Speedway: Karting champ's trial run a winner

Maddison Wise on his way to an upset victory in the superstock feature on Saturday night.

Pencil Maddison Wise's name as a future Hawke's Bay Hawkeyes Superstock team candidate.

The five-time national karting champion proved he is equally at home on the dirt when he won the superstock feature at Saturday night's Fireworks Spectacular Meeting at Meeanee Speedway. Earlier in the evening Wise posted third and sixth placings in the 10-strong class.

"I didn't expect any placings. I was just going out there to get used to the car," Wise said afterwards, referring to the fact it was his first meeting in Mac Kwok's Super Tank which he has been loaned for the season because Kwok has family commitments.

"I went to Harrisville on Friday to do some laps and Saturday night's races were my first in the car. My only previous meeting was when I raced Matt Demanser's car in the under-25 nationals back in March and that meeting ended when I rolled in the second heat," Wise recalled.

His chances of winning the 12-lap feature in front of a 5000-plus crowd received a boost when Magpies rugby prop Jason Long spun himself around when he had a comfortable lead with two laps remaining. Eighteen-year-old Wise displayed maturity and composure beyond his years as he dodged some of the stirring which was going on during the race.

He pointed out the major difference from karting is the fact he is strapped in and couldn't move his body and head as much as he could during his karting days, which ended with the Easter nationals.

"Once I've done a few meetings at Meeanee the plan is to travel. If I carry on after this season I'll aim for a berth in the Hawkeyes," Wise added.

A hot topic of discussion at the meeting was the youthful appearance of the Hawkeyes team which will travel south to take on the Nelson Tigers this weekend. While Demanser is 28, the other three, Long, Thomas Stanaway and Quinn Ryan, are all under 25. Should Wise earn a berth within the next four seasons, their average age will drop more.

Stockcar action saw Keith Hingston, who was driving Marty Cooke's car, win the Dave Foxall Memorial Trophy and his Bay clubmate Jemma Palmer the John Coker Memorial Trophy. With his win in the feature and second and third placings in his earlier heats for the 15-strong class Palmer's father Tony won the driver-of-the-night award for the class.

Two third placings in a 19-strong ministock class earned Hawke's Bay's Michael Hirst the driver-of-the-night award for this class. His clubmate Regan Penn, the leading points scorer at Meeanee and Palmerston North, again oozed class with two wins from three starts.

Auckland drivers Hayden Guptill and Michael Gurnett won the first two heats in the nine-strong TQ class before one of the Bay's two-time national champions in the class, Craig Todd, produced a couple of 17-second laps on his way to victory in the feature.

Super Saloon and Saloon drivers formed a combined class of 13 with the Saloon drivers having a handicapped start. Hawke's Bay's Steven Martin, Palmerston North's Calvin Honore and Stratford's Richard Dreaver did well to earn their victory laps.

The Bay's national Super Saloon champion, Steve Flynn, again proved he will be hard to beat in the first round of the Burger King Pro Dirt Series which will be the feature attraction at the next Meeanee meeting on November 21.

Two Lack-A-Traction Motorsport drivers, Shane Donaldson and Craig Price, christened the new burnout pad in a preview to the first competition to be staged at the venue on November 28.

A spectacular 10-minute fireworks display which ended the meeting was as stunning as the racing produced by all five classes.