MOTORSPORT - Quad bikes offer thrills and spills

The Whangarei Speedway had its biggest crowds and biggest fields for some time at its Saturday race meeting, with a few thrills and spills in one class in particular.
Whangarei is one of the few courses in the country to host quad bike racing, and it has steadily grown in popularity since it was introduced two years ago.
On Saturday there were so many entries that organisers were forced to split the bikes into two grades for the first time.
``Riders came from as far away as Christchurch on Saturday, and that's because there are not that many tracks around they can actually race on,' club treasurer Wendy Holland said.
There were 10 bikes in the A grade and seven in the B grade, but racing was still pretty frantic.
``That's the first time since we started racing, [that] we had a couple of them rolling ... and that's probably because there were such big fields,' Holland said.
Although the crashes were spectacular, no one was seriously injured largely because of the heavy protective gear the riders wear.
``In one case, the bike flipped and landed on top of him.
``Although he looked a bit sore and didn't move for a while afterward, he only ended up with a broken thumb.'
Saturday's meeting also drew stock cars and Mini stock cars for a rare foray on to the club's Port Rd track. Nigel Evans won the stock cars and Rose McLaren the Mini stocks.
The TQs also featured a good field for the second round of their series, with Ryan Baker edging out Steve Smith and John Hopewell, who both finished racing level on points in second place.
The one field that was down on Saturday was the modified class, won in emphatic fashion by Auckland's Jamie Fox.
Organisers had expected a minimum of nine entries for the trophy race, but only six cars raced. Grant Harris and Ron Drake took second and third respectively.
Warkworth's Lydon Morrison finished third in the limited saloon event while Whangarei's Kyle Simpson won the production class.
The club's next meeting is on January 31, and features a trophy dash in the limited saloons.