SPEEDWAY - Todd bags win but 'real action' elsewhere

SHANE HURNDELL
Don't forget Hawke's Bay TQ driver Duane Todd won his first Speedway NZ title, too.
That was SportToday's advice to two youngsters rattling off the highlights to their father as they were picked up after Saturday night's NZ TQ Grand Prix at ZM Meeanee Speedway. They could be forgiven for forgetting Todd's success as the "real" entertainment in their eyes was elsewhere.
The first heat of the Dudding Contractors GP saw Todd's Hawke's Bay clubmate, Hayden Durrant, fling himself and car into the safety fence. His car was vertical, the front wheels facing upwards, as he hit the fence. With 12 of the 15 laps remaining in the heat, it signalled the end of his night's racing. While officials said Durrant was uninjured, his car was severely damaged.
Next on the youngsters' list of highlights for their Dad was the huge hit Hawke's Bay stockcar driver Ricky Kuru put on his clubmate, Bryce Cross, in the last race of the night. Cross's car was sent nose-first into the safety fence near the pit gate and while he admitted to "just having a sore leg" his car will require plenty of attention before this weekend's Manawatu championships.
Cross pointed out the hit brought back memories of a similar incident involving him and clubmate Ashlin Meehan when they raced ministocks three years ago: "Tonight's was a lot harder though and not pre-arranged. I've learnt a lesson ... if I want to win a trophy I'll keep quiet about it."
He was referring to the fact he had told several people he wanted to win the John Coker Memorial Trophy, which was won by regular host club stirrer Beatle Tarrant who decided to do some flag racing.
After a seventh placing in the previous week's Auckland-hosted nationals, Todd was rapt with his first Speedway New Zealand title in five years of racing.
"It's a fantastic feeling," said Todd, who works as a Maraenui Golf Club professional.
With a win in his first heat, a sixth placing in his second and a fourth in his third, Todd won the title by two points from Auckland's 2NZ Hayden Williams. Todd's cousin and Efficient teammate, Craig Todd, was third, two points behind Williams. Craig was fortunate to win the final heat, regathering control after hitting a rut with 11 laps left. Two laps earlier, Dylan MacGregor flipped out of contention when he was the meeting leader at the time.
The Todd-squad duo will aim for podium finishes in the Meeanee-hosted East Coast champs at Easter.
Two other memorial trophies, the Dave Foxall Memorial and Tony McIntosh Memorial, were up for grabs in the stockcar races and they were both won by Hawke's Bay driver Aaron Iremonger in the car previously driven by the late Peter Barry.
Several other stockcar hits, all involving Bay drivers, were almost as memorable as Kuru's. Mike McLachlan put Kuru up the wall and Tony Palmer put Jacob O'Riley up the wall. McLachlan put Andrew Powell up the wall and shoved him around it for a lap-and-a-half.
Hawke's Bay Super Saloon driver Grahame Strong celebrated his first meeting in a new car on his home track by winning his first heat. However Steven Martin, 16, provided the big highlight in this class when he held off three Super Saloon drivers, including Strong, to win the feature race.
Rob Simmons had two wins from as many starts in the kiwilites.
Quin Ryan collected his first win in the ministock class where fellow Bay drivers Alice Bayley and Zach Lawrence also had stints with the chequered flag.