Speedway: Corrin targets national treble

Dan Corrin in action on Saturday night.

Gisborne saloon car driver Dan Corrin captured his second national title within a week when he won the New Zealand Grand Prix at Meeanee on Saturday night.

Corrin, who won the New Zealand championship on his home track the previous week, is hoping to do what former class veteran Phil Towgood did in 2008 and win three national titles in the same year.

"I've got the North Island champs in Auckland on February 13 and 14. If I can win that title and match Phil's feat that would be a dream," Corrin said after the 30-car David Jones Motors-sponsored championship.

Unlike many of the visitors in the field who had raced at Meeanee earlier this season to get a feel of the track, Corrin, 22, had not raced at the Hawke's Bay Speedway Club's headquarters for five years.

The two-time North Island champion who had twice finished third in the Grand Prix, said his spectacular battle with clubmate Ethan Cook in the previous race which Cook won was the key to his success.

"That race showed us what had to be done. We changed a few things which gave us a bit more side bite and it worked," Corrin said.

Mount Maunganui's Jared Fletcher finished second to Corrin and defending champion Ryan Marsden of Canterbury was third. Josh Smith was the only one of the five Hawke's Bay starters to qualify for the top 20 and finished ninth overall.

Hawke's Bay's Brett Loveridge won two of the heats in a 15-strong stockcar class and fellow Bay driver Jason Penn won the other. The best action in this class came in heat one when Tony Darroch ended up on his roof after a hit from Mike Smith.

Penn's nephew Regan Penn won two of the five heats in the 25-strong ministock class. Cameron Swift was the other Bay driver to win a heat in this class which had an entertaining moment in heat three which saw Gisborne's Bailey Curtis tow Hawke's Bay's Royden Hynd on his side after they became tangled.

Hawke's Bay Hawkeyes captain Steve Jude won two of the three heats in a 13-strong superstock class. Fellow Hawkeye Mike McLachlan won the other.

McLachlan and Jude will be joined by Jason Long, Quinn Ryan, Thomas Stanaway and sixth driver Quentin Butcher when the Hawkeyes compete at the international teams event in Palmerston North on February 6 and 7.

While it wasn't a memorable night for the five Hawke's Bay starters in the New Zealand Saloon Grand Prix there was still plenty to celebrate. Hawke's Bay solo bike rider Bradley Wilson-Dean, who returned from England for his Auckland-hosted senior nationals, finished second and experienced Hawke's Bay streetstock driver Darren Melling finished third in his Kihi Kihi-hosted nationals.