Superstock Sidecar Champions Kieran Payne and Asher Rees take the winners lap.
Five of New Zealand’s top superstock drivers proved they were more than capable sidecar swingers at the Robertson Holden Speedway on Saturday night. A dare between sidecar organiser Tony Hislop and Palmerston North Panthers as well as former New Zealand champion William Humphries at last years Speedway prizegiving put the pressure on for the superstock drivers to front up. “William had us sidecar guys on last year about swinging on a sidecar and I said to him lets see you have a go,” sidecar organiser Hislop said.
William Humphries also won a superstock race. Midgets are bullets on wheels and produced some great action, with Karl McGill winning the feature. The Manawatū Sidecar Champs was a star-studded line up of 20 machines split into four groups to qualify over three races, with the top five points scorers going on to the three-race final. Keiran Payne, the rider of the 5p Kawasaki ZX10-powered bike, has raced sidecars 33 years in a row.
Pete Paltridge
Joshua Smith wins the ManawatÅ« Saloon Champs. After winning a qualifying heat with a leg in the air, it seemed like the popular racer known as “Wingnut” was in hot contention to take the title, but none of the cream of the sidecar crop were giving an inch.