MG Taranaki Stratford Speedway: Opening night provides plenty of thrills

Ricky Paul lifts a wheel off the ground as he storms down the main straight on his way to winning the first race of the season. Photo / Michael Espiner

Perfect weather, good fields of race cars and a nice-sized crowd with a great vibe for the R&R Mechanical opening night at MG Taranaki Stratford Speedway on Saturday.

Drivers and fans had their first hit-out of the season where four of the six classes on hand were racing for their City of New Plymouth Classic trophies.

Modifieds were the first out the gate and Ricky Paul, who races a restored 40-year-old ex-Willie Noonan car built way back when he was just starting school, stormed away from the field to win the first race and recorded a popular victory.

Despite lacking the technology of the much-newer cars, Paul kept his relic of a race car hooked up all night long, even after he broke the left rear shock off in race two and elected to run without it in race three to record a third place and second place in the next two races to win the Classic, in a classic. Local speedster Jason Kalin was second and Blair Luscombe third.

Tyler Walker exerted his dominance early on in the superstock class to win the first two races before placing fifth in race three to easily win the Classic for the class.

Brad Uhlenberg consistently finished near the front of the field, recording a second, third and fourth over the three races to take second place while Shane Denham, who scored a win in race three, was third overall.

The seasoned campaigners in the saloon class were left scratching their heads as to what they needed to do to keep up with young racer Bradley Korff, who joined the class last season.

Tyler Walker won two out of three races in the superstock class to win the City of New Plymouth Classic. Photo / Supplied

Korff showed excellent car speed with minimal lap-time reduction even as the tricky tack slicked off. After finishing fifth in race one, he drove away from his competitors in the next two races, leaving them in his dust as he raced off to collect the chequered flag and the City of New Plymouth Classic trophy.

Former New Zealand champion Thomas Korff was second and Andrew Tippet, who won the first race of the night, was third.

Youth ministocks were split into two groups - the experienced and the newbies who are still in the mentor programme.

Tory Erkes, Blake Luscombe and Quin Spranger all collected wins in the mentor division while Bronson Pierce was super-consistent in the experienced division, recording a second, fourth and first place over the three races to win the City of New Plymouth Classic. Regan Ogle was second and Cory Symes third.

In the support classes, stockcar races were won by Caleb Coxhead (two) and William Hughes. Chloe Ingram created excitement for the crowd when she was rolled over in race three and then continued with the race after she was checked over. Haydn Fox won two of the three streetstock races while Ron Washer won the other.

The next meeting at MG Taranaki Stratford Speedway is on Saturday, October 29, and will feature the stockcar, midget, streetstock, minisprint and adult ministock City of New Plymouth Classics.