Speedway: Whanganui’s Oceanview to host North South Flat Track Challenge

Riders 5A Blake Gillard, 85A Jason Davis and 33A Mark Galbraith racing hard on their flat track bikes. Photo / Virogo Photography

The second half of the 2023-24 speedway season gets under way on Saturday night at Fast Lane Spares Oceanview Family Speedway in Whanganui.

For those who love motorbike racing, there’s a special treat in store - the second annual North versus South Flat Track Challenge.

Flat track racing is growing quickly since it was introduced at Rosebank Speedway in Auckland five years ago and is on the rise globally with the FIM giving the class World Championship status.

The bikes are modified from motocross or supermotard bikes (although specially built frames can be raced as well), tyres are flat track-specific 19 inch, or 17inch supermotard wet weather road race tyres and the bikes are lowered, with different wheel sizes from standard motocross machines.

Engines vary in capacity with Saturday night’s field including bikes from 250cc to 600cc.

The North vs South Challenge was first contested at Easter weekend 2023 at Moore Park Speedway, west of Christchurch.

The North Island took the points in a close battle with the teams based on island of birth or where their motorcycle racing started like State of Origin.

The flat track bike class debuts at Oceanview Speedway this weekend and, with the bikes able to run on all surfaces, it is possible to run on all New Zealand’s car-based speedway tracks.

The North versus South Challenge will be run over four heats, with all team members’ points counting, and the feature race will be by handicap with the top bikes starting nearly a lap down.

The West Coast sidecars and West Coast production saloons also run on Saturday night, and both have attracted strong fields.

Support classes for the meeting include superstocks, stockcars and youth ministocks.

Three members of the James Electrical Wanganui Warriors Superstock Team will be getting some final laps in on Saturday night.

Current 3NZ Zane Dykstra, Kaelin Mooney and Max Holloway have been selected in the Warriors team along with Dylan Marshall, Hayden Hart and Gerry Linklater, who will serve as the sixth driver.

It is the strongest Warriors team in many seasons, with plenty of competition for places making the job of the team selectors very difficult.

Hart is the only newcomer to the team but knows the Warriors and their drivers well having raced against them regularly, most recently at Teams Champs last season where he singlehandedly got the Auckland Allstars home to victory over the Warriors, and he will be a real asset to the team.

The Enzed-Dewtec New Zealand Superstock Teams Champs is the premier event on the speedway calendar and will take place on Saturday and Sunday, February 3-4, at the Robertson Prestige International Speedway at Palmerston North.

There was further success for Wanganui superstock drivers at last weekend’s TWS World 240 Invitational at Rotorua.

After pre-qualifying by winning the second-tier Superstocks in Paradise event last season, Trent James showed a liking for the Rotorua track finishing second overall from a field of more than 130 cars and finishing just a single point behind Gisborne speedster Jamie Hamilton.

His Wanganui teammate Dylan Marshall won the third and final heat of the event to finish in third position overall to cap off an outstanding month for Wanganui speedway after the 3NZs earned by Zane Dykstra (superstocks) and Cody Lockett (stockcars) at their respective New Zealand championships earlier in the month.

Wanganui Stockcar and Speedway Club members will be hoping the good form holds out for Teams Champs, which the Warriors have never won.

With the form of the current crop of drivers, however, there could be history in the making next week.