Dirt track racing in New Zealand
Encyclopedia
Speedway is a popular type of motorsport
Motorsport
Motorsport or motorsports is the group of sports which primarily involve the use of motorized vehicles, whether for racing or non-racing competition...

 that takes place on oval tracks in New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...

. A number of tracks throughout the country provide regular racing programs and sanctioned racing series. The seasons tend to be from November to April.

Types of event

There are several types of event in New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...

 speedway including
  • championship meetings
  • stockcar teams racing
  • demolition derby
    Demolition derby
    Demolition derby is a motorsport usually presented at county fairs and festivals. While rules vary from event to event, the typical demolition derby event consists of five or more drivers competing by deliberately ramming their vehicles into one another...

    s
  • regular club and local points meetings.


Some types of racing (such as figure 8 racing
Figure 8 racing
Figure 8 racing is a form of racing that combines elements of oval racing, demolition derby, and road racing.-Track:Racing is done on a track shaped like an 8. The cars cross paths at the center of the 8, which is known as the "crossover". Because of this layout, crashes are inevitable...

) are banned by Speedway New Zealand, but are run from time to time by independent promoters.

Classes

The classes that race at New Zealand tracks include
  • 1/4 midgets
    Quarter Midget racing
    Quarter Midget racing is a form of automobile racing. The cars are approximately one quarter the size of a full size midget car. The adult size midget being raced during the start of quarter midget racing, used an oval track of one fifth of a mile in length. The childs quarter midget track is one...

     (Kiwi Kidz)
  • Sprint cars
    Sprint car racing
    Sprint cars are high-powered race cars designed primarily for the purpose of running on short oval or circular dirt or paved tracks. Sprint car racing is popular in the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa....

  • Midget cars
    Midget car racing
    Midget cars, also Speedcars in Australia, are very small race cars with a very high power-to-weight ratio and typically use four-cylinder engines.-Cars:Typically, these cars have 300 to 400 horsepower and weigh...

  • Three quarter (TQ) midgets
  • Superstocks
    Superstocks
    Previously known as A Grade Stockcars, Superstocks are a premier class of New Zealand speedway . Cars are built from the chassis upwards with strong roll cages designed to protect the drivers...

  • Stockcars
  • Super saloons
  • Saloons
  • Production saloon
  • Streetstocks
  • Modifieds
  • Ministocks
    Ministock (New Zealand)
    Ministocks are a class of car raced at many New Zealand speedway tracks. Ministocks are primarily youth grade but at some tracks are raced as an adult class. Ministocks are not currently a 'recognized' class in New Zealand; this means they are not able to run big championships in the North, South,...

     (adult and youth)
  • Minisprints
  • Solos
  • Sidecars
  • Youth Saloons*

  • Youth Saloons are exclusive to Riverside Speedway in Invercargill

North Island

Track Name |Location | Type | Classes
Baypark (Bluechip Speedway) Mount Maunganui
Mount Maunganui
Mount Maunganui is a town in the Bay of Plenty, New Zealand, located on a peninsula to the north of Tauranga. It was independent from Tauranga until the completion of the Tauranga Harbour Bridge in 1988....

470 meter clay oval Super Saloons, Saloons, Stockcars, Mini Stocks, Sprintcars
Gisborne Awapuni
Awapuni, Gisborne
Awapuni is a suburb of the New Zealand city of Gisborne, and is located in the southwest of the city. It is named after the Awapuni lagoon, where the Waipaoa River runs into the ocean....

 Speedway
Gisborne
Gisborne, New Zealand
-Economy:The harbour was host to many ships in the past and had developed as a river port to provide a more secure location for shipping compared with the open roadstead of Poverty Bay which can be exposed to southerly swells. A meat works was sited beside the harbour and meat and wool was shipped...

390 m. clay oval Production Saloons, Stockcars, Ministocks, Super Saloons, Saloons, Streetstocks, Three Quarter Midgets, Sidecars, Solos
Huntly Placemakers Speedway Huntly
Huntly, New Zealand
Huntly is a town in the Waikato region of the North Island of New Zealand. It is on State Highway 1, 93 kilometres south of Auckland and 35 kilometres north of Hamilton. It is situated on the North Island Main Trunk Railway and straddles the Waikato River.Huntly was called Rahui Pokeka when...

380 m. clay oval Modifieds, Minisprints, Super Saloons, Saloons, Production Saloons, Superstocks, Stockcars, Ministocks
McDonalds Kihikihi Speedway Kihikihi
Kihikihi
Kihikihi is a small town located in the Waikato region of the North Island of New Zealand. It is a satellite community of Te Awamutu, five kilometres to the north, and is 35 kilometres south of Hamilton...

400 m. clay oval Superstocks, Stockcars, Ministocks, Streetstocks, Saloons, Production Saloons, Sidecars, Minisprints
Meremere Dirt Track Raceway Meremere
Meremere
Meremere is a small town in the northern Waikato region in the North Island of New Zealand. It is located on the east bank of the Waikato River, 50 kilometres north of Hamilton....

dirt triangular oval Hot Rods, Modified Sports, Saloons
Napier Auto Supplies Meeanee Speedway Meeanee, Napier
Napier, New Zealand
Napier is a New Zealand city with a seaport, located in Hawke's Bay on the eastern coast of the North Island. The population of Napier is about About 18 kilometres south of Napier is the inland city of Hastings. These two neighboring cities are often called "The Twin Cities" or "The Bay Cities"...

400 m. lime/clay oval Dwarfs, Super Saloons, Saloons, Sidecars, Superstocks, Stockcars, Ministocks, Streetstocks, Three Quarter Midgets
Northlands Speedway Whangarei
Whangarei
Whangarei, pronounced , is the northernmost city in New Zealand and the regional capital of Northland Region. Although commonly classified as a city, it is officially part of the Whangarei District, administered by the Whangarei District Council a local body created in 1989 to administer both the...

dirt oval Saloons, Stockcars
Ocean View Speedway Wanganui
Wanganui
Whanganui , also spelled Wanganui, is an urban area and district on the west coast of the North Island of New Zealand. It is part of the Manawatu-Wanganui region....

344 m. clay oval Production Saloons, Sidecars, Superstocks, Stockcars, Mini Stocks
Palmerston North International Speedway Palmerston North
Palmerston North
Palmerston North is the main city of the Manawatu-Wanganui region of the North Island of New Zealand. It is an inland city with a population of and is the country's seventh largest city and eighth largest urban area. Palmerston North is located in the eastern Manawatu Plains near the north bank...

434 m. clay/lime oval Super Saloons, Saloons, Superstocks, Stockcars, Ministocks, Street Stocks, Sprintcars, Minisprints, 'Boy Racers'
Hydraulink's Paradise Valley Raceway Rotorua
Rotorua
Rotorua is a city on the southern shores of the lake of the same name, in the Bay of Plenty region of the North Island of New Zealand. The city is the seat of the Rotorua District, a territorial authority encompassing the city and several other nearby towns...

365 m. clay/lime oval Minisprints, Modifieds, Production Saloons, Saloons, Superstocks, Stockcars, Streetstocks, Youth Ministocks
Rangeview Speedway Waharoa
Waharoa
Waharoa is a rural community in New Zealand.Waharoa is the railway junction of the Kinleith Branch railway with the East Coast Main Trunk Railway.State Highway 27 runs through the town.-Schools:...

clay oval Formula 500s, Minisprints, Mini Stocks, Saloons
Rosebank Domain Avondale, Auckland
Avondale, Auckland
Avondale is a suburb of Auckland, New Zealand, located in the Whau ward, one of the thirteen administrative divisions for the Auckland Council. It is commonly considered to be part of West Auckland. It was originally called "Te Whau", which is the common name, of Māori origin, for Entelea...

320 m. clay oval Sidecars, Solos, 1/4 Midgets
Springs Speedway
Western Springs Stadium
Western Springs Stadium is an entertainment venue in Auckland, New Zealand, that consists of a natural amphitheatre. During the winter it is used for club rugby union matches and over summer it is used for speedway. It is also occasionally used for large music concerts and festivals.Western Springs...

Western Springs
Western Springs
Western Springs is a residential suburb and park in the west of the city of Auckland in the north of New Zealand. It is located four kilometres to the west of the city centre, situated to the north of State Highway 16....

, Auckland
Auckland
The Auckland metropolitan area , in the North Island of New Zealand, is the largest and most populous urban area in the country with residents, percent of the country's population. Auckland also has the largest Polynesian population of any city in the world...

428 m. slightly-banked clay oval Midgets, Three Quarter Midgets, Sprintcars, 1/4 Midgets
Stratford International Speedway Stratford
Stratford, New Zealand
Stratford is the only town in the central Taranaki district of Stratford District, New Zealand. It lies beneath the eastern slopes of Mount Taranaki/Egmont, approximately half-way between New Plymouth and Hawera, near the geographic centre of the Taranaki region. The town has a population of...

380 m. papa mudstone oval Midgets, Modifieds, Super Saloons, Saloons, Superstocks, Stockcars, Mini Stocks, Street Stocks
Waikaraka Park Onehunga
Onehunga
Onehunga is a suburb of Auckland City, New Zealand and the location of the Port of Onehunga, the city's small port on the Manukau Harbour. It is eight kilometres south of the city centre, close to the volcanic cone of One Tree Hill, Maungakiekie....

, Auckland
Auckland
The Auckland metropolitan area , in the North Island of New Zealand, is the largest and most populous urban area in the country with residents, percent of the country's population. Auckland also has the largest Polynesian population of any city in the world...

450 m. clay oval Modifieds, Super Saloons, Saloons, Stockcars, Super Stocks, Street Stocks, Minisprints, Ministocks
Max Motors Upper Hutt Family Speedway Wellington
Wellington
Wellington is the capital city and third most populous urban area of New Zealand, although it is likely to have surpassed Christchurch due to the exodus following the Canterbury Earthquake. It is at the southwestern tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Rimutaka Range...

385 m. clay/sand/lime oval Modifieds, Sprintcars, Super Saloons, Saloons, Superstocks, Youth Mini Stocks, Stockcars, Streetstocks, Production Saloons.

South Island

Track Name |Location | Type | Classes
Central Motor Speedway Cromwell
Cromwell, New Zealand
Cromwell is a town in Central Otago in the Otago region of New Zealand.It is situated between State Highway 6 and State Highway 8 leading to the Lindis Pass, 75 km northeast, and Alexandra, 33 km south. The road to Alexandra winds through the Cromwell Gorge...

446 m. clay oval Midgets, Saloons, Sidecars, Stockcars, Mini Stocks
Eastern States Speedway Blenheim
Blenheim, New Zealand
Blenheim is the most populous town in the region of Marlborough, in the north east of the South Island of New Zealand, and the seat of the regional council. It has a population of The area which surrounds the town is well known as a centre of New Zealand's wine industry...

420 m. clay oval Super Saloons, Saloons, Production Saloons, Superstocks, Stockcars, Streetstocks, Ministocks, Sprintcars, Modifieds, Sidecars
Greenstone Park Speedway Greymouth
Greymouth
Greymouth is the largest town in the West Coast region in the South Island of New Zealand, and the seat of the Grey District Council. The population of the whole Grey District is , which accounts for % of the West Coast's inhabitants...

403 m. clay oval Modifieds, Saloons, Stockcars, Mini Stocks, Street Stocks, Three Quarter Midgets
Island Park Motor Speedway Waldronville 408 m. clay oval Saloons, Stockcars, Mini Stocks, Street Stocks, Three Quarter Midgets
Riverside Raceway Invercargill 410 m. clay/crusher dust/lime oval Midgets, Saloons, Stockcars, Standard Stocks, Street Stocks, Sprintcars, Youth saloons, production saloons, Modified Sprintcars
Ruapuna Speedway Christchurch
Christchurch
Christchurch is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand, and the country's second-largest urban area after Auckland. It lies one third of the way down the South Island's east coast, just north of Banks Peninsula which itself, since 2006, lies within the formal limits of...

406 m. & 205 m. clay ovals Midgets, Three Quarter Midgets, Solos, Sidecars, Sprintcars, Modified Sprints
Top of the South Speedway Nelson
Nelson, New Zealand
Nelson is a city on the eastern shores of Tasman Bay, and is the economic and cultural centre of the Nelson-Tasman region. Established in 1841, it is the second oldest settled city in New Zealand and the oldest in the South Island....

343 m. clay oval Midgets, Three Quarter Midgets, Modifieds, Super Saloons, Sidecars, Stockcars, Street Stocks, Superstocks, Production Saloons
Wishart Raceway North Beach 296 m. crushed mudstone oval Saloons, Solos, Mini Stocks, Street Stocks
Woodford Glen Speedwayhttp://www.woodfordglen.co.nz/index.htm Kaiapoi
Kaiapoi
Kaiapoi is a town in the Canterbury region of the South Island of New Zealand, located close to the mouth of the Waimakariri River, and approximately 17 kilometres north of Christchurch....

410 m. clay mix oval Modifieds, Saloons, Stockcars, Mini Stocks, Super Stocks, Street Stocks

External links

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