MEETING REVIEW & RESULTS
- by Shane Hurndell
MEEANEE SPEEDWAY DELIVERS ON THIRD ATTEMPT
Hawke's Bay Speedway Club president James Buckrell heaped kudos on his organisation as he reflected on the weekend's rain-affected New Zealand Superstock Championship at Meeanee.
Originally the 130-car PTS Logistics-sponsored Championship was scheduled to be run over three nights with the Shakedown on Thursday night, Qualifying on Friday night and Finals on Saturday night.
While the Shakedown was staged in ideal conditions on Thursday night, wet weather forced the postponement of Friday night's meeting. Rain again prevented any racing taking place on Saturday night and this forced the Club to make the brave decision to stage two meeting in one day on Sunday with Qualifying from 1pm and Finals from 6.30pm.
Under difficult circumstances the Hawke's Bay Club did an outstanding job with the 121 competitors who were able to remain in contention in the pinnacle event of the Speedway New Zealand season which was last staged in Hawke's Bay 10 years ago.
"The club did an absolutely awesome job and left no stone unturned in our quest to get the event run," Buckrell said.
The quest included hiring a helicopter in an attempt to dry the track out out on Saturday night.
"Most tracks get two to three years to prepare for a New Zealand Championship. We had six months to prepare for this Championship and plan a whole season," Buckrell explained.
He was referring to the fact his club only took over the running of Meeanee Speedway in July. Prior to this the track was Promoter-run for five seasons.
"People suggested we run Qualifying on Sunday night and Finals on Monday night. But we can't make decisions like that as there are so many factors to consider - the availability of St John's, Speedway New Zealand officials and our staff and volunteers.
"There are so many ducks we have to get in a row," Buckrell said.
"Our track team did a fabulous job between Qualifying and Finals to produce the track they did," Buckrell said.
"I believe the Club spirit is the best it has been for 20 years and that is why we were able to stage what we did on Sunday. All the working bees which took place beforehand and all the Club members contributing ... that was the highlight for me," Buckrell added.
Kihi Kihi-contracted 29-year-old Asher Rees became the first driver to win three consecutive New Zealand Superstock Championship titles on Sunday night.
With two thirds and a first placing in the three Championship heats Rees won the title by 10 points from Stratford's Blair Uhlenberg and Whanganui's Zane Dykstra was a further seven points back in third place.
Rees received plenty of protection from his father and 2015 winner of the title, Peter Rees, and his brother Ethan Rees in the final heat. It was appropriate that Ethan slowed down and allowed Asher to pass him and capture the win in this race.
While Ethan has been 3NZ in this Championship he has yet to win it. Asher praised the support he received from his fellow family members who are both Gisborne-contracted and asked if he would do the same for Ethan if the opportunity arose in the future Asher replied:
"100 per cent ... I would definitely want to pay the favour back."
Hawke's Bay-based Auckland-contracted driver Randal Tarrant, who won the title in 2020, finished fifth.
Two Hawke's By drivers, Jacob Buckrell and Ben Milne, qualified for the top 26 but both missed out on a top six finish.
The Hawke's Bay Solo Bike Championship which was originally scheduled for Friday and Saturday nights was cancelled because of the wet weather.
Results:
PTS Logistics New Zealand Superstock Championship: H1, J Hamilton (Gisborne) 1; B Tye (Wellington) 2; A Rees (Kihi Kihi) 3. H2, Z Dykstra (Whanganui) 1; R Penn (Gisborne) 2; Rees 3. H3, Rees 1; E Rees (Gisborne) 2; B Uhlenberg (Stratford) 3. Repechage: B James (Gisborne) 1; Tye 2; P Fairbrother (Wellington) 3. Overall placings: A Rees 74 points 1; Uhlenberg 64 2; Dykstra 57 3; H Hart (Whanganui) 56 4; R Tarrant (Auckland) 55 5.
Technical Welding Services Tier Two: H1, T Hemingway (Mount Maunganui) 1; T James (Whanganui) 2; D Robertson (Wellington) 3. H2, Robertson 1; Hemingway 2; G Linklater (Whanganui) 3. H3, A Axtens (Rotorua) 1; James 2; S Williams (Palmerston North) 3. Overall placings: Hemingway 1; Axtens 2; Robertson 3.
Next Windows & Doors Tier Three: H1, M Vickery (Kihi Kihi) 1; T Parker (Wellington) 2; E Dykstra (Mount Maunganui) 3. H2, L Alderdice (Mount Maunganui) 1; Vickery 2; M Rumney (Rotorua) 3. H3, Alderdice 1; Vickery 2; M Kiser (Stratford) 3. Overall placings: Vickery 1; Alderdice 2; Dykstra 3.
Qualifying Heats:
Weymss Group: H1, Robertson 1; A Rees 2; T James 3. H2, Penn 1; H Booker (Stratford) 2; Z Harris (Whanganui) 3. H3, Booker 1; Penn 2; Williams 3. Qualifiers: Penn 74 points 1; Booker 71 2; Harris 68 3; Rees 67 4.
Warner Group: H1, T James (Gisborne) 1; D Marshall (Whanganui) 2; H Hart (Whanganui) 3. H2, M Ngatai (Canterbury) 1; B James (Gisborne) 2; S Roigard (Kihi Kihi) 3. H3, D Ashton (Hawke's Bay) 1; J Prentice (Gisborne) 2; A Hill (Nelson) 3. Qualifiers: Prentice and Hart 65 points 1 equal; Hill 64 3; Marshall 62 4.
Faram Group: H1, E Rees (Gisborne) 1; S Denham (Stratford) 2; J Patterson (Wellington) 3. H2, R Tarrant (Auckland) 1; Rees 2; Denham 3. H3, Tarrant 1; Rees 2; B Milne (Hawke's Bay) 3. Qualifiers: Rees 76 points 1; Tarrant 74 2; Denham 67 3; Milne 64 4.
Penn Group: H1, P Rees (Gisborne) 1; M McCarthy (Palmerston North) 2; Z Dykstra (Whanganui) 3. H2, Rees 1; J Buckrell (Hawke's Bay) 2; S Harwood (Nelson) 3. H3, Dykstra 1; Rees 2; S Tennant (Canterbury) 3.
Qualifiers: Rees 77 points 1; Dykstra 72 2; Buckrell 67 3; K Hunter (Rotorua) 60 4.
Long Group: H1, J Hamilton (Gisborne) 1; C Ace (Kihi Kih) 2; K Ashton (Rotorua) 3. H2, Q Ryan (Hawke's Bay) 1; K Levien (Wellington) 2; B Uhlenberg (Stratford) 3. H3, B Lennon (Canterbury) 1; L Alderdice (Mount Maunganui) 2; Levien 3. Qualifiers: Ace and Hamilton 66 points 1 equal; Levien 65 3; Uhlenberg 62 4.
Tarrant Group: H1, J Ward (Canterbury) 1; J Miers (Palmerston North) 2; J Clarke (Gisborne) 3. H2, E Levien (Wellington) 1; Ward 2; Clarke 3. H3, W Humphries (Palmerston North) 1; Miers 2; Clarke 3. Qualifiers: Clarke 72 points 1; Ward and Miers 69 2 equal; Humphries 67 4.
Photos by John Faulkner
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