Post by BarryB on Feb 17, 2019 13:05:38 GMT 12
Well back from Baypark which was a weekend which began full trials and tribulations and ended as pure theatre. Even the single car run-off was entertaining.
The negatives have been well covered elsewhere, and you can't hide from the fact the night 1 track was unacceptable for the first part of the night, the ELS on Night 1 caused headaches for everybody and I and several others didn't leave the track until after 1am (the lap scorers and officials working, me waiting), and the souvenir programme layout was poor with no place for grids results and points. But Night 1, other than the confusion with race results finished on something of a high with the track improvement and actually getting qualifying in, which looked unlikely at the end of Round 1. At that point we were looking at an 11pm finish, which was turned around in Rounds 2 & 3 to be completed before the 10.10pm curfew.
Night 2 was a total transformation, and credit where credit is due a lot of people worked hard overnight to make Night 2 what it was, concluding with that epic Heat 3. It was definitely one for the ages which proved a lot of people wrong. I'm not going to say "I told you so" because I didn't tell you so. Like most people I had concerns, mostly over the track's ability to get qualifying done. I just didn't bag them either. And you got the feeling early on Night 2 it was going to be something special, and that gut feeling wasn't wrong.
Baypark isn't a natural Stockcar track like Rotorua, but when everything does erupt at Baypark you get action like no other track because of the room the drivers have to work in.i it's not necessarily better, but it's different. And with everything on the line last night, those drivers in Heat 3 all showed 110% commitment and we got one of the most memorable final races possible. Every car on Thrace played their part.
Firstly I want to thank Bernie and Baypark for inviting me to be a part of it. I gave it all away a few years ago, but Malcolm Sines (who first got me involved in this microphone madness about 20 years ago) and I have often talked over the last 3 years about how we'd like to do one last gig together. I kinda kept my hand in by helping out at the World 240's a couple of times, but being back at Baypark for a big New Zealand title was the opportunity we were looking for. So thanks Bernie. If I never get to commentate another meeting I'll never forget my last one. I'd like to think circumstances may allow me to get to the NZ Superstock title at Rotorua in two years, as it was that meeting on that track in 1985 that gave me my passion for the sport. But two years seems a long way away at this point.....
And a thank you to Roger Bailey for his hospitality over the weekend too. Second to none.
The lapscorers, who I spent time with until the wee small hours of Saturday morning after Friday night's issues, and the. seemed to be poking my head into their frantic work space every 5 minutes on Saturday night. They never lost their cool, and their assistance was greatly appreciated.
And all of the SNZ officials, especially Rod McNaughton and Mike Millar, who were never too busy to answer a question and give an explanation. By the end of Night 2 Mike Millar was our results runner, delivering the information to us. Paul, I suggest we keep him on.
Paul Hickey and Malcolm Sines, two absolute legends and masters of their craft who Speedway fans have been so lucky to have serving them over the last couple of decades. Working with them is an absolute pleasure, and everybody just plays their part and has each other's back at all times, taking over each other's role at a seconds notice if and where necessary. There's no "I" in team, and being in a commentary team with those two is actually difficult to put into words. Great fun is definitely an understatement, but it will have to do for now.
I actually intended to thank my two cohorts last, but I now save that for the competitors. Thanks to all 170 of them that turned up and raced under challenging circumstances on Night 1, a big thanks to the Top 36 that turned on some great racing in Heats 1 & 2, and an enormous thanks to those that made it out for Heat 3 and laid everything on the line, cars and bodies, to turn on a spectacle I'll never forget. Obviously congratulations to the 33s, 32s, 186r and 188r, but I don't consider myself as a commentator, I'm just a spectator looking to be entertained who happens to have a microphone, and last night I was entertained. Thank you all.
Barry B
The negatives have been well covered elsewhere, and you can't hide from the fact the night 1 track was unacceptable for the first part of the night, the ELS on Night 1 caused headaches for everybody and I and several others didn't leave the track until after 1am (the lap scorers and officials working, me waiting), and the souvenir programme layout was poor with no place for grids results and points. But Night 1, other than the confusion with race results finished on something of a high with the track improvement and actually getting qualifying in, which looked unlikely at the end of Round 1. At that point we were looking at an 11pm finish, which was turned around in Rounds 2 & 3 to be completed before the 10.10pm curfew.
Night 2 was a total transformation, and credit where credit is due a lot of people worked hard overnight to make Night 2 what it was, concluding with that epic Heat 3. It was definitely one for the ages which proved a lot of people wrong. I'm not going to say "I told you so" because I didn't tell you so. Like most people I had concerns, mostly over the track's ability to get qualifying done. I just didn't bag them either. And you got the feeling early on Night 2 it was going to be something special, and that gut feeling wasn't wrong.
Baypark isn't a natural Stockcar track like Rotorua, but when everything does erupt at Baypark you get action like no other track because of the room the drivers have to work in.i it's not necessarily better, but it's different. And with everything on the line last night, those drivers in Heat 3 all showed 110% commitment and we got one of the most memorable final races possible. Every car on Thrace played their part.
Firstly I want to thank Bernie and Baypark for inviting me to be a part of it. I gave it all away a few years ago, but Malcolm Sines (who first got me involved in this microphone madness about 20 years ago) and I have often talked over the last 3 years about how we'd like to do one last gig together. I kinda kept my hand in by helping out at the World 240's a couple of times, but being back at Baypark for a big New Zealand title was the opportunity we were looking for. So thanks Bernie. If I never get to commentate another meeting I'll never forget my last one. I'd like to think circumstances may allow me to get to the NZ Superstock title at Rotorua in two years, as it was that meeting on that track in 1985 that gave me my passion for the sport. But two years seems a long way away at this point.....
And a thank you to Roger Bailey for his hospitality over the weekend too. Second to none.
The lapscorers, who I spent time with until the wee small hours of Saturday morning after Friday night's issues, and the. seemed to be poking my head into their frantic work space every 5 minutes on Saturday night. They never lost their cool, and their assistance was greatly appreciated.
And all of the SNZ officials, especially Rod McNaughton and Mike Millar, who were never too busy to answer a question and give an explanation. By the end of Night 2 Mike Millar was our results runner, delivering the information to us. Paul, I suggest we keep him on.
Paul Hickey and Malcolm Sines, two absolute legends and masters of their craft who Speedway fans have been so lucky to have serving them over the last couple of decades. Working with them is an absolute pleasure, and everybody just plays their part and has each other's back at all times, taking over each other's role at a seconds notice if and where necessary. There's no "I" in team, and being in a commentary team with those two is actually difficult to put into words. Great fun is definitely an understatement, but it will have to do for now.
I actually intended to thank my two cohorts last, but I now save that for the competitors. Thanks to all 170 of them that turned up and raced under challenging circumstances on Night 1, a big thanks to the Top 36 that turned on some great racing in Heats 1 & 2, and an enormous thanks to those that made it out for Heat 3 and laid everything on the line, cars and bodies, to turn on a spectacle I'll never forget. Obviously congratulations to the 33s, 32s, 186r and 188r, but I don't consider myself as a commentator, I'm just a spectator looking to be entertained who happens to have a microphone, and last night I was entertained. Thank you all.
Barry B
