Speedway: Tight racing in best pairs

Jarrod MacBeth 

Photo: Brodie and Tyler James won the Lloyd Gernhoefer Contracting/Nitro Windscreens Superstock Best Pairs and Pairs Shootout on Saturday March 21^st. Photo by Loaded Glass Photography (Christina Wells). 

Tyler and Brodie James won the Lloyd Gernhoefer Contracting/Nitro Windscreens Superstock pairs racing that was part of a full program of events at Five Star Liquor Stratford Speedway on Saturday March 21st by the narrowest of margins.

The speedway event, supported by La Nuova Dry Cleaners featured Superstock Best Pairs and Pairs Shootout, Stockcar Best Pairs and Pairs Shootout, Saloon Best Pairs and Shootout, the Taranaki Youth Ministock Champs and attracted decent fields of competitors in all classes, despite the rising cost of fuel making travel to the track expensive.

Twenty four Superstocks gridded up for the first race, the biggest field seen to date this season outside of the New Zealand Grand Prix in January. Drivers were racing as pairs with their points accumulated over three heats to find the winners. The James brothers were paired together and after three races amassed a points total of 106, enough to win the event by just one point from Hamish Booker/Zach Glenny while William Hughes/Kaelin Mooney were just one more point behind in third place.

The top eight teams then took part in the Pairs Shootout, which saw two pairs take on each other over four lap races. Jayden Ward and Scott Joblin made good ground through the rankings initially but were eventually beaten by Hughes/Mooney. The overall results for the shootout ending identical to the earlier pairs event.

Stockcars raced the same format with a field of 34 cars and also ended up with the pairs podium being the same as the shootout podium. Taylor Patene and Cody Lockett won both events, Cory Symes and Ashton Mooney were second while Cody Alabaster and Bryce Jensen were third.

The Saloon class fronted with a field of eleven cars for their Best Pairs which were wone by the duo of Bradley Korff and Ella Hislop. Jarrod MacBeth and Tim De Graaf were second and Mike Adamson/Danielle Halcrow third. In the Saloon shootout the finishing order was Korff, MacBeth and Adamson.

Forty Youth Ministocks were on hand to contest the Creative Printz Taranaki Champs with each competitor racing two qualifying heats before the top ten from each group proceeded to the finals. Out of town drivers filled the podium with Boston Joblin taking overall victory ahead of Auckland racer Steven Skelton. Huntly driver Taylor Bryant was third.