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Fireworks Delight, Racing Close

Jarrod MacBeth

The Hinton Contracting Fireworks Spectacular was the undisputed star of the show at Stratford Speedway on Saturday night but the racing wasn’t too bad either.  Michael Keats, from TLL events has been performing the Fireworks displays at the Speedway for the past fifteen years and Saturday’s display was another top notch show, appreciated by the crowd who applauded their approval at the end. 

Prior to the fireworks there was some excellent racing on the track and even a couple of roll overs to keep the crowd entertained.  Four of the six classes that were racing, were racing for their City of New Plymouth Classic trophies and after last weeks uncompleted meeting, these were the first trophies of the season that would be dished out.  Racing was very close with ties for at least one podium position in all four classes.

A field of twenty four cars contested the Stockcar City of New Plymouth Classic.  Tyler Walker had an excellent start to the event after winning race one from a grid six start but his failure to finish the next two races ensured that he didn’t even feature in the top ten.  Bevan Phillips and Damien Hiestand were the two most consistent on the track, the pair ending tied for first place after Phillips recorded a seventh and two second place finishes while Hiestand recorded a firth and two thirds.  The pair faced off in a four lap run off to decide the winner and after Hiestand stalled at the start, Phillips ran away with the win.  Current New Zealand ranked number three, Josh Walsh, filled the last step on the podium and took third place.

The Minisprint class had three different winners over their three races with Shaun Dickie, Karl Uhlenberg and Cameron Hurley all carrying the Chequered flag.  Dickie added a second place in race two and a third in race three to his win in race one and won the Minisprint City of New Plymouth Classic by three points from Hurley and Uhlenberg who were tied.  The pair came to a mutual agreement and Uhlenberg took second place with Hurley third.

Richard Dreaver was in fine form in the Saloon class and held a three point margin over his nearest rivals heading into race three for the classes trophy.  However, disaster struck when his car wouldn’t start for race three and he missed out on the vital points he needed to secure the trophy win.  After the three races, Mark Hinton and Jarrod MacBeth were both tied equal for first place while Craig Korff and Daniel Hinton were tied for third, just one point behind, which demonstrates the closeness of racing within the class.  D. Hinton got the jump on Korff and led for the first lap of their run off before Korff made a pass up the inside and secured third spot on the podium.  M. Hinton’s car expired on the dummy grid with a flat battery leaving MacBeth to complete four laps on his own to win the Classic.

Will Hart was the standout driver in the Youth Ministock class but didn’t quite have luck on his side.  He won the first two races to hold a commanding lead in the hunt for the Classic and was running a strong fourth in race three when he was caught in an incident on the last lap and forced to retire form the race, losing what would have been a first place.  Alana Buckthought, who drove consistently all night won the trophy by just one point form Ryan Houghton and Brae Scott, Houghton beating Scott in a run off for the minor placings.

In the support class racing, Mitch Vickery was the dominant force in the Superstocks and won all three races.  The night wasn’t so good for Carl Shearer who was rolled over by Rotorua driver Tony Fabish in race two.  Modified wins were shared around with Stuart Rose, Farron Lowry and Blair Luscombe taking one each while Carl Hinton rolled his car after breaking an axle heading into turn two.  Newton Gordge, who was back in a race car for the first time in many years looked comfortable in his car, his best result being a second in race three.