Holt the best of the Gizzy drivers

A109 Light Utility Helicopter flight with mayor Gisborne City from the air in November 2023.

SPEEDWAY

A JAMMED gearbox off the start line in the last heat of the finals cost Gisborne’s Ben Holt (4G) any chance of a podium finish in the New Zealand stock car championships.

He was the only Gisborne driver to make the finals and finished a creditable 15th out of 180 cars at Baypark Raceway in Mount Maunganui on Saturday night.

“I was going quite well until the last race with a seventh first race from grid 27, then a 15th in the second from grid nine,” Holt said.

He was lying seventh on points going into the last heat.

“But my gearbox jammed in first gear off the start line, so that was my race.

“After that I sat in the infield and watched other cars in front of me on overall points get taken out.

“I reckon if I had been able to keep going I would have been pretty close to a podium,” said Holt.

“I was disappointed, but that’s motorsport racing.”

James Kirk (31G) went within one place of making the final too when he competed with Mason O’Dwyer (99G) in the repercharge on Saturday night.

The top six from the 36 cars in the race went into the final.

“James got a flat tyre going into the last corner when he was lying sixth and was passed by one car, so he finished seventh and missed out on the final.”

O’Dwyer blocked for Kirk in the repercharge and was never in with a chance of making the final.

The Gisborne Gladiators, including Holt, Kirk, O’Dwyer, James Clarke (29G) and Ethan Rees (127G), along with reserve Jordan Fleetwood (16G), are preparing their cars for the New Zealand stock car teams champs this weekend in Stratford.

They get the new red paint job today.