Rebels sixth again at Super Stocks Teams Championships

Rotorua Rebels stock car team at the town centre display in Palmerston North ahead of the Super Stock Teams Championships at the weekend.

Rotorua Rebels won a brutal encounter with near neighbours Baypark Busters in their first race of this year's Super Stocks Teams Championships at Palmerston North at the weekend.

Busters' Ryan Hunt rolled himself while trying to take out the Rebels' David Elsworth, while Rotorua's Bryce Steiner and Dale Stewart combined to take out Mark Costello.

While Elsworth was the only Rebels driver still circulating at the end of the race, he took the chequered flag to get the Rotorua team off to a winning start. However, a big hit on Dale Stewart early in the race saw him out of the meeting.

The Rebels couldn't repeat the dose when they came up against the Gisborne Giants in the second race on night one, the Giants simply too clinical.

On night two, the Rebels took on and beat the Stratford Scrappers, Elsworth again taking the chequered flag, but the team was outdone for a second time by the Giants in the race for fifth and sixth, giving the Rebels sixth place for the second year in a row.

Manager Nick Beazley was philosophical.

"We knew that we had the team to take it out, but it just wasn't our weekend,'' he said.

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"With one of our guys getting knocked out in that first race, just the second or third lap into the race, we lost one of our key players."

Elsworth was quick all weekend with good backing from his brother Lance.

"Lance was a machine and was the key to stopping and slowing down all of the [other] teams' cars," said Beazley.

Beazley's second year as manager was a different experience to the first.

"The first year you are pretty green so you spend a lot of your time trying to take in the whole picture. This year I'd already seen the whole picture and I could focus clearly on different aspects like what the referees talked about and what the Palmerston North management talked about."

The team will now get ready for the Auckland Super Stock Teams Championships at Waikaraka Park on March 3 and 4.

Beazley said he would like to have another go at managing the team in Palmerston North next year and that this year's five Rebels were keen to stay together as a team.