The Friday Homes Superstock Tri-Series was the headline act when Max Motors Family Speedway opened for the 2018-19 season on Sunday night. With a few local stars missing who patiently wait for engines and other work to be completed on their vehicles the 9 visiting drivers made up the shortfall and produced some good racing for the crowd.
In their first heat 127g Ethan Rees got off to a flying start and was soon leaving the chasing pack in his wake. 24w Grant Littlewood by the end of the race was making good headway into Ethan’s lead but ran out of laps and had to be content with 2nd place. The big movers in the race came next with 10g Peter Rees coming from grid 11 to finish 3 rd and 5w Keegan Levien who, after a first lap melee had ended up right at the back of the field, flew through the rest of the pack to finish in 4th spot. 26s Mitch Vickery made good use of his mid-grid start coming home in 5 th place ahead of 52w Paul Fairbrother who showed that his season off hasn’t dulled his driving skills. New to the Superstock class 46w Ethan Levien showed he has his inherited a fair share of the family’s aptitude for racing when he took not only the win in Heat two but also managed to hold out the determined 10g Peter Rees for a good portion of the race. He, in turn, was harassed by the other Levien in the race 5w Keegan who came home in 3 rd place. 7w Shane Davis followed them home in 4 th place ahead of first heat winner 127g Ethan Rees and 52w Paul Fairbrother. Heat 3 saw 95p Clive Elliot, 85w Lance Anderson and 31g Gary Davis not make the starting grid. 77p Scott Penn, in Ethan Rees’ last season’s car, led for the first lap but he was soon overhauled by 471p Benji Sneddon who went on to take the win well ahead of the rest unlike stablemate 371p Dan Hole, who unfortunately capped off a forgettable night with a trip to the infield. 127g Ethan Rees appeared to have a problem off the start and by the time he got his car running successfully was a lap behind the front-runners and was unable to move up any further than 9 th place. 7w Shane Davis had his best finish of the night with 2nd place ahead of the most consistent driver of the night 10g Peter Rees. 26s Mitch Vickery finished in 4 th place with 5w Keegan Levien right on his tail. Speaking of consistency 52w Paul Fairbrother registered his third 6 th place of the night. At the conclusion of racing 10g Peter Rees has the points lead and a 4 point buffer over 2 nd placed 5w Keegan Levien. 127g Ethan Rees is 3 rd overall but snapping at his heels only one point away is 7w Shane Davis. Well in the hunt are 26s Mitch Vickery, 52w Paul Fairbrother and 46w Ethan Levien who are all 5 th equal on points. Also not to be discounted, only two points further back is 24w Grant Littlewood.
The next round of the Friday Homes Superstock Tri-Series is on the 3 rd November and will be sure not to be missed!
The night’s racing had started with the Streetstocks, who this season have a new sponsor in Panhead. 13 cars took to the track including one visitor 95p Jordan Russ. In their first of four races 8w Tristan O’Donnell took up where he left off last season taking the chequered flag ahead of 95p Jordan Russ and 77w Daniel Bouzaid. Race two held a bit more action with early leader 9w Aaron Wilton retiring along with 77w Daniel Bouzaid and 19w Daniel Fergusson. 42w Aaron Bouzaid appeared to be practising his ballet moves with a few pirouettes whereas 13w Paul Sammons and 8w Tristan O’Donnell had a race-long battle. Amongst all this 26w Hamish Hvid took the win ahead of 95p Jordan Russ. In their third race 19w Daniel Fergusson was leading until he was put into the wall allowing 17w Byron Sutherland –Old to take the race win with 26w Hamish Hvid and 13w Paul Sammons filling the minor placings. Their final race of the night was taken by 95p Jordan Russ with 26w Hamish Hvid in 2 nd place and 29w Robert Jackson in 3 rd place. 91w Mitchell Sveistrup made a very creditable showing in his first Speedway outing.
Capital Pools and Spas Stockcars also had four races and presented with a field of 15 cars. Allen Levien, Wellington Stalwart, managed to wrestle back the controls of the 46w from his sons and showed he has lost none of his driving prowess and enthusiasm as he won the first heat. 96w Brad McGee came from the back of the grid to take 2 nd place proving the immaculate new car was worth it. 15w Hayden Thomas, another who spent his hard-earned money on a new car, came in 3 rd . Another of the old campaigners 669w Brendon Tye won the second heat with 72w Josh O’Keefe and 46w Allen Levien behind him. In the third heat 46w Allen Levien came out to play and put his well- honed blocking skills into practice. 72w Josh O’Keefe managed to hold out the more experienced 9w Bryce Jensen and 992w Taylor Lampp to take the win. By their final heat the field had been halved mainly by attrition in the previous heat. 9w Bryce Jensen took the win from 15w Hayden Thomas and 72w Josh O’Keefe.
The Moving Company Saloons had a visitor from Stratford, 829s Jarrod Macbeth, who along with the locals made up a field of 10 cars with 2 Supersaloons running off the back. Over their three heats they produced some great racing and skilled passing. 34w Amy Eckersley made a good solid start to her Saloon career and showed that she could be a force to be reckoned with as the season progresses. 9w Craig Burton started his season well with two wins with 829s Jarrod Macbeth taking the third chequered flag. Others to get among the places were 11w Scott Jones, 5w Jaden Munn, 57p Calvin Honore and 242w Ashleigh Halcrow.
The final support class of the night was the Kerry Lindsay Engine Re-conditioners Youth Ministocks. They, as usual, produced the largest field of the night with several visitors in the ranks. 85c Tom Cooper, 33s Ryan Houghton, 55s Caleb Coxhead, 43p Kyle Rowe, 99p Eli Gifkins, 15b Jac Dalton and 87b Jeremy Browne joined the locals on the track along with several new young drivers, identifiable by the white dots on the back of their cars. 75w Tui Smiler and 17w Harrison Hocking both made a good start to their first season and looked at home on the track. In their first heat 94w Ethan Donohue led the race from the start to the final corner where, while he was being held up in traffic along with the fast chasing 9w Cyrus Crook, the 24w Keegan Cotter saw clear air and grabbed the advantage and the chequered flag much to the delight of the crowd. 9w Cyrus Crook recovered well to take 2 nd place with 85c Tom Cooper heading the 94w for 3 rd place. In heat two 85c Tom Cooper made the long trip really worth his while when he won in fine style ahead of 24w Keegan Cotter and 43p Kyle Rowe.