DOUGLAS AND BIDDLE BRING THE HEAT AT OCEANIA CHAMPIONSHIP
[Photography by Vanessa Adcock](https://www.facebook.com/vanessaadcockphotography)
Andrew Andrew
- RACE REPORTS
DOUGLAS AND BIDDLE BRING THE HEAT AT OCEANIA CHAMPIONSHIP
Oreti Park Speedway
Shuttleworth Motorsport Media
Images supplied by: Christopher Scrimgour
(Disclaimer – results as seen by myself while commentating, results may have changed slightly due to relegations etc. – This article or extracts from it are not to be used by any other form of media without prior permission.)*
When a title as big as the FIM Oceania Sidecar Championship is up for grabs, competitors are bound to bring their A game.
That’s exactly what they did when Oreti Park Speedway played host to the second and final round of the championship. The thirty degree heat was a true sign as to how hot the action would be on track.
The loyal Southland speedway fans were set to be treated to a world class display of sidecar racing, as the NZ National Anthem was sung, you could feel the anticipation of what was to come.
Current 2NZ Jamie Moohan and Patrick Larsen, lead the championship heading into this round and were being chased closely by locals James Douglas and Harley Biddle on the 1NZ bike, and the 3NZ of Paul Humphrey and Chris Chatfield.
The day couldn’t haven’t started any worse for Peter Adams and Graham Partridge from Auckland, a tape infringement saw them excluded from the first heat. Moohan and Larsen bagged the points, taking out that race.
A tight squeeze on the entry to turn one in the second heat saw all four bikes narrowly make it through. A fresh combination in the form of Taylor Green and Ricky Pubben took out the heat, over the extremely fast Craig Bowler and Anne Plummer. Russel Stewart and Callum Innes brought the 22G bike home in third while it was a DNF for Brett Moyle and Reuben Miller of Christchurch.
Erwin Tree and Nigel Cuckow’s reunion on the bike, could not have started better. They picked themselves up a win in heat three over the fierce combination of Pete Stephens and Stefan Burrow. Tyler Fisher and Ella Hurst-Whitworth, were called up from the reserves and pipped third place off Oreti Parks very own, Dallas Kelman and Brent Nicholson.
The 1NZ of Douglas and Biddle, battled their way to the front in the fourth heat, with their club mates Brad Sharp and Lance Jefcoate chasing them swiftly. Humphrey and Chatfield got mixed up with another bike, causing Bruce and Selwyn Savage to pull infield. The national champions ran away to convert this to a heat win.
Track conditions proved difficult with the heat in the Deep South, after a round of racing the decision was made to bring the grader out and create a better racing surface which would absorb more water.
Humphrey and Chatfield picked themselves up a win in heat five, while Boaler and Plummer, pipped the Moohan and Larsen combination for second place.
Green and Pubben continued their winning ways, taking out heat six. Bruce and Selwyn Savage played bridesmaid while Glenn Bagshaw and Nathaniel Jamieson came home in third, over the locals Tree and Cuckow.
Douglas and Biddle showed the pace of the 1NZ bike with a massive win in heat seven, by three seconds. Stephens and Burrow came home in second with Moyle and Miller leading home Moore Park Speedways Aaron Sullivan and Pete Rintoul.
A clean heat eight saw the win go to Sharp and Jefcoate before we took some time for the riders to catch their breath and water the track.
A reserve entry in the form of Jason Harpur and James Dawson got the call up, following Green and Pubben’s decision to pull out of the event.
The first massive upset of the day was seen in heat nine, Moohan and Larsen taking a DNF while Sharp and Jefcoate grabbed the win. A drag race to the finish line saw Harpur and Dawson knick second over Stephens and Burrow.
The 1NZ continued in its winning ways, with another win in heat ten. This time by two seconds over Boaler and Plummer, who certainly were not off the pace.
Stewart and Innes struck a warning for a tape infringement in heat eleven, we got underway eventually and they took the heat win over the Savage combination from Christchurch.
Humphrey and Chatfield made a mistake off the line in heat twelve, moving at the tapes. They threw the hand up and admitted this before taking the heat win after the restart. Adams and Partridge came home in second, with Tree and Cuckow in third.
The clubs 50/50 raffle was drawn at this point in time with a chunk of the funds raised going directly to Oreti Park Speedway’s very own, Aiden Thwaites and Shane Twiss, who were unfortunately injured at round one of the FIM Oceania Sidecar Championship.
Moohan and Larsen rode the 2NZ bike to victory in heat thirteen in a clean but fast ride. Oreti’s Humphrey and Chatfield picked up a win in heat fourteen also.
A tight heat fifteen was fought on track between Boaler and Plummer, and the 24i of Sharp and Jefcoate. The locals were unable to get the job done. Sullivan and Rintoul completed the podium, with Tree and Cuckow in fourth.
Peter Adams and Graham Partridge managed to snag a race win in heat sixteen over the 1NZ. Although it was the Harpur and Dawson combo who grabbed the fastest lap time of the race whilst in third place.
Panic mode was activated in the pits as a power outage struck the track, due to an accident in the area. This meant the power supply for the air fence had disappeared and slight hold up was on the cards. A far from ideal situation for the race fans soaking up the thirty degree heat.
Back to the track after our first points update of the afternoon, showing the 1NZ sitting on top over the 3NZ and 24i.
An untidy start to heat seventeen saw Douglas and Biddle come close to a standstill off the line, letting Moohan and Larsen run away with the win. The 1NZ held on for second over Stewart and Innes in third.
Sharp and Jefcoate had a late dive in heat eighteen, but it was too little, too late, as the visitors Kihikihi in the form of Bagshaw and Jamieson grabbed the win.
Two seconds was the margin Humphrey and Chatfield won by in heat nineteen, over the speedy reserve combination of Harpur and Dawson.
After consistent results all day Boaler and Plummer picked up a race win in heat twenty, Stephens and Burrow came home in second, before Adams and Partridge in third and the Savage’s in fourth.
That closed the curtain on the heat races for the FIM Oceania Sidecar Championship, it was time for the B Final.
Moohan and Larsen, Sharp and Jefcoate, Stewart and Innes, and Stephens and Burrow, were the bikes set to battle it out.
The 2NZ lead the field through lap one, with Sharp and Jefcoate knocking on their back door. Approaching the white flag the second place holders had a huge dive and managed to make it stick. The pair got tangled up on the last lap, causing Sharp and Jefcoate to spin and the Moohan and Larsen combination took the chequered flag.
This would mean they head directly to the A Final. Speedway New Zealand investigated the incident and called for a re-run of the event, with Moohan and Larsen being excluded for the contact.
After much debate, the race was re-run with Sharp and Jefcoate taking the win and heading through to the final race of the afternoon.
Top point scorers, Douglas and Biddle were set to start from gate one, with Humphrey and Chatfield, Boaler and Plummer, and the 24i of Brad Sharp and Lance Jefcoate filling the other gates.
The tapes flew up and the four of the best sidecars were unleashed.
A tight squeeze through the first two corners saw the 1NZ pop out in front. A battle started to unfold for second and third between the Humphrey and Chatfield combo and the 24i.
As the laps ticked down, the pressure was relieved as James Douglas and Harley Biddle collected the chequered flag. Humphrey and Chatfield came home second, with Sharp and Jefcoate in third, and the visitors from further north, Craig Boaler and Anne Plummer in fourth.
The bikes parked up on the infield while points were added up to crown the overall winner of the FIM Oceania Sidecar Championship.
After a massive day in the sun at Oreti Park Speedway, locals were treated to a victory lap and celebratory donuts from overall champions, James Douglas and Harley Biddle.
ARE YOU READY TO MAKE A MOVE?
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