Words: Pete Rintoul
Images: Vanessa Adcock Photography
The 2026 edition of the Super Seller Shelley Burt Munro at Southern Bolts and Fasteners Oreti Speedway, delivered it all, including intense racing, threatening skies and a crowd eager for quality speedway action.
While the on-track battles sizzled, officials were fighting a race of their own, working to beat the looming rain before it beat them to the chequered flag. The weather threatened all day and, true to form, eventually arrived, and like a mother-in-law, it showed up uninvited, but not before the bulk of the programme had been completed.
Fortunately, it held off long enough for fans to get their money’s worth.
50cc
The gateway class put on a show for the crowd, with Auckland’s 58a Heath Bradder making the trek down to add to the show. He was the pace-setter of the class all day, with local rivals 96I Cerys Cunningham and 5I Jamie Tree pushing hard behind him. Unfortunately for Bradder, he came unstuck and took a tumble and was expertly dodged by the others, but his chances of Burt glory were gone.
The others kept racing, and Jaime Tree picked up the win with the ever-improving 22I of Leo Walkinton-Clark running in second, and the youngest of the Cunningham tribe picking up third.
Others in the class continued to show clear improvement, their passion for the sport evident every time they hit the track. These wee weapons set the tone for the classes that followed.
125cc
Miss the start and you were on the back foot all day. A few early spills showed just how hard the boys were charging, with bragging rights on the line.
Every race was hard into turn one in this grade, setting a standard that the remaining classes would follow throughout the day.
The newcomers in the class pushed hard but quickly learned that against this level of quality, one mistake is all it takes to find yourself at the back chasing.
With quality riders in every heat, it made it tight going into the finals.
In the final, the second of the Cunningham clan, 96I Ollie Cunningham, secured a well-earned victory. Hard-charging 95C Maddox Harley and 51C Hudson Crowe gave chase but were unable to reel him in, as Cunningham continued his dominant run on home soil this season.
200cc
This sport can be cruel, and the 200cc class showed just that.
17I Mauger Kelman was the form rider in the grade for the day, but fell short to the winner of the final, 7I Jack Chapman, who made a nice move as the two bikes in front fought it out, sneaking into the lead and never letting up. Sometimes, luck is all you need.
Close, tight racing in this class was on show all day, with a wee tumble between Kelman and 27I Levi Harper as the locked bars came out of turn 2, causing Levi to go over the bars in a hard bump, and later in the day, a move underneath by 33C Jaxon Harley pushing Kelman wide and taking the spot only to be excluded by the Ref after the heat. Slade Fordyce on the 9I was threatening all day in this class, picked up the third place.
Classics
Alex Cunningham, the elder of the tribe on the track, sent a strong statement to his household that Dad is number one (well, on the track, we all know Mum calls the shots) in the Classics grade.
Launching cleanly from the tapes in each heat, he secured clear air and open track every time. That left the rest of the field battling over second for much of the day, while the veterans, both bikes and bodies, delivered a show worthy of the crowd.
Solo Support
Solo Support once again had Dad leading the way, with 98C Kyle Smith, the father of 98C Willow Smith in the 50cc class, claiming overall honours in the grade. He won all but one of his heats, the only exception coming in the opening round when 25C Aaran Callaghan took the victory.
The class delivered races within races throughout the day, where the gap between first and second mirrored that of third and fourth as the support field pushed hard to stake their claim for the main show.
Solos
The Solo class delivered memorable, competitive racing throughout the Burt meeting, producing strong performances across the board. Despite a smaller field than usual, the intensity remained high.
Finn Reed (86i) built on the form he showed the previous week, putting together another polished display to secure the Burt title and add to his growing list of season honours.
His charge to the title was not as easy as the day of wins would read and look on paper, Reed having to fight and hold on in every heat, including the final.
Everyone in this class put up their best, a great example being 25I Ryan Colvin’s battle with Reed from Turn 1, into a wheel stand down the length of the back straight, only for Reed to slide underneath in Turn 3. Still, Colvin kept the pressure on and continued to nip at Reed’s back tyre for the rest of the race.
The middle Drake, 72C Oscar Drake, put on another great show, having a great lead in an early round, only to be undone by a chain going into the penultimate bend.
Every heat was fiercely contested into turn one, with 66I Kadin Cracknell featuring prominently throughout the day. Consistently sharp away from the start, he positioned himself well into the opening corner each time and remained in the mix across the heats.
There was also a family subplot, with Kadin sharing the 66I number with Max Cracknell of the 125cc class, adding an extra layer of rivalry across the grades.
A recurring theme throughout the day was family rivalry, highlighted by a heat featuring 25I Ryan Colvin and 21I Lucas Colvin. The pair went head-to-head on track, with Ryan taking the win in their encounter.
11C Chase Burrow had his second shot in the main grade and showed good growth, never stopping having a go.
These six riders all made this a much-watched grade with the speed and skill on show.
The crowd was also treated to a dramatic moment when Reed brushed the wall mid-race, producing an impressive save to stay in contention. The recovery drew a strong reaction from the spectators, who acknowledged the effort. From Scott in the pits, perhaps not so much.
Classic Sidecars
he Classic Sidecars brought the three-wheelers out for the Burt, adding another layer to the programme and a nod to the sport’s history.
It was a tough start for defending champions 9V Robbie Duncan and Nigel Sturgeon, who made heavy contact with the wall early in proceedings. Both riders were uninjured, though the bike sustained damage that will require repairs.
Erwin Tree and Michael Twose, aboard the loaned 95I machine, took out the grade while also pulling double duty across the meeting. The 8I combination of Josh Heenan and Mark Barnes secured second, the newly formed pairing, who only met each other at the start of the meeting, linking up and quickly finding rhythm to deliver a strong result.
Sidecars
Sidecars felt the pressure to put on a show, and they did not disappoint.
Everyone was pushing and trying it on in every heat, at every start and every corner.
The crowd got their money’s worth with multiple restarts due to turn one racing incidents and a couple of tumbles.
The opening heat immediately set the tone. Exiting turn four, 42C Pete Stephens and Stefan Burrow made contact with the home straight wall after running high as 19I Scott Ayto and Ramon Nikora Balloch advanced on the pole line to take the inside run. With space tightening, the 42C ran out of room and clipped the wall. Both riders were uninjured in what was a hard racing incident.
Moments later, Northern invaders 22A Glen Bagshaw and Nathaniel Parsons attempted an outside move from gate five, carrying speed around turns one and two in a bid for the lead. Hitting loose track on exit, the rear stepped out, and the bike was sent into the wall, bringing an early end to their charge.
Once again, both riders were uninjured, although the bike sustained damage and required repairs. True to the nature of the sport, a welder was quickly sourced in the pits, the necessary work carried out, and the pairing returned to the track to complete the remainder of the meeting.
34I Jason Kennedy and Brent Nicholson had a rough day, and Nicholson will be on washing duty this week after a couple of slips going into turn one during the day.
95I Erwin Tree and Michael Twose also had a moment, tipping the bike and parting company with Twose in the process. Quick reactions from 16I Jason Harper and James Dawson helped avoid what could have been a more serious incident, with strong bike control shown in the immediate aftermath.
Freshly crowned 2NZ Paul Humphrey and Chris Chatfield showed the dirt is their place and picked up wins in everything they lined up in. As with the other classes, this was not an easy achievement.
The A Final required several restarts, reflecting how evenly matched the field was at the tapes. Throughout the day, no pairing was afforded a clear run into the opening bends or down the back straight.
The 34I of Kennedy and Nicholson secured second place, capping a strong performance from the black-and-gold combination, while 48I Shaun Kerr and Dion McDonald completed the podium in third.
It proved a tougher outing for 23C Ben Morris and Graham Partridge, along with 73C Taylor Green and Callum Innes. On the third restart, 23C struck trouble from the pole line, dropping into a rut and heading infield, while 73C spun on the increasingly damp surface as the weather began to close in.
Green and Innes had earlier taken the longer route to the decider, winning the B Final to secure their place in the A Final field.
Flat Trackers
The Flat Trackers turned out in force, with 27 bikes entered from across the country, including a five-strong Australian contingent, although one withdrew following an incident at a beach meeting the previous day. Riders from the North Island added further depth to the field.
The class was split into two groups for qualifying, working through to B and A finals. Still relatively new to the Southern Bolts and Fasteners Oreti Speedway programme, the Flat Trackers demonstrated just how competitive a modified motocross machine can be on the dirt oval.
The closeness of the racing was evident throughout the heats, with multiple finishes decided by half a second, and one heat separating second and third by just 0.02 seconds. For several riders it was their first experience on a track of this size, creating a steep learning curve as the day unfolded.
One of the standout moments came from 5A Blake Gillard, who executed a decisive pass for the lead before edging clear.
Rain began to fall during the main, adding another layer of difficulty and forcing a handful of riders to retire as conditions deteriorated.
In the A Main, Gillard claimed the feature win, with 19C Andy Walker finishing second and hometown rider 55I Jack Symon securing third.
Large fields and tight competition across the circuit ensured the Flat Trackers were a major highlight of the meeting.
A massive thanks must go to the Oreti crew and support staff who made this work and beat the weather for 97 per cent of the day.
Track crew prep paid off and gave us a fast, great surface to showcase some speedway action. The ambo team, who were kept busy, made sure everyone was safe and well.
A special thanks also to The Pits Media for streaming the event and letting us share this magic with the world.
Finally, a massive thank you to the large crowd that turned up, stayed and showed appreciation to all on the track from 50ccs up to Sidecars.
We race for the sport, but the crowd and putting on a show is what we all love.