Speedway: Ryan in top gear before Bay champs

Hawke's Bay's husband-and-wife-pair Kim and Kerry Johnston, rear, on their way to the first of two sidecar class wins at Meeanee on Saturday night. Photo/Warren Buckland.

Hawke's Bay superstock driver Quinn Ryan had to agree.

His success at Hauraki Meeanee Speedway on Saturday night was the perfect confidence booster in the build-up to the three-round Hawke's Bay championships which begin this Saturday and the Meeanee-hosted nationals in January. A driver of a V8 Toyota-powered CSL race car, Ryan, 19, won the feature for his 10-car class field despite starting from grid eight.

"I have to be happy with the night. I could have done better than my third in the first heat had I not got caught up early on ... you know my approach once I get in the clear I just go like hell," Ryan said.

Ryan got grid eight for the feature courtesy of recording the third fastest time in a one-lap shootout which determined a reverse grid starting order. His lap time of 18.372s was only bettered by clubmates Jarrod Lindsay and Steve Jude with 18.299s and 18.280s respectively.

As part of his build-up for the nationals Ryan will race at Mount Maunganui's Bay Park later this month. In an awesome gesture from the third season driver in the class Ryan allowed his father Jase to race in Saturday night's second heat.

"It was the ideal meeting to do it and dad enjoyed it," Ryan explained.

After being rolled at the previous two meetings, Hawke's Bay superstock driver Tony Meechan was put up the wall during the final lap of the feature by clubmate Wayne Talbot.

There was again no shortage of stirring in an 11-strong stockcar class. Brendon Salisbury put his Bay clubmate Dave Persen up the wall in heat two before he was spun around by Bay driver James Tollison.

With victory in the feature and second and third placings in his other two heats, Tollison impressed with his consistency.

Victories in both sidecar heats saw the Hawke's Bay husband-and-wife crew of Kim and Kerry Johnson take their season tally to seven wins from 11 starts at Meeanee.

Auckland-contracted 1NZ TQ driver Dylan MacGregor recorded lap times around the 15.9s mark as he won two of the three heats in a 10-strong class including the feature. Hawke's Bay's Duane Todd won the other heat and fellow Bay driver Mark Alexander impressed with two second placings.

Despite a half lap handicap in an eight-strong mixed saloon class, Hawke's Bay's former national Super Saloon class champion Steve Flynn took out the feature in his first outing of the season. Fellow Bay drivers Tim Towler and Ian Mudgway were the respective winners of heats one and two.

Wellingtonian Jacob Free captured the chequered flag in an entertaining feature for the 26-strong ministock class. Rotorua's Deane Cooper won heat two and Hawke's Bay's Regan Penn heat one.

Gisborne visitor Laura Moore flipped in heat one when she was among the top seven.