Oval Superstars Tour
The Oval Superstars Tour (OST) is a speedway motorsport series that travels around the North Island of New Zealand annually. The tour travels to areas such as Wellington, Palmerston North, Stratford, Napier, Huntly and Kihikihi. Founded on 26 April 2013, the tour has completed three seasons and crowned three different champions. The tour is currently owned by Oval Superstars and is based in Upper Hutt, Wellington New Zealand.[1]
The premier event on the OST calendar is the Windy City Showdown held at Wellington Family Speedway annually. The event started in 2011 and was brought into the Oval Superstars Tour when the series launched in 2013. Palmerston North driver Christian Hermansen holds the record for the most wins with three in 2014, 2015 & 2016.
Oval Superstars class
The Oval Superstars Tour currently includes the Minisprint class.
Oval Superstars Tour Champions
| Year | Winner | Runner-up | 3rd place |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2013-14 | Cameron Hurley (Taranaki) | Shane Simpson (Wellington) | Sean Rice (Taranaki) |
| 2014-15 | Jade Barnett (Kihikihi) | Ben Vaughan (Rotorua) | Dean Cooper (Rotorua) |
| 2015-16 | Dean Cooper (P/North) | Ben Vaughan (Huntly) | Brittany Riddick (Taranaki) |
| 2016-17 | Christian Hermansen (P/North) | Jade Barnett (Kihikihi) | Dean Cooper (P/North) |
Oval Superstars Tour Wins
All figures correct as of the 2016-17 OST Napier
| Driver competed in the 2016-17 OST Season | |
| Bold | Oval Superstars Tour Champion |
| Rank | Country | Home Town | Driver | Wins | Seasons active | First win | Last win |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  New Zealand |
Palmerston North | Christian Hermansen | 9 | 2013– |
2013-14 Windy City Showdown | 2016-17 East Coast Clash |
| 2 | New Zealand |
Kihikihi | Jade Barnett | 5 | 2013– |
2013-14 Waikato Champs | 2015-16 Waikato War Final |
| 3 | New Zealand |
Kapiti | Jamie Larsen | 2 | 2013– |
2013-14 Western Stampede | 2015-16 Oval Open |
| 3 | New Zealand |
Taranaki | Shaun Dickie | 2 | 2013– |
2016-17 Western Springs | 2016-17 Windy City Showdown |
| 3 | New Zealand |
Taupo | Dean Cooper | 2 | 2014– |
2015-16 East Coast Clash | 2016-17 Waikato War Rnd 1 |
| 6 | New Zealand |
Palmerston North | Karl McGill | 1 | 2013– |
2014-15 Oval Open | |
| 6 | New Zealand |
Taranaki | Sean Rice | 1 | 2013–2014 |
2013-14 Oval Open | |
| 6 | New Zealand |
Palmerston North | Stephen Buys | 1 | 2013–2014 |
2013-14 Grand Final | |
Windy City Showdown
The Windy City Showdown is the premier event on the Oval Superstars Calendar and has been a part of the series since 2013. It has been hosted annually at Wellington Speedway in Te Marua, Upper Hutt. The event itself started in 2011 and annually attracts the nations best Minisprint drivers. The record number of entries for this event is 24 cars, achieved in 2013. Palmerston North driver Christian Hermansen holds the record for the most showdown title wins with three.
The 2016-17 Windy City Showdown 7 event saw Taranaki's Shaun Dickie win the title ahead of three time champion Hermansen, in a 23 car field.
| Year | Winner | Runner-up | 3rd place |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2010-11 | Jamie Larsen (P/North) | Declan Roe (P/North) | Shaun Cooke (Huntly) |
| 2011-12 | Stephen Taylor (Wellington) | James Hadley (Wellington) | Glen Shingleton (Wellington) |
| 2012-13 | Jamie Larsen (P/North) | Robert Orr (P/North) | Shane Simpson (Wellington) |
| 2013-14 | Christian Hermansen (P/North) | Shane Simpson (Wellington) | Jade Barnett (Kihikihi) |
| 2014-15 | Christian Hermansen (P/North) | Jade Barnett (Kihikihi) | Karl McGill (P/North) |
| 2015-16 | Christian Hermansen (P/North) | Jamie Larsen (P/North) | Shane Dewar (P/North) |
| 2016-17 | Shaun Dickie (Taranaki) | Christian Hermansen (P/North) | Jade Barnett (Kihikihi) |
Oval Superstars Hall of Fame
| Year | Hall of Famer |
|---|---|
| 2017 | Shaun Cooke (Hamilton) |
Awards and nominations
| Year | Award | Category | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | New Zealand Speedway Awards | Individual Event of the Year | Finalist |
| 2016 | New Zealand Speedway Awards | Series of the Year | Finalist |
| 2016 | New Zealand Speedway Awards | Article of the Year | Finalist |
| 2014 | New Zealand Speedway Awards | Website of the Year | Finalist |
References
- ↑ "Speedway". History. Retrieved 27 June 2016.
- ↑ "Championship History". Oval Superstars. Retrieved 26 June 2016.
- ↑ "Windy City Showdown Championship History". Oval Superstars. Retrieved 27 June 2016.
- ↑ "Oval Superstars Awards". Oval Superstars Facebook. Retrieved 27 June 2016.
- ↑ "Oval Superstars Awards". Oval Superstars Facebook. Retrieved 27 June 2016.