I can’t believe it is a year since I have posted a blog on this site, which goes someway in summing up the last 12 months for this speedway fan. An unexpected redundancy, in 2013, made a dent in the travel fund so I have been on a self imposed speedway diet this season. It goes without saying that the trip to Napier for the Superstock Champs after New Year was going to be a special treat for this action-starved race fan.
The car was packed late on New Years day, ready for an early off the following morning. The aim was to hit Napier by lunch, setup camp and make it to practice in the afternoon. The morning dawned fine and I departed the city of sails on time. I must say that I really enjoy a trip through the guts of the island on a fine day and was looking forward to the leg between Taupo and Napier. Unfortunately and sadly (also for those involved) this leg was cancelled due to a road closure for a serious accident.
Not wanting to sit and wait for the road to open again the decision was made to travel via an old route between Taihape and Napier called the ‘Gentle Annie’. This is a route I have wanted to travel for quite sometime and I was not disappointed. Some amazing vistas and scenery made the extra driving time well worth it. The nature of the road was also enjoyable to drive with only a few difficult sections.
The detour, however, resulted in a later arrival in Napier and only catching the last half hour of practice. Still it was enough to ignite the passion I have for top level Superstock racing and I returned to basecamp eager to return the following day for scrutineering and qualifying night.
The weather was hot and sunny without even a hint of rain and I hit the Meeanee track early afternoon to get a good park and spend several hours drooling over the impressive line-up of machinery in the pits. The level of presentation of cars and teams really is of an amazing quality now a days and an absolute testament to the time and effort put into this level of racing.
Scrutineering always seems to throw up some interesting scenarios and this year would be no different with at least a couple of ‘big names’ being excluded from the championship. Some also had to made some hasty changes to their cars in order to make qualifying. This was somewhat puzzling to myself and a number of people that I talked to during the afternoon, given that most of the cars in question had recently run at a SNZ sanctioned title. No doubt there will be further comment, etc on this in some of the popular speedway forums.
Finally the clock rolled round to race time and the focus moved to the track (in more ways than one). When I can, I like to watch the racing from the pits and how the teams work through the course of the meeting, prepping and repairing the cars between heats. I am grateful to the Hawkes Bay club for allowing me access to the pits during racing over both nights and enjoyed chatting with many of the track staff and volunteers who are vital to the running of such meetings.
I tend not to go into much detail about the racing and results as this is covered in better detail in other mediums and forums. While there were a number of favoured drivers that did not qualify, this was balanced by some of the younger or lesser known drivers that made it through and would compete in the finals for a NZ Superstock title for the first time. Many will say that the condition of the track had an impact on these results and I must say that it certainly was a concern and a big talking point within the crews in the pits. Sadly the track deteriorated to the point where seriously large and solid chunks of track were being hurled over the safety fence and unfortunately resulted in some injuries. To the credit of those in charge, a short interlude was taken to sort out the problem area halfway through the programme. There was also a major effort made before finals night to present a fantastic surface for the finals, really chalk and cheese, credit where credit due. I will leave the rest to the ‘experts’ on this matter.
After a dodgy nights sleep and feeling under the weather all morning, I finally managed to get sorted for finals day. Arriving early, it was off to the pits to find out who had made it and who had to face the repercharges to make the last 2 spots in the final 26. I had spent a fair bit of time the previous night in the company of the Bengston team and was delighted to see that Peter had made it. As at 11.30pm of qualifying night, Peter was still in his race gear expecting a run-off but nothing was clear due to an issue with points and protests from other areas. I take my hat off to Peter and all the other drivers and crew as the number of hours spent at the track prior and post meeting is nothing short of astounding.
The programme started with the two repercharge races to determine the last two finalists. A great outcome for the locals as both races were won by Bay cars, with some great assistance from club mates who changed the outcome of the races with some good shots and great blocking of other cars that threaten to take the wins. While there was a spread of cars from a number of tracks, the majority favoured Palmerston North and this would be reflected in three P cars making the podium. For only the second time, the defending champion retained the title. This time it was reigning champ Shane Penn, 1NZ and going by the reaction of Shane, his father Bryce and the team, this meant a huge amount to all of them. Almost as big a story is the 2nd place getter, Jordan Dare, who drove the 581P redwaka2 car to 2NZ in his first Superstock champs. Going by the look on his face, as he drove into the scrutineering shed after the race, it took a little while to sink in as to what he had achieved. I know the car owner, Wayne Hemi and his crew were also pumped. A well deserved 3rd place went to Graeme Barr, 32P who drives so consistently in most events he enters. I was also happy to see Peter Bengston finish in 4th and getting closer to that elusive 1NZ (maybe next year aye Peter).
A special mention must be made of Scott Joblin and the Joblin team who were provisionally given 3NZ until they brought it to the attention of the officials that this was incorrect due to an error in points. Good on you boys, great example of sportsmanship, given what you were prepared to do to ensure the right person was awarded 3 NZ.
For me the weekend was really enjoyable, apart from the flatty I discovered leaving the track early Sunday morning. Thanks to Steveo’s Tyres in Napier for sorting the problem on Sunday prior to departing for home. Also big ups to the girls at Mobil Bay View who recommended Steveo’s and gave me great directions. Thanks also to the Hawkes Bay club and volunteers who put on a great weekend of racing.
Following is a selection of images taken over the course of the weekend. Please do not reproduce without permission.
