Rodney McIndoe carries the chequered flag after a race win. The Gisborne driver won the Phil Walsh Memorial and Saloon Champs over Gisborne Speedway Club's end-of-season double-header meeting. Photo / Angus Bodle Photography
Gisborne speedway fans know all about leaving the best to last.
Racing at Awapuni Speedway last weekend lived up to the anticipation of a season-ending double-header meeting, with a fireworks show to boot.
Highlights were sprinkled throughout Friday and Saturday nights.
“We had some close racing, plenty of sparks flying and metal-crunching battles around the corners,” track commentator Buck Rogers said.
“On Friday, we had the Phil Walsh Memorial for saloon cars, and 7G Rodney McIndoe had his first win of a successful weekend.”
McIndoe has been racing in the South Island lately – he has won back-to-back South Island saloon car championships – and drove well in all three heats on Friday to finish at or near the front for a winning points total.
On Saturday night, McIndoe wrapped up victory in the Gisborne Auto Services Far East Saloon Champs.
Friday night points counted towards the champs. Placings in those races and the first two saloon car races on Saturday determined grid placings for the saloon car feature, the Pit Stop Bruce Ellmers Memorial.
Saloon cars 1NZ Ethan Cook lived up to his ranking by winning the feature, but he had his work cut out.
He had been out of town and hadn’t arrived back in time to race on Friday, so his grid placing was based only on the two Saturday heats. He didn’t get enough points for a front-row start and set off on the 20-lap race from the middle of the 11-car pack.
As Cook worked his way through the field, he met stout resistance from McIndoe. Both drivers’ cars run on Vulcan chassis designed and built by Cook, and for three laps they could hardly be separated. The struggle lasted until the cars touched and the damage prompted McIndoe to take his car on to the infield.
Cook carried on, overtaking round the outside until he hit the front and stayed there, Rogers said.
“It was a combination of his driving skills and the car ... which he built.”
Another Friday feature was the City Smart Repairs Super Stock Points Dash Round 2, which determined the overall points dash winner – 5G Josh Prentice, a Gisborne-contracted Manawatu driver and member of the Gisborne Giants team. On Friday, he drove Asher Rees’s car and was the top points-scorer in the three heats.
“Round 1 was held about four months ago,” Rogers said.
Asher’s father, 10G Peter Rees, was third on Friday and in the overall result.
Second place in Friday’s three heats went to 96G Brad McGree, but second place across the two rounds went to 235G Regan Penn.
“Regan was my driver of the night on Friday,” Rogers said. “He drove really well, and in the third race he was unlucky. He had a flat tyre caused by a bit of contact and had to stop.”
Penn got his reward the following night, compiling a winning points total over the three races of the McCafferty Metal Cartage Superstock Points Dash.
“He won the first two races and was well up in the third,” Rogers said.
Rotorua driver 87R Chris Shingleton won Saturday night’s Roseland Tavern Stockcar Classic, ahead of Gisborne drivers 707G Shaun Kingi in second place and 85G Brittany Carpenter in third. Whanganui driver 53V Mitchell Lockett won the “stirrer” award for his energetic impact on the 23-car field.
“Going into the last of the three races, any of the top three placegetters could have won,” Rogers said.
The biggest fields were in the Advanced Automotive Ministock 1200cc Champs – about 65 cars in the senior division and 25 in the junior, Rogers said.
“We had to run heats to get the top 26 for the seniors.”
Auckland driver 17A Korbin Seales, Hawke’s Bay’s 972B Jimmy Crawford and Palmerston North’s 23P Kobe Dorn were first, second and third respectively in the senior division.
“They’re all regular drivers at Gisborne meetings,” Rogers said.
In the juniors, 98B Maz Butcher, 66P Blake Preston and 44G Zac Chiles, of Hawke’s Bay, Palmerston North and Gisborne respectively, filled the top three places.
Twelve cars took part in the Terry Hunt Memorial for classic stockcars.
“They had six races – three each night,” Rogers said. “It’s a demonstration class ... basically non-contact. They’re older stockcars people have brought back out.”
First, second and third places were filled by 5M David Bacon (Mount Maunganui), 2NZ Trevor Mullooly (Gisborne) and 1H Peter Andrew (Hamilton).
Tribute was also paid to 0G Marty McFadyen, who was instrumental in the start of Gisborne classic stockcar events about 12 years ago. McFadyen drove his retirement race on Saturday in the 1970s and 80s crowd favourite car Lily the Pink.
Rogers said it was also noteworthy that 15G Dale Bellingham, of Gisborne, managed to roll his production saloon car.
“You don’t often see that.”
An imbalance caused by a flat tyre might have caused the flip, he said.
It ended the night’s racing for the car and its driver.
Mangapapa Garage Ministock Driver of the Night was 128G Leah Rees on Friday and Chiles on Saturday.
Competitor of the Weekend was 71G Campbell Hulme-Moir, for his on- and off-track contribution. Apart from impressing with his driving skills and interaction with other competitors, Hulme-Moir made the ministocks trophies.
If all that wasn’t enough, the Jukes Carriers fireworks display provided additional light and sparkle.
RESULTS, Saturday –
Terry Hunt Memorial (classic stockcars): David Bacon (5M) 1, Trevor Mullooly (2NZ) 2, Peter Andrew (1H) 3.
McCafferty Metal Cartage Superstock Points Dash: Regan Penn (235G) 1, James Clarke (19G) 2, Peter Rees (10G) 3.
Roseland Tavern Stockcar Classic: Chris Shingleton (87R) 1, Shaun Kingi (707G) 2, Brittany Carpenter (85G) 3. Stirrer: Mitchell Lockett (53V).
Pit Stop Bruce Ellmers Memorial (saloon cars): Ethan Cook (1NZ) 1, Jeremy Browne (77B) 2, Dan Weston (444H) 3.
Gisborne Auto Services Far East Saloon Champs: Rodney McIndoe (7G) 1, Scott Lansdowne (74A) 2, Mike Adamson (23S) 3.
Advanced Automotive Ministock 1200cc Champs, Seniors: Korbin Seales (17A) 1, Jimmy Crawford (972B) 2, Kobe Dorn (23P) 3. Juniors: Maz Butcher (98B) 1, Blake Preston (66P) 2, Zac Chiles (44G) 3, Josh Coates (7G) 4, Arie Cuthbert (74G) 5, Braxton Prentice (10P) 6, Cooper Nicholson (95B) 7, Paige Coxhead (21R) 8, Aria Renall-Shotter (17B) 9, Zane Moiser (42G) 10. Senior Tier 2: Payton Swannell (16B) 1, Olly Hopkirk (47P) 2, Kobe Morgan (26G) 3. Senior consolation: Van MacLachlan (85B) 1, William Johnston-Priest (52G) 2, Elyssa Webber (94R) 3. Top female senior: Jorja Rogers (16G). Top female junior: Paige Coxhead (21R). Best presented junior: Braxton Prentice (10P). Best presented senior: Kaiden Beale (211B).
Mangapapa Garage Gisborne Ministock Driver of the Night: Zac Chiles (44G).
Competitor of the Weekend: Campbell Hulme-Moir (71G).
Friday –
Phil Walsh Memorial: Rodney McIndoe (7G) 1, Grahame Strong (77B) 2, Scott Lansdowne (74A) 3.
City Smart Repairs Superstock Points Dash Round 2: Josh Prentice (5G) 1, Brad McGee (96G) 2, Peter Rees (10G) 3.
City Smart Repairs Superstock Points Dash overall result: Josh Prentice (5G) 1, Regan Penn (235G) 2, Peter Rees (10G) 3.
Advanced Automotive 1200cc Champs – Senior qualifiers: Vinzent MacGregor (5B), Conrad Gooch (6G), Brodie Gooch (10G), Alex Beech (11K), Lucas Buckrell (14B), Taylor Bryant (14H), Jorja Rogers (16G), Korbin Seales (17A), Troy Peach (23B), Kobe Dorn (23P), Blair Hume (23R), Jaxon Hazleman (28A), Alexander Wood (43M), Baxter Reid (44P), Paige Smith (53V), Kayne Nicholson (59B), Lachlan Melling (72B), Jacob Penn (75B), Steven Skelton (82A), Ella Coxhead (91R), Corey Mathieson (117H), Kaiden Beale (211B), Karl Vazey (351M), Leighton Leevard (612H), Riley Symes (757S), Jimmy Crawford (972B).
Tier 2: Ella Jensen (4G), Zarea Paretovich-Wright (7K), Payton Swannell (16B), Aiden Waihi (18P), Jade Van Vroonhoven (24K), Kobe Morgan (26H), Olly Hopkirk (47P), Lewis Hutchins (53H), Campbell Hulme-Moir (71G), Logan Irvine (76G), Malachi McIndoe (78G), Milla Jones (81G), Dakota Halse (83H), Declan Vakaj (83R), Hamish Worsnop (87G), Carson Webb (87V), Shakylah Martin (92B), Kelly-Anne Pinder (92R), Dylan Allen (96K), Eva Cawood (99P), Anna Robinson (114R), Ella Vercoe (116P), Katie Cheetham (141P), Tiana Chatfield (741A).
Remaining seniors were eligible for a consolation race.
Mangapapa Garage Gisborne Ministock Driver of the Night: Leah Rees (128G).