With the buzz of the Manawatu Superstock Champs still on my mind, I packed up on Sunday morning and headed up the road to Wanganui to take in The Greenkeeper West Coast Stockcar Champs. The Sidecars were also competing for their West Coast Championship and Ministocks and Production Saloons filled out the programme.
This would be only my second visit to Oceanview in 20 odd years (the last being the Superstock Champs 3 or 4 years back) so I was looking forward to my first Sunday afternoon meeting since I was a kid living in Wanaganui. The weather was awesome and a small but reasonable crowd turned out to enjoy some great racing. As it is over a week past the event, I won’t bother going into any detail about the racing, as an excellent review was posted by Roger on the Oceanview website http://www.oceanviewspeedway.co.nz/. Essentially the Stockcar racing was an oversized Teams race between Wanganui and Palmerston North with a few Wellington cars and even one from Invercargill. There was also some talented driving in the Ministocks and I just love the Sidecars whenever I get to watch them and they didn’t dissapoint.
Well that’s enough waffle, enjoy the pics.
Smeats On Tour–1st stop, Palmerston North
With some long overdue annual leave booked, the first point of business was deciding on the destination. After checking the calendar, it was an easy choice in picking the Total Sheetmetals Manawatu Superstock Champs at Robertson Holden International Speedway, Palmerston North. After yet again missing the Teams earlier in the month, I was keen to visit the current mecca of Superstock racing for what is always a hotly contested championship. After a worryingly damp drive down the middle of the North Island on Friday, I was happy to see a fine sunny day greet me as I arrived in Palmy on Saturday morning.
I must of had a preminition of what was to come, as before the meeting I took two photos of which camps I thought the action would come from.
Firstly of course was the dramatic rollover by Wayne Hemi in 591p The Red Waka II after collecting a piece of bumper that had come off another car and acted as the launch ramp. Luckily for Wayne there was no significant injury sustained, unfortunately the crew were unable to get the car back out for any further racing. A real pity because it was showing some stunning pace. There are some pics of the tumble further down.
Next is a shot of the 19c Malcom Ngatai camp. It seems that any major Superstock field is not complete without the 19c war machine on the grid, which is a testament to the amount of travel this team undertakes in a season. Malcom and his crew also bring an extra level of fun and involvement to the pits for the families and kids with what I deem the Ngatai Fun Park. He must be sooooooooooo stoked to be the 1st driver outside of Manawatu / Wanganui to win the Manawatu Championship in 40 odd years.
Also of interest to me was Nelson Hartley having a run in the Rees Spaceframe (complete with the super shocks) while doing double duty in the Sprintcar, which was sporting a rather radical double wing configuration until reverting back to a more conventional wing. Always good to see a new face testing the waters in Superstocks.
The Appetiser – Stockcars from heat 1
Main Course – Superstocks from heat 1
Dessert – Sidecars / Sprincars
So there ends the first part to the tour, a great night of racing at arguably the best facilities in the country. Thanks to the Drivers, Crews and Track Staff.
Stay tuned for part two of the tour which takes in The Greenkeeper West Coast Stockcar Champs at Oceanview Speedway, Wanganui.
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