The weather gods finally relented in the deep south last weekend, allowing the rescheduled Mainland Mechanical Ltd New Zealand Solo Championship at Southern Bolts and Fasteners to go ahead. It was a welcome change after what can only be described as a season from hell for the club in terms of wet weather.
Heavy rain in the lead-up to the meeting, particularly on Friday, threatened to derail proceedings once again. However, the resilient southern club pushed ahead.
While the surface was heavy in patches during the opening races, Oreti Park’s reputation as one of the country’s premier motorcycle racing tracks quickly shone through. The track crew worked tirelessly to groom the surface, and before long, it was producing a fast and race-worthy circuit for the competitors.
The revised date did impact the entry list, with several high-profile riders from the original January meeting unable to make the trip south. Defending champion Ben Whalley and five-time national title holder Bradley Wilson-Dean were notable absentees.
Despite the smaller field, the quality remained first class. Former New Zealand Champion and current 2NZ George Congreve (Christchurch) was eager to return to the top step of the podium, as was 3NZ Hayden Brookland, racing on his home track at Oreti Park.
With fewer riders, the format had each rider face every other competitor at least once across a total of 12 heats, giving each competitor four races.
The top two on points progressed directly to the New Zealand Championship final, while the next four contested a B Final, with the top two from that advancing to complete the main event line-up.
The crowd was slow to build early, but steadily filled the terraces throughout the afternoon to witness outstanding racing across all grades. A warm, gusty breeze proved ideal, helping dry the circuit after the heavy rain in the days prior.
Congreve would go into this event as a warm favourite, and he was quick to back up that title, the Moore Park rider dominating Heat 1 and getting his campaign off to the best possible start by winning by a healthy margin over Oreti’s Kadin Cracknell and Chase Burrow of Christchurch.
One of the local favourites, Finn Reed, had a good lead in Heat 2 and looked as if he was going to ride away from the pack. A loose throttle changed that, forcing Reed to retire while leading on the very last lap of the race.
With Christchurch’s Oscar Drake having fallen off early, Brookland was the sole competitor remaining, banking the win. Brookland was in obvious discomfort from the ACL injury that forced him to miss the Burt Munro meet, but it was a good start for the 3NZ.
Local Ryan Colvin took the Heat 3 win, leading home Christchurch’s Sean Cox and older brother Lucas Colvin.
The second round of racing started with a mouth-watering battle, with Congreve and Brookland going head-to-head with Ryan Colvin.
Despite Brookland’s injury, he got away to a flying start, but Congreve got underneath him in turn one, making contact, sparing Brookland out wide and out of contention.
Congreve went on to win, with Brookland second, but showing his frustrations, signalling to the Speedway New Zealand Officials when he left the circuit, wondering why the incident hadn’t been addressed.
The fifth heat saw an all Moore Park gate. Burrow came to grief, falling off on lap three, and Drake banked maximum points to put him back in the running.
Reed returned with a vengeance in his next heat, also trying to get his campaign back on track. He was too fast for his clubmates, taking the win over Cracknell and Lucas Colvin.
Congreve continued his domination in Round 3 of heats, winning by a margin in race seven over Drake, with Lucas Colvin third.
Reed was tested in the early stages of Heat 8 by Ryan Colvin, but the former 3NZ cruised home in the end to bag his second win of the afternoon. Colvin secured second, with Burrow third.
The final race of the third round saw Brookland edge Cracknell at the line. While Brookland still didn’t look entirely comfortable, he was doing enough to remain at the sharp end of the standings with one round to come.
Cracknell, meanwhile, was beginning to turn heads. In his first season of senior competition, he had strung together a series of solid results across the opening three races and was emerging as a genuine dark horse to make the final.
Kicking off the final round of heats was a battle that got the crowd right up to the fence line: Reed against Congreve. Could the local favourite upstage the event favourite before the finals?
Poor Cox was the third rider in this race, but had the best seat in the house watching the two young riders go wheel-to-wheel, lap-upon-lap.
Congreve led early, but Reed sent it deep into Turn 1, sweeping around the outside in a bold move to snatch the lead. The Oreti Park crowd erupted. You could have been forgiven for thinking it was the New Zealand Championship final, not just a heat race.
Reed took the white flag and looked set to seal a memorable heat win, but as he charged through turns three and four, disaster struck as his bike stepped out from underneath him, launching the leader heavily to the ground.
With nowhere to go, Congreve laid his machine down in an attempt to avoid Reed, but the two became entangled, leaving both riders sprawled on the circuit.
Thankfully, both men were quickly back on their feet. Reed’s race, however, was over, and his hopes of progressing to the B Final suddenly hung in the balance.
Congreve composed himself and went on to win the race once it was restarted to book his spot in the A Final.
Brookland was the second rider to book a spot in the final by claiming a win in Heat 11.
The big question now was who would join them from the B Final with just one heat race remaining?
Reed’s chances were hanging by a thread, with two wins and two races he didn’t finish, leaving his hopes depending on the result of a race he wasn’t even going to be in; the final heat.
The race proved heartbreaking for Cracknell, who crashed heavily on the final lap. Had he held onto second place, he would have secured a spot in the B Final and kept his New Zealand Solo Championship hopes alive while also eliminating Reed from contention.
But it wasn’t to be. Cracknell was out.
Drake went on to take the win ahead of Ryan Colvin, with both riders booking their places in the B Final alongside Cox and Reed.
The B Final was intense, and only two would remain at the end of the race and get a shot at Brookland and Congreve.
As the tapes went up, Reed raced away and led into Turn 1 as Cox, Drake and Colvin were shoulder-to-shoulder and fighting hard.
As the race wore on, Reed’s lead grew; all he had to do was stay on the bike from here and make the final.
With one lap remaining, Reed had it in the bag. Colvin was second, but in the very last corner, Drake tried to pull off a brave pass, taking himself and Colvin out.
Ryan Colvin cut a frustrated figure when he got up. He was angry, thinking his day was done. Drake was excluded from the restart as Colvin’s crew wheeled out his brother Lucas’s bike to try and get him home.
As the restart got underway, Reed again got off to a flyer. Cox moved into second while Colvin, still stinging from his crash and riding a strange bike, had to fight hard to make it past Cox. He managed to do so, joining Reed as the progressors to the A Final of the New Zealand Solo Championship.
The scene was set. One rider from Moore Park, Congreve, and three local heroes, Colvin, Brookland and Reed, who had the crowd behind them.
Congreve had, however, previously proven that the hometown support for his rivals had little impact, his first New Zealand title having been won at the same venue in 2022/23.
A scream of engines and a roar from the crowd. The final was on.
Four bikes charged into Turn 1 abreast, Congreve with the slightest of noses in front and Reed glued to his rear wheel.
Behind them, disaster struck almost immediately.
Brookland ran wide exiting Turn 2, made heavy contact with the wall and slammed onto the track with brutal force. The local favourite’s hopes were extinguished within two corners of the race beginning.
Brookland would get to his feet and was embraced by Colvin in what was a nice moment for the young riders, showing plenty of respect for each other.
A lengthy delay followed before the restart, seeing Reed and Colvin with the air blowers out to keep their engines cool. Congreve’s bike would also undergo repairs, the team making a clutch lever replacement before the restart.
Three bikes now lined up, but where those numbers would land was anyone’s guess.
Tapes went up for the decider, and Reed and Congreve again shadowed each other, with Colvin on their back wheels. Congreve led Lap 1, with Reed then making a pass in Turn 2 to steal the lead away.
The crowd went into a frenzy. Could this be the day a local rider who has come through the ranks here at Oreti Park could be the champion
Not if Congreve has anything to do with it.
Congreve then made a decisive pass himself to return to the lead with two laps remaining, before Reed again stole it back.
The intensity of this race was unlike anything seen in recent memory; a truly remarkable spectacle.
The white flag came out, and Congreve had the slightest advantage. It looked like Reed had made the move around the outside of Turn 2, but Congreve was fast and defensive, holding the slightest margin.
With one corner to run, Reed had one last crack at Congreve but hit the ground.
The pressure was gone, and Congreve became a two-time New Zealand Solo Champion.
Reed lay flat on his back as Colvin passed by to become the new 2NZ.
The crowd roared for Reed to get back to his feet and make it to the line. His body must have been screaming in pain, but somehow he remounted and pushed his battered bike the final metres to the chequered flag, the grandstands in full voice as he secured 3NZ in a titanic battle that had swung every which way.
Up front, Congreve took the chequered flag and was met with a standing ovation from a crowd that knew it had witnessed something special. Ryan Colvin, too, was warmly received by his local supporters, achieving a result that once seemed only a dream.
It was a fitting conclusion to a remarkable afternoon of racing at Oreti Park Speedway.