Wanganui
West Coast Adult Ministock Champs
18 December 2011
Reporting by Roger Morrison and pictures by Mike Pollard

A fine but chilly afternoon attracted a reasonable field for the annual West Coast Adult Ministock Champs. A scan through the sign up sheets suggested that it was going to be a Wanganui v Palmerston North affair with 15S Neil Vince and 74S Kieran Hussey flying the flag for the Taranaki. The track itself had taken a pounding with rain throughout the week meaning that the preparation crew were left with a softer than desired base that chopped up a little as the meeting progressed - the sidecars being the main loser.

Heat One

With the track still settling down it was left to the daring to take advantage. And 93P Karl McGill did just that as he scythed through the field lapping just under a ½ second quicker than anyone else. Even the rapid 44P Brendon Sharland struggled to stay with his flying club-mate. Reigning title-holder 34V Ross Travers clung on for a hard fought third ahead of 91P Brett Whiting.

Heat Two

In complete contrast to the previous week with the Youth Ministocks, the referees were mostly unemployed. The only real incident took place in the 2nd heat when 19V Stacey Cromarty became stranded and took a punt. With the red lights flown 15P Matt Phippen knifed down the wall of the back straight oblivious to those stopped around him. Unfortunately for him the referees took a dim view and he found himself parked on the grass. Apart from that incident it was a case of Whiting laying down the challenge as he careered away to a comfortable win ahead of 49P Daniel Gubb and Sharland. So after two heats we had Whiting and Sharland on top with 35 points while Travers was two points back on 33. Still within spitting distance were McGill, Gubb, 39V Tyler Gibbons and 77P Kyle Lampp.

Heat Three

These championships tend to reign carnage at this stage but in a surprisingly incident free heat the winners were left to sort themselves out. The big game changer took place in the 2nd lap when Sharland got it wrong coming out of turn 2. With nowhere to go 94P Wassa Barnaby slammed in to the stranded Sharland. Barnaby was eliminated while Sharland lost ¾ lap to put him out of contention. Meanwhile up front Whiting settled in behind McGill, knowing that he was safe for the title. But when the opportunity appeared he took it and banked the fastest lap time for the afternoon for good measure. Whiting and McGill crossed well clear of the pack in the order that had them also first and second in the title race - a clear points victory for the Manawatu raiders. Gubb and Travers had tied for third, which meant a run-off was required. Gubb was super efficient from pole to keep Travers at bay to take the chequered flag and a trifecta for the "P" cars. As an aside, Travers should be rewarded for an excellent piece of sportsmanship. Going in to turn 3 of the final lap of the run-off Travers was pressing Gubb hard and made contact heavily with his front bumper. Rather than carry on forcing the issue, Travers backed right off knowing that he had erred to let Gubb take the deserved win - take note Youth Ministock drivers!!!!

Stockcars/Superstocks

Fourteen cars made the grid over the course of the afternoon. Only the two Superstocks were in the pits with 52P Adam Joblin and 511P Mike Gaskin joining the fray. The local Superstock numbers look decidedly sick with all having varying degrees of engine issues. With the GP, North Island and New Zealand titles all looming in the next 6 weeks it doesn't bode well - let alone having the numbers for the Warriors at the Teams Champs. Let's hope the coming weeks bring better news for the locals. On the stockcar front 24W Scott McIntosh, 223P Kyle Taylor, 11S Brody Kelsen and 22P Zac Hoult all came out for a spin. And another "V" car was added to the mix with 17V Michael Larsen making his debut - that makes 15 local stockcars now having put in appearances in the first three weeks of the season which augurs well.

On the racing front the first up hit-out was a lottery as the greasy track played havoc. 52P Adam Joblin laid down the law in the 2nd race as powered to an easy victory. The Feature was willing with the lead changing a number of times as cars tangled. Emerging through the mayhem was 15V Kyle Heibner who claimed his 2nd win of the afternoon. The Grand Slam was also entertaining with 24V Wayne Wright executing a perfect spin on 511P Mike Gaskin on the way to taking a well-earned win (and also courtesy of McIntosh and Gaskin getting caught on the last lap). And in the final stanza there were ongoing battles between 51V Sam Doyle and 52V Francis Potaka with Heibner also taking a liking to 9V Wayne Pointon and Wright. An entertaining afternoon.

Results:-

Race One: 1. 15V Kyle Heibner. 2. 24W Scott McIntosh. 3. 11S Brody Kelsen. 4. 9V Wayne Pointon. 5. 52V Francis Potaka. 6. 511P Mike Gaskin (S/S). Fastest Lap: 511P 21.7993 sec.

Race Two: 1. 52P Adam Joblin (S/S). 2. 511P. 3. 51V Sam Doyle. 4. 15V. 5. 223P Kyle Taylor. 6. 52V. Fastest Lap: 52P 17.5331 sec.

Feature: 1. 15V. 2. 511P. 3. 24V Wayne Wright. 4. 52P. 5. 24W. 6. 52V. Fastest Lap: 511P 16.9136 sec.

Grand Slam: 1. 24V. 2. 9V. 3. 52P. 4. 511P. 5. 15V. 6. 24W. Fastest Lap: 52P 17.2501 sec.

Extra Race: 1. 52P. 2. 511P. 3. 24W. 4. 223P. 5. 24V. 6. 52V. Fastest Lap: 52P 17.0840 sec.