Modified Sprints were the headline act at Central Motor Speedway’s Golden Club Night, a field of fourteen cars were entered from Nelson, Ruapuna, Beachlands and Riverside and were set to run three heats and a feature final.

These pints sized machines, chain driven and powered by motor cycle engines always put on a show in Cromwell and this event would prove to be no different at all with action unfolding in the warm up laps before the meeting had even begun with Christchurch driver Shane Tonkin having a roll over which would see him out for the event.

The first heat for Modified Sprints saw Christchurch’s Courtney Jones get off to a flying start and make a gap on her rivals, this would be short lived however as fellow Ruapuna driver Brendon Hopkins rolled in turn two, resulting in a restart.

As the race went back to green Jones again got down to business, Liam Astle of Christchurch gave chase but he soon had to contend with Riverside’s Jayden Fraser who started at the back of the pack and was making ground fast.

Fraser would get to Astle and make the move into second place but the race went the way of Jones, Fraser second and Astle home in third.

Heat two started messy, both Jones and Christchurch’s Clayton Phillips had a coming together in turn two of the first lap, both cars managed to continue but the race was called to restart as debris was found on the main straight.

The race would go green once more, and Fraser it was who got to the front and pulled away from the pack, behind him was a great battle between Harry McIntyre  and Astle with Nelson driver Gus Dawson in the mix. The race looked won and done by Fraser but with the white flag out indicating the last lap Dawson’s car shot infield with a ball of flames shooting out from underneath bringing the race to a halt.

At the restart Fraser again took control collecting the white flag once more and looking like he would bag his first win of the night, unfortunately Astle would come unstuck in turn two and Ruapuna clubmate Hayden Kedzlie would make solid contact forcing another restart.

Green again and a two lap sprint, this time around Fraser would make it home first for the win, McIntyre second with Jones doing a great job to secure third.

The third and final heat would determine the grid for the fifteen lap feature final, most points from the three heats grabbing pole.

Again the standout drive was from Fraser who was patient, picking off cars with little risk to again get to the front of the pack, unfortunately this race would also have a caution period due to a nasty rollover by Christchurch driver Nathan Hsylett who went over in turn three.

As the race restarted Fraser would dominate and bag the second win of the night ahead of McIntyre and Jones once more.

This would now set up the feature final, Fraser was always going to be tough to beat off the front row of the grid, and with a number of cars that started the evening all parked in the pits with damage traffic wouldn’t be too much of an issue. 

For the fans it was great to see the Modified Sprints in full flight in this race, with no cautions just good fast racing, and Fraser once he managed to shake off McIntyre would race off to win the feature with ease, almost half a lap over his rivals putting in a dominant performance to claim the event. Second went the way of McIntyre with Jones getting herself up to third place.

There was also action a plenty in the Youth Ministocks with the first race only lasting half a lap before Cromwell drivers Paige McNally and Jess Evans had a coming together down the back straight, at the restart Brooke Marshall was hit causing her to spin up in turn two, leading now to a third attempt of starting the race.

This time around when the flag dropped it was Joshua McIntyre who led them off and would remain unchallenged, pulling away from the pack to win race one. A great battle behind McIntyre between Cooper Arkell and Lachie Campbell Tate would be the first of many involving these two young drivers, Arkell claiming second with Campbell Tate third.

Race two was a brilliant race to watch, McIntyre started down the pack and would work his way through, while Arkell was up front and raced off to a commanding lead. Arkell looked a safe bet to bag his first race win but on the very last lap McIntyre took a dive down the inside of Arkell to claim his second win of the night, Arkell had to settle for second place while back in third was McNally who had also impressed from further back in the pack.

The third and final race and one notable absentee was McIntyre who suffered fueling issues putting him out of the race. This would now give the likes of McNally, Arkell and Campbell Tate a little extra incentive as a race win was well and truly on offer.

Campbell Tate was quickest out of the blocks and looked in control but Arkell never backed off at all, holding his lines well and remaining patient before making a move that would see him snatch the lead and ultimately the race win. Campbell Tate never gave up but couldn’t get the lead back, Arkell claiming first, Campbell Tate second and Marshall third. Overall points for the event went the way of Arkell, Campbell Tate second and McNally third.

Production Saloons went down to the wire, it was a small field but certainly a field that would produce some great battles.

Heat one saw Cromwell’s James Woods race off to an early lead only to fall back into the hands of clubmate Steven “Socks” Nicholas. Woods also came under fire from Cromwell driver Sam McKenzie but when the flag fell it was Nicholas who would claim the win, Woods held onto second with McKenzie third.