Track: Wanganui
Date: 10 January 2010
Event: Eastside Auto Recyclers Oceanview Speedway
Charlie Berntsen Trophy
Reporting by Roger Morrison and pictures by Mike Pollard

Wanganui
Eastside Auto Recyclers Oceanview Speedway
Charlie Berntsen Trophy
10 January 2010
Reporting by Roger Morrison and pictures by Mike Pollard

Eastside Auto Recyclers Oceanview Speedway finally got its’ season underway on the afternoon of Sunday 10th January. The start to the season had been a long time coming as both the weather and the final touches to the venue re-vamp had ko’d previously planned meetings. With the venue now sporting greatly improved spectator viewing areas as well as enlarged pits the chance was for Wanganui to show off its’ new livery. The weather almost played the part apart from an incessant wind, which kicked up clouds of dust throughout the afternoon to remind everyone that the course is built in sandy country. However the general consensus of opinion was one of a job well done and as the "kinks" are ironed out over the next few meetings the facility will be ready to face the onslaught of the NZ Stockcar Champs in February.

What better way to celebrate the first meeting of the season than to put the Charlie Berntsen Trophy on the line. "Big Bad" Charlie is a true legend of the sport and this trophy is a great way to acknowledge his standing in speedway.

An interesting 25-strong field fronted up after the carnage of the NZ Stockcar Grand Prix the previous night in Palmerston North. The 12 locals were joined by 5 Palmerston North cars, 2 each from Stratford & Wellington while Andrew Murphy from Nelson, Peter Ross from Christchurch, Steve Halse from Huntly & Grendon Beazley from Rotorua added to the mix. On paper the locals could look to 6V Dion Mooney (in his former Superstock chassis), 18V Tony James (the inaugural winner), 321V Hilton Parker, 46V Allen Levien and 24V Wayne Wright as their leading chances. 11P Bevan Humphrey, 6P Graeme Ward and 34P Rob Mason headed the Palmerston North contingent while of the rest Halse, Beazley, Ross and Wellington’s Shane Davis all looked contenders.

Charlie Berntsen Trophy

Heat One

A quiet first heat saw 116H Steve Halse waltz away with an easy victory lapping all but 5 of the field in a very impressive drive. Further back Levien made up huge ground to nail 2nd ahead of Wellington’s Davis. Wanganui’s chances of defending the title were hampered when Mooney got hooked up with James that forced the retirement of the inaugural winner.

Heat Two

Halse mysteriously did not appear for the 2nd stanza leaving the door open for a few others. 25PAlan East struck first putting the troublesome 61V Richard Black up the wall in turn two. Mooney then started to stir things up paying a lot of intention to the duo of 11P Bevan Humphrey & 6P Graeme Ward. But Ward was not to be denied and saw off the attentions of Mooney to claim the 2nd heat victory from Stratford’s Sandy & Chris Flett and 321V Hilton Parker. However the referees saw otherwise in Ward’s rejection of Mooney and he was relegated back to 4th. 898S Sandy Flett inherited the win ahead of 888S Chris Flett and Parker.

So after two heats Levien was on top with 47 points followed by Sandy Flett on 46 & Chris Flett together 34P Rob Mason and 7W Davis on 43. Ward was the only other contender with 42 points.

Heat Three

21 cars faced the starter with mayhem erupting in the 1st corner as Davis was left in the wall. Ward & Mooney continued their battle, which left Levien free to scoot away in to a clear lead. But the critical moment of the championships arrived in lap three when Humphrey took Levien to the wall in the back straight dropping the Hutt Park Racing man down a lap. Mooney then enacted revenge by ploughing Humphrey in to the city bend. Red lights were thrown mid-race when long time Ministock campaigner 89V Blair Lockett was put up the wall in turn two. A quick check saw Humphrey & Ward midfield and Sandy Flett untouched in front. The 2nd half of the race then became a procession on a slick track as the Wanganui challenge wilted, leaving the Fletts alone to cruise to a title for the Stratford visitors.

A run off was required to settle third place with Wellington’s Davis shaking off the attention of Levien early on. Levien made his situation worse by struggling for grip in the southern bend and the resultant loss in track position saw Davis stroll away to the 3rd placed sash.

So a new name was added to the Charlie with Sandy Flett proving to be a surprise winner. However, both Sandy & Chris Flett could not be considered strangers to Wanganui, having grown up in the river city and driven with a "V" on the door at times. Their father Adrian Flett is part of the folklore at Wanganui, having captured a North Island title in the 1975/76 season in his 89V stockcar.

Top 3 finishers:-

Charlie Berntsen Trophy 2010　　　　　

1. Sandy Flett 672pts

2. Chris Flett 366pts

3. Shane Davis 164pts