Mooney is the man at speedway

Dion Mooney en-route to victory at Oceanview Speedway on Saturday.

The Mooney name is synonymous with Supercheap Auto Oceanview Family Speedway, and after two nights of torrid racing, it was Dion Mooney who took the lion's share of prize money on Saturday.

The cash for the Elite Mechanical and Engineering Cup was put up by Mooney's brother Mike, owner of naming sponsor business.

Although the field of Stockcars was slightly down on expectations due to a number of withdrawals, there was no lack of action.

Two fine, warm evenings brought good crowds out to Oceanview, and they were treated to plenty of uncompromising racing.

After qualifying on Friday night, 24 cars faced the starter in the first Elite Mechanical Cup heat, and Blair Lockett (89V) took the win from Trent Palamountain (28V).

Mooney quickly got to the front in heat two, and was never headed.

Former 1NZ Gerry Linklater (98V) came home in second, followed by Mason James (53V) and 22V Scott McIntosh (22V).

Further back in the pack Francis Potaka (52V) went on a mission seeking out visiting cars, and latched onto Daniel Burmeister (172P), one of the favourites.

That battle continued to the end of the race, and spilled over into the final heat winning Potaka the JDT Engineering Stirrer prize.

After two heats, Mooney led on 44 points with McIntosh (42), and Linklater, Damon Baxter (7V) and Palamountain all within striking distance on 40 points if Mooney slipped up.

But there's a good reason Mooney is rated as one of New Zealand's best Stockcar drivers.

Early in the final heat he got near the front of the race, and stayed out of trouble as others floundered.

McIntosh and Palamountain both fell victim to mechanical gremlins, and while Taylor Lampp (992W) took the win from Linklater, Mooney coasted home in fourth place.

When the points were tallied, Mooney took the victory on 65, from Linklater (63) and Lampp (62), with Lockett and Baxter rounding out the top five.

The second tier championship, sponsored by Fast Lane Spares, was all action.

Stu Sowry (24P) took the money from Trazarn Ryland-Annabell (33V) and Peter Wapp (51V), but the action came from Jamie Tinetti (177P) and Mark Johnston (78V).

Tinetti rolled Johnston at the southern end in heat two, with Johnston repaying the favour in the final heat.

Tinetti exited his overturned car, went over and shook Johnston's hand, and at one-all, their battle was declared a draw.

The Karl Barritt Memorial Sidecars event was won by Mark Whye and Jacob Cooper (96P) after a run-off with Russell Stuart and Andrew Parker (1NZ), well after most of the crowd had left.

The 96P bike was excluded from the final heat, but after lengthy discussions with the race officials Whye and Cooper were reinstated, leaving the two combinations tied on points.
Tony Hislop and Matt Stewart (17P) finished third.

So, the first Elite Mechanical and Engineering Cup meeting was a terrific success and Wanganui Stockcar and Speedway Club plans to make this an annual event.

Racing now takes a break during February, with a number of Speedway NZ titles being contested around the country.

The next event at Oceanview is the New Zealand Minisprint Grand Prix on March 3.