Fitch too good for rivals in speedway champs

A near flawless performance by Christchurch's Ian Fitch saw him crowned champion of the premier class at the New Zealand AGV Speedway Championships held at the Whangarei Speedway.
The championships brought 21  riders from all over the country to the Port Rd track on Saturday.
Fitch was simply too good for the opposition in the DRD Magazine Open 439-450cc premier class, winning most of the races. The major competition  was between Whangarei rider Bruce Aked and Hawke's Bay's Cameron Keegan for second place. Aked just shaded Keegan for second overall.
It was a different story in the AGV Accessories 0-750cc open class, with Riverhead veteran Graeme Giles and Orewa's Darren Memm both outpointing Fitch in close racing. The pair finished the eight-race series with the same overall points but Giles won on a countback by winning more races.
Memm did carry on to win a title in racing on Saturday, winning the combined 0-265cc 2-stroke and 0-425 4 stroke class, sponsored by Ian Fitch Racing.
Paeroa's Vaughan Adams won the Paeroa Hotel 0-750 Veteran title - adding to his New Zealand Veterans' Motocross title - while Whangarei's Bernie Gardner won the New Zealand Labour Hire 0-750 Clubman's class.
The big story of the day for local speedway fans was the performance of Lee Deverell, who was lent a bike to ride in the Clubmans' Class and eventually finished third in the six-strong field.
It was a great achievement for someone who had never raced on an AGV bike before.