By Daniel Neville

The future of speedway in New Zealand took another step closer to fruition last night with the qualifying night for the 21st running if the newly sponsored 2024 Stealth Engineering Ministocks in Paradise at TWS Paradise Valley Speedway. The meeting attracted 180 odd entries that were divided into their respective age groups with 5 loaded groups for the seniors and 2 for the juniors. Both divisions were competing for just 26 spots in each which meant qualifying would be tough but not impossible and every little moment of the track mattering. It was a busy meeting with 21 Ministock races, some worthy winners and memorable moments and an abundance of bent bumper corners.

The Ministock class isn’t traditionally a hit with the punters drawing moderate crowd numbers most years for this event but it is however a brilliant breeding ground for speedway champions when they age out and move onto bigger and better things. Numerous winners and podium getters have excelled in winning major championships in adult classes so the proof is in the pudding. 

In a change to previous years, the 2024 edition of Ministocks in Paradise was live streamed by the The Pits Media who always provide excellent coverage for those unable to make it trackside. 

The Stealth Engineering sponsored seniors had red group getting the weekend underway and it only took 1 lap for the first incident as 46h Noah Britton locked bumpers with 98v Ethan Linklater with the Linklater car up the wall and on it’s side in a flash. It was mostly smooth sailing after that with 88b Memphis Trengrove with pole sitter 77b Macy Penn home second. Heat 2 saw a win for 971r George Crawford with 74p Kase Williams in second. The third and final heat started with a series of crashes but finished well with 971r Crawford grabbing another win with 21b Tom Steel shadowing him home. Unfortunately though Crawford was excluded from the results after failing to weigh in on the scales after his heat 3 win which was a shame as he’d raced so well all night.

Red Group Points

In the blue group for seniors it was much tider with the win going to 59g Koby Gooch with 66b Cullen Smith keeping him honest in second. Heat 2 was fairly tidy also apart from 741a Tiana Chatfield who was unluckily pushed into the wall. 95s Liam Cronin-Prouse got the win from heat 1 winner and fast finisher Gooch in the 59g. Heat 3 was reasonably well run with a win going the 93b Jaelim Dudding leading heat 1 winner Gooch in 59g.

Blue Group Points

The senior green group got off to a rough start with 97p Preston Potts finding the wall after contact with 49b Mikayla Brown. The win went to 7w Thomas Davis from grid 11 with 77v Harry Jurgen the next one home. Heat 2 was a race of battles but none better than the 2 off the front with 42b Seth Ireland and 77v Jurgens who went virtually wheel to wheel for 8 laps with Ireland prevailing and Jurgens second. Heat 3 was a tidy affair compared to some of the earlier heats with 7w Davis getting the flag again with 44g Corbyn Wilson in second. 

Green Group Points

The yellow senior group was into it straight away with 11b Tom Blair sliding 77w Jack Beynon up the wall in turn 1 bringing on the red lights. From the front it was 137a Peanuckle Rawiri who got the win from 79n Luke Higgins. Heat 2 saw a lot of rubbing and racing with 11b Tom Blair getting home first from 41p Harrison Cheetham. Heat 3 was a straight out drag race with 52p Boston Joblin leading home the fast following 151r Campbell Hayes.

Yellow Group Points

The senior purple group heat 1 was a stop start affair with multiple on track incidents. At the end it was local 23r Flynn Ashton who got the win from 83m Bryan Ashton. Heat 2 saw 23r get the win again in an impressive drive from grid 22 with 98h Jake Hancock following him home. Heat 3 saw the fortunes of a few disappear as cars spun while others copped terminal damage. It was a tight finish and saw 23r Ashton complete a perfect 3 from 3 with 26v Ashton Mooney chasing the 23r home.

Purple Group Points

The Wholesale Tyres sponsored juniors had orange group first out and it was a good heat 1 for 351r Karl Vazey who got the win from 12b Cade Dorward making up some good ground coming from grid 14 to second. Heat 2 saw a win for 146s Lucas Hurley with 93r Blake Fraser in second. Heat 3 saw some damage with 126s Blake Luscombe exiting with a broken shock absorber. The bright orange 21n of Aimee Burson was also towed off with front end damage. The finish saw a win for 29k Dexter Curtin with 41r Blake Hose in second.

Orange Group Points

The junior cream group started off good but it all went pear shaped when 12w Bailey Crook-Faisandier and 119w Sophie Bewley came together with Bewley finishing up on her side as a result. The win went to 98r Reeve Transom with 972r Jimmy Crawford second completing the Rotorua 1-2. Heat 2 got underway with a massive pile up claiming many victims with 324s Ollie Symes coming out worse of all with part of the front bumper snapped off. It was a much better finish though with 88w Ashton Kahui getting the win heading a Wellington 1-2 with 517w Ezra Friday home In second. Heat 3 and the last hurrah for this group saw a win for 91w Jesse McPhee with the ever present 972r Crawford home second.

Cream Group Points

The finals will take place on Saturday from 5pm with senior and junior finals as well and second and third tier competitions for both divisions and as an added bonus a Stockcar teams race between the Rotorua Rascals and the Waikato Raiders. It you cant make it to the track you can buy and watch the live stream via The Pits Media.

Stealth Engineering Ministocks In Paradise

Stitch'N' Print  Ministocks in Paradise 2nd Tier

Sportsweb Photography Ministocks in Paradise 3rd Tier

Wholesale Tyres Junior Ministocks in Paradise

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