Something For Everyone This Saturday

A real variety evening is on offer this Saturday night at the Robertson Holden International Speedway, with something to cater for everyone in the family! Derby and Stockcar teams, Super Saloons, Superstocks and Sidecars with celebrity swingers will cover the full spectrum of speedway entertainment.

The finals of the Peter Barry Derby Teams featuring eight battered teams from Easter will set the scene, Peter Barry was a hard hitting Stockcar driver who sadly passed away in 2009. His humble beginnings in derby-car teams racing are honoured by the annual Peter Barry Memorial Derby Teams Champs, which has steadily grown in popularity to become a two-night event that featured a massive 22 teams this time around. Each side has five Demolition Derby cars on track at a time, with a skilled driver managing to balance speed, hitting and car conservation to end up on top of the pile at the end of a tough weekend.

Finalists this year are the predominantly Whanganui-based teams Dirty Rottens Inc and defending champion Gridbombers, along with the Southern Slayers from Christchurch. The Takapau Terrors with famous father/son due of Beatle and Randal Tarrant were top qualifiers, while Team Kaos from Wellington snuck into the top eight as the only team with a win and a loss. Local teams including the Terminators, Quackers and Shake n Bake also have made the top eight and are in with a chance of taking the supreme title.

The return of the popular Girls vs Boys Stockcar teams race is always a hotly discussed topic and always is a highlight in the seasons racing calendar. The 'battle of the sexes' was a close contest at the previous event, and this year it’s hard to pick who the favourite will be.

The Quin Buildings Direct Manawatu Super Saloon Champs is also on offer with local and visiting drivers indicating their attendance - these wide tyred V8 machines put on an impressive show with the side by side racing.

Sidecars will be racing with celebrity Superstock swingers to add another dimension on Saturday night, and it will be interesting to see how these fierce competitors fare; 5p Kieran Payne & Asher Rees, 7p Matt Stewart & Darrel Wallace, 8p Sam Carter & Jack Miers, 17p Tony Hislop & William Humphries, 96p Mark Whye & Randal Tarrant.

Superstocks and Stockcars will also be hitting the dirt with the local season points chase the forefront of many competitors’ minds at this tail end of the season. The Superstocks with their raw power and distinct sound are speedway's premier class and their deliberate contact makes them enjoyable for all ages.

An all-in Demolition Derby will round out a massive night of action at the Robertson Holden International Speedway, expect plenty of carnage as road cars battle it out on the track for supremacy. To accommodate this large programme of events, racing will get underway at an earlier start time of 5pm.

Admission prices are $25 for an adult (16 years and over), $10 for children aged 8-15, and $60 for a family pass of 2 adults and up to four children. Kids aged 7 and under are FREE.

Gates for entry are the new public entrance overbridge on the corner of Cuba and Waldegrave Streets, along with Gate 1 Waldegrave Street and these gates open from 3:30pm. Gates accept both cash and EFTPOS payments (no credit card) but in order to move the line quickly we recommend coming prepared with cash. There will be plenty of food vendors on site which accept cash and EFTPOS payments.