RESULTS
April 12, 2011 - 2:54am
Christchurch driver, David Kerr was successful in his quest to become the first driver to win four South Island Midgetcar titles in a row when he dominated the 49th running of the title at Ruapuna Speedway on Saturday. Kerr dropped just one point when winning two of the three heats and finished second in the other to finish on 32 points three clear of Nick Donaldson with Steve McCallum in third place on 22 points. The 37 year has now written his name into the record books by becoming the first four time repeat winner of the South Island Midgetcar Title. Kerr showed his rivals the he was the one to beat when coming from near the back of the field to win the in record time over 15 laps. Kerr took the lead in one classy outside pass which saw him go from fourth to first as the three leading car were lapping a slower car. Brad Mackwell pushed Kerr all the way to finish second with Donaldson third. The race started in spectacular fashion when one of the pre-meeting favourites, Aaron Webb crashed out of the event when his car touched a rival sending Webb’s car into a of violent roll in the first 50 metres of the race. The second heat followed a similar pattern with Kerr taking out the chequered flag from Mackwell and Donaldson, which left Kerr going into the final heat two points clear Mackwell with Donaldson a further two points adrift. Kerr’s pit crew were kept busy before the deciding heat when they had to quickly change a diff after discovering a fault.Mackwell’s title hopes were dashed when he clipped the safety fence early in the race with his car riding the fence then gaining some serious air time before crashing heavily back to the track. Thankfully the young driver walked away from the badly damaged car.When the race restarted Donaldson and Kerr quickly moved to the front of the field with Kerr then taking the lead on the Prison bend with Donaldson then regaining the lead with several laps to run with Kerr knowing that second placing would be enough to giving him the title. Kerr then backed to take out the Feature, from Donaldson and Dunedin’s Gavin Wilkie.A large field of sprintcars turned out for the Canterbury championship, raced over three heats which saw three different winners, Ray Baughan, Matt Honeywell and Karen Forsey but the move consistent Baughan (41 points) took out the title from Cromwell’s Jason Scott (36) and Invercargill Kyle Sharing (33).Their was closing racing in the provincial title for the sidechairs which saw the top points scorers going into a one off final race which saw the veteran’s of the class, John Warwood and Laurie McMahon hold off a race long challenge from Clint Warwood/Paul Auton with Aaron Ray/Bevan Nuttridge a close third.The TQ class used the same format to decide their title with Ryan Stone pulling off a last bend pass to take the trophy from Blair Warren, by a car length, with Tony Inglis third. Tim George took out the final heat in the modified sprint class, to go along with his two second places to lift the Canterbury tile from Darryl Harris and Kieran Harris. Race Results (Competitors From Christchurch Unless Stated)MidgetcarsCity South Van Spares 49th South Island ChampionshipsHt 1. David Kerr 1, Brad Mackwell 2, Nick Donaldson 3. Ht 2. Kerr 1, Mackwell 2, Donaldson 3. Ht 3. Donaldson 1, Kerr 2, 1, Andrew Brown (Inv) 3.Finals Points; Kerr 32, Donaldson 29, Steve McCallum 22, Mackwell 20, Gavin Wilkie(Dunedin) 22, Brown 17, Dudley White (Inv) 15, Phillippa Melrose 11, Matt Milne 10, Nick Marquet (Nelson) 8, Aaron Webb 0. Feature. Kerr 1, Donaldson 2, Wilkie 3. Sprintcars – Canterbury ChampionshipsHt 1. Ray Baughan 1, Karen Forsey 2, Jason Scott (Cromwell) 3. Ht 2. Matt Honeywell 1, Kyle Shearing (Inv) 2, Baughan 3. Ht 3. Forsey 1, Steve Mora 2, Baughan 3. Final Placings: Baughan 1st, Jason Scott (Cromwell) 2nd, Sharing 3rd. Modified Sprints – Canterbury ChampionshipsHt 1. Darryl Harris 1, Tim George 2, Nathan Astle 3. Ht 2. Kieran Harris 1, George 2, D Harris 3. Ht 3. George 1, D Harris 2, Astle 3.Final Placings: George 1st D Harris 2nd, K Harris 3rd.Three Quarter MidgetsHt 1. Gareth Bindon 1, Tom Lumsden 2, Jeremy Webb 3.Ht 2. Phillippa Melrose 1, Ryan Stone 2, Rachel Melrose 3.Canterbury Championship Feature. Stone 1, Blair Warren 2, Tony Inglis 3. Quarter MidgetsHt 1. Matt Leversedge 1, Nathan Clive 2, Luke Adams 3. Ht 2. Leversedge 1, Adams 2, Liam McCoubrey 3.Ht 3. Clive 1, Jay Basalaj (Nelson) 2, Leversedge 3.Sidechairs – Canterbury ChampionshipsHt 1. Clint Warwood/Paul Auton 1, Pete Stevens/Ben Gilmore 2. Ht 2. John Warwood/Laurie McMahon 1, Paul Anderson/Craig Oliver 3.Ht 3. Aaron Ray/Bevan Nuttridge 1, Stevens/Gilmore 2, Carl Ostomy/Dave Green 3.Ht 4. Warwood/Auton 1, Warwood/ McMahon 2.Ht 5. Warwood/McMahon 1, Ostomy/Green 2, Stevens/Gilmore 3. Ht 6. Warwood/Auton 1, Ray/Nuttridge 2.Final. Warwood/McMahon 1, Warwood/Auton 2, Ray Nuttridge 3. Youth MinistocksHt 1. Bryden Stuart 1, Liam Hopkins 2, Syd Fergusson 3.Ht 2. Fergusson 1, Jamie Collins 2, Hopkins 3. Six Cylinder SprintsHt 1. Brian Humm 1, Richard Stubbs 2, Bob Lambie 3. Ht 2. Humm 1, Lambie 2, Stubbs 3 Melrose Motorsport Challenge. Sam Apps 1, Thomas Sutherland 2, Alissa Clive 3.
- February 6, 2011 - 4:53pm
Ricky Brett continued on with his red hot from the previous night when he took out the NZ TQ GP title, when he added both the TQ Masters title the Sinclair Trophy Feature on Saturday evening. Brett finished on top of the iconic Master event which has cars starting three wide over three 15 lap heats. The Christchurch driver claimed a second place in the opening heat behind Kyle Glover, then drove from near the back of the field to finish in four place behind Rachel Melrose, Paul Le Cren (Auckland) and Ryan Stone in the second race. Going into the final heat Brett lead Le Cren by a point but the Auckland was starting near the back of the pack with the GP holder from grid 11. Brett has worked his way up to fourth place by the opening lap and was in third a lap later when passing Kimberley Yeatman, with Craig Todd and Duane Todd setting the pace. On lap four Brett pulled off an amazing outing pass on the Prison Bend to account for both the New Zealand # 1 and 2 to take the lead. From this point Brett was never challenged with Duane Todd second from namesake Craig with Stone fourth. This was enough to give Stone second place overall by a point from Le Cren, with two points separating the next three drivers, Craig and Duane Todd and Rachel Melrose. Brett was just as dominate in the Sinclair Trophy Feature, driving to the front early in the race and was never ended with Tom Lumsden being rewarded for a consistence two nights of racing to claim second place from Craig Todd. The Canterbury Midget title was a tight affair with just two point between the top three drivers. Brad Mackwell finished on top with 25 points, including two wins from the three heats, with Phillipal Melrose second overall a point behind with Aaron Webb third. Going into the final heat Nick Donaldson was leading on points but his title hopes were dashed when forced to retire early in the race. The Modified Sprint class was again evenly contested with Nathan Astle, Tim George and Jason Stark each winning a race. Kieran Stevens was the pick of the Six Shooter sprintcar pilots with the Cromwell driver picking up two wins and a third from four starts. John Warwood and Laurie McMahon had two win and a second on their sidecar, having to settle for second in the other race behind Clint Warwood and Paul Auton. Jay Basalaj (Nelson) won the Feature in the Quarter Midget class with Nathan Clive and Matt Leversedge also secure a win each. Race Results (Competitors From Christchurch Unless Stated) Three Quarter Midgets TQ Masters Ht 1. Kyle Glover 1, Ricky Brett 2, Jeremy Webb 3. Ht 2. Rachel Melrose 1, Paul Le Cren (Auck) 2, Ryan Stone 3. Ht 3. Brett 1, Duane Todd 2, Craig Todd 3. Final Points. Brett 65, Stone 56, Le Cren 55, C Todd 54, D Todd 53, R Melrose 53, Tom Lumsden 48, Kyle Glover 47, Jared Taylor (Auck) 46, Gareth Bindon 44, Jeremy Webb 43, Phillipa Melrose 40, Aymom Bridger 33, Shane Phillips (Auck) 32, Kimberley Yeatman 22, Blair Warren 22, Brian Fridd 22, Dylan McGregor 20, Kate Warren 15, Mark Morris 14, Aiden Barclay 10, Matt Phillips 5. Sinclair Trophy Feature. Brett 1, Lumsden 2, C Todd 3. Midgets Canterbury Champs Ht 1. Brad Mackwell 1, Aaron Webb 2, Phillipa Melrose 3. Ht 2. Paul Quinn (Nelson) 1, Nick Donaldson 2, Gavin Wilkie ( Dunedin ) 3 Ht 3. Mackwell 1, Melrose 3, Webb 3. Final Points. Mackwell 25, Melrose 24, Webb 23, Wilkie 20, Quinn 17, Donaldson 16, Matt Milne 5, John Trehane 4, Andrew Brown 0. Modified Sprints. Ht 1. Nathan Astle 1, Daryl Harris 2, Kieran Harris 3. Ht 2. Tim George 1, K Harris 2, Alastair Ford 3. Feature. Jason Stark 1, George 2, Brendon Daly 3. Sidecars. Ht 1. John Warwood/Laurie McMahon 1, Clint Warwood/Paul Auton 2, Miles Moore/Ben Bartell 3. Ht 2. Warwood/Auton 1, Warwood/McMahon 2, Moore/Bartell 3. Final. Warwood/McMahon 1, Moore/Bartell 2. Quarter Midgets Ht 1. Nathan Clive 1, Bailey Clive 2, Matthew Leversedge 3. Ht 2. Leversedge 1, Jay Basalaj (Nelson) 2, Ben Le Cren (Auck) 3. Feature. Basalaj 1, Leversedge 2, Le Cren 3. Six Shooters Ht 1. Sam O’Callaghan (Cromwell) 1, Barton Dick ( Dunedin ) 2, Kieran Stevens (Cromwell) 3. Ht 2. Shaun McPherson (Cromwell) 1, Stevie Duff 2, Dick 3. Ht 3. Stevens 1, O’Callaghan 2, Martin Harcourt 3. Feature. Stevens 1, O’Callagahan 2, Mike Moulin 3. - February 5, 2011 - 12:50pm
Christchurch driver, Ricky Brett, collected his first national title when he took out the Rolly Inn New Zealand TQ Grand Prix on Friday evening at Equus Ruapuna Speedway . Brett lead from start to finish but had to see off a challenge at a restart, three laps from the end of the GP, from New Zealand champion, Craig Todd (Napier) with the fast finishing Dylan McGregor (Gisborne) claiming third place on the last lap. “This almost makes up for the nationals last weekend, it is a great morale booster” said the thirty –one year old. Brett was in top form leading into the New Zealand championships, held in Nelson but wrecked his car in massive roll a week before at Ruapuna and finally finished in eighth place, having gone into the meeting as the NZ # 3. Brett’s win also broke the North Island dominance of recent GP winners with Nelson’s Ricky Rudolph the last mainlander to win the title way back in 1992/93 season with Brett now joining Chris Beach, and Ray Smith as the only other Christchurch driver’s to lift the blue ribbon event with Beach a three time winner. Brett took out one of the heat wins and finished fourth in the other, to go into the GP Final level on 45 points with Craig Todd, who claimed a second and a third, to start the Final from the front row for the 24 car strong field. On the green Brett quickly took the lead from Todd who was the defending GP titleholder, with Brett going on to open up a handy six car lead by lap six which slowly increased with each lap, with a great battle developing between Duane Todd, McGregor and local, Tom Lumsden for third place. The race went under caution when a car spin on the Town bend but Brett easily saw of a brief challenge from Craig Todd, to go on and take the chequered flag with McGregor finally managed to pass Duane Todd on the last lap, with Lumsden finishing in a creditable fifth place. On other racing Kieran Harris was unbeaten in the Modified Sprint class, claiming three wins, with three different winners the midget class, with Paul Quinn (Nelson) and Nick Donaldson each claiming a heat win with Dunedin’s Gavin Wilkie winning the Feature. The Six Shooter Sprintcar had their first official outing and turned on some entertaining racing with Ray Baughan, Todd Hay and Michael Moulin each tasting victory. Race Results (Competitors From Christchurch Unless Stated) Friday Evening Three Quarter Midgets Cars Rolly Inn New Zealand Grand Prix. Qualifying Ht 1. Tom Lumsden 1, Paul Le Cren (Auck) 2, Duane Todd (Hawkes Bay) 3 Ht 2. Craig Todd ( Hawkes Bay ) 1, Ryan Stone 2, Rachel Melrose 3. Ht 3. Ricky Brett 1, Glen Durie 2, Dylan McGregor (Gisborne) 3. Grand Prix Heats Ht 1. Le Cren 1, C Todd 2, Lumsden 3, Brett 4, D Todd 5. Ht 2. Brett 1, Jared Taylor (Auck) 2, C Todd 3, D Todd 4, Le Cren 5. Final Feature. Brett 1, C Todd 2, McGregor 3, D Todd 4, Lumsden 5. Modified Sprint Ht 1. Kieran Harris 1, Nathan Astle 2, Tim George 3. Ht 2. K Harris 1, Daryl Harris 2, Alastair Ford 3. Feature. K Harris 1, George 2, D Harris 3. Midgets Ht 1. Paul Quinn (Nelson) 1, Aaron Webb 2, Nick Donaldson 3. Ht 2. Donaldson 1, Webb 2, Gavin Wilkie ( Dunedin ) 3. Feature. Wilkie 1, Gary Chadwick 2, Phillipa Melrose 3. Sidecars Ht 1. Clint Warwood/Paul Auton 1, John Warwood/Laurie McMahon 2, Paul Whitcome/Eric Marsden 3. Ht 2. Warwood/McMahon 1, Warwood/Auton 2, Miles Moore/Ben Bartell 3. Six Shooters Ht 1. Ray Baughan 1, Todd Hay 2, Stevie Duff 3. Ht 2. Hay 1, Michael Moulin 2, Baughan 3. Feature. Moulin 1, Duff 2, Baughan 3. Quarter Midgets Ht 1. Nathan Clive 1, Matthew Leversedge 3. Jay Basalaj (Nelson) 3. Ht 2. Ben Le Cren (Auck) 1, Basalaj 2, Nathan Clive 3. Feature. Leversedge 1, Basalaj 2, Bailey Clive 3.
- January 30, 2011 - 11:13am
PHOTO: Matt Honeywell took a spectacular tumble in the Gold Cup Final Tauranga’s Colin Entwhistle backed up his second place in the Salute to Goodie the previous night to take out the Sprintcar Gold Cup Feature on Saturday, from veteran Ian Easton (Palmerston North) with Jamie McDonald (Auckland) charging by Australian, Martin Lawes, in the run to the chequered flag to claim third place with McDonald clipping the fence on the run to the line to finish the race crossed up and running onto the infield backwards. The fact that the meeting went ahead was amazing considering the amount of rain that fell overnight in into Saturday morning, with a large team working all day on ‘Lake Ruapuna’ to first pump thousands of litres of the track before starting to prepare and then wheel pack the track for racing. Entwhistle took out the first qualifying heat from Hartley and Steve Mora. The second heat saw Southerners dominating the placing with Invarcargill’s Nigel Molley sandwiched between locals, race winner Matt Honeywell and Ray Baughan in third place. Lawes took out the final heat from Chris Hope (Invercargill) with Easton third. ‘Jack Jack’ Easton turned out to be the star in the Pole Shuffle coming into contest with Lawes on the second run and going all the way to see off the Sydney sider, then Hartley, Entwhistle and finally Honeywell to secure front row choice for the Feature. In the B Main Dean Brindle and Barlett claimed the last to spots for the Gold Cup with Aussie Alan Woods coming from the back to take third place but with crowd support gained a Promoters Choice start the Feature from grid 17. Honeywell lead out from Easton and Entwhistle who claimed second place on lap three going into the Prison Bend and then set out to close in on Honeywell. On lap seven Entwhistle made the pass but Honeywell then clipped the rear of his rival car causing Honeywell’s V’8 to roll. Entwhistle opened up a six car lead from Easton, Lawes and McDonald with the position staying this way until McDonald’s last dive to get by Lawes on the final turn. Local’s Jamie Duff and Ray Baughan filled the next to places with Woods finishing in seventh place. Other racing classes were again keenly contested with Kate Warren taking out her first Feature win in the TQ section after Tony Inglis and Tom Lumsden claimed heat wins, with Ryan Stone and the improving Ricky Mitchell following Warren home in the Feature. Arron Webb claimed his second Midget Feature win in as many nights holding out Nick Donaldson and Gary Chadwick. Alastair Ford claimed two wins his his Modified Sprint, including the Feature with young Stevie Duff unbeaten in Six Shooters Sprintcars who turned out in a demonstration run. Race Results (Competitors From Christchurch Unless Stated) Sprintcars Gold Cup Qualifying Ht 1. Colin Entwhistle (Tauranga) 1, Nelson Harley (P North) 2, Steve Mora 3. Ht 2. Matt Honeywell 1, Nigel Molloy (Invercargill) 2, Ray Baughan 3. Ht 3. Martin Lawes (Aust) 1, Chris Hope (Inv) 2, Ian Easton (P North) 3. Pole Shuffle. Easton 1, Honeywell 2, Entwhistle 3, Hartley 4, Lawes 5, Baughan 6. B Main . Dean Brindle (Auck) 1, Kerry Barlett (Tauranga) 2, Alan Woods (Aust) 3. Feature. Entwhistle 1, Easton 2, McDonald 3, Lawes 4, Duff 5, Baughan 6, Woods 7, Molloy 8. Three Quarter Midgets Ht 1. Tony Inglis 1, Blair Warren 2, Ricky Mitchell 3. Ht 2. Inglis 1, Glen Everett 2, Mark Morris 3. Ht 3. Tom Lumsden 1, Ryan Stone 2, Mitchell 3. Feature. Kate Warren 1, Stone 2, Mitchell 3. Modified Sprint Ht 1. Alastair Ford 1, Jimmy Doyle 2, Kieran Harris 3. Ht 2. Lindsay Bailey 1, Doyle 2, Tim George 3. Ht 3. Brendon Daly (Inv) 1, K Harris 2, Nathan Astle 3. Feature. Ford 1, Bailey 2, Darryl Harris 3. Midgets Ht 1. Nick Donaldson 1, Gary Chadwick 2, Arron Webb 3. Ht 2. Nick Marquet (Nelson) 1, David Kerr 2, Dudley White (Nelson) 3. Ht 3. Steve McCallum 1, Chadwick 2, Marquet 3. Feature. Webb 1, Donaldson 2, Chadwick 3. Six Shooters Ht 1. Stevie Duff 1, Shaun McPherson (Inv) 2, Todd Hays 3. Ht 2. Duff 1, McPherson 2, Kevin Freeman (Nelson) 3. Feature. Duff 1, McPherson 2, Hays 3. - January 30, 2011 - 11:08am
PHOTO: Aidan Barclay and Brian Fridd Tangle in a TQ Heat Race The first night of the Sprintcar Summer Slam saw intense racing on Friday evening, with seven different driver’s each winning a race with Auckland’s Jamie McDonald take out the Salute to Goodie Feature from Colin Entwhistle (Tauranga) and Palmerston North’s Nelson Hartley.. McDonald showed from his first qualifying race that he would be one of the front runner’s when coming from near the back of the field to follow home Australian driver Allan Woods who set the fastest time of the evening of 12.90 seconds. Woods has caused a stir by starting the night with a ‘roo’ bar on the front of his car but officials black flagged his car and ordered a change. This seemed to fire Woods up with the Brisbane based driver quickly taking the lead and was lapping rivals by lap five. Wood’s crashed out of his next heat when trying to pass Cromwell’s Jason Scott coming of the Prison bend causing both cars to roll. Local driver Jamie Duff took out the win from Hartley and Dean Brindle ( Auckland ). In the first dash McDonald pushed Ian Easton all the way with Kerry Barlett third, Barlett lives in Ashburton but races out of Tauranga. Sydney driver Martin Lawes took out the next Dash from Woods with Invercargill’s Nigel Molley impressing when claiming third place. Scott recovered from the roll to take out the B Main to qualify for the Feature along with Chris Burns (Invercargill). McDonald lead out from the green in the Feature but the race went under yellow when Duff’s race ended when clipping the fence on the Prison bend on the first lap. McDonald again lead out in the restart from Entwhistle and Hartley with a great battle developing behind the top three with Easton having to first see off Barlett before Brindle and Woods, both using the wider racing line pressed the Palmerston North drive who finally conceded fourth place with two laps remain when both Brindle and Wood finally managed to pass. In other racing, TQ driver Ricky Brett will have plenty of work to do before the up coming NZ championship in Nelson after crashing heavily in the four heat after earlier having claimed a win and a second placing. Tom Lumsden took out the Feature from Tony Inglis and Ryan Stone. Midget driver, David Kerr was also involved in an incident which saw his car roll heavily along the front straight. Aaron Webb dominated a racing with two third placing before winning the Feature. In the Modified Sprint class Darryl Harris claimed a heat win and the Feature with Clint Warwood and passenger Paul Auton winning all three sidecars races. Race Results (Competitors From Christchurch Unless Stated) Friday Evening Sprintcars Salute To Goodie Qualifying Ht 1. Allan Woods (Aust) 1, Jamie McDonald (Auck) 2, Colin Entwhistle (Tauranga) 3. Ht 2. Dean Brindle (Auck) 1, McDonald 2, Steve Mora 3. Ht 3. Jamie Duff 1, Nelson Hartley (P North) 2, Brindle 3. Dash 1. Ian Easton (P North), McDonald 2, Kerry Barlett (Tauranga) 3. Dash 2. Martin Lawes(Aust) Woods 2, Nigel Molley (Inv) 3. B Main . Jason Scott (Cromwell) 1, Chris Burns (Inv) 2, Barry Innes (Inv) Feature. McDonald 1, Entwhistle 2, Hartley 3, Brindle 4, Woods 5, Easton 6. Three Quarter Midgets Ht 1. Marty Kennett 1, Grant Morris 2, Ricky Mitchell 3. Ht 2. Ricky Brett 1, Kyle Glover 2, Rachel Melrose 3. Ht 3. Mitchell 1, Brett 2, Kate Warren 3. Ht 4. Brian Fridd 1, Warren 2, Phillipa Melrose 3. Feature. Tom Lumsden 1, Tony Inglis 2, Ryan Stone 3. Modified Sprint Ht 1. Darryl Harris 1, Brendon Daly (Inv) 2, Craig Phillips (Inv) 3. Ht 2. Kieran Harris 1, Jimmy Doyle 2, Jason Stack 3. Feature. D Harris 1, K Harris 2, Daly 3. Midgets Ht 1. Nick Marquet (Nelson) 1,David Kerr 2, Aaron Webb 3. Ht 2. Brad Macwell1, Nick Donaldson 2, Webb 3. Ht 3. Steve McCallum 1, Marquet 2, Donaldson 3. Feature. Webb 1, Marquet 2, Gavin Wilkie ( Dunedin ) 3. Sidecars Ht 1. Clint Warwood/Paul Auton 1, Paul Whitcombe/Rob Abrahams 2, Scott Lang/Gus Elliot (Grey) 3 Ht 2. Warwood/Auton 1, Cory Lang /Bevan Nuttridge 2, Lang/Elliot 3. Feature. Warwood/Auton 1, Lang /Nuttridge 2, Whitcombe/Abrahams 3.
- January 9, 2011 - 9:21am
Exciting racing was the hallmark of racing at Ruapuna Speedway on Saturday evening which featured both the South Island Sidecar championships and International solo’s. The Nelson pairing of Nigel Payton and Mike DeGray come out on top of the eighteen outfit’s that contested the sidecar title, heading home Invercargill’s Jason Harpur and Mark George by one point in the three heat finals with Christchurch’s John Warwood and Laurie McMahon in third place. It was first time the Payton and DeGray lifted the blur ribbon event after having finished in the runner-up spot and third place - twice in the previous three season’s and now set their sight’s on the New Zealand title which will be contested on their home track in February. After a series of qualifying heats the top six outfits contested the first of three final heats which had to be re-run twice after two combinations crashed out. The first was local’s Brent Tomkins and Paul Cunniffe, who were looking good for the title after they were the only pairing that went through the group racing undefeated, but their title hopes were gone when they rolled after touching another combination going down the back straight.Invercargill’s Fraser Gillespie and Nigel Cuckow were next to exit the title race when flipping their machine heavily when crossing up on the first lap of the re-run. The heat was finally won by Harpur/George with Payton/DeGray a close second from Warwood/McMahon. Heat two saw the finishing order reversed for the first two, with Payton and Degray looking to have to settle for second place again but pulled of a great inside slider pass going into the final turn with Invercargill’s Scott Ayto and Josh Heenan in third place. Going into the final heat Harpur/George with Payton/DeGray were locked together on 11 points and it was Payton and DeGray that lead out from the start with Harpur and George last coming out of the first turn but then moved up into second place but could not pressure the leaders into making a mistake that would have given them the lead and the title, with Warwood and McMahon third. Sweden’s Daniel Nermark finished on top of the International Solo’s from Auckland's Sean Mason and England’s Jamie Courtney with local rider Dale Finch fourth. Each rider had three qualifying races with saw Mason and Nermark only defeated once, with Mason advancing direct to the final when leading home with Swede, with Mason’s only loss coming at the hands of local teenager Anthony Knowles. The semi finals winner’s then processed into the final with Nermark winning the first semi from Finch and Christchurch’s Andy Aldridge. Courtney took out the other semi from England’s Ritchie Hawkins from local Grant Tregoning. Tregoning was riding with and injured right arm after he crashed into Aldridge during the heat racing. The Last Change Qualifier saw the closed finish of the night with Hawkins leading from Finch and Aldridge with the English rider looking to be in control of the race going into the final lap by Finch closed the gap going into the final turn and draw along side in the race to the chequered flag with the current NZ Under 21 champions taking the line by several centimeters. Nermark lead out in the final from Finch and Mason after the opening lap but Finch over did things when trying to mount a challenge on the Swedish World Cup rider and fell on the Prison bend on the next lap to leave Nermark unchallenged for the win from Mason and Courtney. Race Results (Competitors From Christchurch Unless Stated)Sidecars South Island Championship Qualifying Group 1Ht 1. John Warwood/Laurie McMahon 1, Neville Curren/Wolf McGill (Nel)2, Shaun Kerr/Brad Ross(Inv) 3Ht 2. Warwood/McMahon 1, Kerr/Ross 2, Scott Ayto/Josh Heenan (Inv) 3. Ht 3. Kerr/Ross Curren 1, Ayto/Heenan 2, Josh Wilson/Johno Butt 3.Group 2Ht 1. Jason Harpur/Mark George (Inv) 1, Fraser Gillespie/Nigel Cuckow (Inv) 2, Clint Warwood/Paul Auton 3.Ht 2. Gillespie/Cuckow 1, Harpur/George 2, Warwood/Auton 3.Ht 3. Gillespie/Cuckow 1, Harpur/George 2, Warwood/Auton 3. Group 3 Ht 1. Aiden Thwaites/Bruce McLean (Inv) 1, Nigel Payton/Mike DeGray (Nel) Craig McMaster/Pat McDowell(Inv) 3.Ht 2. Payton/DeGray 1, Thwaites/McLean 2, McMaster/McDowell 3. Ht 3. Payton/DeGray 1, Thwaites/McLean 2, McMaster/McDowell 3.Group 4Ht 1. Brent Tomkins/Paul Cunniffe 1, Kevin McDonald/Karl Hosie (Inv) 2, Grant Thomson /Chris Nixon (Inv) 3.Ht 2. Tomkins/Cunniffe 1, McDonald/Hosie 2, Thomson/Nixon 3.Ht 3. Tomkins/Cunniffe 1, Luke Thwaites/Neville Chalmers (Inv) 2, McDonald/Hosie 3.D Main . Miles Moore/Ben Bartels 1, Pete Stephens/Jeremy Ward 2, Cory Lang/Aaron O’Donnell (Greymouth) 3.C Main . Warwood/Arton 1, Moore Bartels 2, Thwaites/ Chalmers 3.B Main . Harpur/George 1, Ayto/ Heenen 2, Warwood/Auton 3.Finals.Ht 1. Harpur/George 1, Payton/DeGray 2, Warwood/McMahon 3.Ht 2. Payton/DeGrey 1, Harpur/George 2, Ayto/Heenen 3.Ht 3. Payton/DeGrey 1, Harpur/George 2, Warwood/McMahon 3.Final Points:Payton/DeGrey 17, Harpur/George 16, Warwood/McMahon 11, Ayto/Heenen 7, Gillespie/Cuckow 0, Tomkins/Cunniffe 0 Solo’s International Ht 1. Daniel Nermark ( Sweden ) 1, Grant Tregoning 2, Ritchie Hawkins (Eng) 3.Ht 2. Sean Mason (Auck) 1, James Courtney (Eng) 2, Anthony Knowles 3.Ht 3. Andrew Aldridge 1, Dale Finch 2, Adam Wilson (Nelson) 3.Ht 4. Mason 1, Nermark 2, Finch 3. Ht 5. Hawkins 1, Knowles 2, Andrew Bargh (P. North) 3. Ht 6. Aldridge 1, Courtney 2, Jasper Kristiansen ( Denmark ) 3. Ht 7. Nermark 1, Bargh 2, Wilson 3, Ht 8. Knowles Mason 2, Kristiansen 3. Ht 9. Courtney 1, Finch 2, Aldridge 3. Qualifying Points: Mason 8, Nermark 8, Aldridge 7, Courtney 7, Knowles 6, Finch 5, Hawkins 4, Bargh 3, Tregoning 2, Kristiansen, Wilson 2, Sharp 0.Semi Final.Nermark 1, Finch 2, Aldridge 3. Semi Final. Courtney 1, Hawkins 2, Tregoning 3.Last Chance Qualifier.Finch 1, Hawkins 2, Aldridge 3. Final. Nermark 1, Mason 2, Courtney 3.Support Races.Ht 1. Wilson 1, Bradley Sharp (Inv) 2, Irwin Tree (Inv) Ht 2. Wilson 1, Sharp 2, Tree 3. Ht 3. Wilson 1, Tree 2, James Thompson (Greymouth) 3. Ht 4. Wilson 1, Sharp 2, Tree 3. Quarter Midgets.Race 1. Alex Kerr 1, Conner McKlusey-Young 2, Jacob Adams 3. Race 2. Kerr 1, McKlusey-Young 2, Adams 3. Race 3. Kerr 1, Adams 2, Liam McCaubrey 3
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