Not seeing a wheel turn on a speedway track before October 31 is an unusual occurance. So it was with a bit more excitement than usual that Percy headed off to practice at Western Springs Speedway. The day was fine but the temperature cool due to the substantial breeze blowing through.

New dirt has been imported, giving the track a light brown appearance. Banking has been added at both ends of the track but was more noticeable at Pine Tree Bend. The track was smooth, an unusual occurance over the past couple of seasons. It was however dry and slick and it will be interesting to see if the same smoothness will be produced when more moisture is present in the surface. The middle of Pine Tree Bend caused plenty of drama's and drivers will be scratching their heads trying to work out how best to deal with that part of the track.

Quarter Midgets - 6
TQ's - 18-20
Midgets - 15ish (some away at Huntly and Stratford)
Sprintcars - 12 (some away at Baypark, some engines still to arrive)

TQ's - 41a Jarrod Taylor
Midgets - 54a Michael Pickens
Sprintcars - 8a Ryan O'Conner

A massive crowd turned up for opening night racing at Waikaraka Park. Well, 2/3rds were probably there for the fireworks or because they had free tickets but nevertheless it was a big crowd. After waiting 20 mins to get in Percy parked himself on the back straight terrace along with many families (who incidentally seem oblivious to the risks associated with fast cars and small children being seperated by a wire fence!).

Another smooth Waikaraka surface but the dust was flying from early in the night. Indeed Percy's priority at times was more about protecting the integrity of his food as opposed to watching the racing. Passing was a bit tricky but not impossible. Overall a good effort first up. 8/10

Crowd figure aside, perhaps the most pleasing aspect of the night was the consistency of numbers on track. Super Saloons were propped up by some of the faster Saloons and Mods numbered 8 but that was as low as numbers got. The racing across the board was pretty decent without anything being memorable. Where Waikaraka (and many other tracks) often fall down is in providing a consistent show. That failing was rectified tonight. Even the Sidecars were passing!

Whenever Super Saloon 99a Shane McInteer gets on track it's a highlight. The bloke is a human highlight reel, bonnet flying off, car inches from the wall, it's all in a days work for Macca.

The Stockcar Teams race between Auckland and Gisborne was as good as over on the opening lap. Gisborne were quickly down to 3 cars versus Aucklands 5 courtesy of a Gisborne runner copping a ride down the back straight wall. That wasn't going to stop the Gisborne contingent because in the first Stockcar race one of them tried to launch an early season contender for hit of the season. It all came horribly unstuck as the Gisborne car vaulted in the air!

But the crash of the night was undoubtedly Modified 6a Brian Jesen. 36a Phil Crumpe got a bit sideways and Jesen went over his bonnet and promptly headed skyward and over!

Yes there were still some negatives to come out of tonight.....

Quoted car count - The "actual versus quoted" car count has historically been a problem at Waikaraka. Tonight was no exception. 15 Streetstocks became 12, 14-16 Minisprints were actually 10, Saloons from 21 to 18, Stockcars 28 to 24. On the positive Modifieds gained 1. I hope we don't have to apply a 10-30% discount to quoted car numbers once again this season.

Finish Time - Attempting to run 26 events plus a fireworks display was not conducive to an early finish. This was particularly important tonight as families were attracted by the Fireworks display. It was also disappointing to see no increase in urgency to get the programme finished at a decent hour.

Commentary Team - Perhaps the biggest issue of the night was the performance of the commentary team. Howe and Duffy can make for some tough listening at times. Duffy is speedway's answer to insomnia and one sometimes wonders if he is actually in the commentary box or simply a pre-recorded message. Howe on the other hand has plenty of enthusiasm but is not a play by play commentator. Huntly used him well last season with a roving mic role. Chris Lawrence, the third team member, has perhaps the most potential to anchor the team.

I came away from the meeting with little idea about what I had just seen. Winners now get feature stickers but how are grids determined? What formats were we running? Why are cars not making the grid? The flow of information wasn't there and one can only feel a degree of sympathy for the commentators as they appear to be working with limited information.

Team Numbers - I'm still gobsmacked that this remit was voted down. What a mess teams racing is becoming. It was impossible to discern who was who tonight for either team. Motor Racing is about personalities and vehicles yet in teams racing we make the cars look the same and try to hide who is driving what car. Figure that one out!

Overall though tonight was worthy of attendance. Lets hope it's the start of something for this new promotion.