Speedway: Gisborne Giants win Wanganui Warriors Teams Challenge at Oceanview

The Gisborne Giants, (from left) 2G Ethan Rees, 5G Josh Prentice, 96G Brad Magee, 126G Asher Rees, 144G Tim Ross and 235G Regan Penn, just before the final.

The Gisborne Giants showed their class on Saturday night at Fast Lane Spares Oceanview Family Speedway.

Winners of the ENZED-Dewtec New Zealand Superstock Teams Champs at Palmerston North in February, they were too good for the Palmerston North Panthers in the final of the Complete Paints Wanganui Warriors Teams Challenge.

Yet their challenge was nearly derailed in warm-up laps before their first race when Regan Penn’s throttle stuck, causing him to take teammate Tim Ross into the wall at the airport end.

However, the experienced trio of Asher and Ethan Rees and Josh Prentice, with 2026 newcomer Brad Magee, took wins in their two qualifying heats against the Hawke’s Bay Hawkeyes and Wanganui Warriors to see them into the final.

The Panthers had a much tougher road to the final, opening the night with a narrow win over their clubmates, the Manawatū Mustangs.

The Mustangs were adamant that Cody McKee had crossed the line first but, after manual lap-scoring charts were checked, Panthers’ youngster Kyle Rowe was awarded the race win.

The Panthers took a comfortable win in their second qualifier against the Hawkeyes to earn the right to line up against the Giants.

The final was a rugged affair with big hits coming in all over the track, including three-time former 1NZ Asher Rees rolling himself after an attack on Trent James.

Through it all Regan Penn, winner of the New Zealand Superstock Grand Prix at Oceanview Speedway in 2023-24, got to the lead and remarkably was left to run as the Panthers’ blockers attacked Ethan Rees and Prentice.

The Baypark Busters took third place, beating the Manawatū Mustangs in the Eco Tyres Recycling final.

The Busters had broken locals’ hearts with a thrilling win over the Wanganui Warriors in the first round of qualifying.

With less than a lap and a half to go, Warriors’ driver Matt Buckley led the race until he was spun by 2024-25 New Zealand champion Todd Hemingway.

However, Hemingway’s car suffered front-end damage and, after he passed the start-finish line on the last lap, the car lurched into the turn one wall, giving Buckley the opportunity to close the gap.

Buckley drew level with Hemingway heading into turn three but both cars made a move to the wall and Hemingway was faster to recover, winning the race by about four car lengths.

The Warriors’ second race was against Gisborne and they were on the back foot almost immediately when Hayden “Lofty” Hart’s car vaulted over the front of the car of Magee, rolling twice before coming to rest on its wheels.

Hart continued after officials found no damage to his roll cage but his impact on the race had been neutralised and the Giants took a comfortable win.

The highlight of the prizegiving was the awarding of the Gerry Linklater Best Warrior trophy.

Linklater is recovering from a life-threatening brain injury suffered at this meeting last year and everyone in attendance was delighted when he made a speech before presenting Prentice with the trophy.

Oceanview Speedway was close to capacity on a balmy Whanganui evening and the crowd certainly got their money’s worth.

Each of the eight teams races was fiercely contested and, after the meeting, all six teams involved expressed a desire to come back next season.

It is an event that could become part of the local speedway calendar and can only grow in status year on year.