Oreti Park at full-throttle

Oreti Park Speedway marked its 50th milestone with all the thrills the country’s southern-most speedway could ask for.

Stunning weather helped set the celebratory mood with a grand parade sparking off the event at the Otatara track last Saturday.

Newfield Autos supported the meeting and a host of grades battled it out to win commemorative silverware, and pay tribute to the club.

Oreti Park Speedway secretary Selina Cracknell said people travelled from Christchurch and Auckland for the event.

"There’s a guy here named Dave Mackenzie who sponsored the event and he was here when the track opened 50 years ago, so that’s pretty cool."

Volunteer Kirstin Russell said speedway was in her blood. Her late father was a regular participant and she stayed connected to the Oreti speedway because "it was like another family" to her.

"I love seeing the kids participate. There’s a boy here who’s riding and he’s got Lightning McQueen on his bike.

"This speedway is the only one of its kind where competitors don’t use their brakes, so it takes a lot of skill for those kids who are old enough to compete without using their brakes," she said.

Sidecar and solo grades, as well as the junior divisions, classic grades and the new flat tracker grade went full throttle with spectators cheering on their favourite riders.

 - By Nina Tapu