Cromwell’s Graham Williamson certainly left his best till last at The Rock Riverside Speedway’s annual Memorial Meeting held in Invercargill.
Williamson went into the event as the defending Rod McLaren Memorial Trophy holder and was confident he could go back to back but acknowledged the competition this year was strong and he would need to bring his “A” game.
Race one saw an upset result with Invercargill”s Brent Stirling racing out to an early lead which he would hang onto after an impressive drive to hold off Dunedin’s Mike Verdoner who was driving Lloyd Phillips Hypermac Corvette for the first time ever. Verdoner put pressure on the back of Stirling but the latter held his nerve to take a popular victory ahead of Euan Shearing who slipped past Verdoner to claim second, Verdoner third and Williamson fourth.
The second of three heats was an epic battle between Verdoner and Williamson who sat side by side for the majority of the race, Williamson couldnt unsettle the experienced Verdoner and this time he held on to claim victory with Williamson settling for second ahead of Dean Shearing of Invercargill.
The third and final heat would determine the final places on the grid for the winner takes all final in the Rod McLaren Memorial, this time it was Dean Shearing who got off to a handy start and went unchallenged to the chequered flag, Riverton’s Trevor Black was the surprise package in this heat coming home second in his impressive looking Chev Monza built by Saloon legend Don Black, Black fought off Verdoner who would claim top spot in points with his third place finish with Williamson to start along side him.
The feature final was really going to be a battle to see who could get into turn one first as both cars seemed fairly evenly matched throughout the heats, as the green flag was waved it was Williamson who got the jump and edged ahead of Verdoner into turn one, both Shearings were in behind ready to take advantage of and mistake the leaders may make.
Two laps into the final Williamson started to pull a gap on Verdoner which would grow as the race continued, the Hypermac Mustang pulling a handy lead which Verdoner would no pull back giving Williamson back to back victories in the Rod McLaren Memorial. Verdoner held onto second just ahead of Euan Shearing who was happy with third.
Williamson said ” it was a thrill to win a trophy which meant so much to so many last year after a thirty year absence, to now do it two years running was just incredible”.
Streetstocks run for the Cecile Kergozou Memorial Trophy, current holder Mark Henderson’s title defense only lasted a few laps before mechanical failure put him out for the event. Chris Kergozou, Grandson of Cecile Kergozou took an early lead in race one but succumbed to both Kelly and Kerry Campbell of Dunedin, Invercargill”s Andrew Watson also snuck through on Kergozou and eventually split the two Dunedin cars to claim second behind Kelly Campbell with Kerry Campbell third.
Invercargill’s Steve Dryden was the standout in race two, the experienced campaigner finished down the order in race one and knew he had to take maximum points to be in contention for the title. Dryden drove a smart race, staying clear of the battles unfolding around him to grasp the win ahead of Invercargill drivers Megan Henderson and an impressive Jesse Stevens third.
The final was always going to be brutal and as soon as the green light came on to race Kerry Campbell took to Kergozou to ensure he wouldnt feature in the results, the pair were eventually sent to the infield where they would spend the rest of the final.
Once again it was Dryden who drove smart, he lead Watson and Riverside’s Graeme McKernan for the entire race but a poor finish in heat one would cost him dearly. Watson knew he just needed to finish the race where he was in second to claim the title which he last won five long years ago.
When the dust settled it was Dryden who won the race setting up a run off for second with McKernan, while Watson claimed the Cecile Kergozou Memorial Trophy which was even more fitting with the fact Watson was racing the car Ceclie’s son Joel had raced to a number of titles.
McKernan won the run off over Dryden for second and third.
The Brett Cooper Memorial for Modified Sprints ended in controversy, heat one Jason McMullin showed pace to run away to a healthy victory, taking advantage of a handy grid position which saw other favored drivers down the field and having to work their way through traffic, Vaughan Marshall came home strong in second with Luke Shearing banking the points for third.
Heat two was all Michael Jackson whos car looked to have just a bit more pace than everyone else all day, Jackson took the race win by the length of a straight ensuring he would be at the pointy end of the grid for the winner takes all final later in the evening. Marshall once again weaved through traffic to take second from Daryl Scott who was also starting to find some form after a number of mechanical gremlins have hindered him for the last few meetings.
Heat three and Marshall finally got to start from the front of the grid and nothing was going to stop him from there, Jackson pushed as hard as he could but Marshall had enough of a buffer to the field that he would remain in front until the chequered flag dropped, setting up a thrilling final with both him and Jackson set to start from the front row. Shearing was third and Scott Williamson was starting to take a liking to the slick track and stormed home fourth.
The final was tipped to be all about the guys on the front row, when the green light came on it was Jackson who got the jump and led early but Shearing slipped past Marshall then had a play for Jackson on numerous occasions before cutting underneath him mid race. Jackson’s car came to a stand still on the main straight just as Shearing had a handy lead bringing out the yellow flag and condensing the field meaning Marshall could have one last crack at the title. Williamson was also finding pace late in the race to have shot up to third and ready to take the lead should the leaders tangle, but this wasn’t to be Shearing was too fast and pulled away once again to take the win.
Celebrations were taking place for Team Shearing when they were called to the officials shed and found to have passed under the pole line, the penalty being a drop of two positions handing the Brett Cooper Memorial to Marshall and Williamson elevated to second with Shearing’s only consolation being that he could still get the third spot on the podium.
Marshall paid respect to Shearing by saying “Luke was clearly the fastest car on track in the final and he felt gutted for him” .
Production Saloons had a bumper field of seventeen cars from Invercargill, Cromwell and Dunedin contesting the Southland Championship, a title won the last two years by Tam Clements who was ruled out due to injury. This put the emphasis on Asha Clements Tam’s older sister who has been returning some stellar results as of late, but a spin midpack during race one always meant she would be playing catch up all day just to gain a decent starting spot for the final.
Geoff Friend of Cromwell was all class in race one cruising to victory over Invercargill’s Kevin Fulton and Aaron Rawcliffe, he would also repeat the dose in race two, looking unstoppable and looking like a clear favorite to take the title north to Central Otago. Tony Jones finished strongly in second with Joshua Johnson solid in third.
Race three saw Clements claw back some vital points, she fought off challenges from Acacia Mitchell who led the majority of the race only being caught by Clements, Fulton and Jones in the dying stages.
This set up a front row consisting of Fulton and Friend, who battled into turn one of the final with Fulton getting the jump followed by Jones who soon picked Fulton off who then retired to the infield with issues. Clements by this stage was comfortably second but a straight length away from Jones who at this point looked certain to be the new Southland Champion but as we know Speedway can be a cruel sport and Jone’s lead started to evaporate and a steady rate and Clements made a pass for the lead.
Jones fell back in the pack just trying to finish, meanwhile a battle for the minor placings was intense with Dave Horton, Friend and Rawcliffe all in with a shot. As the trio battled the crowd erupted for Clements who took the title for the first time, dedicating it to her brother Tam, Horton fought off Friend for third in a thrilling finish.
In other classes Raymond Phillips won all three Six Shooter races, Owen Dixon two of the three Super Saloon classes while Craig Phillips picked up a win also, and in Youth Saloons Jacob McIntyre claimed two wins and Luke Molloy one.
By Daryl Shuttleworth
Photos Corbyn Shuttleworth