Cameron Hurley (#82) won the Peter Kuriger Engineering New Zealand Minisprint Grand Prix on Saturday evening. Photo / Cookies Photgraphy
Cameron Hurley (#82) won the Peter Kuriger Engineering New Zealand Minisprint Grand Prix on Saturday evening. Photo / Cookies Photgraphy
Some things are world famous in New Zealand, like Lemon & Paeroa, kiwifruit, pavlova and Marmite.
Then there’s Cameron Hurley who is, or rather was, pretty much world famous in speedway circles for finishing fifth.
Taranaki Champs, he’d finish fifth. King of the Mountain Champs, fifth. But not any more.
To be fair, in the past season Cameron has improved his finishing rankings and has seen the podium on several occasions but on Saturday night at MG Taranaki Stratford Speedway, he blew any fifth-place scenarios right off the track, having arguably the best night of racing in his speedway career when he won the Peter Kuriger Engineering New Zealand Minisprint Grand Prix.
Cameron was fast all night, clocking lap times in the low 14-seconds bracket every race. He ran clean and tidy qualifying heats to earn a front-row start for the all-important winner-take-all, 25-lap final, which he led from start to finish.
A caution on lap 18 for two cars that were tangled just off the track allowed the chasing competitors to close the gap for the restart but once the lights went green, Cameron soon opened up a sizeable lead and was never challenged for the front position.
Mark Phipps, who looked strong at the recent North Island championship but had to retire at that event due to car issues, ran a good final race and finished second, while Karl Uhlenberg made up ground from grid six to finish third, making a Stratford trifecta.
There were several other trophies on the line at the same meeting. The young stockcar drivers raced for the Under 23 Stockcar Champs, an event that is run in Taranaki every season.
Dylan Towler (#66) won the Hydraulink Taranaki 26 and Under Superstock Champs on Saturday. Photo / Cookies Photography
While some drivers were more interested in attacking one another on the track, this left easy pickings for William Hughes who won all three races to score maximum points and be the overall winner.
Liam Whelan, driving Kylee Symes’ car, was second, and Wellington driver Jayden Tye was a well-deserved third. The class produced plenty of on-track action that is usual at this event, with several rollovers during the night’s racing.
The Hydraulink 26 and under Superstock Champs is a new event for Stratford and produced a decent field for the inaugural running of about 20 competitors, a mixture of locals and visitors from all over the North Island.
Tauranga racer Dylan Towler recorded a fourth, first and second over the three heats to win the event ahead of Kihikihi racer Matt Nielsen who recently won the North Island Championship at Stratford. Local driver Zane Riddick was a respectable third.
A large field of 13 modifieds was on hand to contest the Plant and Fabrication Services Taranaki Champs and the Ginge Hayward Memorial.
Local drivers didn’t have the best run, leaving the visitors to take the spoils of victory. John Jackson was running well at the front of the field in the first race until his borrowed gearbox failed, sending him to the trailer for the rest of the night.
Josh Mulcahy shoved Kihikihi girl racer Ellen Bisley to the wall during the first Under 23 Stockcar Champs race. Photo / Cookies Photography
Jason Kalin had engine oil issues while Newton Gordge and Carl Hinton had all kinds of trouble during the racing. New Zealand champion Brad Lane, of Huntly, had his car dialled in and won the Taranaki Champs ahead of Samantha Lane who was making her first visit to Stratford.
Wellington driver Jacob Free was third. Auckland veteran racer Jamie Fox, who had destroyed a diff in the early races, managed to get his car repaired and on track to take a decisive win in the Ginge Hayward Memorial.
