Leading drivers wait for final roar | Rotorua Sport | Surfing, Rugby, Soccer, Football, Cricket in Rotorua

The country's best superstock drivers are in a holding pattern after rain saw the 2010 New Zealand Championships at Kihikihi postponed before Sunday's finals were run.

The wet and interrupted theme continued what has been a stop-start season for speedway in New Zealand this summer.

Close to 24 hours of rain made the Kihikihi track unfit for racing and organisers have opted to return on February 27 to decide who gets to run the 1NZ car for the next year.

Six Rotorua-based drivers had earned their way into the 26-strong finals field after qualifying on Saturday.

Steve Hampton came through a run-off while Ken Hunter had a win in the yellow group where former New Zealand champion Kyle Fraser and Scott Hewson also qualified to join Andrew Harvey and Dale Robertson.

There were plenty of big names ready to race with last year's podium of Malcolm Ngatai (1NZ), Dale Ewers (2NZ) and Brendan Higgins (3NZ) all getting safely through qualifying, as did three-time previous winner Craig Boote.

Also qualified were flying Taranaki brothers Scott and Simon Joblin who race out of Palmerston North - arguably a stronghold of Kiwi superstocks racing.

Nine Palmerston North drivers qualified for the finals and they dominated the division standings, providing all of the top qualifiers from the four racing groups.

Scott Joblin won the recent World 240s in Rotorua and was in top form at Kihikihi where he topped the yellow group thanks to wins in the first two races. Simon Joblin, a former World 240s champion, headed the red division after winning the second and third races.

Their clubmate Graeme Barr topped green group while another, Shane Penn, headed the red section.

Rotorua drivers will get the chance to dominate in the supporting TWS Superstocks Stampede event for the next 30 drivers on points after championship qualifying.

Nine Rotorua drivers - Mark Osborne, Bryce Steiner, Ross Ashby, Mike Herbert, Ashton Fleming, Scott Redfern, Clive Pritchard and Stan Hickey - qualified for that event.