It might not have been a Jake the Muss kinda bash, but the New Zealand Burnout Championship’s latest WinterBash at Placemakers Huntly Speedway sure dealt some old-fashioned damage, in the best possible way — the carefree destruction of tyres, eardrums, and a few unfortunate rotating assemblies.
Representing the second round of the second NZBC season, Huntly saw returning competitors looking to rack up their points on the NZBC Points Board, and more casual entrants looking for some cheap thrills. As an established speedway, the Huntly venue also meant it was more than capable of supporting the massive list of entrants, and masses of spectators who made the journey over. The NZBC series has obviously grown leaps and bounds in the last year, with Mr NZBC, aka Ricky Ireland, commenting that they had to decline around 30-odd entries, due to far greater numbers than expected.
With a forecast of clear skies in the lead-up to the event, the unexpected onslaught of rain on the day was an unwelcome surprise. At least the day began with a clear window of summer-esque sunlight, for a practice round that highlighted exactly why we love these competitions. Plenty of sun, tough engines being put to work, and, of course, that sweet, sweet tyre smoke!
Unfortunately, just as the qualifying round kicked off, the weather took a turn for the worse, drenching the pad and coming back for more every time it looked like drying out. This completely skewed the playing field, and the organizers made the tough call to turn the day into an exhibition, so as not to unfairly bias the scorecards in favour of those who were lucky enough to get a dry pad.
Hey, it was still an awesome day out, and while there are sure to be a few disappointed competitors out there, we all know that the weather is one thing nobody has yet figured out how to change. The third NZBC round of this season will be the Masterton Mayhem, held at Masterton Motorplex on October 21.
