First-timer Norris wins demo derby

NEXT YEAR: The field tomorrow night can breath a little easier because last year's winner Cassy Norris(pictured), who quite frankly stole the show with a great drive, will not be racing. "I have got too much on at the SPCA Animal Haven to race this time, but I will be back next year hopefully." Picture by Murray Robertson

DEMOLITION derby veteran Neil Gooch — in his 100th derby — was the “last man standing” at the Eastland Group Raceway on Saturday night, but the winner was a woman.

The 20 cars in the entertaining finale to Gisborne Speedway Club’s last meeting for 2015 took half an hour to grind themselves to a standstill.

Gooch in Car 100 somehow managed to keep his badly damaged station wagon going, with steam pouring from it, right up until winner Cassy Norris caught him at pit corner in her little Nissan Sentra and finished him off.

“It feels awesome to win. I didn’t expect that to happen at all,” said Norris, 37, as she held the chequered flag next to her shattered car.

She also picked up a “stirrer’s prize” for the way she entered into the biff-and-bash contest sponsored by Mangapapa Garage and Novus Auto Glass. It was her first time on the speedway track.

“The secret was to just go hard,” Norris said.

She drove in support of the SPCA animal haven and said the prize money would be used to help feed their animals.

It is believed to be the first time a woman has won a demolition derby at the Gisborne track.

Gooch was philosophical.

“Not my night tonight, and to be beaten by a woman,” he said with a wry smile as he walked away from his wrecked car.

Fair to say, though, the veteran did well to stay in the contest given the attention he received.

Joel Tibble gets his dreamTetraplegic Joel Tibble had his dream to race on the speedway track realised with a race between the streetstock he was in (14G) and two others. Tibble’s car, driven by Glenn Pistor, took the chequered flag.

“It was awesome — I’m pretty speechless actually,” 20-year-old Tibble said in the pits.

“The speed was amazing and those drifts into the corners — I loved it.”

The Eastland championships produced some fantastic racing highlighted by the three wins from three starts for stockcar driver Brett Lloyd, who won that title easily.

Clive Ireland and his swinger Kerwin Arnaboldi had two wins out of three in the sidecars to upstage the in-form Rob Miller and his swinger Hamish White, the latter racing despite illness.

The big grin on Ireland’s face after the third and deciding heat said it all.

“It feels great. I was a bit more aggressive in that last race and that’s what did it for Kerwin and me.”

Reece Lister (8G) was outstanding in the six-shooters with two wins from three starts. The production saloon title went to Dave Gooch (10G), the saloons title to former Gisborne driver Dan Corrin (24M) with two heat victories, and the ministock title to a determined Hamish Moore (16G).

The streetstocks title went to Hawke’s Bay’s Brent Redington (24B) in an upset over Gisborne’s Aaron Brown (5G).

In one of the best races of the night, Brown started at the back, came through the field and ran Redington down right on the finish line in the final heat but the visitor had the edge in overall points.

The other big highlight on the night was to see young Sammi Durston (177G) back out on the track after a bad rollover last weekend.

“It was a bit scary at first for me out there tonight but as the racing went along I got more confident,” she said.

“After three races I feel good.”

Her mother Toni put it simply: “Brent and I are super-proud of her.”

It was an outstanding finish to the pre-Christmas phase of the speedway club’s season, and attention now turns to the New Zealand saloons, and New Zealand stockcar teams events in the new year.

Full results will be in The Herald and on the website tomorrow.