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Home / Gisborne Herald / Sport

Saloon cars deliver thrills

Gisborne Herald
17 Mar, 2023 10:45 PMQuick Read

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TANKS FOR COMING: Stockcar racers James Kirk(31G) and Jason Jones(81G) battled all night in their tanks. Pictures by Liam Clayton and Murray Robertson

TANKS FOR COMING: Stockcar racers James Kirk(31G) and Jason Jones(81G) battled all night in their tanks. Pictures by Liam Clayton and Murray Robertson

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THE Pit Stop Gisborne Saloon Car Championship produced four thrill-packed races at the Eastland Group Raceway on Saturday night as drivers tuned up for the New Zealand titles.

Gisborne’s Daniel and Ethan Cook and former Gisborne racer Dan Corrin were among the frontrunners.

1NZ Steve Cowling took out the Gisborne Speedway Club champion of champions title but he had to work hard for it.

Cowling only had the one win in the best-of-three series, and no other top three finishes, but raced consistently well to win on overall points.

Daniel Cook (77G) drove without a top-three finish in the series, but he was always close enough to the business end of the field to record second place overall.

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“It was awesome to do so well in such a high-quality field,” Cook said afterwards.

“Most of those cars out there tonight will be there in the New Zealand final here in January.

“It’s nice to be on the pace.”

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Club president Grant MacGregor said it was a “fantastic” second night of racing for the club’s season.

“The saloons really put it all out on the track . . . great racing, and it augurs well for the Eastlite Carriers New Zealand championships.”

Ethan Cook wins by big marginDaniel Cook’s younger brother Ethan (76G) was leading on points in the championship series after he drove away with Heat 2 from pole position, to win by a big margin.

But he was off the back in Race 3 and could not make his way through the field.

It turned out to be a drama-charged night, though, for the younger Cook when his car caught fire in the Bruce Ellmers Memorial race.

Cook and another car came together heavily heading out of pit corner and smoke immediately started to pour from the back of his car.

Cook managed two-thirds of a lap before the belching flames forced him to the infield where he jumped out. The track’s fire crews had the fire out before it could spread.

“The impact ruptured the oil cooler in my car,” Ethan Cook said.

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“The spilling oil hit the exhaust and caught fire. That was a first for me. I’ve not been in that situation before. But it will not affect the way I drive.”

The 20-year-old is in his first full season of saloon car racing and his determined style has stood out.

“I’m getting the hang of the car more and more. It was great to race in such a good field. That’s the kind of experience I need.”

Both brothers enjoyed their night . . . “We’re rapt.”

Corrin races wellFormer Gisborne driver Dan Corrin, contracted to Baypark and now living in Mt Maunganui, also raced well.

He finished third in the champ of champs and won the Bruce Ellmers Memorial race in style.

The doughnuts he ripped out on the track at the end said it all.

“It was awesome to win the Bruce Ellmers after I got relegated two spots in the champ of champs,” he said.

He damaged a tyre in the third race in the series and should have stopped racing. He made no mistake, though, in the memorial race.

“I managed to stick my nose out in front heading into Turn 1 on the first lap and just kept going.”

Corrin spent two months in the US driving their version of the saloon over winter.

“It was a really good experience. I learned a lot.”

The streetstockers turned it on with hard and fast racing to decide the Robert Harris Best Pairs title.

Individually Ben McArthur (8G) was outstanding with a first and two seconds.

Rob Miller and swinger Hamish White (8G) won the first two sidecar races.

“Then we popped our clutch in the third so that was our night,” Miller said.

“We were all rapt for Barry Irvine and his new swinger Bradley Solomon, who got third in the A final in Bradley’s first ever meeting.”

Jason Jones and his “tank” (81G) were unstoppable in the stock cars. It was three wins from three starts for the flying Jones.

The “silver fox” Dave Gooch (10G) raced superbly in the production saloons with two wins and a second.

Thomas Rumble, Angus Briant and Bailey Curtis were the pick of the Gisborne drivers in the ministocks and several Gisborne drivers featured in the Heavy Equipment Services Ministock Best Pairs.

The next meeeting is on December 11 and 12. It will feature the ministock 100, production saloon best pairs, and the New Zealand sidecar teams’ championship.

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