“With an injured Barry Irvine on our other bike, we were going in limping really, so it was tough.”
Miller said it was disappointing to finish second to Hawke’s Bay for the second year in a row.
“We still finished on the podium, though, and that is the main thing.”
The Gladiators runner James Kirk (31G) was first to the white flag in the stockcar teams’ race against the Meeanee Maulers but it all came unstuck in the final lap when the visitors turned him.
“Saturday night was all about blooding some new guys into the Gladiators and they all went well,” veteran team member Bruce Harding (63G) said.
“It was great to have James back out there and he nearly pulled it off for us. It was a good effort by everybody.”
Aerial tricksThe Freestyle NZ motocross team put on a thrilling show with their brave aerial tricks.
“The boys were absolutely rapt with how it went,” Freestyle NZ owner/manager Neil Dempsey said.
“They loved it. The crowd was awesome. It was a really positive experience.”
One of the overseas riders in the team had a problem getting hold of a suitable bike and that reduced the team to three.
“Despite that, we were happy with what we did to please the crowd, and we would gladly come back,” Dempsey said.
“A big thank-you to the speedway club for having us.”
Gisborne Speedway Club president Grant MacGregor said the bike riders put on an “awesome” show.
“They performed like real daredevils. Some of their tricks were incredible and the crowd let them know it.”
The rest of the race programme was highlighted by Crystal Peach’s win in Race 3 of the production saloons.
She went from three on the grid to first in a lap and a half and then said goodbye to the field. It was a top drive as she extended her lead all the way to the finish.
Honours were shared in the other production races and among the youth ministock drivers.
James Kirk’s win in Race 2 of the stockcars was a stand-out performance. He took on four hard-charging Hawke’s Bay cars in the field and outmanoeuvred and outdrove them.
Aaron Brown (1NZ ) enjoyed two good wins in the streetstocks.
“Overall it was a really good meeting,” MacGregor said.
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In other speedway news, Gisborne saloon racer Ethan Cook (76G) finished a creditable fifth in the New Zealand Saloon Car Grand Prix at Bay Park on Saturday night.
He was in third place going into the final race and just missed out on a podium finish.
Results Production saloons — Race 1: Dave Gooch (95G) 1, Crystal Peach (10G) 2, Dylan Quinn (7G) 3.
Race 2: Rex Briant (6G) 1, Quinn, 2, Anton McKay (17G) 3.
Race 3: Peach 1, Chris Miller (4G) 2, McKay 3.
Streetstocks — Race 1: Aaron Brown (1NZ) 1, David Hampton (88G) 2, Trevor McArthur (128G) 3.
Race 2: Hampton 1, Brenden Gooch (10G) 2, Brown 3.
Race 3: Brown 1, Brenden Gooch 2, Cody Gooch (6G) 3.
Youth ministocks — Race 1: Hamish Moore (16G) 1, Angus Briant (81G) 2, Bailey Curtis (21G) 3.
Race 2: Dylan Towler (96R) 1, Briant 2, Curtis 3.
Race 3: Towler 1, Dylan Jensen (63R) 2, Curtis 3.
Stockcars — Race 1: Dylan Pickering (56G) 1, Joshua Swannell (85B) 2, Ben Holt (62G) 3.
Race 2: James Kirk (31G) 1, Brett Loveridge (82B) 2, Michael Smith (84B) 3.
Race 3: Loveridge 1, Daniel Dittmer (97B) 2, Brendon Symes (96B) 3.
