Motor Sport
The Christmas Championship at The Riverside Speedway came to an abrupt end as a massive hit by two Stockcar drivers left a sizeable hole in the concrete wall in their third and final heat. Both Casey McEwan and Glen Fraser walked away from the incident unscathed but their cars and the wall will certainly need some attention.
McEwan would be happy enough with his performance on the night prior to the incident, scoring enough points to win the championship over Peter Knight and Shannon Connor.
McEwan has been racing away from home in recent weeks and the tougher competition he has faced showed by dominating race one and coming home second in race two, he only needed to finish race three to win the title but the solid hit he took from Fraser ended the race and the night, but he was awarded with the overall win.
Rookie Jacob Garrick was also impressive with a second place in race one and third in race three, a mechanical issue took him out of race two and kept him off the podium in fourth overall.
Cromwell’s Graham Williamson capped off a steady nights racing with an overall win in Saloons, race one saw Cromwell’s Phil Burgess race off to a handy lead before Jeff Richardson spun bringing out the yellow flag.
This bunched up the pack and Williamson who started from the very rear of the field had by this stage moved up to second but Burgess defended well and took the race win, Scott Edwards was third in just his second outing.
Race two Williamson once again moved through the field but couldnt bridge the gap to Euan Shearing who took a commanding victory over Cromwell’s Pierre Leyser and Williamson third.
Race three Williamson got to start from the front and he was unchallenged the entire race, Trevor Black in his impressive Monza drove home in second with Dunedin’s Mark Newell third, this gave the championship to Williamson, Burgess secured second with Shearing third.
Luke Shearing made amends in Modified Sprints to take the title from Jase McMullin and newcomer Brent Hayston, Shearing had victory taken from him at the recent Brett Cooper Memorial for a pole line infringement, but nothing was going to stop him this time around winning both races.
Race one Shearing battled with Mike Jackson for a number of laps early until Shearing started to build up a handy lead and take the win, Jackson was second comfortably ahead of McMullin.
Race two Shearing came to grief early, spinning and making contact with Jackson, this saw Jackson retire to the infield while Shearing continued from the restart.
Shearing managed to slip past an intense battle that was developing between McMullin and newcomer Brent Hayston, Hayston tried to throw everything at McMullin but McMullin made his car ten foot wide and managed to keep Hayston at bay to claim second.
Raymond Phillips was another driver who was unstoppable in Six Shooters winnng three from three and only really being challenged in Race three by Cromwell’s Jim Martin. Martin suffered mechanical issues in race one that hurt him in the overall points race.
Jack Brown had to settle for second with two second placings and a third, while newcomer Duane Cracknell was the big improver claiming a well earned third overall.
Streetstocks turned on a terrific display of tap and spin, and it felt like race three was building up to be nothing short of spectacular but the damage to the wall left the grade only running two races.
Veteran Steve Dryden out foxed the opposition in race one winning by a handy margin over Hayden Skilling and Mark Henderson third.
It was Hendersons time to shine in race two, managing to avoid plenty of incidents around him, Dan Black had got off to a handy lead but a red flag gave Henderson the chance to play catch up and steal the lead, Graeme McKernan drove from the rear of the field to secure second.
Henderson had done enough in two races to win the title over Black and McKernan.
Tam Clements made a remarkable comeback from shoulder surgery which threatened to leave him on the sidelines for the majority of the season, but the former two time Southland Champ was dominant in Production Saloons winning the Christmas Championship from Aaron Rawcliffe and Tony Jones in third.
Jones was the victor in race one fighting off Dave Horton who placed second. Clements stsrted midpack and snuck up to third when the chequered flag dropped.
Race two Clements was all class, getting to the front and staying there, the real battle was shaping up behind him where Dunedin’s Bailey Mitchell just held off a fast finishing George Phillips who took third.
Rawcliffe who had been consistant all day was rewarded with a solid race win in heat three, Clements tried his best to chase Rawcliffe down but had to settle for second which was enough to give him the overall victory.
The final grade was the Youth Saloons who once again turned on an impressive display of wheel to wheel racing, Jacob McIntyre claimed the top step of the podium but had to fight hard to hold off Luke Molloy who claimed second and Nathan Rhind third.
Mcintyre took both races but got a smack on the hand for poleline infringements in race two, Molloy managed a second and third while reigning Southland Champ Nathan Rhind took a second and fourth.
New driver Blake Murdoch impressed in just his third outing with an impressive second placing in race one, while fellow rookie Hayden Graves was also racing at the pointy end of the field.
By Daryl Shuttleworth
Photos Corbyn Shuttleworth