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.
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.
Heat points: 1st: 15, 2nd: 12, 3rd: 10, 4th: 8, 5th: 6, 6th: 5, 7th: 4, 8th: 3, 9th: 2, 10th: 1 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 Winner Race No. Chassis & Engine Second Place Third Place2020–21 Elliot Heron72h Breka - Toyota Cameron Hurley Dylan Smith2019–20 Shane Dewar1NZ Hyper - Toyota Elliot Heron Dylan Smith2018–19 Shane Dewar2NZ Hyper - Toyota Ben Vaughan Christian Hermansen2017–18 Karl McGill93p Terminator - Toyota Shane Dewar Lydia Dickinson2016–17 Christian Hermansen1NZ Terminator - Toyota Jade Barnett Dean Cooper2015–16 Dean Cooper2NZ Breka - Toyota Ben Vaughan Brittany Riddick2014–15 Jade Barnett37k Barnett - Nissan Ben Vaughan Dean Cooper2013–14 Cameron Hurley82s Cool - Nissan Shane Simpson Sean Rice
Oval Superstars Tour Wins All figures correct end of 2019–20 season. +KeyBoldOval Superstars Tour Champion
+OST Main Event WinnersRankCountryDriverWinsActive1Christian Hermansen122013–192Jade Barnett52013–183Shane Dewar (2)32013-3Dean Cooper32014–185Ben Vaughan22013-5Jamie Larsen22013–175Shaun Dickie22013-5Karl McGill22013–195Lydia Dickinson22017–1910Sean Rice12013–1410Stephen Buys12013-1410Elliot Heron12018-
Oval Superstars Minisprint Hall of Fame Year Person Notes 2017 Shaun Cooke (Hamilton) 5x New Zealand Minisprint Champion 2019 Declan Roe (Levin) OST National Rep, former NZ#2 Minisprint
Awards and nominations Year Award Category Result2017 New Zealand Speedway Awards Individual Event of the Year Finalist2016 New Zealand Speedway Awards Series of the Year Finalist2016 New Zealand Speedway Awards Article of the Year Finalist2014 New Zealand Speedway Awards Website of the Year Finalist
References