I managed to make it along for practice and it didn't take long to work out the extra $10 for a grandstand seat was mandatory for this event. Like Te Marua, Woodford Glen suffers from a lack of banking and unless you are in the grandstand forget about getting a good seat unless you want to get to the track super early. The track has a unique shape to it, it's like an egg. Plenty of drivers found the exit to turn four to be a real challenge. The pits were spacious and the pit gate has an ingenious design that caters for cars coming on and off the track at the same time. First Impressions were positive.

All other tracks may as well stop trying, the official programme will be the best this season. At just $5 it was a bargain for the insightful articles, colour photos and even some stickers. The programme was ably backed up by the commentators who provided all the analysis one could expect. The commentators worked overtime to get us reports from the pits and to keep the fans updated on what was happening. One feature I especially liked was the interviewing of race winners. It filled in the time nicely between races, aiding the flow of the meeting.

The fact that we had racing at all on night one was unbelievable. I had given up hope after a substantial thunderstorm swept through the area. It must have taken hours of work to get the track to the stage it was. All things considered the track was outstanding and the night 2 track had the most moisture I've seen from a second night surface. The standard of track preparation was a real credit to the track staff.

Night one was the best night of racing so far this season. 8.5/10 from this punter. With 4 groups of Superstocks supported by Modifieds and Stockcars there were no piss breaks. Each group had it's different points of interest and there was enough contact to keep things interesting. The Stockcars were fantastic in support and the whole programme had a buzz to it. Other than run-offs the meeting ran for approximately 3 hours and 15 minutes. Finally, a promotion that knows how to run a night of speedway!!

Or so I thought. As good as night 1 was night 2 failed to reach expectation. Given the entry fee it was an insult to fans intelligence to programme Ministocks and Production Saloons. The lack of substance of the support programme was found out early when an officiating delay saw more support racing required. Despite some good action in the non-qualifying Superstock races I felt night 1 overshadowed night 2 for entertainment value. Stockcars could have and should have raced on both nights.

While many people will point to 1nz Malcolm Ngatai or 10p Peter Rees I found someone else. Having never had the chance to see Tony MacLanahan race before it was a real priviledge to see the man in action. He didn't disappoint. I had him finishing in 5th or 6th overall, an outstanding achievement all things considered. The guy knows how to use his bumper and move through a field without being noticed. He was also the only driver other than Rees who was prepared to mix it up a bit in the third heat.

Many people seem to think it's great that there was a South Island 1,2,3. I like it's about as good as having a North Island 1,2,3. I'm of the opinion that it is never good for any speedway class to have the top 3 competitors in a concentrated area. Midgets and Sprintcars for example hardly get a mention outside Western Springs but look what happened when Ben Finemore won the New Zealand title, it rejuvenated interest in the class having the 1nz outside of Auckland. As an Aucklander I have no hope of seeing the top 3 competitors at Waikaraka Park this season. That sucks, just as it does for fans of Midgets and Sprintcars who rarely catch a glimpse of the top 3 outside of Auckland.

As members of the speedway community we are all ambassadors for the sport. I had the pleasure of staying at the same camping ground as the Stan Hickey team. They pulled in with a minimum of fuss, politely answered my question on what time practice was and went about their business without disturbing anyone. The next morning some kids had stopped to stare at the bus. It was fantastic to see Stan take the time to say hello to the kids when he would have been focussed on packing up and heading to Christchurch.

The same can be said for 98p Craig Humphries. Numerous people came up to him in the Christchurch camping ground I was in. Craig took the time to answer everyone's questions. Also in the camping ground was the 351a Superstock. I wasn't positioned close to them but they did have a young kid who appeared to be of Maori descent with them. He wore speedway t-shirt's the entire time. This kid was the best behaved kid in the camping ground. It's gives me a great deal of pleasure to see such positive role models in the sport. All the drivers and crew I saw were fantastic ambassadors for the sport.

I saw enough to suggest that the team at Woodford Glen is up there on the same level as the Rotorua promotion. Sure there were aspects that could be improved but overall they did the championship justice. It goes to show that you don't need the best venue to run a successful speedway.

The running of the championship during the holiday season was a big plus as it allows for fans to travel. I would support permanent dates for this championship during the holiday season as it is (supposedly) the premier speedway class in the country. Kihikihi running the event in late January next year is hopeless for South Island fans who will want to travel after their domination of this years event.