Speedway: Stormers win team event at Stratford

Jarrod MacBeth

Photo: William Hughes won the Repco Taranaki Superstock Champs on Saturday night. Photo by Cookies Motorsport Photography

There was good old fashioned Stockcar teams racing at Five Star Liquor Stratford Speedway on Saturday night when the Sentry Hill Motel West Coast Stockcar Teams Champs was run.

The event attracted six teams with drivers from Huntly, Auckland, Tauranga and Stratford competing over nine races to find the winner.

In the first round of racing, Waikato Raiders Yellow beat the Auckland Alleycats, Stratford Stormers Yellow beat the Baypark Bulldogs, Stratford Stormers Black beat Waikato Raiders Red. Round two saw Waikato Raiders Yellow take another win, this time against the Baypark Bulldogs. Stratford Stormers Black beat the Auckland Alleycats and Stratford Stormers Yellow beat Waikato Raiders Red.

The final match ups were set when all the points were tallied with Waikato Red and Baypark racing for fifth and sixth place. After a brutal race Waikato took the win with Jayden Dreadon-Manning crossing the finish line first ahead of team mates Samuel Murray and Larry Henderson. Bryce Carter was the only Baypark car to finish the race, in fourth place.

The race for third and fourth saw Stratford Stormers Yellow take on the Auckland Alleycats. Another action packed race that saw Stormers driver Josh Houghton spectacularly roll Auckland team member Max Walton in turn two. The Alleycats eventually crossed the finish line first but officials penalised the race winner for passing two cars over the pole line which reversed the result and gave the Stratford Stormers Yellow third place.

In the final between Stratford Stormers Black and Waikato Raiders Yellow the Stormers dominated the race from start to finish with drivers looking after their lead cars, giving them a clean run by blocking Waikato’s runners and hindering their block cars. Todd Duthie was the Stratford driver to cross the finish line first ensuring the local team would take to top step of the podium.

Eighteen Superstocks rocked up to race for the Repco Taranaki Champs that saw fast paced action all night. Wayne Moss won the first race from grid five. Scott Williams won race two from grid five and William Hughes won race three from grid three. It was Hughes’ night though and his stellar drive in the first race to finish second from a grid seventeen start and fifth in race two combined with his race three result saw him win the Taranaki title by a six point margin from his nearest rivals - Wayne Moss and Logan Sharpe who were tied on points. The fastest lap time was used to determine the final two positions with Moss being slightly quicker and so taking second over Sharpe in third.

The Zodiac Signs Taranaki Minisprint champs was a hotly contested affair between the twelve competitors. After the three races, former New Zealand Champion Duane Hickman and current New Zealand Champion Karl Uhlenberg were tied on points. A four lap runoff was utilised to find the winner. Uhlenberg elected to start on the outside and romped away to take the win. Erin Uhlenberg was third overall.

Adult Ministock raced for their Best Pairs trophy with the girl power duo of Katelyn Symes and Lukah Phillips showing the boys how to do it and winning the event after solid races from the pair. Brayden Shaw and Rhyan Dobson were second and Kurt Gardiner/David Beynon third.