Mag & Turbo Super Cup & Club Champs

It's great to have the spectacle and speed of methanol gulping, fire breathing Beasts of Speedway return in force to Heavy Trax Hire Central Motor Speedway on Saturday, February 20 for the penultimate round of the fiercely fought 20/21 Mag & Turbo Super Cup.

Fibreglass body panels give super saloons 'the look' of iconic Chev and Ford ‘Muscle Cars’, but these are in fact highly sophisticated race cars with complex space frame chassis, full race 700-800 horsepower plus V8's and all manner of other specialised parts, almost all imported from the USA. Understandably these cars don't come cheap ranging from around $70,000 upwards.

The news gets even better with last season’s Mag & Turbo super Cup second and third place-getters, Heavy Trax Hire Central Motor Speedway ‘t’ drivers Ray Stewart (34t) and Greig Johnston (77t) returning to scorch the Cromwell clay. Other ‘t’ drivers also competing in this South Island the only series is Paul Simon 7t) and father and son, 95t Owen and Kerry Dixon (225t).

Speedway at Central Motor speedway is of course all about having something for every fan. Saturday, February 20 is no exception.

At the opposite end of the cost and horsepower spectrum are Youth Ministocks, one of the most important and affordable classes for encouraging young driver participation in speedway. It's quite amazing that behind the wheel of these 1200cc miniature stock cars slithering and sliding around the track, and occasionally making contact, are 12 to 16 year old boys and girls.

On February 20 they’ll be going all out to win the 2021 Southland Youth Ministock Champs. This meeting is usually held at Riverside Speedway, but with the Invercargill track such a bad luck run of rain-caused cancellations, Central Motor Speedway offered to host the champs. This of course is a golden opportunity for our large number of young ‘t’ drivers to race without having to travel south. Much as go-karts were a feeder class for Formula 1 stars like Sir Lewis Hamilton, it’s the same with youth ministocks. Speedway champions like our own George Phillips, current saloon 2NZ and saloon 1NZGP, started out in youth ministocks. Importantly, learning to handle a car on clay teaches skills and spatial awareness that these young drivers can take on to busy public roads and highways.

Productions is one of two classes that youth ministock drivers tend to graduate to. The second is the open-wheel six-shooters. Around $2000 can buy a competitive production saloon which is basically a stripped out, roll-caged pretty much end of the road Honda, Subaru, Mitsubishi, Toyota, Nissan, BMW, Holden or Ford. With their Commodore V6 engines, six-shooters, aka Wingless Sprintcars, are surprisingly quick at getting around Cromwell's 500m avocado-shaped track. Just think how easy it is to get a speeding ticket in a Commodore car to appreciate how fast these open-wheelers can go.

Climbing up the cost ladder is the stockcar, the class that launched speedway. Not surprisingly more than a few male and female drivers take the leap from youth ministocks to these 1500kg purpose-built heavyweights with steel reinforcing wrapped around an engine (and driver) for the sole purpose of biff ‘n bash.

After thrilling crowds at the Wastech NZ Saloon GP on Waitangi Weekend, the saloon is back on Saturday, February 20 and like six-shooters, stockcars and sprint cars will be competing in the Club Championships. Sprintcars, also known as ‘Winged Demons’ are piloted by some of the south’s best drivers, so expect wheel to wheel action at eye-watering speeds.

Gates open at 2pm with racing at 4pm. Food stalls include the Lions Club serving amazing tasting hot dogs and for barbecue burgers head to the sizzling sounds outside the clubrooms. As always Mr Whippy will swirling ice creamy deliciousness.