Macgor's New Zealand Speedway
www.macgor.co.nz


published 15-11-2015
Rock FM Riverside Speedway 13-11-2015 



Jayden Fraser celebrates winning the Southland Modified Sprint Champs
Kerry Dixon was in menacing form in his Hypermac


Chris Sharp and 55 Dean Miller were strong contenders in Modified Sprints
Liv Fraser heads off 16 Acacia Mitchell and 15 Emma Phillips in Youth Saloons

Fraser Takes Back To Back Championships
By Daryl Shuttleworth
Photos Debra Race

Southland motorsport fans were treated to a stellar evening of Speedway action as The Rock FM Riverside Speedway held its Fireworks Extravaganza on a stunning Friday night after twice having to cancel due to rain.

One of the biggest crowds seen at Riverside Speedway in years were entertained both on and off the track with the ILT Fireworks show one of the most impressive seen in the South before, and the drivers putting on an spectacle of speed and skill across all the grades.

The night doubled as the Southland Championship for Modified Sprints, twelve cars contested the championship which went right down to the wire, only being decided on the home straight of the final.

In race one Raymond Phillips dominated from the front, to bag maximum points while an impressive drive by Daryl Scott secured him second, defending champion Jayden Fraser battled through the pack to finish third.
Fraser started from the front of the grid in race two and drove cleanly from start to finish to claim the win but Phillips was on the pace cruising to second place over Jason McMallin who fought hard for third.

This put a one point gap between Phillips and Fraser heading into the final, with both cars starting from the rear of the field and Fraser knowing he needed to finish at least two cars ahead of Phillips to take the title.

In race three it was Scott who got off to the best start leading the first two laps, but newcomer George Phillips upstaged the field when slipping past Scott.
The youngster dominated from the front claiming his first race win in the grade, well deserved after a nasty accident last meeting when he collided with the concrete wall.

Phillips took victory from Scott who was still in championship contention if either Fraser or Raymond Phillips failed to finish. Chris Sharp who was also impressive all night took a well deserved third in the final, but all eyes were on Fraser and Phillips, with half a lap to run the two cars were side by side which would hand Phillips the title but on the home straight Fraser made a move out of nowhere when he blasted past two cars to give him the points advantage he needed to claim the Southland Championship for the second year running.
Final points saw Phillips third and Scott a creditable third.

In support classes Campbell McManaway was looking to keep his unbeaten run at the Southern circuit in tact this season, the Hypermac Mustang managed to win the first two races of the evening in the Super Saloons but Kerry Dixon managed to break the dominance in heat three after two impressive second placings earlier in the night.
Dixon looks to be getting to grips with his new Hypermac chassis and looks to be just the challenge McManaway needs going forward.
Cromwells Ray Stewart also relished on the drivey Riverside track keeping plenty of pressure on the front runners to claim a third in heat two, and second in heat three.

Craig Phillips started this season looking like the man to beat in the Saloons but mechanical issues left him sidelined for two meetings. Phillips was like a dog unleashed when the green flag dropped, taking apart the opposition in the first two Saloon races by impressive margins.
He couldn't repeat the dominance in heat three but it was still a Phillips that claimed victory, with brother Lloyd first over the line. Dean Shearing also looked fast banking a second and third placing for the night in his Corvette.

Youth Saloons was once again dominated by Jack Brown in his bright yellow Honda CRX, Brown has been the man to beat in this grade all season but a number of drivers in the youth saloons showed promise and put pressure on Brown. Liv Fraser was in the points hunt all night and never too far away from the action, as was Jacob Garrick who showed that he is not afraid to rub panels to get the job done.
Emma Phillips, Olivia Beck- Graham and Acacia Mitchell were amongst the front runners all night.

A lean field of production saloons was dominated by Dave Horton in his Honda Prelude, Horton made easy work of his counterparts, winning three from three, while Asha Clements and Grant Meikle found themselves at the sharp end of the field for the first time this season.

Stockcars turned on an entertaining display for the large crowd, Rob Mitchell took out two of the three race wins while newcomer Logan McNamara banked a win also.
Shanan Knight made sure he dished out plenty of punishment to anything that moved, as did Erwin Tree who put an impressive hit on Kelvin Lawsons Tank in heat two, seeing the pair clash numerous times the rest of the evening.

The final grade in support was Streetstocks where Steve Dryden and Peter Knight shared the honors for race wins.


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