Sport + Motorsport
Close finishes were prevalent throughout two days of motor racing action at the Ascot Park Hotel Classic SpeedFest at Teretonga Park over the weekend.
Saturday’s races were held in dry conditions while there was some rain on Sunday morning before track conditions dried again.
As well as two days of racing the iconic TKR All Black V8 Supercar, the Commodore that Jason Richards and Angus Fogg first raced at Bathurst in 2000, was on track for laps during the lunch break on both days.
Leon Hallett of Mosgiel won two of the four HVRA races in his Falcon. The first on Saturday saw him head off Paul Burnet of Auckland in a Ford Mustang and Brent Findlay of Timaru in a Datsun 1200. Saturday’s second race was a handicap event which saw Marvin Turton of Porirua in a Leyland Mini greet the flag from Findlay with Jamie Greene of Dunedin in another Datsun 1200 third.
Hallett won Sunday morning’s race by .059 of a second from Trev Lines of Amberley in a Leyland Mini with Stacy Lines of Invercargill third in his Austin Mini before Burnet won the last from Ken Williams of Auckland in a Mercedes Benz and Hallett.
The large contingent of international drivers in the Formula Junior races took all the spoils in some very close races. Robin Longdon of Great Britain in a Lola won two of the four contests with a second and a third in the other two while Geoff Underwood of Great Britain took the other two wins in a Brabham BT2 and added a third place. Others to the fore were Robert Hoemke of the United States in another Lola with two seconds and a third while Adrian Russell of the United Kingdom in a Lotus 22 scored a third and a second.
On Saturday Graeme Fraser of Tauranga in a BMW M3 won the first Classic Saloon race from Mike Baker of Picton in a Porsche 964 with Marcus Stewart of Christchurch third in a similar Porsche. Baker won the second from Stewart and Harry Wilson of Invercargill in a Falcon. On Sunday Baker won the first from Fraser and Wilson before Stewart won the finale from Baker and Fraser.
Ben Stiles of Mount Somers in his Formula Renault made a clean sweep of the Formula Libre races. Karting star, twelve-year-old Nixon Cripps of Edendale, in his first motor race event was second in all four races with 1974/75 NZ Formula Ford Champion, Grant Walker, now resident in Australia, driving the Titan that he won that title in was third in three of the four races. He failed to finish one of Saturday’s races, local driver Rachael Beck taking third on that occasion.
The Vintage Racing Car clashes featured some close finishes. Royce Bayer of Rangiora (Beowulf) and Paul Coory of Mosgiel (CAE Sprintcar) shared Saturday’s wins before Coory and Tracey Barrett of Christchurch (Lotus 23C) took a win apiece on Sunday.
Barrett also took two second places while Coory had a second and third. Roger Greaney of Napier (Lotus 20/22) took a second and third while Bill Cowie of Blenheim (Spangeralli) and Mick Toll of Mapua (Bealtie LT16) took a third place each.
Mini 7 South and the Mazda MX5 Heritage Cup ran together throughout the weekend. In the Mini’s Justin Neill of Christchurch won three of the races with Adam Box of Rolleston winning the other. Box also scored two second places while Paul Hughes gained a second and third with Christchurch drivers, Lachie Penrose, Paul Bennison and Chris Armitage also taking a third place apiece.
In the MX5 Class Matthew Smith of Christchurch won the first two races before Dom Fransen of Lower Hutt and Jamie Hannah of Wakefield won the next two.
Smith also scored a third and a second while Hannah added two second placings to his win. Fransen had two thirds and Everard Petrie of Rolleston had a third and a second.
Steve Ross of Dunedin won three of the four Noel McIntyre Drainage Club Saloon races in his Ligier JSP3 with Arron Black of Dunedin winning the other in the wet. Mike Baker took two seconds and a third and Marcus Stewart two thirds. Honda Civic drivers Warren Walker of Dunedin and Lynden Prebble of Dipton were second and third in the race won by Black while Jason Crosbie of Invercargill scored a second place in his Mustang in the Flying Farwell.
The next race meeting at Teretonga Park is the annual Southern Thunder event featuring NZ Super Trucks and Mainland Muscle Cars plus plenty more over the weekend of 14/15 March.