Thrills in sidecars, freestyle motocross

GATING WELL: Gisborne sidecar team members Callum Innes (left) and Barry Irvine (22G) have been starting well and, along with their teammates, will provide stiff competition in the New Zealand sidecar teams championship at the Eastland Group Raceway tomorrow night. Picture by Liam Clayton

THE daredevils of Freestyle NZ, the country’s top motocross display team, take centre stage at the Eastland Group Raceway tomorrow night.

But in the racing, the New Zealand teams sidecar championship goes on the line.

The Gisborne team will try to wrest the title off Hawke’s Bay, who won the championship at the Gisborne track last season.

Also competing will be teams representing Whanganui and Auckland, along with a composite wild-card team.

Gisborne’s team comprises the well-performed Rob Miller and swinger Kerwin Arnabolidi (8G), Clive Ireland and Chris Symon (56G) and Barry Irvine and Callum Innes (22G).

Miller said this week that he felt the Gisborne team would mount a strong title challenge.

The freestyle motocross riders come to Gisborne as part of the second round of their Demon Energy Drinks Speedway Tour.

“We intend to put on an amazing night of FMX action,” Freestyle NZ owner-manager Neil Dempsey said.

“This will be a special gig for us.”

Dempsey said that in a joint venture with Gisborne Speedway Club, Freestyle NZ would bring to Gisborne four riders — Andrew Jackson and Stuart Ewing from Gore, Brisbane-based Kiwi Jared Morrison and Melbourne-based Kiwi Jordan Sprague.

The team’s four-metre-high, 10-metre-long jump ramp would be erected in the middle of the track.

“The boys will be jumping three storeys into the sky and doing a range of acrobatic tricks along the way,” Dempsey said.

They would perform four sets of jumps throughout the night.

“The boys have never been to Gisborne before and we are all really looking forward to having a good look round and putting on a good show for you all.”

The drivers in the various support classes tomorrow night will be hungry for action. For most, this will be their first meeting since late November.

“This is one of our big meetings of the season,” club president Grant MacGregor said.

“We have never had freestyle motocross at the track, and we have done it to bring something different to our entertainment programme.”

Another feature tomorrow night will be the clash between the Gisborne Gladiators stockcar team and the Meeanee Maulers from Hawke’s Bay.

“Both teams have a mix of seasoned campaigners in stockcar teams and some new blood, so it will be interesting to see how they go,” MacGregor said.

A full support programme will include production saloons and streetstocks, with visiting cars from Hawke’s Bay, youth ministocks and stock cars, with extra stocks from Rotorua and Hawke’s Bay.

MacGregor said he anticipated a four-and-a-half-hour programme tomorrow night — “great value for money for speedway fans”.