Speedway season opens with a bang

The weather couldn't have been better for the opening night at TMS Paradise Valley Raceway and a massive crowd turned out to watch the Pools by Westy LTD Fireworks meeting.

The programme for the meeting, held on Friday night, included ministocks, streetstocks, stockcars, superstocks and super saloons, as well as Rotorua's only public fireworks display.

The youth ministocks, with drivers aged from 12-16 years, kicked the evening off. They were split into two groups based on experience. Picking up wins in the experienced group were Damon Pinkham (43r), Mitchell Fabish (95r) and Cody Bryson (48r), while Flynn Fraser (93r) and Liam Lochhead (15r) took wins in the juniors.

An impressive number of superstocks came out for the opening meeting and double points on offer had them all geared up and ready to go. The racing was hard and fast, with a few big knocks throughout the course of the evening causing car numbers to dwindle slightly as the night progressed. Superstock race wins went to Thomas Stanaway (87b), William Humphries (1NZ), Dale Stewart (94r), and Kerry Remnant (19m).

Stockcar numbers were even higher than that of the superstocks, with close to 40 cars aiming to get as many club points as possible, with double points also available for them.

Racing fans flocked to Paradise Valley Speedway for the Pools by Westy Fireworks Meeting on Friday. Photo / Sportsweb Photography

As per usual, the hits were a lot more frequent than in the superstocks, but there weren't
many major knocks. The pace was blistering though, with some of the fastest stockcar racing the valley has seen. Race wins were enjoyed by Callum Flavell (513r) and Sheldon Arapere (9r) who managed three wins from three starts.

The super saloons raced in round one of their DVS Super Saloon Challenge. They split into
three groups and had a round-robin-style race schedule, each group racing each other once to determine points, which would give them the starting order for their final feature race. The winner of the all-important feature race was Steve Williams (21h).

The streetstocks used the most of their track time to sort out their cars, gearing up for the national title which will be held in Rotorua at the end of December. The action was subdued but there were a few spins and knocks as the evening went by. Wins were had by Mike King (58r), Alan King (59r) and Chris Shingleton (9r).

For full results, go to www.rotoruaspeedway.co.nz