Large fields, which featured some brilliant racing, made for a great two days of motor racing action at Teretonga Park in Invercargill over the weekend.
The OSCA Super Saloons and the Historic & Vintage Racing Assn (HVRA) both ran two races on Saturday, while all other classes ran one race each, before a full Sunday of action brought the total to nineteen action-packed races across the two days.
In the OSCA Super Saloons, it was a weekend that heavily featured the two Jaguars in the field. Kyle Dawson of Invercargill in his Jaguar XKR qualified fastest and led for much of the journey in the first race on Saturday, only to slow and be passed by Steve Ross of Dunedin in his similar car.
Ross went on to win while Dawson pulled out with diff problems within sight of the flag, leaving series leader Tim Dossett of Pleasant Point in his Mitsubishi EVO 5 to finish second with Terence Phillips of Ashburton third in his Mazda RX7.
Dawson was back for the second contest, a reverse, split grid race, and from the back, he scorched through the field to win by 9.931 seconds from Ross and Phillips. Dossett retired from the second race.
Across the weekend, Steve Ross of Dunedin, in his Transam Jaguar, topped the OSCA Super Saloon podium after an action-packed weekend. Ross won two of the class’s four races.
Kyle Dawson of Invercargill in another Jaguar and Leon Fox of Kaiapoi in a Commodore won the other two contests, but it was Kris Brown of Timaru (Nissan Skyline) and Terence Philips of Ashburton (Mazda RX7) who joined Ross on the podium after consistent results through the weekend.
The first Historic & Vintage Racing Assn race on Saturday was a good one with an excellent battle between Scott O’Donnell of Invercargill in his Ford Capri and Gary Johnstone of Christchurch in his Jaguar XJS. O’Donnell won in a drag race to the finish line with Johnstone second, .056 of a second behind, with Leon Hallett of Mosgiel third in his Ford Falcon.
The second race for the class was a handicap race with Johnstone coming through to win from Chris Buckley of Arrowtown (Mini) and Hallett, with O’Donnell fourth.
Over the course of the weekend, the wins were shared around in the Historic & Vintage Racing Assn (HVRA) class, with local Ford Capri drivers Scott O’Donnell and Gregg Cooper capturing one each, as did Leon Hallett of Mosgiel and Gary Johnstone of Christchurch.
The class podium rewarded Chris Buckley of Arrowtown, who almost seized a win on Saturday afternoon in his Mini, Steve Graham of Waikaka in his first race meeting in a Ford Escort Mk2 and Johnstone.
Corban Sprague of Timaru had a good win in the Pro8 NZ class on Saturday, beating local driver Jeremy Dawson and Ryan Gallagher of Ashburton in a good drive.
Across the weekend, Corban Sprague won three of the four Mazda Pro8 NZ races with Hamish Evans of Darfield taking the other, while Jared Pyke, Jeremy Dawson and Ryan Gallagher also scored good finishes across the weekend.
Marco Manson of Auckland took a commanding win in his Spectrum 015 in the South Island Formula Ford race on Saturday, crossing the line 4.674 seconds ahead of Christchurch driver Jake Bryant and recently crowned FIA Arrive and Drive World Karting Senior World Cup winner, Zach Tucker of Prebbleton.
Maxim Kirwan of Auckland was fourth while Dylan Petch of Christchurch came from the back of the grid to fifth with Winton driver Jacob Begg sixth.
Across Sunday’s races, Manson made a clean sweep of the South Island Formula Ford class while another Aucklander, Maxim Kirwan, finished second in three of the four races, two of them by the barest of margins. Canterbury drivers Jake Bryant and Zach Tucker were also prominent throughout the weekend.
Alex Sprague of Timaru (Honda Integra) won the 2K Cup Teretonga Challenge race on Saturday from Karl Beardsley of Prebbleton (BMW 325i) and Ben Gormack of Timaru (Toyota Corolla).
Sprague and Gormack battled at the front early before Beardsley caught up and got past Gormack in a race with a huge field featuring good battles throughout.
Over the weekend, Jonathan Prince of Christchurch (Toyota Corolla) took the 2K Cup Teretonga Challenge from Greg Barclay of Woodend (Toyota MR2) and Cody Harford of Timaru in a Corolla as the class’s massive field of cars produced some really good racing.
Race winners across the weekend were Barclay plus Karl Beardsley of Prebbleton, while Alex Sprague of Timaru won two.
Dave McLean of Balfour in his Honda Integra continued his recent form by winning the SS Cup race on Saturday from Matt Ryan of Highfield (Integra) and Josh Mitchell of Christchurch in a Subaru Impreza.
The race was interrupted by a Safety Car, the only one of the day, before a red flag caused a brief delay after an early incident.
Across the full weekend, Balfour driver Dave McLean in a Honda Integra was the overall round winner in SS Cup, with Matt Ryan of Highfield in another Integra second and Carmen Liemburg of Timaru (Mazda MX5) third.
The podium trio were consistent, McLean winning three of the four races with Josh Mitchell of Christchurch winning the other.
Dion Dawson of Invercargill in his Saker SVS won the Noel McIntyre Drainage Club Saloon race on Saturday by .195 of a second from Jordan Michels of Invercargill in his Marc Mustang, with Brian Scott of Dunedin third in his Chev Camaro.
Across Sunday’s races in the Noel McIntyre Drainage Club Saloons, Invercargill drivers Dion Dawson (Saker SVS) and Jordan Michels (Marc Mustang) had some good battles, with Dawson winning three of the four races and Michels the other.
Dawson claimed the top of the podium ahead of Michels, with Peter Sutherland of Wanaka third overall in his Honda Civic.
The next meeting at Teretonga Park was confirmed as the Ascot Park Hotel Teretonga Park International, part of the Repco NextGen NZ Motorsport Championship, featuring drivers from around the world over the weekend of 24/25 January.
Header Image: Dave Loudon
