This season has certainly been a testing one for the Southern club with adverse weather affecting numerous meetings, meaning extra events have had to be scheduled into the race calendar throughout the season.
This, doubled with a new track surface that just would not do what the club wanted, made life very hard and testing for all involved, but the last three meetings the club has seen some expert hands come out of the woodwork. The track is really starting to come into its own, and while it is still a work in progress, travelling drivers are starting to sing its praises and return to each meeting.
This Saturday will see the final Southland Championship contested which will be for Six Shooters. Reigning champion Mason Whelan has been banking some solid results coming into this event and will certainly be tough to beat.
Clubmates Luke Shearing and Danny Livingstone have also been tasting success around the traps with Shearing winning two major events in Cromwell and Livingstone winning the New Zealand Six Shooter Championship for the CTRA organisation.
This event will double as the Scott Gordon Memorial for Six Shooters, a popular event that will attract drivers from both Cromwell and Christchurch, and a real credit to organiser Deborah Brown who looks after this event and the grade, always ensuring the event is one of the most memorable of the season.
Saloons will also race for the Rod McLaren Memorial, and while duck-shooting has taken out a couple of key drivers, the field that has entered so far will be a very competitive; Graham Williamson, of Riverside, and Jason Gold, of Cromwell, are expected to be front-runners for the title.
The Ronnie Tree Memorial for Stockcars will be exciting as it is not all about winning; the Ronnie Tree Memorial Trophy is awarded to the driver who causes the most carnage on track, so expect some big hits across the grade. The favourite going into the event will be Luke Fallow who recently placed second in the South Island Stockcar Championship held at Riverside.
Streetstocks will race for one of their most treasured championships, the Cecile Kergozou Memorial Trophy and a big field of cars will be ready to do battle for the trophy including several out-of-town drivers.
Local hopes will rest with veteran driver Steve Dryden and Dillon MacHattie, who has just returned with a new car — they will have to be at their best to win this event with drivers prepared to wreck their cars with it being the last meeting of the season.
Youth and Production Saloons will also be having their last races of the season, and the Demolition Ramp Derby will see the curtain fall on another busy season at the world’s southern-most speedway track.
By Daryl Shuttleworth
