The Action Photographer. Ian Abrahams. Pics of Week 23, Waikaraka Park.

THE ACTION PHOTOGRAPHER
Ian Abrahams

Super Saloon Tri-Series and Streetstock Teams Racing
Waikaraka Park 20th March 1999.

Kevin Moore came to the Park leading the tri-series from Peter Sloman who was a scant 7 points in arrears. After the final race the two were tied on points for the series and had to run off for the $100 that was the difference in prizemoney being paid for second and third places. The winner of the series by a solitary point over the 11s and 85p cars was Auckland’s Dean of Saloons Lance Jennings. Uncle Ray Purdy won the first heat of the night in spite of losing his brakes four laps from the chequered and coming under reapeated hassel attacks from the charging Jennings in 2nz. Jennings won the second race from a spectacular Mike Ross (5a) and Da Man Skinny Colsen finished the night with a victory in the third race, chased home by Moore and Ross. The consistant Glenn Turner smoothed home to score enough points to be fourth overall in the series and Murray Pierce crashed to a 5th place overall. In the second race Pierce picked up an evil unpredictable push that put him straight into Andrew Marks who was doing the big outside dive bomb pass at the time. (Marks had his photo in the programme with a torn and flapping bonnet, in the first two races he suffered damage to his bonnet, by the third heat his fibreglass was beyond further damage). The Stratford racer Murray Pierce turned sharp right exiting the Cementry Bend and ploughed into the concrete wall half way through the final race in the tri-series.

Also on the promotion was a Streetstock Teams event which came as a surprise to me but evidentally had been publicised.
The teams were
Huntly WarLords
28h Steve Wallbank, 6h Pete Lawton, 62h Peter York, 31h Chris Durand, 53h Wayne Cochrane.
Kihikihi Krushers
4k Kerry Brewster, 11k Steve De Malmanche, 45k Phil Brisco, 44k Hayden McKay, 12k Gary Gray
Rotorua Rock a Billy Rebels
2nz Eddie Dobson, 7r Mark Hedge, 8r Les Holland, 65r, Grant Dusty, 83r Dave
Auckland Eliminators
8a Merv Lewis, 9a Neil Pemberton, 45a Bill Peat,, 69a Steve Gavin, 92a Tony Gavin.
The first race was Kihikihi versus the Rebels which Kihikihi won with Brewster and Brisco coming home one, two. Auckland took on the Eliminators and both teams lost a car during hot laps. Lewis threw a wheel with a half shaft attached, and Durand tossed a torsion on to the track. Tony Gavin carried the chequered for the Eliminators. In the losers final Waikato won but the winner Cochrane was disqualified. Fortunately for the team Steve Wallbank was second home at the flag so the win was awarded to him and victory in the race stayed with the WarLords. In the final teams race Kihikihi beat Auckland with excellant teams racing tactics. The Gavin brothers both finished for Auckland but in 3rd and 6th places. The big Valiant of Pemberton rolled in pit bend. In the earlier final Chris Durand racing with an ugly set-up caused by the lack of a front torsion bar picked up his left rear corner into the turn and had a Rebel get under the 31h car and flick it over into a roll.
The feature race for the Steetstocks provided a bit of humour and some tensioned moments. The cars lined up angle parked by the wall for a start. On the green some cars went one way others another. Down the back straight there were cars converging head on to each other. In a race of carnage the Auckland cars got damaged and Peter Yorke got the chequered.

Standard Stocks raced. 24 on the track. There was stirring a plenty whilst Shay Hambling won two of the three races.

In the Limited Saloons a reasonable field provided entertaining racing. In a cracker of a first race Nigel Ross lead the whole way.. Tim Hood ran home second. Steve Louden won the next races with Ross chasing him home in the feature and Brent McClymont finishing second in the second. The third race wiill be best remembered by a monumental somesaulting, bouncing on the wall crash by Tim Hood which destroyed the 43a car. Hood appeared to get tagged in the middle of a mele of jostlers by the 9a car and lost it bad. The driver was unhurt thanks to the cage doing it’s job.

Sidecars returned and went ever so quick. One passenger lost his grip and did a rag doll into a turn. He bounced on his head, and that hurt, and his back ached later when the adrenenal rush was stilled. O’Reilly and Thompson were the class act doing the winning though after the last two runs the passenger on the chrome bike couldn’t lift off the kneeler and rolled from the sidecar onto the grass at each race’s end.

Results almost accurate (meeting 25)

Race 1. Std. Stocks. 8 laps. 67a, 74a, 96a, 65a, 38a. Time 3.57.12.
Race 2. Ltd Saloons. 10 laps. 46a, 43a, 28a, 95a, 9a. Time 2.57.44.
Race 3. Streetstocks . 4 laps. 5a, 12a, 76a.
Race 4. Street stock Teams. 8 laps. 4k, 45k, 2r, 44k, 8r, 7r, 11k. Time 3.14.63
Race 5. Saloon Tri-Series. 15 laps. 55p, 2nz, 63a, 45a, 68s, 85p, 27a, 91a, 11s, 38a, 3nz, 25h. (1nz excluded from results after finishing 5th).
Race 5a. Sidecars. 4 laps. 52a, 84a, 17a.
Race 6. Streetstock Teams. 8 laps. 92a, 62h, 28h, 9a, 45a, 53h, 69a.
Race 7. Std. Stocks. 8 laps. 24a, 61a, 74a, 26a, 37a. (Henry Lemmon in 26).
Race 8. Ltd Saloons. 10 laps. 9a, 51a, 85a, 58a, 46a. Time 2.52.25.
Race 9. Streetstocks . 4 laps. 12a, 5a, 31a, 76a.
Race 10. Saloon Tri-Series. 15 laps. 2nz, 5a, 85p, 27a, 1nz, 38a, 3nz, 63a, 45a, 98a, 11s, 33a, 68s .
Race 10a. Sidecars. 4 laps. 52a, 17a, Time 1.42.24.
Race 11. Streetstock Team. 8 laps 28h, 2r, 83r, 65r. (53h finished first but was disqualified)
Race 12. Streetstock Teams. 12 laps. 12k, 44k, 92a, 4k, 45k, 69a.
Race 13. Ltd Saloons. 12 laps. 9a, 46a, 59a, 51a, 87a.
Race 14. Std. Stocks. 10 laps. 24a, 53a, 73a, 64a, 5a.
Race 15. Saloon Tri-Series 15 laps. 1nz, 11s, 5a, 38a, 2nz, 85p, 91a, 27a, 98a, 45a, 33a, 3nz..
Race 15a. Sidecars. 3 Laps. 52a, 17a. Time 1.00.19
Race 16. Streetstocks. 10 laps. 62h, 53h, 5a, 31a, 69a, 92a. Time 3.52.65.
Race 19. Saloons Run-off. 11s, 85p.

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