Oval Superstars Tour

Last updated
Oval Superstars Tour
OST Logo 2018-19 Orange on Black.jpg
Category Dirt track racing
Country New Zealand
Tyre suppliersHoosier & American Racer
Drivers' champion Flag of New Zealand.svg Shane Dewar
Teams' champion Flag of New Zealand.svg Dewtec Motorsport
Official website http://www.ovalsuperstars.co.nz
Motorsport current event.svg Current season

The Oval Superstars Tour (also known as OST) is a New Zealand based dirt track racing series, with championship rounds held throughout the North Island. Founded in 2013, the tour has grown to become a consistent fixture on the New Zealand Speedway calendar.

Contents

Heading into its eighth season in 2020–21, the tour had five different champions in five years, before Shane Dewar went back to back in the last two tours.

Origins

The proposal for a national series for the Minisprint class of Speedway in New Zealand was originally conceived at the end of the 2012–13 season. There was an obvious need for a more organised calendar of events for the class in order to promote it further. The drivers, then, supported the idea and soon the concept of what could be achieved was in circulation. The following season the Oval Superstars Tour was launched, staging five events throughout the North Island.

Sporting regulations

The OST is run at venues licensed by Speedway New Zealand, the major governing body of Speedway in NZ.

Race day format

In most cases, an OST event consists of the field of cars being split into three even groups. There are three qualifying heats to sort the grid for the Main Event. In each heat, two groups will take part, with the grids ordered to give all drivers a fair chance across the night. As an example, Heat One is Group 1 & 2, Heat Two is Group 1 & 3 & Heat Three is Group 2 & 3. Drivers receive grid points for the race results, with first place taking 24, second 23, third 22 and so on.

After qualification, driver's grids for the Main Event are determined by their grid points, with the highest points scorers starting at the front. Main Events are usually 20 laps in distance, except for the tour's annual premier event—the Windy City Showdown, which is competed for over 30 laps.

Championship points system

Drivers will earn championship points in heat races if they finish inside the top 10 positions, or in the Main Event if they finished inside the top 12. All drivers arriving at an event also receive 15 bonus points regardless of finishing position.

  1. Heat points: 1st: 15, 2nd: 12, 3rd: 10, 4th: 8, 5th: 6, 6th: 5, 7th: 4, 8th: 3, 9th: 2, 10th: 1
  2. Main Event points: 1st: 25, 2nd: 18, 3rd: 15, 4th: 12, 5th: 10, 6th: 8, 7th: 6, 8th: 5, 9th: 5, 10th: 3, 11th: 2, 12th: 1

Cars

The Oval Superstars Tour currently includes the Minisprint class.

Records

Champions

Season
WinnerRace No.Chassis & EngineSecond PlaceThird Place
2020–21 Flag of New Zealand.svg Elliot Heron72hBreka - Toyota Flag of New Zealand.svg Cameron Hurley Flag of New Zealand.svg Dylan Smith
2019–20 Flag of New Zealand.svg Shane Dewar1NZHyper - Toyota Flag of New Zealand.svg Elliot Heron Flag of New Zealand.svg Dylan Smith
2018–19 Flag of New Zealand.svg Shane Dewar2NZHyper - Toyota Flag of New Zealand.svg Ben Vaughan Flag of New Zealand.svg Christian Hermansen
2017–18 Flag of New Zealand.svg Karl McGill93pTerminator - Toyota Flag of New Zealand.svg Shane Dewar Flag of New Zealand.svg Lydia Dickinson
2016–17 Flag of New Zealand.svg Christian Hermansen1NZTerminator - Toyota Flag of New Zealand.svg Jade Barnett Flag of New Zealand.svg Dean Cooper
2015–16 Flag of New Zealand.svg Dean Cooper2NZBreka - Toyota Flag of New Zealand.svg Ben Vaughan Flag of New Zealand.svg Brittany Riddick
2014–15 Flag of New Zealand.svg Jade Barnett37kBarnett - Nissan Flag of New Zealand.svg Ben Vaughan Flag of New Zealand.svg Dean Cooper
2013–14 Flag of New Zealand.svg Cameron Hurley82sCool - Nissan Flag of New Zealand.svg Shane Simpson Flag of New Zealand.svg Sean Rice

Oval Superstars Tour Wins

All figures correct end of 2019–20 season.

Key
BoldOval Superstars Tour Champion
OST Main Event Winners
RankCountryDriverWinsActive
1Flag of New Zealand.svg  New Zealand Christian Hermansen122013–19
2Flag of New Zealand.svg  New Zealand Jade Barnett52013–18
3Flag of New Zealand.svg  New Zealand Shane Dewar (2)32013-
3Flag of New Zealand.svg  New Zealand Dean Cooper32014–18
5Flag of New Zealand.svg  New Zealand Ben Vaughan22013-
5Flag of New Zealand.svg  New Zealand Jamie Larsen22013–17
5Flag of New Zealand.svg  New Zealand Shaun Dickie22013-
5Flag of New Zealand.svg  New Zealand Karl McGill22013–19
5Flag of New Zealand.svg  New Zealand Lydia Dickinson22017–19
10Flag of New Zealand.svg  New Zealand Sean Rice12013–14
10Flag of New Zealand.svg  New Zealand Stephen Buys12013-14
10Flag of New Zealand.svg  New Zealand Elliot Heron12018-

Oval Superstars Minisprint Hall of Fame

YearPersonNotes
2017Shaun Cooke (Hamilton)5x New Zealand Minisprint Champion
2019Declan Roe (Levin)OST National Rep, former NZ#2 Minisprint

Awards and nominations

YearAwardCategoryResult
2017New Zealand Speedway AwardsIndividual Event of the YearFinalist
2016New Zealand Speedway AwardsSeries of the YearFinalist
2016New Zealand Speedway AwardsArticle of the YearFinalist
2014New Zealand Speedway AwardsWebsite of the YearFinalist

[1]

References

  1. "Oval Superstars Awards". Oval Superstars Facebook. Retrieved 27 June 2016.