Ex-Gisborne racer wins NZ Sidecars Grand Prix, Streetstock Champ of Champs title to Redington

Speedway Fireworks

When it came to action-packed racing and breathtaking fireworks, Saturday night’s second meeting of the season at Gisborne Speedway had everything.

A near-capacity crowd over 4000-strong packed the track for a 27-race programme at Eastland Group Raceway and a cracker fireworks show that was up there with the best from Pacific Dreams in Hawke’s Bay.

When the speedway lights went out at 9.22pm, the track surrounds were awash with glowsticks and the atmosphere was fantastic.

The fireworks, sponsored again by Trevor Jukes and the Jukes Carriers team, lasted eight to nine minutes and drew sustained applause at the end.

“The crowd was one of our biggest,” Gisborne Speedway Club president Sam Hughes said. “It was a great night all-round, with awesome racing and brilliant fireworks.”

The TradeZone Gisborne New Zealand Sidecar Grand Prix produced exciting competition among the 11 bikes, and the trophy was hoisted by former Gisborne sidecar exponent Rob Miller and his swinger Jaxon Hannan on board 8P.

Miller has been based in Palmerston North for several seasons, but Gisborne remains very much his home track and it showed on Saturday night. They were followed home by 27B Craig Boaler and Ann Plumm, and 26B Justin Lincoln and Tim Beaver — both combinations from Hawke’s Bay.

The sidecar racing was marred by a bad crash in pit corner during one of the heats. Gisborne’s Clive Ireland and his swinger Malakai Pitcher, on 56G, took a severe end-over-end tumble, badly damaging their bike.

Pitcher had a neck injury and was taken to hospital by St John Ambulance.

“Fortunately the injury is not thought to be serious and Malakai is recovering in hospital, expected to be discharged today,” Hughes said.

Ireland escaped serious injury.

The Stone Transport and Hiab Streetstock Champion of Champions title was won by 46B Brent Redington, from Hawke’s Bay.

In second place was Gisborne’s Cody Gooch in 6G. He was followed by another Hawke’s Bay car, 26B, driven by Thomas McEwen.

At the end of three heats, Redington and Gooch were tied on the same points, but due to problems with his car Gooch was unable to make the start line for the run-off, and Redington took the title.

The whole streetstocks field really turned it on.

The other feature race winners on the night were 17G Dylan MacGregor in the TQs. He produced another scintillating performance, gaining three wins from three starts.

In one of the heats, MacGregor came from the back of the field like a knife through butter and won it by a car-length.

Club president Hughes got up to win the stockcar class in 77G.

Daniel Cook, also 77G, got better and better to outpoint the field in the saloons.

In the superstocks, 2NZG Josh Prentice outdrove the rest of the hard-charging field to win that class.

Youth ministocker 44G Corbyn Wilson showed some real class to win that section.

In the production saloons, it was 37G Blake Dear who scored the most points.

“Thanks to all of our sponsors – what a night,” Hughes said. “Thank you to all of our competitors and their crews who travelled to come and put on a great show for the crowd, and thanks to all of our spectators. We hope you enjoyed yourselves.”

The club’s next meeting is on Friday, November 17 and potentially involves sprintcars.