Graeme Strong would cost 24W Martin Halcrow several points as he dropped places with a flat tyre. The 6B of Grant Flynn claimed 2^nd place in the hands of Brian Comerford with both the car and driver out of the championship points chase the 2^nd place points were given to 24A Ben Harding with 5W Graeme Strong gaining 3^rd.

At the front of the field in the final heat the two 24’s Halcrow and Harding lead the way home, with the victory going to 24A Harding but behind them the battle of the night was raging between 5W Graeme Strong and the flying Steve Flynn in the 1NZ. Side by side with only a coat of paint separating them for most of the race Flynn edged ahead on the line at the flag fall to take 3^rd place. This left the championship on a knife edge with 3 drivers on 29 points, 1NZ Steve Flynn, 24A Ben Harding, 24W Martin Halcrow and a runoff to look forward to.

Martin Halcrow continued his poor form when it comes to drawing marbles for a runoff, drawing the unlucky number 3. Harding and Flynn blasted out from the start but both going wide on turn 1 opened the door for Halcrow only for it to be slammed shut again as Flynn spun in front of him causing him to slow and allowing Harding to recover the lead. 1NZ retired to the infield while the two 24’s battled it out. By the last lap 24W was hard up on the 24A and challenging for the lead. If the logical path of multiple grid runoffs having 6 laps to give the person on the rear grid a fair shake of the dice had been adopted, we unbiased Wellington supporters are sure Martin Halcrow would have taken the title. However it was not to be and 24A Ben Harding continued his stellar form and took the Wellington Super Saloon title for 2012.

The long awaited Placemakers Superstock series attracted a field of 14 cars to Te Marua. Unfortunately it was a week too early for local Dale Robertson to try his recent purchase however the field did see 46W Alan Levien, 52W Paul Fairbrother and 54W Mike Pye flying the local flag.

Heat one saw 39S Michael Willemsen lead out but the hard chasing 10P Peter Rees soon pulled him back and took over the running. Meanwhile back in the pack 46W Alan Levien was forced to the wall by 4P Chad Ace and dropped to the rear. 126P Asher Rees reassured by his father Peter that he was driving the “good” car watched the race from the infield after only completing half a lap. 52W Paul Fairbrother made a spectacular exit in a cloud of smoke and was out for the rest of the night. 31P Andy McCabe took 2^nd behind Rees with 39S Willemsen having to settle for 3^rd.

In the next heat 58P Peter Bengston continued to show he is one of the fastest drivers this season with a start to finish win. As 75S Carl Shearer and 4p Chad Ace were battling for 2^nd place, 98P Craig Humphries slipped past and took the spot. Ace however came back at him and eventually reclaimed the place, leaving Humphries 3^rd.

10P Peter Rees appeared to have suffered damage and was having trouble cornering, managing to control the wayward car for most of the race safely bizarrely the officials black flagged him on the final lap.

The final heat saw only 12 starters make the track, with 64P Darren Quirk in the Palmerston North Promotions car joining Fairbrother in the 52W on the DNS list. 98P Craig Humphries, 10P Peter Rees and 58P Peter Bengston all made a great start, barging their way to the front where they were in a race of their own for the top placings. 46W Alan Levien continued to show pace, pulling off some good passes to catch the front pack but ran out of laps to threaten their positions. Peter Bengston took out the race and the series round with a total of 39 points. 10P Peter Rees was 2^nd in the race but the zero tally from the 2^nd heat black flagging put paid to his chances in the round. 3^rd place in the race and the series was Craig Humphries 98P with 31 points. The consistent 31P Andy McCabe finished the round in 2^nd place with 34 points and 46W Alan Levien took out the 4^th place in the round with 28 points.

Go Fast was the sponsor of the Windy City Showdown for Minisprints. The format was two reverse grid heats and a one race final.

In Heat one 82p Jamie Larsen blitzed the field winning by almost half a lap. 21W Stephen Taylor made his way up through the field to take 2^nd with 11W James Hadley claiming 3^rd spot.

Heat two saw 44W Nathan Timoko take the lead and hold it for a couple of laps until the fast moving 21W flew past him. 82P Jamie Larsen and 48P Christian Hermansen also managed to find their way past Timoko to take 2^nd and 3^rd respectively.

Unfortunately car problems kept Hermansen out of the Windy City Showdown final. Larsen also succumbed to technical issues in the first lap leaving the way clear for 21W Stephen Taylor to show he is the best of the locals, taking the title with 9 seconds to spare from 11W James Hadley and 22W Glen Shingleton.

Support classes for the night were Hirepool Stockcars who received a welcome boost due to Meeanee’s early rain-off, with 27B Joshua Smith, 5B Michael Smith, 9B Stacey Smith, 16B Brett Loveridge, 74B Tony Palmer and 25B Bryce Cross all making the long trek down. On the local front Glen O’Keefe took the controls of 46W, Nathan Heyburn pedalled the 11W and 66W Ritchie Ryder made his first appearance on the track.

25 cars faced the starter on the slippery track in the first heat. 4W Josh Kahui led the field out chased hard by 35W Jason Kinsey and 22W Richard Gaskin. Ex-Production Saloon driver 66W Richard Ryder showed promise and pace as he made his way through the field to 2^nd place however a couple of spins dropped him back down. At the chequered flag it appeared to the naked eye that 24W Scott McIntosh had just pipped 22W Richard Gaskin however the lack of a working transponder cost the Young Guns captain the chance to carry the flag which was handed to Gaskin.

In Heat two 25W Jake Abels and 26W Tom Rundberg took it upon themselves to stir the field spreading mayhem to the best of their ability. At the head of the field 67W Kane Hargreaves took a good win from 24W Scott McIntosh and 4W josh Kahui.

In the final heat 36W Sam Kinsey kept up the family reputation by continuing to show people the wall while brother Jason 35W conserved his car for the Young Guns outing at the Peter Barry next week. Working transponder or not no-one could deny 24W Scott McIntosh his convincing win. He was followed home by Dale Robertson in the 98W of Blake Ellett and 27B Joshua Smith.

The Century Distributers Ministocks again sported a large field of young drivers. In Heat one 55W Todd McLachlan and 15W Daniel Austin had a good battle for the lead with McLachlan triumphing and 13W Todd Jenkins taking 3^rd. 10W Emma Smith showed improvement and could be a force to be reckoned with in seasons to come.

In the next heat 46W Keegan Levien led out but finally succumbed to the pressure of 13W Todd Jenkins who took the win from Levien and 99P James Mallia.

The final heat saw 13W Todd Jenkins farewelling the Youth Ministock class in style with a well deserved win from 15W Daniel Austin and 247W Dave Marshall.

The Moving Company Saloons rounded out the programme with a first heat that, according to the commentator for the night Saloon driver Todd Moffat, saw the entire field censured by the referees. Winners on the night were 17W Stu Cunningham and 24W Gary Marshall.

The effort made by visiting drivers to come and swell our fields was certainly greatly appreciated by, not only the local drivers but especially by the spectators who relish seeing larger and more competitive fields.

 ELS Data

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