Youth Ministocks is a class for 12 to 16-year-olds and has become a nursery for speedway champions.
Graduates of the class have featured strongly in Speedway New Zealand championships over the past 10 years, which is a tribute to the skills and racecraft Youth Ministock drivers develop during the time until they “age out”.
Even at last week’s New Zealand TQ Midget Championship at Meeanee Speedway, the top four finishers Aaron Humble, Kayden Barker, Terrence Dorrell and Regan Tyler were all former Ministock competitors, with Humble, Dorrell and Tyler all having competed in previous Oceanview 5000s.
To provide a more even playing field, drivers are separated into two age groups, 14 and under and 16 and under.
Generally the older age group will have more experience than the younger group, so drivers get to race alongside others with a similar level of experience.
Each age group has been split into four groups for qualifying races tonight.
These will set the fields for the championship races tomorrow night.
In the U14 class, Rotorua youngster George Crawford, Boston Joblin, Ella Hislop, Aiden Waihi, and Lewis Ward (all from Palmerston North), Riley Booker (Stratford) and Korbyn Morris (Hawke’s Bay) look to be strong prospects, all of whom have raced at Oceanview in the past.
Ben Tulloch, Ashton Mooney, Marcus Taylor and Harry Jurgens appeal as the most likely of the local contingent to progress to finals night.
The senior division is anyone’s guess, with a wide-open field.
Cohen Wright (Rotorua) has tasted success at Oceanview before, but will come under pressure from the likes of Thomas Davis (Wellington), Regan Ogle and Luca Ward (Stratford), Deegan Butcher and Rynan Emery-Dittmer (Hawke’s Bay) and Kacy Wade (Huntly)
Whanganui driver Fletcher Hoskins has been in outstanding form all season, whilst Ethan Linklater and Tobey Matthews will also fly the Whanganui flag proudly.
The ever-popular Streetstocks return to Oceanview tonight, with a big field of visitors from Gisborne, Hawkes Bay, Wellington and Stratford coming to race against the locally contracted competitors.
Wanganui-contracted driver Simon Bland took out the New Zealand Streetstock Grand Prix at Christchurch last weekend, but unfortunately is unable to make the trip north this weekend.
The support classes for Sunday night are Stockcars and Saloons, with plenty of visiting cars already entered.
Meanwhile, a large contingent of Whanganui Superstocks will content the World Invitational 240′s at Paradise Valley in Rotorua this weekend.
Kaelin Mooney, Zane Dykstra, Dylan Marshall, Max Holloway, Gerry Linklater, Trent James, Josh Kahui and Zac Harris provide Whanganui’s biggest representation at this coveted title for many years.
Marshall will carry added confidence, having won King of the Springs last Sunday, the Superstock class’s annual visit to Western Springs Speedway in Auckland.
With the Wanganui Warriors team for the Enzed-Dewtec New Zealand Superstock Teams Champs due to be named in the next few days, there is plenty of competition for places in the squad.
It’s a busy time for speedway, but all local eyes will be on the champions of the future, racing on the Oceanview Speedway clay over the next two nights.
