By Daryl Shuttleworth
Photos Jo Broadhead

What had been a pretty subdued incident free day at the penultimate round of the Civil Construction Southern Sprintcar Series soon become a fiery action packed event with the feature race of the event full of thrills and spills, entertaining the big crowd that rolled up to take it all in.

Not only was this meeting an unscheduled round of the Southern Sprintcar Series after round two had been a wash out, it was also the annual running of the Daryl Ainsley Memorial, a celebration of Daryl Ainsley who was tragically taken in 2018 while actively sitting as club President of Central Motor Speedway, an event that started on the Friday with a Poker Run and ran through to racing on the Saturday.

Sprintcars would roll out on track for their time trials and it was series leader Jacob McIntyre of Riverside who punched out the fastest time, just ahead of Cromwell's Steve Duff Jnr and Mathew Anderson also of Cromwell third. Anderson was sitting just two points adrift of McIntyre heading into this event, both drivers have played their Joker card which gives double points, this round Duff would play his along with clubmates Steve Scoles and Greg Clemence, Nelson's Gus Dawson and Ruapuna's Bailey Paterson all allowing these drivers to bank double points throughout this meeting.

The field was split into three groups, running two heats each, then a twenty five lap feature final.

Heat one saw Duff get a clean start from the front of the pack and clear off unchallenged, Duff would put in an impressive performance coming home for the win almost five seconds clear of the pack, Cromwell's Shanarrah Stronach was second with Anderson third.

Heat two was another good clean, fast incident free race, Paterson started on pole for the race and battled with Anderson for a number of laps before managing to slowly pull a gap on the field, banking a race win, Anderson would cruise home in second ahead of Dawson in third spot.

The third and final heat we started to see a bit of action unfold, on lap one Cromwell's John Sievwright spun in turn one, almost taking Duff with him, this would have been a disastrous result for Duff had he suffered any damage, considering how dominant he was in the first heat, he would however manage to line back up in the grid for the restart.

Dawson looked like the man to beat in this race, getting off to a strong start and building a bit of a gap on the field.In second was McIntyre who only finished midpack in his first heat, he was driving hard trying to work his way to the front of the grid to ensure a decent starting position in the feature but Dawson would keep the series leader at bay, right up until the very last lap when McIntyre would pounce, stealing a late victory as the pair went side by side over the finish line, Dawson would settle for second with Duff's third placing giving him pole for the feature race.

Twenty five laps would determine the winner of this round as well as the Daryl Ainsley Memorial Sprintcar winner, Duff got the power to the ground nice and early, ensuring he would be the first man into the tight turn one and two corner, from there he set off at a steady pace and within four laps was starting to catch the tail of the field.

Duff would come through to start lap four, but when he powered out of turn two, Sievwright clipped a spinning Scoles this saw the race leader also collide with these cars and stop. From here it was a scary moment for Sievwright as his Sprintcar faced the skies nose up against the wall on turn two and it was engulfed in flames, a very scary sight while felt like an eternity watching, I would hate to think what it felt like in the cockpit.

Sievwright was taken away with moderate injuries, and the recovery led to a lengthy stoppage.

14T John Sievwright engulfed in flames.

Duff and Scoles would both manage to rejoin the race, for Duff this would only be a temporary thing as at the restart he had a coming together with Cromwell's Jason Scott, both cars speared off to the infield on the entry to turn one. This was mild compared to what had unfolded behind the leaders, Cromwell's Josh Buchanan went for a wild roll over in the catch fence on the main straight, his car absolutely destroyed in the sickening incident, again this leading to another major stoppage in proceedings.

With twenty one laps still to run and cars dropping like flies the race would take on a new complexion, Duff was gone, this left Paterson and Dawson to battle it out up front, while McIntyre and Anderson would go toe to toe for a number of laps, each driver determined to hold a lead in the overall series.

On lap thirteen of the twenty Five Anderson shot to the infield, the defending Series Champion watching his challenge for this season disappear as McIntyre continued to lap, getting up to third place and start to challenge the leaders.

As the top three cars negotiated lapped cars it was Dawson who gained an advantage, calculated and cool when picking his next move, while keeping the challenging drivers at bay, Dawson would come through on lap twenty five to claim the round win, and would celebrate infield, absolutely pumped with his performance, and rightfully so, Paterson capped off a solid day coming home in second while McIntyre ensured he would lead the series going into the final round at his home track Riverside, placing third.

These results were also the top three for the Daryl Ainsley Memorial.

Right: 7N Gus Dawson celebrating his first feature win in a Sprint car since changing grades from the Modified Sprints.

Six Shooters put on some of the best racing of the day, and the feature race was easily the best race of the event. Blair Smith of Cromwell looked fast after some solid results at Ruapuna two weeks ago, Smith put in a faultless display to take an easy race win over clubmates Brian Ellison in second and George Hedley third.

Race two saw Riverside's Danny Livingstone take a confidence building win, Livingstone was involved in a big accident at Ruapuna Speedway just two weeks prior, and this race win certainly put the demons at bay, Livingstone taking a dominant win over Smith in second and Hedley third.

These results put Hedley and Smith side by side on the front row of the grid for the winner takes all final.

Hedley got off to a nice start but was well within striking distance of Livingstone, Ellison and Smith who were all eager to get to the front and grab the benefit of some clean air.

The race would go almost the distance before Livingstone must have had a feeling of deja vu when on the back straight his car would spin down through the infield in spectacular fashion bringing out the first Six Shooter caution of the day. Livingstone would get to restart from the rear of the pack with just four laps to run.

At the restart Smith threatened Hedley who before the caution had a sizable lead. Smith looked at every possible angle that he could attack Hedley with but simply could not find an inch of room, Hedley driving a defensive line that ensured he would stay at the front of the pack.

On the very last lap Smith had nothing at all to lose and simply sent his car up the inside of Hedley, almost pulling off the unthinkable, but Hedley got his nose fractionally in front to win what was an outstanding feature race, Smith had to settle for second while Ellison had the best seat in the house in third place.

Production Saloons had a bit of a depleted field but the seven car that were entered certainly provided some great wheel to wheel action across the two heats and final.

Heat one was a great battle up front with Aven Erskine and Steven Nicholas both fighting hard up front. Erskine was just a bit quicker in the corners, but Nicholas showed plenty of straight line speed so everytime Erskine would pull a gap, Nicholas would take it away again.

Erskine would eventually take the heat one win with Nicholas second and clubmate Gavin Hurring third.

An early caution on lap two of heat two saw Cromwell's Billy Heads car come to a grinding halt with smoke billowing out from under the bonnet, at this stage Nicholas held a handy lead but Erskine would get the chance to attack from the restart.

Nicholas got down to business at the restart and cleared away from the pack in a relentless drive which saw him take victory by almost five seconds to Erskine, Cromwell's Liam Ballantyne drove well so secure third place.

The feature was always going to be a two horse race, and whoever made it into turn one first was going to gain a massive advantage, that driver would be Erskine, he placed his car nicely ahead of Nicholas and made him do all of the hard work from second, everytime Nicholas got a run on Erskine he would just close the gap, it was a brilliant battle that Erskine would win, Nicholas who came into the event the defending champion could not have done any more, and would settle for second, while Ballantyne secured third with a great drive in the final.

Youth Ministocks produced three fantastic races across the event, heat one saw Cromwell's Joshua McIntyre battle hard with clubmates Thomas Scott and Lucee Scott for a number of laps.

Thomas Scott led the race for all but the final lap where McIntyre was calculated, he sat behind Thomas Scott lap after lap and when Scott left the gap open by the smallest margin McIntyre pounced and banked his first win of the day, Thomas Scott showed plenty of promise but would settle for second with Lucee Scott third.

Lucee Scott would turn the tables in heat two, starting from the front of the pack she pulled a handy buffer and made the pack have to chase her down.

McIntyre and Thomas Scott went after Lucee Scott but she kept her car in a position on track that the two chasing cars would need to go around her, and with similar car pace this would be a tough task for both drivers.

As the race wore on it was McIntyre who heaped the pressure on Lucee Scott but it wasn't enough, Lucee Scott taking the heat two win over McIntyre in second and Thomas Scott third.

The feature for Youth Ministocks promised to be a hotly contested battle, Thomas Scott, Lucee Scott and McIntyre all got out of the blocks fast but McIntyre would soon work his way to the front of the pack and from there drive off as Thomas and Lucee Scott both battled it out behind him. Cromwell's Ollie Henton was also punching out quality laps and was the big improver of the event, Henton would blast past Thomas Scott and turn his attention on Lucee Scott in the later laps.

McIntyre would come home to win The Daryl Ainsley Memorial by a sizable margin while Lucee Scott came home in second by the narrowest of margins to Henton.

Youth Saloons were an invited class to the Daryl Ainsley Memorial and a sizeable field made up of both Beachlands and Riverside drivers put on a great show.

Heat one was a total demolition job by Noah Kitto of Beachlands, Kitto got home to win by over seven seconds which was remarkable with a big field of cars, Kitto has certainly been a stand out in the grade this season regardless of what track he has been racing on. Riverside's Lachie Robertson placed second with clubmate Ryder Harris third.

Kitto would have his work cut out for him in race two, staring twelfth on the grid he had driven up to seventh within a lap and continued to pick up spots every couple of laps. By the time Kitto got up to second Max Kemp of Beachlands was comfortably in front and he would race off to bank a race win, only just ahead of Kitto across the line, Kitto settling for second with Isiah Stretton of Riverside have a solid race in third.

The feature race would always be a case of who could contain Kitto, and the short answer is no one, Kitto however did have to work a bit harder as a number of drivers were now getting familiar to the Cromwell track, a place some drivers have never driven on, or at most driven on once.

Kitto would however pull away from Kemp as Kemp had to try and hold off Harris who was very fast in the feature, final of the Daryl Ainsley Memorial would see Kitto first, Kemp second and Harris third.

Saloons were the final grade on the program, and a grade dear to the heart of Daryl Ainsley. It was a fitting start to the event that Graham Williamson of Riverside would bank the first win of the event for Saloons, Williamson and Ainsley were great mates, Williamson starting his speedway come back in Ainsley's Hypermac Mustang, so to win despite not being in this car would have been a great honor for Williamson.

Cromwell's Phil Burgess came home in second with clubmate Mike Verdoner placing third.

Burgess started from the front in heat two and cleared off from the pack, holding a handy lead until on lap seven Ivan Murdoch of Cromwell filled the arena with smoke, visibility was zero with the race stopped until the skies cleared.

At the restart Verdoner and Cromwell's Jason Gold would pressure Burgess, but Burgess would hang on by the slenderist of margins to take the win over Verdoner in second and Gold third.

In the feature Verdoner got off to a flying start and pulled away from the pack with ease. Burgess and Gold were trading paint behind Verdoner while Williamson was looking out of sorts and off the pace in fourth.

Paul Carr of Beachlands was about to go a lap down when he thought it would be a good idea to challenge Verdoner coming out of turn four on lap eleven, Verdoner got to Carrs inside and forced him wide and into the wall hard on the main straight, Verdoner suffered some rear damage but continued on, while Carr's machine was well beaten up, putting him out of the race.

Verdoner was deemed to be the cause and would be sent to the rear of the field, Im sure if he had his time again he would have held back and waited for a gap on the inside of the next corner.

At the restart Gold pressured Burgess, Burgess coming down on Gold making contact on a couple of occasions while defending. Williamson had a new lease of life now up in third, but still couldn't match the pace of the two lead cars.

Burgess would hold on but only just, another lap and Gold may have stolen this race but not today, Burgess would win the Daryl Ainsley Memorial for Saloons, Gold taking the silver, while Williamson would place third.

With all drivers across all grades being split into groups and all of their points combined to make up an overall Daryl Ainsley Memorial Teams winner, the group Captained by Jason Scott and containing Graham Williamson, Shannon Fitzgibbon, Leo Bennett, Mason Whelan, Blair Smith, Steven Scoles, Thomas Scott, Lucee Scott, Jake Johnston and Isiah Stretton would take the overall victory.

Article added: Monday 03 March 2025