CONGREVE GOES UNDEFEATED TO SEAL NZ SOLOS
Oreti Park Speedway
STORY BY
CORBYN SHUTTLEWORTH Shuttleworth Motorsport Media
Images supplied by: Christopher Scrimgour
The weather gods didnt play ball in the days prior to the biggest event on the Solo calendar and the uncertain weather raised fears within the Oreti Park Speedway Club that the 2022/23 Total Conveyor New Zealand Solo Championship wouldn’t go ahead.
A sunny but cold Southland Saturday saw a bunch of young talented local riders set to battle it out against the best in New Zealand for the prestigious 1NZ plate.
Round one of the heats saw current NZ Champion Ben Whalley and his club mate George Congreve of Christchurch looking sharp, both taking wins, in their respective heats with local up and coming talent in the form of Finn Reed and Hayden Brookland showing dominance in their heats, giving the local fans something to cheer about.
Round two of the heat races was full of controversy with both Brookland and Auckland’s Ryan Terry Daley both getting handed warnings for tape infringements. Brookland ended up bagging his second race win, giving him maximum points over current 2NZ Andy Aldridge of Christchurch.
Other heats in this round of racing saw Congreve and Whalley win their heats and Oreti Park rider Lucas Colvin get one up on his brother Ryan to take a win. Round two saw Reed who won his first heat suffer a DNF. The 86i bike found too much grip off the starting line, resulting in both the rider and bike on the ground, the sixteen year old was visibly upset leaving the track with his head down.
Moore Park’s Caleb Chappell entered the winners circle with a heat win in round three. Congreve continued his winning ways with yet another victory over Aldridge and Ryan Colvin.
An unfortunate run saw Whalley excluded from this heat, leaving Lucas Colvin, Reed, and Brookland to battle. A snappy restart saw Brookland lead from start to finish while Reed tried to hunt him down, both riders new competitors to Oreti Park’s Senior Solo ranks, both putting on a show. Another new senior rider in the form of Dakota Crengle grabbed a good handful of points with a chequered flag over the experienced Terry Daley and Sean Cox of Christchurch.
The bad luck continued for Whalley, striking a DNF in the third round of action in his title defence.
An all Oreti Park lineup consisting of Brookland, Ryan Colvin, and Crengle all hit the track for the restart of their heat which saw Chase Burrow from Christchurch on the infield. Aldridge picked up his first win of the day while Congreve and Reed continued to show electrifying pace, both picking up race wins.
There was one round of racing left to go as the clouds came over Oreti Park Speedway.
Terry Daley, the visitor from Auckland treated the crowd to an incredibly smooth and fast ride, getting the job done over Lucas Colvin and Burrow.
Third generation speedway competitor Reed needed a win over Aldridge in his heat to be ahead of him in the points for the finals and he managed to get the job done. Reed was wrapped with the result, as was the hearty southern speedway crowd.
Whalley hit the jackpot and bounced back from a couple of shaky rounds, with a win over Chappell and Cox.
The current top points scorers Congreve and Brookland were set to face off, one on one. They rolled out on track and lined up for what was set to be quite possibly the most closely contested race of the day. They rocketed out of the gates and Congreve showed his dominance as he led them to turn one and built up a handy lead managing to get the job done, making him the overall top points scorer.
Brookland, Reed, and Congreve had all cemented a spot in the final with Whalley, Terry Dalley, Aldridge, and Crengle having to gain a spot through the B Final.
An impressive effort from Whalley to even make the B Final with a couple of DNFs to his name. Straight off the line he showed why the 1NZ has belonged to him, leading from start to finish and grabbing the last spot in the final race of the day.
The finalists were interviewed in the pits prior to the final and adrenaline levels were high, nerves were also contagious.
The scene was set, and it was time to race for the New Zealand Championship, the finalists lines up in anticipation and as the tapes flew it looked to be a shambles into turn one.
Congreve elected to start out wide on the gate, he got a great jump off the line and the rest of the field had caught up on the entry to turn one. Contact between the top two points scorers Congreve and Brookland, had the crowd on their feet.
The race continued with the undefeated Congreve gapping the field, Brookland dropping to 4th from the first corner incident.
Congreves speed was second to none all day, leading him to his dream of securing the 1NZ title.
Oreti Parks loyal supporters were on their feet for the new champ, outgoing 1NZ Whalley grabbed 2NZ while Invercargill’s Reed grabbed 3NZ.
The emotion from the riders families was raw. Club president Joe Hughes congratulated the 4 riders and thanked them for putting on an incredible show, before awarding the NZ Solo Championship trophy to Congreve.
When interviewed post race, Congreve was lost for words it was clear to see how much this meant to be crowned champion.
Support grades on the day included Peewees, Classic Solos, Juniors, and the Southland Sidecar Championship which was taken out by locals Aiden Thwaites and Shane Twiss, who came from the B Final.