Words: Daryl Shuttleworth
Images: Robin Simpson
A bumper field of close to 60 Stockcars converged on Custom Signs Beachlands Speedway in Dunedin for the SSR Designs South Island Stockcar Championship.
The meeting was a one-day event, meaning an early start to get through four qualifying races, of two per group, and ran well into the night to eventually crown a champion.
Going into the event, names such as Christchurch trio Harley Robb, Jay Holtham and Wade Sweeting were tossed around, but mechanical issues meant Robb wouldn’t even make it out of qualifying. Holtham and Sweeting suffered their own gremlins throughout
The cars were split into two groups, both running two heats.
There was a stoppage in the very first corner of the first lap for the first group. Dunedin’s Zara Lee Tuhura, Liam Holley, Cromwell’s Casey McEwan and Brent Hayston of Christchurch were all involved, but also all managed to restart. At the restart, Sweeting failed to move, bringing out a second red light.
As the race started to gain momentum, local driver Steven Thompson thrilled his local fans with a commanding win over a tough field of drivers. Thompson would take the win over Christchurch’s Will Pilcher, with Cromwell’s Jacob Boulton claiming third.
Group one’s second heat was a good clean race with no incidents unfolding at all. Ben Bonell of Christchurch banked some valuable points with a win, leaving Jack Rarity of Nelson second and Thompson third, making him the top qualifier out of the two groups.
Group two’s first heat was also a good, clean race, right up until three laps to run, where both Holtham and Robb went infield putting their chances of qualifying at risk.
Another local driver dominated this race, the man sponsoring the event Shannon Simon showing true pace, taking a race win ahead of clubmate Zane Tuhura, with Troy Wilson of Christchurch third.
Group two’s second heat saw Robb and Holtham needing to bank as many points as possible, but, unfortunately for Robb mechanical dramas saw him not finish, dropping him out of contention.
Holtham, however, got the job done, grabbing a much-needed win that saw him advance through to the finals. Second was Cromwell’s Luke Fallow, with Bailey Mitchell of Dunedin third. Unfortunately for Mitchell, this good result wouldn’t save him, missing out on the 30-lap cut by a single point.
This set the scene for the three, twelve-lap heats, the top points scorer winning the title.
Heat 1 stopped on Lap 6 when Cromwell’s Jasmine Boulton was directed to the infield with a flat tyre. This also spelled disaster for Simon, who would stop on track and be forced out of the race with diff issues, the end of what was a very promising start to the championship.
Sweeting and Thompson battled each other hard at the front of the field, with Sweeting grabbing the win, getting across the line just ahead of Thompson, who was really looking good as far as the title chase went, being the top qualifier and a solid second place in the opener. In third place was McEwan, who had worked his way through the pack, picking off cars one by one to grab third.
Thompson’s day went from Penthouse to Outhouse in Heat 2, with a puncture putting him out of the race. The frustration was evident as Thompson parked up, thinking about what could have been.
This race was stopped mid-proceedings with Jasmine Boulton taking a massive hit down the main straight, almost going over but just managing to remain on all fours. Even better still, she managed to fire the car back up and rejoin the race.
Simon made the best comeback possible after all hands on deck managed to get his car fixed and back out on track, winning Heat 2 by almost four seconds. Christchurch driver Tyler Houghton was second in an impressive drive, with Mr. Consistent McEwan again in third.
Trying to pick a winner in this championship was now a lottery; anyone who had produced a solid result in Heat 1, had a disaster in Heat 2 and was now out of contention, except McEwan, who had flown under the radar somewhat. His two third placings saw him in a solid spot, but with that comes a target on your back, the nature of Stockcar racing.
There was all sorts of drama in the early laps of Heat 3. McEwan took several early hits and was eighth after the first lap. He was slowly working his way to sixth, then fifth, before being hit again and dropping a spot right before Tuhura put Riverside’s Cliff Henderson up and over in Turn 3, resulting in a lengthy stoppage.
The stoppage was just what McEwan needed, a chance to refocus and put a plan in place to move forward.
Out front, Pilcher was doing an outstanding job, leading from the front of the pack. He was being chased by Rarity, who was also high on points and in with a chance of winning the title.
Remarkably, McEwan carried on his charge and with two laps remaining got himself up to third, behind Rarity and Pilcher. This is where he would remain when the race was done, three third placings, was it enough?
The top five cars, McEwan, Pilcher, Rarity, Houghton and defending champion Jack Honeybone of Christchurch, were all sent off for final vehicle checks before a winner would be decided.
News then spread that Pilcher had been disqualified from Heat 3, giving Rarity the win, elevating McEwan to second and Thompson to third in that race.
With that news it was also confirmation that McEwan was the new South Island Stockcar Champion, a fitting result considering McEwan was the man behind the Central Coyotes Stockcar team from Central Motor Speedway even being a thing.
The South Island Stockcar Championship was the cherry on the top after the Coyotes won the Mainland Stockcar Teams Champs at Woodford Glen just one week earlier.
Rarity was confirmed second overall, one spot up on last years third placing, and Houghton third overall, a great result for ‘The Hulk’.
Non-qualifiers were fairly light on numbers, with several cars suffering mechanical issues or damage in qualifying.
There was a massive incident early in Heat 1, with Nelson’s Shane Boote being hit from behind by Christchurch driver Ricky Nicholl. The hit squared Boote up, giving Robb a clear shot to send Boote into the wall at force.
Robb managed to drive away from the hit, but both Boote’s and Nicholls’ nights were done.
Cromwell’s Jacob Boulton dominated the race but found trouble on Lap 9, dropping from first to seventh and handing the race win over to Cromwell clubmate Dylan Prattley, who claimed his first win in Stockcars. Second was Nelson’s Deegan Broker, with Mitchell third.
Robb stole the show in Race 2, an easy win and signs of what might have been had he made it up into the top 30. He would cruise to a 10-second victory over Boulton, with Broker in third.
Points from these two heats determined grid order for the third and final heat, and the Grand Prix style format meant first across the line wins.
Again Robb dominated, driving away from the pack lap upon lap to secure the Tier Two Championship.
Angie Lee Boulton of Cromwell looked solid holding second for the majority of the final but Broker managed to slip past with a couple of laps to go.
Boulton then looked assured of grabbing the last spot on the podium, but a last-lap slip-up allowed Riverside’s Alisha Race to slip past and secure third.
Streetstocks were broken into two groups, total points after two heat races would see both groups race together in a final, top points scorers start at the front, again Grand Prix format.
Race winners from the groups were Cody Finch and Braden Adams in Group One, and Mitch Lavender winning both races in Group Two.
Finch would battle hard in the final to claim the Adele Stanger Trophy with Ben Jenkins in second and Jacob Campbell in third.
Streetstocks were also out on track early with the annual Celebrity Challenge, this year featuring some big names, including the likes of former All Blacks and Highlanders legends Ben Smith and Joe Wheeler, along with current All Black star Timoci Tavatavanawai.
Rugby would, however, be upstaged on the day with former Black Cap Neil Broom putting in a masterclass in Streetstock driving, taking the race win, second was Highlander Jona Nareki, with Ben Smith third.
Production Saloons held the Otago Production Saloon Championship, race wins went the way of Ricki Pilley in Heat 1. However, Pilley’s Championship aspirations were done in Race 2 when he punctured.
Heat 2 went to Tyler Kelk, with Noah Kitto claiming the third race.
Dunedin’s Cam Bower’s consistency would, however, pay off with a top three finish in all three races, giving Bower the Otago Championship, Kelk second place and Regan Constable third.
The final grade to race was Youth Saloons. Wins across the day went to Dunedin’s Max Kemp, who won races one and three, while races two and four went the way of Lachie Robertson of Riverside.