Oceanview Family Speedway marks 50th with huge weekend of racing

A gaggle of Rees chassis, including the master builder himself, Peter Rees, in the 10G car. Photos / S. B. O'Hagan Photography

Perfect Labour Weekend weather, good fields, good crowds and plenty of on-track action all contributed to a wonderful 50th birthday celebration at Fast Lane Spares Oceanview Family Speedway.

It was an ambitious race programme too, with 25 races at Saturday's club meeting and 31 races on Sunday, the first points meeting for the new season.

The Wanganui Stockcar and Speedway Club wanted to do something different as a nod to 1972, and initially, it was suggested that Saturday's meeting have an admission charge of just $2, 1972 prices.

However, after a suggestion from local driver Richard Hudson, whose wife has battled cancer this year, it was decided that admission would be by gold coin donation, and as a result, the Whanganui Cancer Society is now almost $4000 better off.

With six races for each class over the course of two days, it was inevitable that there would be some attrition, especially among the contact classes.

Stockcars started with 23 cars on Saturday but by their final race on Sunday night only 14 faced the starter. That didn't detract from the quality of the racing though, which was competitive and aggressive.

By the end of the weekend, three drivers; Callum Sturzaker (15V), Kaelin Mooney (26V) and Blair Reeves-Smith each had two wins.

The battles between Reeves-Smith, who has a new chassis just a couple of weeks away and Sturzaker were an excellent spectacle, with Reeves-Smith twice coming through on the closing laps to beat his Wanganui Vulcans teammate.

Cody Lockett (99V) will be delighted with the debut of his new car with four second placings over the six races.

Sturzaker's form will be a relief after the team spent most of last season chasing a driveline issue.

Mark Johnston (78V) showed glimpses of form in his rebuilt car, while Brittany Carpenter (85G) was the most consistent of the visitors, and recorded the fastest stockcar lap of the weekend, a 17.78s in the last stockcar race of Sunday night, a tribute to all the work that had gone into preparing the track.

In the superstocks, it was largely a battle of Wanganui versus Gisborne, with 1NZ Asher Rees (Kihikihi) thrown in for good measure.

Rees chassis cars are certainly in the ascendancy this season, with Dylan Marshall (57V) and Max Holloway (81V) driving brand new Rees superstocks, and Zane Dykstra (38V) and Youth Ministock graduate Trent James (56V) behind the wheels of one- and two-year-old Rees cars respectively.

After the meeting, Peter Rees said it was humbling to see so many of the cars he had built around him on the grid.

Asher's season began strongly, with three wins over the course of the weekend. The other races were shared between Ethan Rees (127G), Maddie Wise (136V) and Dykstra, with Wise recording the fastest lap of the weekend, a 16.33s as the sun set on Saturday night.

Trent James had a promising debut with a second placing in Sunday's opening race and a race-long battle with the veteran Peter Rees, while Gerry Linklater was pleased with his first outing, getting laps under his belt, and Holloway's new SS Motorsport beast has plenty of potential and pace.

Mark Cromarty (432G) had a weekend to forget, losing a right front wheel right in front of Sticky O'Hagan's video camera in the first heat, then having a big rollover in Turn Three after hitting the wall at speed.

Seth Ireland (42B) took a clean sweep of wins on Saturday, but it was Fletcher Hoskins (88V) who dominated Sunday's racing in the Youth Ministocks with two wins.

Hoskins had an excellent weekend overall, not finishing outside the top five in any of his five races.

There was also plenty of interest in the Youth Ministock Mentor group, watching the improvement over six races of five youngsters who were having their first taste of racing. Max Candish (28V), Alyssa Tulloch (8V) and Cody Meads (55V) all had race wins, while Paige Smith (53V), who had the fastest lap of the weekend, a 19.998-second effort and Jacqui Linklater (198V) raced hard, cleanly and finished every race.

Giving these youngsters the opportunity to race among themselves first is paying off, and all five drivers got progressively better with each race, as their confidence blossomed.

Smiles all round as Wanganui Stockcar and Speedway Club Patron Bob Smith cuts the celebratory cake.

With regulars Jemma Barnes and Jack Lammas-Martin stepping away from Adult Ministocks, a wide-open field saw wins shared around. Kobe Day (282P) took the opening race on Saturday and Liam Linklater (72V) the next two.

On Sunday West Coast Adult Ministock champion, Gary Adamson, was on point, winning the first two races before falling foul of a Turn One incident in the third. Conor Linklater (71V), Rhys White (53V), Julian Munro (43V) and Dylan Colban (43P) all had their moments.

A series of incidents depleted the Production Saloon field over the course of the weekend, Nathan Smith (29W) took four wins over the course of the weekend with Brent Hackett (434V) winning the other two races.

From an original 10 cars on Saturday, only three took the chequered flag in the final race of the weekend.

Sidecars have long been a feature class at Oceanview, and even though the track conditions on a sunny afternoon were not perfect, they still turned on a good show. Rob Miller, with a new 8P bike and new swinger Jaxon Hannan, took out the first two races, and Aaron and Bryce Rose (34V) took a popular win in the final heat, returning to racing after a season off.

Minisprint numbers at Oceanview are on the rise, although it was visitors Cameron Hurley (82S), Nathan Jeffries (8P) and Ash Emmerson (36P) who had race wins.

1NZ Dylan Smith finished second in the first two races, then had a race-long battle with Jemma Barnes (92V) in the final heat.

Barnes is focusing full-time on Minisprints this season and holding out the current 1NZ for the full 10 laps will have done her confidence no end of good. Jeffries recorded the fastest lap of the weekend across all classes with a blistering 14.72s in Heat Two.

Stoppages marred the first two Midget heats, as Glen Huijs (7V) and Mark Willans (24S) shared the wins.

The final heat ran far better with only one caution, and Willans asserted his dominance.

Newcomer Scott Carseldine (9V) ended his first race upside down, but he and the car were unharmed, and he completed his first night's racing without further incident.

The biggest field of Classic Stockcars seen at Oceanview Family Speedway was on hand to deliver plenty of action and entertainment over two nights when the history of the track was being celebrated.

Club patron Bob Smith grabbed a win on Saturday night to delight the crowd, while Dave Evans showed why many consider him the greatest on Sunday with a win and two second placings, races he probably would have won but for the Classics' rule against multiple wins on any night.

Shane Hobman, driving the 16V Keith Turner replica he played a huge part in building, took the final win of the weekend.

After the racing concluded on Sunday night and the celebratory fireworks had lit up the Whanganui sky, everyone adjourned to the Charlie Berntsen Clubrooms for refreshments and reminiscing.

WSSC President Daryn Smith welcomed all who had assembled and paid tribute to both the current committee, who had planned and arranged the weekend and all those who have gone before.

Bob Smith then spoke a few words, acknowledging all the drivers who had competed at Oceanview over the years. He concluded with a challenge to the Youth Ministock competitors present to be the ones who take the club forward through the next 50 years.

Bob then cut the enormous birthday cake, suitably decorated to represent the Oceanview track.

And so ended a weekend of celebrations at Fast Lane Spares Oceanview Family Speedway.

That Oceanview was judged last year by Speedway New Zealand as the Most Improved Speedway is testimony to the quest for improvement by the current committee, under the able leadership of Daryn Smith.