NZ Stockcar Champs Finals - 61g Willy McClune, 98W Ashlee Gaskin-Robertson
STOCKCAR racer Ethan Rees made Gisborne Speedway Club history on Saturday night when he became the first Gisborne club driver to win the New Zealand Stockcar Championship.
The MTF Finance national championships at the Eastland Group Raceway were rated by some as being among the best New Zealand titles ever.
Rees (127G) was among five Gisborne drivers to make the 30-car three-race finals series.
Night started brilliantlyThe 20-year-old’s night started brilliantly when he went from outside pole position at the start, lapping at 17.5 seconds, to win well. He raced tactically and conservatively to keep control of the lead.
“The car was on fire,” he said.
“Dad (Peter) and Brett Lloyd had it set up perfectly.”
Rees drew mid-pack in Race 2 and it was a real dog fight. Two cars climbed the wall and after one crash the race was stopped for 10 minutes while the driver was tended to.
Rees lost a couple of places late in the 15 laps, but finished 11th.
It all came down to the final race and he went into it five points behind first place on 49 points, but from 28 on the grid.
In a remarkable drive, he muscled and weaved his way through the field to finish a breathtaking third.
It meant he won the title by a point, ahead of cars from Wellington and Stratford.
Applause echoed around speedwayThe victory lap he drove with the final chequered flag brought many of the crowd of 5000 to 6000 to their feet as applause echoed round the speedway.
“The hometown hero has done it!” was how the track announcers put it as he made his way round the track.
“It has been my dream to back up what my dad and elder brother Asher have done,” an emotional Ethan said when interviewed moments after he re-entered the pits.
Peter Rees has won the New Zealand stockcar title five times, and Asher Rees won it four years ago.
“I’m feeling blown away . . . very proud of him,” his father said.
“To go from 28th at the start to third to win the national title — that just doesn’t happen these days, yet it has just happened right here in front of us. It was incredible.
“Ethan’s win here tonight says completely that our family decision to come to Gisborne from the Palmerston North track four years ago was totally worth it.”
'So stoked'His son was almost speechless with joy.
“I’m so stoked. I cannot describe the feelings right now. I’m just so happy.
“I had no idea I had made up so much ground in the final race. I just went for every placing that came along.”
He became the first Gisborne club driver to stand on top of the stockcar championship podium.
The four other Gisborne drivers in the final — Jonny Morley (98G), David Glassford (22G), Jason Lovell (67G) and Mason O’Dwyer (99G) — all gave it everything.
“Jonny pushed himself and his car all the way, and in the end it was the car that gave out, not him,” club president Grant MacGregor said.
“Mason ended up with a hole in the radiator but he scored points in the final.
“Jason would have to be one of the unluckiest on the track. Wrong place, wrong time, but he made the final, and that was great for him.
“David can be very proud of himself too.
“Hats off to Ethan, though. He drove like a true champion.”
MacGregor said that, overall, it was a fantastic event.
“Great weather, great racing, great crowds, and topped off with a local car winning it.
“It doesn’t get any better than that.”
A small field of saloons put on a thrilling show in the support programme.Ethan Cook (76G) won two races, and Hamish Moore (16G), one.
The outside-line driving of Cook was a feature of that class, and of his.