By Daniel Neville

It was a long time coming but the Central Auto Dismantlers fireworks meeting at TWS Paradise Valley Speedway finally took place on new years day with the Covid-19 restrictions eased up to allowthe even to go ahead. Full fields across five classes on a superb summer day in Rotorua greeted the many that had flocked to the valley to get their new year speedway fix

As per previous seasons, the spectacular fireworks display took place before the final round of racing allowing patrons the leave afterwards to get their children home and to ease up carpark congestion when the show was over.

The Ministocks got things underway and after a false start it was 93r Flynn Fraserwho took the win after venturing into lap traffic along the way. Race 2 went to 11r Jack Cunninghame after a close final 2 laps where he had 555r Josh Holland on his back bumper the whole way. Race 3 was mostly a repeat of race one with with the 93r of Fraser home first. The final race for the Ministocks went to 42r Tasman Bryson.

The Saloon class made a rare appearance at Paradise Valley for a round of the ValvolineTri Series. From the pole position it was 77k Ross Cresswell who took a well deserved win in heat one while heat 2 went the way of 21a Steve Williams who sliced his way through the field and reeled in early race leader 34k Craig Robinson for a well earned win. The 15 lap feature was also a Williams benefit as he cleverly found his way to the front and pulled away from the rest.

Saloon Points

Stockcars took to the track next with the big field split in two for two heats then a 15 lap feature for the top 13 from each group making the grid. It didn’t take long in group one before one went over with 53r Aaron Powell showing his underside entering turn 3. Things were a bit tidier from the on with ex streetstock driver 87r Chris Shingleton clearing out for the win. Race 2 for group one saw a win for Whanganui visitor 81v Trev Greig who saw off original leader 26k Mitch Vickery while the rest beat each other up.

Stockcar Group One Points

Group 2 saw a few punches thrown with a few flat tyres thrown into the mix and the pole position worked for 27r Douglas Stanaway who collected the win in a busy race.Race two was out the gate with Cromwell visitor 934t Jack Honeybone planting 48k Ben Downie-Boyte up the wall. There were many more hits with the wall getting a pounding at timesand at the end it was 189r Milla Theobald who carried the flag.

Stockcar Group Two Points

The feature saw 91r Tony Coxhead off pole but he only lasted a couple of laps and from that point it was all on with a lot of cars attacking and being attacked all over the track but 27r Douglas Stanaway kept it clean for 15 laps to collect a popular feature win.

A top field of 19 Streetstocks came out for a play with visiting cars from Wellington, Auckland and Hawkes Bay adding to the action. Race 1 saw a few broken cars after some good aggression with 11r Steve Demalmanche coming through for the win. Race two was more entertaining and featured more spins than your average washing machine cycle with Hawkes Bay visitor 72b Darren Melling. The feature was another panel puncher with damage all over the show and even the race winner 9b Phillip Mcnarmara had steam erupting from under the bonnet but hung on for the win.

Streetstock Points

The Superstocks also boasted big numbers with the same format as the Stockcars. Lap one saw a huge rollover with 68r Jeremy Fleming getting caught up with the pack and was flipped right over and sustained a lot of damage. It was foot to the floor racing after that with current World 240 champ 88p Jack Miers carrying the flag at the end. Race 2 for for group 1 was owned by the veteran 19m Kerry Remnant who took the lead early and never surrendered it.

Superstock Group One Points

Group 2 saw 971c Jayden Ward get out to a sizable advantage up front before retiring infield which opened the door for 106r Des Curry to take a good win. Race 2 for group two was hard and fast with the win going to 21r Brendan Ashton.

Superstock Group Two Points

The feature saw the 19m of Remnant get the lead from grid 2 and he kept it clean from that point on with take a commanding win. The rest fought hard but at the end they were no match for the in form Remnant.

The next meeting at TWS Paradise Valley Speedway is on Friday January 14^th and it’ll be the Stihl Shop Lakelands Club Night which will feature a Stockcar teams race along with open Stockcar races, Ministocks, Production Saloons and Six Shooters with racing underway from 7pm.

Media Result Sheet

Fastest Laptimes

Lap Data - zip file

Meeting Photos - www.sportsweb.co.nz