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Post by hienekenno1 on May 4, 2022 12:22:07 GMT 12
32 Stockcars entered for the Auckland Championship Saturday night with 1nz Ben Ellis on hand, will be good 👍
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Post by accobra on May 4, 2022 13:14:57 GMT 12
Weather looks better too.
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Post by NZ Sauber on May 4, 2022 13:21:55 GMT 12
Excellent mix of classes they have scheduled too. If I lived a little further up the Island I would be there with bells on.
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Post by John W. on May 4, 2022 18:11:04 GMT 12
SuperSaloon entries
7a Mike Slater
8a Craig Cardwell
26a Wayne Garnett
48a Wade Jennings
96a Lance Jennings
33b Chace Rodda
18m Sam Waddell
7k Richard Dreaver
46m Matt Smith
7m Brent Emerson
Feel sorry for the timing team...3 number 7's
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Post by hienekenno1 on May 5, 2022 6:43:54 GMT 12
Michael Pickens, Stephen Taylor and Jamie McDonald in the Sprintcars, nice 👍
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Post by tonyr on May 5, 2022 7:14:46 GMT 12
Would have been nice yo see Brindle and Allard there too.
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Post by hienekenno1 on May 7, 2022 18:18:57 GMT 12
46 Matt Smith is quick winning the first Super Saloon heat.
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Post by tonyr on May 7, 2022 18:43:09 GMT 12
46 Matt Smith is quick winning the first Super Saloon heat. Sam Waddell pretty quick too. |
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Post by hienekenno1 on May 7, 2022 18:51:55 GMT 12
Nice win to 26a Wayne Garnett in heat two with Matt and Sam very spectacular 👍
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Post by hienekenno1 on May 7, 2022 21:54:58 GMT 12
Cool to see stirrer 45a Corey Baker win the Auckland Stockcar Championship,42a Sam Wright was 2nd,7a Josh Simpson was 3rd after being harassed by Gary Lonergan and a good win to 18m Sam Waddell winning the Auckland Super Saloon title after coming from the rear of the field after a spin, Craig Cardwell was 2nd with 7m Brent Emerson 3rd,a very enjoyable night at the park 👏
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Post by percy on May 7, 2022 22:04:35 GMT 12
Really enjoyed my evening at Waikaraka Park tonight.
It makes such a difference when a meeting does not have any filler classes. The meeting flows and every race is entertaining. Good size crowd on what was a lovely Auckland May evening. Streetstocks perhaps not as combative as ideal but did enough to keep things interesting. A lack of out of town cars likely the cause which was disappointing given it was an Auckland title. Superstocks raced well with about 13 entrants. 96a creating some entertainment in the final race. A competitive field made for close racing all night.
Super Saloons were outstanding. Man they get around Waikaraka in a hurry. 3nz Cardwell and 18m Waddell qualifying on the front row for the title race whilst 26a Garnett was also an unlikely stand out. Cardwell got the jump with Waddell all over him until spinning in cemetery bend. That made the script for the race with Waddell coming through the field. He was aided by 3 cars crashing in front of him but Waddell passed the whole field with the crowd getting behind him. Waddell got by Cardwell with about 4 laps remaining to take a win from the back.
Sprintcars perplexingly having three heats with two groups in each. They had 11 cars. We knew we were on for a weird night when 77a rolled in hot laps! Race one was decent enough. Pickens lit up the park with a great drive from the back to win heat two before a demolition derby unfolded in heat three. Mercifully the pole shuffle was abandoned. 71a McDonald got the jump in the feature, an obvious jump start missed by the officials. 21p Taylor had a huge moment whilst passing 73k Edwards up the inside for third. Somehow survived it but had to restart from the back.
J-Mac able to gap Pickens to an extent but lapped traffic closed up the distance a couple of times. However, Pickens couldn't get close enough to launch a move, McDonald your feature winner.
The Auckland Stockcar Title was a good one. The top end of the Auckland ranks are highly competitive these days and there was not much between the top group. The final heat was very good. 3nz Lonergan taking a couple of shots at 7a Simpson who was up on points. 13a I think it was trying to take 1nz to the wall. Brilliant driving from 1nz to get on the brakes hard and avoid the wall. 1nz then found 13a a few laps later and put him in the wall in the exact same spot! 45h a menace all race and a big walling exiting turn 2 with 62a on the receiving end only to drive off and over his attacker. 45a Corey Baker the overall winner by a long way. I think 94a Sam Wright second and 7a Josh Simpson third.
A reasonably efficient meeting done in three and a half hours. Great to see a track that understands time management. Alleluia.
A few work ons for the promotion. The commentator running through race results when cars are circulating is pointless. He also has a habit of just stating driver names and not giving numbers which unless you know the entire Auckland roster makes life difficult. Streetstocks and Stockcars were running Auckland titles over three heats. We received zero points for Streetstocks and got maybe the top 6-8 for the Stockcars as they were firing on track for heat three. Completely unacceptable. This was an ideal night to trial the communications strategy ahead of the NZ Stockcar Title next season where they will have to effectively convey points for up to seven groups on one night. Not having the mylaps lapscoring available live in the app is an issue that needs to be fixed pronto. Streetstock race one was compromised by excessive track watering prior to the race. It was an Auckland title for these guys.
But as I said at the start a really enjoyable night and one that was well worth the entry fee.
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Post by John W. on May 8, 2022 15:36:59 GMT 12
Percy,
Not sure what you mean by "filler classes". Every class has its own followers and some of the classes are also where the future greats develop their skills. As someone who has tried to be the voice for SNZ, I would have thought you would realise this and give all classes equal support. Every class has races that are standouts, and also races that are lack lustre. It all comes down to the drivers, track and a bit of luck. I have seen pole shuffles where only 2 cars on the track have had the crowd on the edge of their seats. There have also been NZ Champs races for some of the classes that attract higher sponsorship, that have neded up being a boring procession.
I can confirm that Waikaraka should have live laps for the public running for the start of next season. They are trying to get the unreliable copper connection replaced with Fibre and then all will be set.
As to your comments about the commentator, you are welcome to step in and show us all how easy it is to commentate a race. (/start sarcasm) From many of the comments on this forum, it appears that being a commentator is easy to do. (/end sarcasm) To those commentators we have in the sport, I give you credit and believe you all do a great job.
Apart from those issues, glad you had a good night at the track.
3 more Auckland champs next weekend (Superstocks, Mods and Ministocks) as well as good supporting fields of Stockcars and Saloons. Some vintage stockcars will also be out showing where the sport has come from.
Then we will have 2 King of the Park nights to finish off the season.
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Post by percy on May 8, 2022 16:57:09 GMT 12
Percy, Not sure what you mean by "filler classes". Every class has its own followers and some of the classes are also where the future greats develop their skills. As someone who has tried to be the voice for SNZ, I would have thought you would realise this and give all classes equal support. Every class has races that are standouts, and also races that are lack lustre. It all comes down to the drivers, track and a bit of luck. I have seen pole shuffles where only 2 cars on the track have had the crowd on the edge of their seats. There have also been NZ Champs races for some of the classes that attract higher sponsorship, that have neded up being a boring procession. I can confirm that Waikaraka should have live laps for the public running for the start of next season. They are trying to get the unreliable copper connection replaced with Fibre and then all will be set. As to your comments about the commentator, you are welcome to step in and show us all how easy it is to commentate a race. (/start sarcasm) From many of the comments on this forum, it appears that being a commentator is easy to do. (/end sarcasm) To those commentators we have in the sport, I give you credit and believe you all do a great job. Apart from those issues, glad you had a good night at the track. 3 more Auckland champs next weekend (Superstocks, Mods and Ministocks) as well as good supporting fields of Stockcars and Saloons. Some vintage stockcars will also be out showing where the sport has come from. Then we will have 2 King of the Park nights to finish off the season. Oh brother I've tried to be the voice against SNZ for much of my life, not for them!! If you appreciate each class equally good for you. There is a reason the crowd for the World 240's is many times that for Ministocks in Paradise. A reason why the crowd for the World Midget 50 Lapper is many times that of the NZ Minisprint title. Different classes have differing entertainment values and all too often in this sport I look at the classes on the schedule, look at the entry price and struggle to see a relationship between the two. Once upon a time speedway was must see Saturday night entertainment. But our sport diversified into classes for every man and his dog and we now have this hybrid driver/spectator model which has diluted the entertainment of Saturday night speedway. Yes, there is an argument that the top end of our sport is stronger for having more classes but lets also recognise our Saturday night speedway product has suffered. Last night was a reminder of how good speedway used to be. In terms of the commentator it's almost impossible to assess your own performance when commentating. I've suggested a couple of simple things that would add a lot to the fans understanding of what's going on. If you go to the tracks with the best communication that is what they do. Not sure why you're so defensive on this issue. When I did the social media role at Western Springs did I implement some of the criticism? Absolutely I did and the output was better for it. We should be asking more often as to how we can improve various aspects of our shows and whilst not every idea will be a good one there will be take outs to improve our shows. |
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Post by tonyr on May 8, 2022 17:31:21 GMT 12
With regard to the commentary I couldn’t say whether it was good, bad or indifferent because I couldn’t hear it. I was sitting in the stands on the front straight. There were speakers on a pole in front of me but I have no idea if they were working or not…..
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Post by accobra on May 8, 2022 17:39:12 GMT 12
Have 2 speakers where I sit. Cemetery end. Commentator sounded fine to me. Heard far worse.
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Post by midway on May 8, 2022 18:54:17 GMT 12
Poor old Percy
One who spends his life in the rose gardens of the sport ,then visits the garden of cactus ,,i only hope it hasn,t become to much of a thorn in youre backside trackside at wacky park ..
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