Meeanee Speedway back on track after Cyclone Gabrielle

Just what the doctor ordered - a bit of sun and some water for the track, as Meeanee Speedway maintenance man Peter Black gets ready for Saturday's first night back after the cancellation of three meetings since the cyclone. Photo / Warren Buckland

The weather gods look like they’re finally showing Napier’s Meeanee Speedway a bit of respect, with a fine day forecast for Saturday’s return to racing after the loss of three nights’ racing in the Cyclone Gabrielle disaster.

But Hawke’s Bay is not as alone as some may have felt over recent weeks, with everyone “getting it” and the reasons for cancellations around Speedway New Zealand’s 23 affiliated tracks during the “summer”, says Meeanee promoter Bruce Robertson.

The track, off Sandy Rd, Meeanee, was not damaged in the storm, but much of the surrounds was significantly flooded, and with southern traffic access affected after the Brookfields Bridge collapsed in the middle, both Sandy and Brookfields roads have been closed to the general public for much of the civil emergency.

The speedway could also not have raced during the emergency because ambulances would not have been available to meet the requirement for racing to take place, but the facilities have been used during the cyclone response as a home for stricken animals, with the speedway scrutineering shed at one stage “full of hay”, said Robertson.

But now there’s light at the end of the tunnel - albeit a longer one for the Hastings fans who now have to travel via State Highway 2 and the Waitangi Bridge or the Hawke’s Bay Expressway and Meeanee Rd - and national weather agency MetService is forecasting a fine weekend, including temperatures of up to 25C.

Promoters are starting the meeting at 5pm, an hour earlier than might have been expected as they consider the autumnal overnight drop in temperatures, in this case to no less than 14C, on the last weekend before the end of daylight saving. It is known officially as New Zealand Summer Time - despite the fact most would argue there has not been a summer.

Robertson said that while some Hawke’s Bay racers were able to continue with some plans to compete elsewhere as they normally would have, those racers mainly headed south to Palmerston North, with the extra distance for the longer round-trips to northern speedways impractical for most because of the closure of State Highway 2 to Gisborne and SH5 to Taupō.

As it happened, bad weather had, in January, cancelled one night’s racing at Meeanee, but may still have caused the cancellation of later meetings had Gabrielle not got in the first punch, and it also caused cancellations at other meetings elsewhere.

“The whole season has been topsy-turvy everywhere,” he said. “The rain - everyone’s been getting it.”

Close to 50 meetings around the 23 tracks affiliated with Speedway New Zealand have been cancelled during the summer, he said.

Meeanee promoters estimate their regular fans are a split of about 60 per cent Napier and north (usually including Gisborne drivers and supporters) and 40 per cent Hastings and south.

“It will be interesting to see how it goes now,” Robertson said.

Saturday’s racing includes the Hawke’s Bay production saloons, streetstocks and sidecar championships.