Speedway starts season with a hiss and a roar

Huntly Speedway commentator and journalism student, Gabriel Bowen, reports the latest event to come to Huntly Speedway.

Tonight, Huntly Speedway is swinging the gates open for the first time this season when they hold their annual fireworks display.

The event is expected to attract over 2000 attendees with everybody interested in attending the only “Fireworks display” in the Waikato region, urged to leave earlier than usual to avoid missing out on the event.

“We try to make it all about the families,” says vice-president Fiona Wallbank regarding why the crowd numbers are always big. 

“We encourage our fans to bring a picnic and a few beverages to enjoy fireworks in a safe environment, all while watching speedway which they might not have seen before”.

While the event is one of the biggest on the speedway calendar for the club, that doesn’t mean it’s an easy event to pull off.

“There is a lot of stuff we have to do for an event like this,” says Wallbank. 

“We have our guys Van Tiel Pyrotechnics who give us a plan as to what they want to let off for the night, then we have to apply for multiple permits”.

“On the day, we have to rope off safe areas around the premises (given we are next to a road) which are manned by people just before we let off the fireworks”.

Racing for the event begins at 6pm, with gates opening to the public at 4pm, with the fireworks expected once the sky is dark enough.

The classes that will feature throughout the night will be: Superstocks, Stockcars, Modifieds, Production Saloons, Ministocks, Golden Oldies – Historic Stockcars and Saloons.

For more information including prices, head over to Huntly Speedway website here.