Two West Coast titles up for grabs at Oceanview

Ethan Linklater is quickly getting to grips after his move to Minisprints this season Photo / Tay B

The first West Coast Championships of the 2024-25 speedway season will be on the line on Saturday night at Fast Lane Spares Oceanview Family Speedway.

Minisprints and Sidecars will be the first to decide their local champions.

Both classes have attracted strong fields for events which are traditionally keenly contested.

At the time of writing there were 13 entries for the Zodiac Signs West Coast Minisprints.

The field is headed by 3NZ Nathan Jeffries who seems to thrive on the tight Oceanview track.

His teammate Glen McCutcheon is another hard charger, whilst wily veteran Cameron Hurley and Daniel Nickel are always competitive.

With his first win a few weeks ago Paul Johnston will be full of confidence and one of the top local picks along with the fast-improving Ethan Linklater.

The Metalcraft West Coast Sidecars has drawn a field of 10 combinations, and there should be some close racing.

Aaron Rose and Nigel Sturgeon came out two-one ahead of Rob Miller and Jaxon Hannon on Opening Night, whilst Kieran “Wingnut” Payne and swinger Sam McNaught can never be discounted.

Hawkes Bay duo Craig Boaler and Kayla Meehan and Palmerston North’s Glen and Emma Murray are always competitive and Barry Smith and Blair Meyer have been big improvers over the last year.

With Stratford not racing tonight because of the Stratford A&P show at their facility, Stockcar ranks are bolstered by a number of visitors.

Twenty-six cars had entered at the time of writing, which should lead to plenty of mayhem on the Wanganui track.

Streetstocks make their first appearance of the season with Stratford, Wellington and Gisborne cars joining the locals, whilst Youth and Adult Ministocks complete the programme.

Racing starts at 6pm for what will be an entertaining night.

And when the final flag drops, the Wanganui Stockcar and Speedway Club members can look forward to their first Speedway New Zealand championship or the season, the Dewtec North Island Midgets.

This will be the first time a Speedway NZ Midget championship has been held at Oceanview and with the likes of current 1NZ Brad Mosen entered, will bring racing of a quality not seen before at Oceanview.