Campbell Stewart won the JRI New Zealand Minisprint Grand Prix at Stratford Speedway on Saturday night. Photo / Matt Julian
Campbell Stewart won the JRI New Zealand Minisprint Grand Prix at Stratford Speedway on Saturday night. Photo / Matt Julian
Stratford racer Campbell Stewart left the opposition in his dust when he won the JRI New Zealand Minisprint Grand Prix at Stratford Speedway on Saturday night.
Campbell is racing his first season in the Minisprint class and is having an excellent run, having placed second in the New Zealand Championshipfor the class at Whanganui Speedway recently.
Although it is his first season in this class, Stewart is no stranger to dirt-track racing. He began his racing career in the Youth Ministock grade at Stratford Speedway, raced Midgets for a couple of seasons and had a short stint of circuit racing.
Campbell raced consistently in his qualifying heats to start the 25-lap final on grid two, after highest points scorer Benjamin Vaughan chose grid one.
He took the lead from the start and never looked back, stretching away from the field. The only time the competition came close to him was during the two restarts that took place during the race.
Karl Uhlenberg bravely raced the outside line on the slick track to make up positions and progress his way towards the pointy end of the field.
He climbed his way into second place and held off a last-lap challenge from Palmerston North driver Elliot Heron to cement his place on the second step of the podium. Elliot was third, while Vaughan finished fourth and the ever-consistent Cameron Hurley matched his fifth place in the New Zealand Championship with fifth in the Grand Prix.
Stratford Scrapper drivers Blair Uhlenberg and Bevan Phillips get stuck into Paul Johnson during a Superstock teams race on Saturday night. Photo / Matt Julian
Youth Ministocks raced for their Taranaki Champs on the same night, with Jesse Whelan coming out on top after the three heats to become the new titleholder after recording a win, second and fourth placings. Rotorua driver Ashton Osbourne was second while defending champion Cody Ogle was third.
The Stockcar class raced for their Best Pairs trophy. After three rugged races, Tyler Walker and Karlin Painter Dudley found themselves at the top of the leaderboard. Ryan Houghton and Jayke McGrath were second and Kylee Symes and Jayden Corric third.
In preparation for the upcoming Superstock Teams Champs in Palmerston North, the Stratford Scrappers faced off against an invitation team and very nearly got beaten. A last-lap attack by Bevan Phillips (Scrappers) against Paul Johnson, who was leading the race for the invitation team, allowed Hamish Booker to sneak through and take the win for the Stratford Scrappers.
In the support classes, Saloon races were won by Blake Hooper, Jarrod MacBeth and Craig Korff. Streetstock races were won by Steve Reed, Ron McGrath and Nic Smith, while drivers to carry the chequered flag in the Superstock races were Hamish Booker, Bevan Phillips and Blair Uhlenberg.
At other events over the weekend, John Jackson won the Modified Dirt Cup in Auckland and Carol Podjursky placed second in the Aotearoa Ladies Stockcar Crown that was held in Rotorua.
The next race meeting at Stratford Speedway is on January 30 and will feature the Holiday (Caravan) Derby, Midget Heritage Shield, Streetstock Olsen Memorial, Michael Walker Stockcar Memorial and Adult Ministock Best Pairs. Racing gets under way at 6.30pm.
