On a rutty clay surface the best riders from Australia and New Zealand thundered their way around the track at speeds of more than 100kmh.
It is the first time the venue has hosted sidecars and those speeds must seem a lot faster when you are mere centimetres above the track.
Racing went late and results were unavailable last night, but Australian champion Trent Headland and passenger Daz Whetstone were quick during the heats, as were New Zealanders Aiden Thwaites/Shane Twiss and Erwin Tree/Bret Pubben.
The teams event is locked up at 83 points each after the opening round at MoorePark Speedway (Christchurch) on Friday and will conclude at Oreti Park Speedway, in Invercargill, on Saturday.
Earlier in the night the Otago Daily Times interviewed one of the fearless passengers.
Eighteen-year-old Liam Cox is from a family of swingers. Not the 1960s type of swinger but those brave souls who dangle over the edge of the sidecar to help it get around the corner.
His father Glen has been swinging for 20 plus years and brothers Blake and Brady are also very accomplished passengers.
''I was born into it,'' Cox said.
''I've been going since I was seven, so it is my 11th year [in speedway].''
The sidecars have no brakes and the first corner is often where the race is won. The competitors gun it from the start and do not ease off until they really have to. It makes for some exciting racing.
For Cox and rider Hamish Golding it was their first time racing in New Zealand and also their first time racing on clay. They found the track ''a little rough'' but fast.
''It is a bit different from what we are used to. It is fast and once you get your wheels in line you can go on a drag race up the straight.''
