Author: Matt.Bylett

We made the trip to Palmerston North speedway for the nz title event our biggest race of the season where who gets to run the coveted 1nz is decided for another year.  24 cars faced the starter for a complex format of qualifying heats before the main 25 lap feature where all would be decided

Our grid draw was 11 which put us last and first in the primary group for our two qualifying heats and meant we had a lot of work to do in race 1 of the night. We had 12 laps to come through from the back and were lucky to make some good ground early. The track narrowed up after the opening laps which stalled our progress but after a couple of mechanical failures for other competitors we climbed up the field to fifth which we hoped would be enough to qualify towards the front for the feature.

For heat two we tuned up the 72P car and had an absolute weapon that dominated out front from grid one, however our main competition behind us also managed to make good ground and although our car was fast on aggregate points from the two races we only qualified fourth spot for the one race final.

We knew we would have our work cut out to try and slice through the quality field from that far in the pack but we tuned up our best setup and bolted our best Hoosiers on for a shot at the big race.

When the flag fell the top row shot out to a good start and we catapulted to second place however our car was pretty average to start with and we soon dropped back to third. We battled away for maybe five or six laps with an ill-handling car before our setup came right and we finally hit our straps. We found a good groove out by the wall and the car came alive. We quickly moved around to second spot and then set our sights on the leader. It took maybe five or so more laps before we made any inroads but then the gap started to reduce at an ever increasing rate until we got down towards the end and we were right in the hunt.

We had to move off the wall to putt past the leader on the bottom and somehow managed it, we then led for half a lap before a poorly timed caution for a spin put us back to second spot. Under the yellow everybody had a chance to catch up and sort their in car adjustments out before the green came back out. We had an average restart but cruised back up to the leader quite quick staying out of the dramas that unfolded behind us. It took a lap to get our momentum but we shot down into one and pulled off the same pass as a couple laps earlier to lead with only a few corners to run. We rolled around the bottom for the final lap to seal the victory and secure the coveted 1nz.

It was a spectacular result for our team and the culmination of five years of hard work and learning to put our name on the biggest trophy in our sport. I want to thank everybody on our crew for all of their hard work and dedication and thank the Palmerston North speedway for putting on such a great event and prepping such a racy track. We get a week off next weekend to come back down to earth before we head back to stratford speedway with our new number to contest the north island champs on the 4th March.

Race Review

Check out the full race review in Stuff here

After yet another rain off two weeks back we were lucky to have this weekend slotted in to give us the second round of our travelling series as well as the local king of the mountain championship
With it being one week before our national champs we were keen for a quiet night to get some points towards the tour
Rain threatened as we went out for heat one. The format was three heats with front middle and back grids randomly drawn for the local championship then fastest to the back for the 15 lap OST feature
Our first race was off the back. We were lucky to pick off four or more cars in the opening laps with the track very narrow around the bottom. Then I made the rookie error of pulling all my tear offs leaving only visor for the rest of the race. We battled through with limited vision losing two spots late for a mid pack finish
For race two we moved up the grid to sixth. Our car was much racier on the slick track but we still had work to do. We made a few spots to jump to third but had nothing to chase down the leaders and stayed third throughout.
Race three and the final for king of the mountain had us on grid three. We followed the pole sitter through on the first corner but couldn’t make any further inroads to run second.
This gave us accumulated points to finish second equal however we lost the tie break based off of fastest laps on the night.
We had a quick turnaround for the feature which put us deep in the pack again fastest to the back. But as soon as we kicked off it was clear we had finally sorted the setup and had a racy piece. We ripped through the field on the high side, moving through to sixth before a tangle in front of us elevated us to fourth.
After the restart we had to put the hammer down and blew past two of the drivers in the opening corner just leaving the leader to go.
It took maybe four laps of work trying inside and out but we finally wore him down to get side by side into turn one on the final lap and we could finish the pass on the outside.
We rolled through three and four untouched to take our first OST feature in two years. The result puts us up the pointy end of the points with most of the season remaining.
Our next race will be the nz title at Palmerston North this weekend coming. It was great to finish up a trying night like this with no damage and a good result to boot going into the biggest race of the year.

Weekend Review
Palmerston North 21st jan 2023
Manawatu champs

We made the long drive to Palmerston North to defend our Manawatu championship from last season. With a huge field of 22 cars, we had no concerns about the weather after such a torrid season.

We drew marble 14 which put us in the middle of the grid for the heats. In heat one, starting mid pack, we were lucky to pick a few cars off with the help of some cautions and a few passes in the middle to move up to sixth. In heat two, the grid was inverted and we had an incredible start, jumping to fourth.

With a bit of luck, we got two restarts which allowed us to work our way up to second place and then, on the final restart, we grabbed the lead and held on to win the heat. Our 39 points put us second top qualifier, with Karl Uhlenberg from Stratford in first. He chose to start on grid two for the feature, which was to be 15 laps on a slick Palmerston North surface.

We didn’t have a great start in the feature and ran second until lapped traffic when we got a couple of looks at passing Karl for the lead. We got a little snagged in traffic just as a caution came on track for a crash down the field.

This gave us the opportunity to make some shock changes to the car and cool our Hoosiers. When the race resumed, Karl chose the outside line for the restart. We didn’t give it to him easily this time and what followed was one of the most exciting battles I’ve ever been a part of.

We ran side by side for easily three laps, neither giving an inch, until finally we snuck ahead at turn one with only a few laps to go. We put the hammer down and held out for the win in front of an enthusiastic crowd.

It was great to defend the biggest local title of the season at our ‘home’ track and I want to thank all my crew who worked hard on the car this weekend, as well as the track crew and all the other competitors for some great racing.

Our next event is the Speedway NZ Grand Prix in Stratford, Taranaki. Last time at this event, we scored third, being pipped by Uhlenberg on the last corner, so we will be determined to put that right.

It will be our first time in Taranaki this season on the undercard to the NZ midget title, which promises to be an amazing show.

That’s it for our first Speedway Special – Keep your eyes posted for more specials coming Thursday and in the meantime check out the website for any of your day to day needs

 

See you for the next race

Your Wallace Heron Team