National midget car champs at Meeanee

Team Todd ready for the Friday and Saturday night national TQ Midget championships at Meeanee Speedway - leading hope and Napier racer Duane Todd and father Steve, each two-times former winners. Photo / Paul Taylor

Speedway promoters were on Friday increasingly confident of getting the two-night national TQ Midget championships out of the way at Meeanee without interference from the rain which has plagued Hawke’s Bay since Christmas.

It was touch and go as the first of the 46 drivers arrived at the track on the southern outskirts of Napier, with a bit of sunshine and a bit of rain ahead of the 4.30pm Friday scrutineering deadline and first racing and qualifying rounds starting at 6.30pm.

The MetService forecast was taking a bob each-way, predicting a few showers in the afternoon but clearing into the evening, but promoters said that if there was rain – such as the 35mm that fell on one night earlier in the week – the qualifying could be postponed and completed on Saturday, with an earlier start if necessary.

A small number of entrants are from the South Island, said Meeanee Speedway manager Bryan Puklowski, but more than half the field is from outside Hawke’s Bay.

The first goal for the racers, who include four women ranging in age from 17 to 39, on Friday was to qualify for the final on Saturday night.

The 46 drivers were divided into six groups, each racing five heats, one by one against the other groups, ultimately creating a field of 20 for the 25-lap showdown.

Auckland driver Aaron Humble is also considered a serious hope after his recent visits to Meeanee, and Todd, a son of another former two-time title winner Steve Todd and cousin of Craig Todd, another two-time winner, will be one of 14 Hawke’s Bay-contracted drivers in the field, including Tony Meechan, another host-track driver capable of securing a berth on the podium.