Oceanview Family Speedway season opener thrills

Dion Mooney (26V) makes Dion Henderson's visit to Oceanview Family Speedway a memorable one. Photo / S. B. O'Hagan Photography

All the ingredients were there - fine, mild weather, a large crowd, and good fields of drivers ready to put the pedal to the metal.

And from the first race to the last, there was action galore, leading to a memorable grand opening for Fast Lane Spares Oceanview Family Speedway.

The Elite Mechanical Stockcars were first out, and it took only 100m for the first rollover of the season as visitor Kasey Cheetham got squeezed into the southern wall, first by Gerry Linklater then Rotorua's Anthony Henderson.

Once the carnage had cleared, Stratford driver William Hughes powered to a lead he would not relinquish, taking the first chequered flag of the season ahead of locals Trevor Greig, Kaelin Mooney and Blair Reeves-Smith.

Hughes took out the second race too, heading home Gerry Linklater, Greig and Cody Lockett, but he was helped by Dion Mooney in son Kaelin's car getting stuck under the car of Dion Henderson, after taking Henderson to the Turn Two wall.

Hughes tried hard for a hat-trick, but he was unable to catch the flying car of Reeves-Smith, with Dion Mooney and Linklater in pursuit.

A select field of cars faced the starter in the Diamond Cut Wheels Superstocks, with Kaelin Mooney taking the win in his recently acquired car, powering through a gap late in the race to finish ahead of Rotorua's Damian Orr and superstock maestro Peter Rees.

Brad Uhlenberg, another from the well-known Stratford racing family, took out the second heat ahead of Rebecca Barr and Zane Dykstra.

Rees was left on his side after a coming together with Dykstra, Max Holloway and Mooney on the back straight saw him squeezed up and over for the second rollover of the night.

Rees returned for the third heat, minus his wing, but after leading early he was run down by son Ethan Rees and Barr, with Dykstra following home in fourth.

The final race of the night was the PAUA Print Grand Slam, with the stockcars having half a lap's advantage over the superstocks.

Gerry Linklater led from flag to flag, with Ethan Rees just unable to run him down, and Peter Rees in third when the race was declared after Trevor Greig rolled on the final lap.
Large, competitive fields were on hand for both the youth and adult ministock classes, with drivers travelling from all over the North Island.

Sins were shared around in the Supercheap Autos Youth Ministocks, with Jeremy Brown and Baily Smith (Hawkes Bay) each taking a win along with local hotshot Trent James. Conor Linklater had a consistent night with three top-five placings.

Jemma Barnes had an excellent drive to win the opening heat in the Sharp As Adult Ministocks, with Stratford regulars Nathan Nolly and Liam Whelan taking out the other two races, Whelan having an excellent night in his new self-built car with top-three placings in every race.

The Tom Francis Building Production Saloons also saw the wins shared around, among Grant Loveridge, Shayne Hughes and Brent Hackett.

Karl McGill was the standout driver in the Get Glazed Midgets, finishing second to Brent Huijs in the opening heat, then winning the second and third races.

Nathan Jeffries from Palmerston North dominated the Dewtec Minisprints with three wins, but he was chased hard by local driver Brad McDonald in the third heat, whilst Jemma Barnes will benefit from three clean races in her Minisprint debut.

The Wanganui Stockcar and Speedway Club ran the meeting under level 2 Covid conditions imposed by Speedway New Zealand, and was one of only two North Island tracks to run on Labour Weekend, traditionally a busy speedway weekend.

Racing resumes on Saturday, November 6, with the TradeZone Fireworks Spectacular, combining a full night of speedway action with Whanganui's only public fireworks display for Guy Fawkes.

With a run under their belt, competitors will have brushed off the winter cobwebs, more cars will be race ready, and there's every reason to be confident the action will ratchet up a notch.