Emerson keeps clear of carnage to claim NI title

Former Palmerston North driver Brent Emerson stayed clear of the mayhem to add the North Island title to his national super saloon championship at Arena Manawatu on Saturday night.

But the rough-and-tumble driving by many competitors showed why saloon cars have had a meagre following in Palmerston North in recent times and few fansturn up.

The first race took a long time, being stopped five times to remove cars from the track.

At times the driving is more like stockcar racing as drivers nudge each other or use their front bumpers to push those ahead of them.

The biggest disappointment at the Robertson Holden Speedway was Emerson's main sparring opponent, national No2 Shane McIntyre. He came to a halt in the first heat with a flat tyre while leading Emerson, putting him out of the running.

Although Emerson, now racing out of Baypark, went into the third and final heat three points behind Hawke's Bay's Steve Flynn, he was favourite after only he and McIntyre were able to pass other cars on the slick track.

With Flynn starting the third race from the back, Emerson just sat in fourth place, knowing it would give him a two-point win.

The major surprise of the Quin's Building and Roofing championship was Wellington's Paul Hodson finishing third. He stayed clear of the carnage in every race and when it appeared he would have a runoff for third with Mt Maunganui's Craig Cardwell, Cardwell was relegated two places in the final heat.

Wade Savage won't forget Saturday in a hurry after a brilliant drive to hold off one of the country's hottest sprintcar drivers, Nelson Hartley, to grab his first win in the class. Savage usually sits at the back of the field as the others clear away, but off pole he drove a superb race, not putting a foot wrong.

It was back to normal in the feature, though, with Hartley winning by half a lap and almost lapping Savage as he had done in the first race.

Gary Davis kept up his impressive form, winning two of the three races, including the feature when the stockcars raced alongside the quicker superstocks. Alec Wilson won the other race after being dogged by flat tyres earlier in the night.

Taylor Lampp had to wait until the feature to win his first race of the night, after being placed in the previous two races. It wasn't all plain sailing, though, with Lampp having a close, race-long battle with Duncan Small and Chevron Taniwha. The other races went to Stewart Rackhan and Ricky Garth.

With a big field of 31, those off the front had the advantage, and after more than half the field was held up when Brendon Tye spun on the first corner, the race was left to Rob Miers, Gary Davis and Rob Mason.

A dialled-in Davis proved too strong and easily won from Mason and Miers.

After battling two flat tyres in the first race, Alec Wilson scorched to a good win in an incident-free second race, beating Craig Healey and Jordan Dare into the minor placings.

In the feature, Gary Davis stayed clear of the flying superstocks to narrowly beat George Frear and Rob Miers home for his second win of the night.

- © Fairfax NZ News