The sound of speedway cranks up again at Weedons Ross road West Melton on Saturday the 20th December at 5pm.

The twilight meeting is the final one for the 08 calendar year and represents the last opportunity for a number of competitors to dial in, before they embark to Palmerston North in the New Year. The under 21, NZ solo and NZ sidecar championships are all being held over one weekend, 2nd and 3rd of January. 

Ronnie’s Xmas Classics features separate races for the older more conventional upright bikes, the tradition in speedway racing before they tilted the engine forward and laid it down. Some of these guys can still turn the wheels at a quick clip. Special discounted one day licences have been approved by the committee to get some more of the “good old boys” back on the track. While the classics run with the other junior and sidecar support races, the CMSC will host a team’s event. Canterbury will meet Southland and race over a thirteen heat format. 

There is plenty of talent in both teams with John Tuffley, Grant Tregoning, Jamie Moohan and Alex Cunningham looking to upstage the local team. Canterbury will be relying on the veteran’s Larry Ross and Craig Blackett to organise the younger home team. Andrew Aldridge and Kody Tocher will back them up. 

The beauty of the challenge is that some of the young or less experienced riders can play a part. Southland will work into their seven man team James Miller, Matt Smith and Ryan Moss. Canterbury on the other hand has included John Ross, Cory Lang and first year senior rider, Adam Wilson. With Tregoning, Aldridge and Cunningham having raced in England last year, being part of a winning team will boost the confidence and look good on the CV.

Support racing will see for the first time a trail run of a “Speedcross” class. Speedway on a conventional motor cross bike with only a tyre change permitted and standard motor cross set up. Entry to speedway racing is a little easier for the juniors as the CMSC has its own junior bikes available for training. It is not so for an adult to break into the sport without purchasing or borrowing a bike. “There are hundreds of motor cross bikes around the country, and age of the machinery does not matter too much if you just want to have fun.

Balance, throttle control and rider ability will be tested” said CMSC media spokesman, Warrick Korstanje. “We are a motorcycle club and we want to see more people on the track. If one or two of these boys get the hang of it, they might consider joining the solo ranks”. “Depending on the future interest and how it looks on the day, they may be included as a local supporting club class in the future”.

“We need more support across the board if we want to maintain and grow our two main speedway classes” he said. Junior solos and sidecars will also be racing at the meeting with a 5pm start.