Wellington's Keegan Levien added the Superstock Grand Prix silverware to his tally on Saturday night at the Robertson Holden International Speedway, matching his achievement last season in the Stockcar class. A full night of action entertained the excellent crowd in attendance.
Machinery Specialists NZ Superstock Grand Prix
Qualifying took place at the start of the night at the Robertson Holden International Speedway, with three groups of 20+ cars having two heats to accumulate points. The top eight from each group progressed, along with two from the repechage. Racing was frantic, but done and dusted by 7:30pm so the programme could commence as planned.
The first heat of the finals saw 95p Clive Elliot roll out of the meeting on lap three after coming through the repechage, with two fence posts on the main straight taking a pounding several times before the end of the night. 9g Jamie Hamilton profited best in the slickening conditions, taking the flag from grid eight ahead of 46b Quinn Ryan who also qualified via the last-chance repechage and 44p Brendon Sharland.
2nzg Peter Rees backed up his fourth place with victory in the second heat, but not before being overtaken by 471k Benji Sneddon and regaining the lead once Sneddon retired to the infield. 8p Scott Miers tangled with the same fenceposts as Elliot, unfortunately out of the running after a strong qualifying performance. Hamilton's impressive fifth from grid 22 saw him in the box seat heading into the final heat, a single point behind Rees overall but a much better grid position. Rees was aiming to become just the fifth driver to complete the Grand Slam of Superstock titles and had accumulated 49 points, with a massive gap behind Hamilton on 48 to 5w Keegan Levien who finished third on 39 points tied with Ryan. 15w Josh Prentice was still in the hunt on 38 and 1nzb Jason Long on 36 points.
It was quickly apparent that 88p Jack Miers would have the final say in the outcome, slowing to halt effectively the progress of first Rees and then Hamilton. 8p Scott Miers joined the fray, spinning Rees onto the infield along with 112c Shaun Pearson who tangled with Hamilton several times. 52p Scott Joblin took the win but was out of the running due to a flat tyre in the first heat with Ryan, Prentice, Long and Levien all battling for the points behind him. A final result was not immediately obvious, but after placings were confirmed and points calculated, Levien's third place and Rees' third-to-last place saw them tied on 63 points. A four-way tie for third overall required two run-offs to determine the podium after an intense final heat. Levien dispatched the battered Rees to take an excellent Grand Prix victory, with Ryan triumphant in third place with a little help from clubmate Long.
RESULTS
Black Group Heat One: 31p Andy McCabe, 88p Jack Miers, 8p Scott Miers, 85k Jared Wade, 112c Shaun Pearson, 44p Brendan Sharland - Fastest Lap: 127g - 18.7762
Black Group Heat Two: 3nzp Simon Joblin, 5w Keegan Levien, 8p, 85k, 46b Quinn Ryan, 52p Scott Joblin - Fastest Lap: 127g - 18.2743
Red Group Heat One: 89w Dale Robertson, 87b Thomas Stanaway, 28s Blair Uhlenberg, 153s Flynn Johnson, 471k Benji Sneddon, 971c Jayden Ward - Fastest Lap: 87b - 18.2865
Red Group Heat Two: 15w Josh Prentice, 471k, 38p Zane Dykstra, 95n Alex Hill, 28s, 98b Quintin Butcher - Fastest Lap: 471k - 18.3456
Blue Group Heat One: 32p Graeme Barr, 9g Jamie Hamilton, 1nzb Jason Long, 126k Asher Rees, 95p Clive Elliot, 991c Harley Robb - Fastest Lap: 126k - 18.2186
Blue Group Heat Two: 2nzg Peter Rees, 9g, 19c Malcolm Ngatai, 136v Maddie Wise, 99g James Mallia - Fastest Lap: 2nzg - 18.3043
Repechage: 46b Quinn Ryan, 95p Clive Elliot, 581p Jordan Dare, 19c Malcolm Ngatai, 62p Adam Joblin, 46w Ethan Levien
| SUPERSTOCK FINALS | |||||
| Points 1 | Points 2 | Points 3 | Total | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5w | Keegan Levien | 15 | 24 | 24 | 63 |
| 2nzg | Peter Rees | 23 | 26 | 14 | 63 |
| 46b | Quinn Ryan | 19 | 17 | 25 | 61 |
| 15w | Josh Prentice | 17 | 21 | 23 | 61 |
| 1nzb | Jason Long | 25 | 14 | 22 | 61 |
| 9g | Jamie Hamilton | 26 | 22 | 13 | 61 |
| 28s | Blair Uhlenberg | 22 | 11 | 20 | 53 |
| 52p | Scott Joblin | 5 | 19 | 26 | 50 |
| 58k | Stefan Roigard | 6 | 23 | 17 | 46 |
| 88p | Jack Miers | 20 | 12 | 12 | 44 |
| 44p | Brendan Sharland | 24 | - | 19 | 43 |
| 87b | Thomas Stanaway | - | 25 | 18 | 43 |
| 38p | Zane Dykstra | 10 | - | 21 | 31 |
| 85k | Jared Wade | 9 | 20 | - | 29 |
| 112c | Shaun Pearson | 14 | 15 | - | 29 |
| 8p | Scott Miers | 13 | - | 15 | 28 |
| 95n | Alex Hill | 12 | 16 | - | 28 |
| 89w | Dale Robertson | 16 | 10 | - | 26 |
| 3nzp | Simon Joblin | 7 | 18 | - | 25 |
| 58p | Peter Bengston | 11 | 13 | - | 24 |
| 471k | Benji Sneddon | 21 | - | - | 21 |
| 32p | Graeme Barr | 18 | - | - | 18 |
| 95p | Clive Elliot | - | - | 16 | 16 |
| 136v | Maddie Wise | 8 | - | - | 8 |
| 99g | James Mallia | - | - | - | 0 |
| 991c | Harley Robb | - | - | - | 0 |
Consolation One: 77r Lance Aldridge, 7w Shane Davis, 557c Darrel Wallace, 48n Brett Nicholls, 62p Adam Joblin, 19c Malcolm Ngatai - Fastest Lap: 77r - 18.5182
Consolation Two: 77r, 48n, 581p Jordan Dare, 62p, 557c, 32n Phil Krammer - Fastest Lap: 62p - 18.4452
Stockcars
Race One: 278p Kyle Taylor, 791p William Hart, 26v Kaelin Mooney, 177p Jamie Tinetti, 174p Brendon Learmonth, 6v Dion Mooney - Fastest Lap: 174p - 20.3923
Race Two: 135p Jaden Hall, 174p, 6v, 278p, 26v, 791p - Fastest Lap: 177p - 20.6587
Feature: 79p Kyle Rowe, 26v, 777p Shaun Hayman, 6v, 278p, 135p - Fastest Lap: 26v - 20.3231
Sidecars
Group One - Race One: 51b Kim Johnston & Kerry Johnston, 18p Kim Hajnal & Wayne Brown, 84p Jimmy Hotton & Nick Dunne, 22p Johnny Blakemore & Brad Horn
Group Two - Race One: 17p Tony Hislop & Matt Stewart, 5p Kieran Payne & Wade Blackley, 32p Sam Carter & Haydn Combs
Race Two: 17p, 5p, 32p, 84p, 22p
Feature: 5p, 17p, 32p, 18p, 84p, 22p
Race Four: 17p, 5p, 18p, 22p
