hawkeyenz

All 14 programmed riders turned up and there were no alterations to the written program? Thats never happened in any meeting I've been to!! or a 0-0 heat with no finishers?

Barry Briggs being interviewed on Radio NZ March 28th Afternoons with Jim Mora is the top rating show on Radio NZ. http://www.radionz.co.nz/national/programmes/afternoons/20110328

Interesting piece in todays Sunday paper. Auckland negotiating to host a round of the Speedway GP in March 2012 http://www.stuff.co.nz/sport/motorsport/4841666/World-comes-back-to-Springs

I have them as Colin Goad 5 and Duncan Meredith 7 Goad Heat 3 2 points Heat 7 1 paid 2 Heats 10 and 12 1 point 2 1 1 1 Total 5 Meredith Heat 2 2 paid 3 Heat 6 3 points Heat 7 2 points Heat 9 and 12 two lasts. 23200 Total 7 It would seem Heat 7 is where the confusion might have occurred as they both finished in scoring positions after Martin Yeates was excluded. Hope that helps. It's nice to think of something pleasant rather than what earthquake damaged ruin I'm going to be trying to fix today

It was 24 - 12. See the series Facebook page for confirmation. Mason fell in the third heat where they have him third in front of Courtney.

Go to the Facebook page and you will be in the INFO Tab, click on the WALL Tab and the results are there.

Different format at Ruapuna. Individual with 12 riders. Shared top billing with SI Sidecar Championship. Bigger crowd than they were expecting. Programmes sold out well before the off. Ruapuna is 400m, four laps in 70-71 seconds, very wide and banked on the corners but if you moved higher than half track you lost 10 lengths. They ran heats with three rides each. Top scorer straight through to the final. Suprisingly this was kiwi Sean Mason. They then had two semis won by Nermark and Courtney progressing to the final. Then a last chance saloon for the last place in the final. Best race of the night Dale Finch chasing Ritchie Hawkins for the entire race before ripping round him on the last corner to get up on the line. Nermark must have been sleeping with the person doing the gate draws as he got gate 1 in all but one race and gated in the final but Finch gave chase and was looking menacing when he fell trying the same outside pass he beat Hawkins with. Nermark gated well but didn't do anything when behind. Kristanson was awful and looked like a novice. Hawkins tried hard throughout. Courtney stayed where he gated and wasn't interested once he was behind. For the Kiwis Mason, gated well early on and was fast in front, Tregoning had a heavy first bend fall in his first race and struggled with the injury he sustained in later races, Knowles won a race and the internationals couldn't pass him. Aldridge was always in the mix looking fast when in front. If there are any British Promoters out there who are looking for a racer that never knows when they are beaten and has quite some talent give Dale Finch a call. He is the current U21 champion (and last year) and his family are fundraising so that he can compete in the U21 Qualifying in Europe later in the year. He was outstanding at 17 but had a big crash and broke his back in three places. He's been back a couple of seasons now and he was matching Nermark and Hawkins by the end of the meeting. He isn't the best gater but you'd never accuse him of not trying when behind!! Talk to Ivan Mauger about him. The sidecars were good value especially the three race final. I think the person that decided to have a six outfit final was an idiot as six sidecars arriving at the first bend together was carnage. Two big crashes and we were down to four who really put on a show in the rerun and the remaining two races. The eventual winners from Nelson came from last to first in the third heat to clinch the title by a point. 47 races all over by 10.45 even though the ambulance had to come out four or five times. Fortunately no-one seriously injured. You can get more info on the series on Facebook. Search for Elf International and they seem to be putting the results on their wall.

He would certainly have been better than either Bargh or Mason as NZ were a two man team. Andrew won the supporting class with times that were equivalent to the main event. The World Team certainly weren't unbeatable and Courtney was awful in his first two rides. If the format is the same at Ruapuna tonight Aldridge might get a place in the NZ team?

Big crowd at Ronnie Moore park for the first round in beautiful weather. $15 47 races (solos and sidecars) in just over 3 hours. Value for money. The World team beat NZ 24-12 but the Kiwis fell three times while in scoring position which would have made it 20-16. Grant Tregoning scored 8 from three rides losing only narrowly to the swede in the first race. He comfortably beat Nermark, Hawkins and the Dane in the rider of the night final. He looked like he might do justice to an assessed 5.00 average in the Premier League? Dale Finch was on the pace and hopefully he will improve over the series. Baugh was a shadow of previous seasons. Best racing was in the 250cc races. Bradley Andrews looked like one for the future. He only turned 12 in November but was fast and could overtake inside or out when he didn't make the gate. He looked very balanced on the bike. He also has good genes as his grandfather is Bob Andrews of Wimbledon and Cradley Heath fame. Ruapuna tomorrow night on the big 400m track. A real throw back to the sixties and seventies. I wonder what type of track surface they'll serve up? It is an all Solo and Sidecar meeting so hopefully it will be prepared to suit. There are over 20 sidecar outfits coming for the South Island Championship so I'm looking forward to it. I've been to three meetings in the last 5 years and I'm going to two in two nights!! Nermark, Hawkins, Kristiansen and Courtney isn't quite Olsen, Mauger Louis, Michenek, Plech etc but I hope they get a big crowd. They used to have to close the doors in the seventies when the Mauger Troupe came.

It doesn't help attracting people when SKY TV didn't show the Grand Prix or World Cup meetings this year in New Zealand. 2009 is the first time for years they haven't bought the coverage. All the big city tracks like Western Springs, Te Marua and Ruapuna are all set up for cars now and the bikes take second best. Mind you the cars don't get anything like the crowds they used to in the 70's and 80's in Auckland or Christchurch.

A background piece on Dale Finch who is from Christchurch. Written before he returned from his horrific injury. He is the same age as Ricky Wells and appeared to have more talent before he was injured and took a two season break. Local paper coverage of his win http://www.stuff.co.nz/southland-times/spo...r-21-solo-title Acknowledging Talent - Dale Finch With some of his former rivals now trying out the English speedway scene, we acknowledge the achievements of fellow rider Dale Finch who had the potential to foot it with some of the best New Zealand speedway riders. Dale made the front page of The Christchurch Press because of a serious speedway injury. The sport at the time was in the spot light because of a series of incidents on and off the track. Speedway struggles to get coverage for their racing activities. If the media latch onto to you, its really like fighting off bees around a honey pot and it sometimes can be at the detriment of the sport. Dale Finch was described as a “Whiz Kid”. “A genuinely nice guy who could light up a room with his smile”. He was and probably could still be a very talented solo speedway rider if he contemplated a return to the sport. Dale had made a name for himself in junior road racing and after watching some of the kids race at Ruapuna, decided to have a go and joined the Canterbury Motor Cycle Speedway Club at Moore Park. Dale Finch should have had his photo in a local paper because of his outstanding achievement. In only his second year in senior speedway, at the age of 16, he finished 2nd in the NZ Solo Championship for the 06-07 season. An outstanding feat when you consider the winner, Andrew Bargh had had two seasons racing in England. Finch out rode and beat the experienced English rider, Jason Bunyan who was then the three time defending New Zealand Champion, when they met in the first heat. He rode in a controlled consistent manner for the rest of the meeting which saw him out score two of his more experienced local rivals, Andrew Aldridge and Grant Tregoning. The young rider made a number of people sit up and take a second look wondering “ where the hell has this lad come from”. Dale started speedway racing on a 125cc bike in the junior class in 1999. He moved onto a 200cc bike and throughout both classes he began featuring regularly at the top of the field. He suddenly grew and struggled when riding the 200 and did not enjoy it much. He came out in what was a rear appearance in the 2005 season for the MNZ Short Track Championships at Moore Park. He won the New Zealand MNZ 200cc title. With the support of his parents, Dale obtained a dispensation to ride as a senior at 15 years of age. Tim and Sharlene Jordan came on board as sponsors. Tim picked up sponsorship from Hype, Elf Oils, R O Jones Paint and Panel and Leeding Sign and Design to assist Dale in his racing. In no time at all Dale was up on the pace of more senior riders. He teamed up with Andrew Aldridge for the Moore Park Best Pairs and they had the title in the bag after a great fight back where he came from the back of the field to gain the 3rd place which would give them thewin. Be it a little inexperience or what, he tried a little too hard to move up another spot, one he did not need. He drifted wide and this allowed the late Andrew Tree through and he won the Best Pairs title that year with Grant Tregoning. Dale was the 2007 Canterbury champion. He was the top points scorer in the 2007 Ivan Mauger Inter Island Challenge meeting. He was runner up to Aldridge in the Robin Mackinnon Memorial Challenge meeting, and in fact became Aldridge’s closest rival. Overseas web sites marked Dale Finch as a name to watch. Dales accident was no more than a racing one. Thankfully the incident did not take down any other riders. It was however severe. He suffered both a collapsed and punctured lung, broke ribs off his back bone and fractured his back in three places. After a few very worrying days, Dale was stabilised and his recovery began. Dale can still be seen around the Moore Park speedway track and in fact is back riding a motor cross bike. What would it take for him to come back to speedway?. He had a close call and it needs to be his decision alone. Should he do so, a sponsorship package would certainly help and it is one Dale would well and truly repay both on and off the track. He demonstrated some outstanding potential that needs to be refined and developed further. However, if he decides to stay on the outside the speedway fence, there are those of us in the sport, that acknowledge the skill and potential he had while he was racing. Thanks Dale for lightening up our local speedway scene at a time when interest was falling.

Mac rode at Eastbourne in 1971 which was my first year of watching Speedway. I remember he was described as a former Swindon junior and was certainly English. I'm pretty sure he rode at #3 in the first match I saw. He had a bad crash at Workington (I think) mid season breaking bones in his neck which was the end of his career.

Eastbourne Vs Sunderland 1971 59-19 Race 1 Derek Cook and Roger Johns Vs Jack Millen and ? Race 2 Gordon and Dave Kennett the Eagles reserves!!

It's not often you see the Track Record broken in Heat 2 of a League match but he did it at Arlington in 1974. He won by about half a lap!!!!!!! Always good to watch with a spectacular style.

Unfortunately it seems he has died as I saw his obituary in the Christchurch Press newspaper today. It said he had died as the result of an accident on the 25th February. He was only 19. My deepest condolences to all of his family. RIP Andrew Full story from local paper. http://www.stuff.co.nz/southlandtimes/4415417a6011.html

I believe Larry only started riding again last season. Larry beat Bunyan in the fastest time of the day to that point in Heat 12 but the standard in NZ is weak. I think it is improving but these guys need to have more competative meetings. More of them need to get to a point where they can ride professionally and then the bar will be raised for the next generation coming through. At the moment we have two Premier League reserve standard riders and a number who would score in the Conference League. Given the lack of interest and sponsorship in NZ it must be really hard for Kiwis to get across to Europe and allowing Commonwealth riders access to the Conference League will assist them up the ladder. It is a real shame Dale Finch was so badly injured last Easter. He is only seventeen (maybe 18 now) and was looking as talented as Ricky Wells at the time of his big crash. Mitch would probably spice it up a bit. I can still see him punching Kai Niemi in the pits at Arlington circa 1980 and then having a bit of a wrestling match with Bob Dugard as it all got a bit testy.

Entertaining meeting at Moore Park on Saturday night. Run on the old 13 Heat format. NZ Selection win 44 points to 34 points over the Elf Oil All Stars . Elf Oil All Stars Jason Bunyan, 3,3,3,2 (11) Michael Long 0,0,3,0 (3) Andrew Bargh 3,2,0,0 (5) Mitchell McHardy 1,1,2,0 (4) Jade Mudgway 2,2,1,1 (6) Karl Bagshaw 2,0,0 (2) Sean Mason 1,1,1 (3) NZ Selection Andrew Aldridge 2,3,3,3 (11) Sean Cox 1,0,2,2 (5) Grant Tregoning 2,2,3,1 (8) Andrew Tree 0,1,2,1 (4) Larry Ross 3,3,3,2 (11) Alex Cunningham 3,1,0, (4) Cory Lang 0,1,0 (1) Essentially another North Vs South Island Match with Bunyan supplementing the North. It was 30 points each after Heat 10 with 8 heats shared and a 4-2 each but then Bargh stopped while leading Heat 11 gifting a 5-1 to the NZ Selection. He then trailed around at the back on a borrowed machine in Heat 13. The last three heats were 5-1, 4-2 and 5-1. Larry Ross is now 53 years old, once of Wimbledon and Halifax fame. He used all his 'experience', well OK actually it was blatant cheating, at the starts to make sure he usually made the first corner first. Bunyan outgated him in their first meeting but he returned the favour in Heat 12 and held on in the fastest time to that point. Aldridge beat that time in the last race by another .5 of a second. The race callers had dubbed him "Rolling Ross" by the end of the meeting. Andrew Bargh looked good until his bike problems. Andrew Aldridge had a good meeting and had a similar pace to Bunyan in his only defeat but never looked like getting past. I hope he does well at Rye House and can break into a Premier League side. Grant Tregoning the U21 Champion needs to get out of the gate quicker. Again he seemed to be able to run at a similar pace to the other high scorers but was always giving them a start. Andrew Tree, Jade Mudgeway, Mitchell McCardy and Alex Cunningham all tried hard, with Tree winning the flying farewell beating Tregoning. There were 29 heats in all including the supporting classes , Sidecars, 500's and Juniors. There was a couple of great battles in the Juniors and the rest of the racing was pretty good. To all those Eastbourne fans who complain about the toilet facilities at Arlington come to Ronnie Moore Park and then you'd never complain again!!! The women usually queue for ages to use the two portaloos and the guys head off into the pine forest in preference to the "facilities". Mind you the barbeque run by the local Scout group as a fundraiser was excellent value. Congratulations to everybody who arranged the meeting at such short notice and were rewarded with a much larger crowd than were there the last time I visited.

Jade Mudgeway finished second in the NZ Under 21's. He is from the North Island (Featherston) so he might not have been able to make it down to Ronnie Moore Park if he has a fulltime job? Perhaps they gave the place up. Dylan Moohan from Auckland was third. See here for results : http://motospeedway.net/blog/solostats/200...#RANGE!A128 I was out at Christchurch airport today and noticed a sign post saying that it is 15,000+ Kms to Frankfurt. Norden is a long way for the Kiwi boys to come for a one off experience!! The freight alone for their equipment would cost them a fortune.

They've just announced another team match for Ronnie Moore Park. ELF OIL ALLSTARS VS NZ INVITATION SATURDAY 2 FEBRUARY 2008 5.30 PM CLASSES RUNNING 500cc 200cc and SIDECARS THIS MEETING IS BEING HELD AS A BENEFIT MEETING FOR ANDREW ALDRIDGE WHO IS OFF TO RYE HOUSE & GRANT TREGONING WHO IS OFF TO REPRESENT NZ IN GERMANY IN THE WORLD U21’S ANY RIDER WHO WISHES TO COMPETE IN THIS MEETING PLEASE CONTACT SHARLEEN (C.M.S.C SECRETARY) PH: 342 7947 AFTER 6.00 PM 027 3800202 info@moorepark.co.nz By Friday 25 January 2008 *ELF OIL ALLSTARS ARE BROUGHT TO YOU BY JOHN McCullum Jason Bunyan, Andrew Bargh, Jade Mudgway, Michael Long With Bunyan there it will give some sort of yardstick as to how good Bargh, Aldridge, Tregoning et al are. Hopefully I'll even be able to make it along this time!!

Here is the results from the Inter Island match. My wife is never ill but spent the day throwing up so I couldn't even get along!! SOUTH ISLAND TOO STRONG IVAN MAUGER SPEEDWAY ACADAMY The South proved too strong for the North Island team when they defeated them 61 to 29 points at Moore Park in the Friday 11th meeting. Under 21 Champion Grant Tregoning and Andrew Aldridge top the points table for the South with 15 each, going through all five heats unbeaten. They faced each other in a run off to decide the top individual place overall. Very even through the first lap, Aldridge gained a slight inside advantage. Tregoning responded but Aldridge was up to the task and maintained the pace. With Tregoning on the outside line, and unable to cut in to a more tight turn, Aldridge forced him slightly wide knowing the “marbles” on the outside was not going to allow a response. Carrying too much speed for the line he was given, Tregoning found himself out in the loose on the end of the 3rd lap and the challenge was over and the race won by Aldridge. Aldridge and Tregoning were ably assisted with some good riding from Oreti’s Andrew Tree and Alex Cunningham while Nelson’s Sean Cox proved troublesome for some of the North’s riders. For the North team Jade Mudgway collected 12 points and Mitchell McHardy improved towards the end of the challenge, but the depth was not their. Cory Lang continues to impress with his riding and was a clear winner in the reserves contest. Junior racing saw Konner McCluskey-Young dominate although Dylan Hancock took one heat from him and made his presence felt. Brad Wilson was the pick of the rest of the junior field and some entertaining racing with Bradley Andrews and Jake McCrae indicates there is some good juniors in the wings. Sidecar support went Liam Stockman and Blair Locks way with three wins while Carl Ostomy and Gus Elliot got the better of them in one heat before mechanical problems ended their day. Bevan Nuttridge and Karl Foster were entertaining and forceful but in doing so got on the wrong side of the officials and need to settle down a little. Senior Results Heat 1. Andrew Aldridge (ChCh), Jade Mudgway (PNth), Sean Cox (Nelson) Time 63.59secs. Heat 2. Grant Tregoning (ChCh), Karl Bagshaw (Auck), Jamie Moohan (Auck) 63.69 Heat 3. Alex Cunningham (Inv), Andrew Tree (Inv), Mitchell McHardy (PNth) 65.66 Heat 4. Reserves Cory Lang ( Greymouth), Hayden Bagshaw (Auck) Ben Antunovich (Auck) 70.40 Heat 5. Aldridge, Cox, Moohan 66.19 Heat 6. Tregoning, McHardy, Kody Tocher (ChCh) 65.85 Heat 7. Mudgway, Tree, Cunningham 66.44 Heat 8. Reserves Lang, Craig Blackett (ChCh) Antunovich 69.13 Heat 9. Aldridge, Cox, McHardy 66.25 Heat 10. Tregoning, Mudgway, Tocher 66.19 Heat 11. Tree, Cunningham, K Bagshaw 66.37 Heat 12. Reserves Lang, Blackett, H Bagshaw 69.47 Heat 13. Aldridge, Mudgway, Cox 64.22 Heat 14. Tregoning, Tocher, Moohan 65.00 Heat 15. McHardy, Tree, Cunningham 66.93 Heat 16. Reserves Lang, Blackett, H Bagshaw 70.25 Heat 17. Aldridge, K Bagshaw, Cox 67.90 Heat 18. Tregonning, McHardy, Tocher 66.53 Heat 19. Mudgway, Tree, Cunningham 65.63 Points South 61 (Aldridge, Tregoning 15, Tree 11, Cunnigham 8, Cox 7, Tocher 5) North 29 (Mudgway 12, McHardy 9, K Bagshaw 5, Moohan 3) Reserves Lang 12, Blackett 6, H Bagshaw 4, Antunovich 2.

Hi I'm based in Christchurch. In Auckland the bikes run at Rosebank. The main traditional track is Western Springs but it has a concrete wall and now runs mainly Midgets and Sprint Cars. They have Solos (bikes) in the Hawkes Bay. I think Palmerston North is mainly Stock Cars. Wellington is Te Marua and is exclusively cars. There are three tracks in Christchurch. Woodford Glen for Stocks and Saloons. Ruapuna runs mainly cars with a smaller solo track on the inside. This year they are running bike oriented meetings on the big track for the first time in many years. The track preparation liked by the different classes is quite different and the bikes can't really turn on a track prepared for the big winged sprint cars. Ronnie Moore Park is exclusively bikes and sidecars. Very good viewing but has no lights. The next big meeting is the inter island team match on the 11th January at 5.30pm. Oreti in Invercargill have a strong Solo group. See this site for all the tracks and dates they are running. You'll also be able to see the various classes they run. http://www.speedway.co.nz/index.php?page=tracks In its pomp Ruapuna used to get 12,000 for the Ivan Mauger Troupe meeting or someone like A J Foyt in a Midget car. Last seasons NZ Champs drew about 500-800!! Woodford Glen will close the gates a couple of times a year especially when they have a firework display. Entrance fees are usually around $15 (5 quid) for adults and kids free or a nominal charge. Hope that helps. PM if I can be of any help. Neil

Eastbourne 71 Unknowns on Page 3 are Mac Woolford (Unknown 2) and RegTrott (unknown) I think it is also Reg leading Graeme Smith on the next page?