AUSTRALIANS DOMINATE AT ORETI PARK
 

Top: From left, Mark Mitchell and Tom Golding, Darrin Treloar and Justin Plaisted, Mark Plaisted and Sam Harrison,followed by Fraser Gillespie and David Uitentuis, competing in the final of the Trans-Tasman Sidecar Test Series at the Oreti Park Speedway on Saturday night. Right: 2008 World Sidecar Champions Darrin Treloar and Justin Plaisted complete the victory round at Oreti Park Speedway

Australian riders reigned supreme in round four of the inaugural Sidecar GP trans-Tasman Test Series, staged at Oreti Park Speedway recently.

Former World Champions Darrin Treloar and Justin Plaisted, of New South Wales, continued their impressive domination of the series, once again taking top honours.

“Our plan was to come and win as many rounds as we could and so far we have won 3 out of 4 with one round to go so we are pretty pleased with that,” Treloar said.

“Our aim now is to qualify for the World Sidecar Champs in August over in England.”

The Oreti Park track proved challenging initially, with competitors forced to ride to the conditions.

“It was pretty slippery out there but the track came right by the end of the meeting. It was a shame the track didn’t start out how it finished,” Treloar said.

With some of the world’s best in attendance, racing was fast and furious – to the delight of the massive crowd.

After five heats, the top three qualifiers advanced to the final – Treloar and Plaisted, Mark Mitchell and Tom Golding (Adelaide) and Mark Plaisted and Sam Harrison (Adelaide).

A repecharge was staged to find the fourth finalist with local combinations Fraser Gillespie and David Uitentuis, Jason Harpur and Mark George and Shaun Kerr and Robin Poole joining Palmerston North husband and wife team Andrew Buchanan and Phillipa Burns in the hunt.

Gillespie and Uitentuis earned the right to contest for the overall title but the podium ultimately proved an all-Australian affair with Treloar and Plaisted followed across the line by Mitchell and Golding and Plaisted and Harrison respectively.

The Ivan Mauger North verses South Challenge was also contested at the trans-Tasman fixture, with the South Island team snatching bragging rights.

Oreti Park Speedway has enjoyed a hectic calendar of elite events in recent weeks, including the South Island Solo Championships on January 23.

The club’s focus now switches to hosting the New Zealand Sidecar Championships on February 12-13. With 25 teams already confirmed and plenty more predicted, adrenalin-pumping action is a foregone conclusion.