Wrap Up From Action At Oreti Park Speedway

The slimmest of margins was enough for Bradley Sharp and Lance Jefcoate to etch their names on the Peter Blick Sidecar Memorial trophy at Oreti Park Speedway on Saturday.

After an epic battle which saw the lead change several times, just inches separated a trio of bikes on the finish line – Sharp and Jefcoate, Erwin Tree and Bret Pubben and Luke Thwaites and Neville Chalmers.

“I know we were in second, and then we were in third and then somehow we were in first. I don’t know by how much but it was obviously just enough,” Sharp said.

“We just didn’t back off aye. A couple of times lately we’ve made finals and I’ve chickened out but today we just stuck in there.

“It was a messy final with a bit of argy-bargy at the start but we kept it together and did what we had to do. It’s good to finally get one at home – we’ve been struggling behind the boys aye so it’s nice to finally say ‘we got ya’.”

For Sharp, who also won the title in 2014, victory was even more poignant given Blick’s son, Brendan, applied the paint job to the 24i machine.

“To take this one out is a goodie.”

In the junior ranks, the Permacoat Roofing Southland Pee Wee Championship titles produced some gutsy performances from the club’s youngest competitors.

In division two, the Early siblings Cooper and Bella faced a tough challenge from Temuka’s Oscar Drake who looked set to steal the silverware but crashed out of contention just metres from the chequered flag. Cooper crossed the line ahead of his older sister to clinch bragging rights for the season – the duo continuing to impress with their tenacious approach to racing.

In division one, Braxton Casey continued his dominance with Jakob Voorkamp earning second and Eli Bartley third.

The support classes resulted in victories to Jake Gillespie over Christchurch’s George Congreve in the Solo A, Zane Pay ahead of Devlin Joseph in Solo B and Glen Sole over Derek McRae in the Classic Solo.

Sam Taylor earned 200cc honours ahead of Hayden Brookland, while Tyler Bain-Hoy rode solidly throughout the meeting to claim the coveted red sash ahead of Temuka’s Millie Drake in the 125cc class.

The club’s final meeting of the season will be staged on April 8.