Photo: Aiden Thwaites and Bruce McLean 58iThey've staked a claim on everything from Phar Lap to pavlova – now the Australians have set their sights on our national sidecar championship crown.
Former world champions Darrin Treloar and Justin Plaisted are jetting across the Tasman to compete in the Dig-it Earthmoving New Zealand Sidecar Championships, to be staged at Oreti Park Speedway, near Invercargill, this weekend.
If their form at the inaugural trans-Tasman Sidecar GP Series earlier this year is anything to go by, the pair will undoubtedly be a dominant force.
But leading the quest to keep the title on New Zealand soil are defending champions Les Plummer and Kervin Demanser, of Gisborne, and the 2NZ pairing of Russell Stuart and Andy Parker, of Palmerston North.
The event is being staged in Southland for the first time in 19 years and Plummer rated the Oreti Park circuit highly.
“It's a great track – it would be one of the best tracks in the country. It's just a pity it's in the wrong place – it should be a mile down the road from my house,” he said.
He admits he's rather attached to the 1NZ plate and won't be giving it up without a fight.
“It's going to be a great weekend of racing – there's a lot of good outfits coming down and, with the Australians in the mix, it will be tight,” Plummer said.
“My plan it to keep my mouth shut, stay out of trouble and just concentrate on the starts. In a four lap race you haven't got much time so the starts are very important.”
Stuart agreed. “ If you can get your nose in front for a lap or two, there's a good chance you'll stay there,” he said.
“He (Treloar) is extremely fast – it will all depend on how we can foot it with them as to whether we are up there or not.”
3NZ duo Derek Ramsay and Tony Hislop, also of Palmerston North, feature among the podium contenders, along with freshly crowned North Island champions Mike Zachen and Paul Humphrey and Southland's own Fraser Gillespie and Daniel Uitentuis.
Gillespie's bike was tuned to the Oreti circuit and he hoped home turf would prove an advantage.
“You always want to perform well in front of a home crowd and I'm sure Southlanders will be out in force to watch such an exciting field battle it out,” he said.
Gillespie and Uitentuis along with a further eleven local combinations will relish the chance to race against the impressive 34-strong field.
Qualifying starts at 3pm on Friday with finals racing from 5pm on Saturday.
In the solo ranks, 16 competitors will contest the Brian Reed Memorial Trophy with Oreti Park’s Grant Tregoning aiming to claim the trophy for the fourth consecutive time. Junior Solo and Classic races will be held during Friday's qualifying.
