ROAD NEWS
FORMULA AUCKLAND RETURNS UNDER COVID LEVEL-2
Story : Philip Kavermann
Right : England ’ s Richard Cooper leads Whakatane ’ s Mitch Rees around Whanganui ’ s Cemetery Circuit on Boxing Day last year
T here were logistical challenges , but Sunday September 20 saw a return of road-racing at Hampton Downs , albeit under a raft of extraordinary protocols to adhere to the regulations required by both MNZ and Hampton Downs ; for racing to occur under a Level 2 lockdown for Covid-19 . These protocols included restricted entry . Besides the officials and marshals , entry was restricted to the rider with a single support person . These names had to be pre-advised , and were checked at the gate . If you were not on the list , you could not get in . There were no entries-on-the-day permitted . The pit area was split into two separate parts – with competitors allocated a specific pit area to allow social distancing , and to prevent a gathering exceeding 100 people . There were no food outlets allowed to be open ; and no spectators allowed – although the creative race fans did show up to watch the racing from outside the circuit , along the fence-line next to the kart track . And good on them ; as they got to see an enjoyable days racing . If somewhat punctuated by red flags . Maybe it was “ firstday ” excitement ; or perhaps just one-ofthose-days that happen sometimes . The day had started out wet , and all practice / qualifying sessions were held on a well-damp track . But as the day progressed , conditions kept getting better , to the point where Daniel
Mettam was throwing his superbike around like a 600 , in the 1:04 second bracket . Mettam dominated Formula Auckland , which made a successful return to the AMCC program under Level-2 lockdown . Jaden Hassan made for a perfect sparring partner , and the two former NZSBK champions put on a great show ; as the cream of the Senior category . Across all classes there were a range of familiar and new faces , and this reflected in the results . The revised category structure for AMCC this season has seen a new combination of classes across Senior , Intermediate and Junior - and this mix is proving very successful . This was most apparent in the Senior category , where Dave Sharp had invested quite some effort in encouraging a number of trackday riders to extend their track riding experience by coming and having a crack at road-racing . It ’ s safe to say these riders had the largest smiles on their faces at the end of the day . Despite some short stoppages for the red flags , four rounds of racing were delivered , meaning anyone who was running two classes – and this was a number of competitors - was looking at well in excess of 60 laps on track , across the day .
KIWI RIDER 93