Action packed programme for Gillman opening meeting - November 2013

November 6, 2013 by Gillman Media

The 2013/14 summer speedway season at Gillman starts this Saturday night, 9 November, with a packed programme of Solo and Sidecar racing.

22 Sidecars and 17 Solos will contest the meeting which has forced organisers to increase the number of events to 44.

Gillman staff pride themselves on presenting a slick three-hour show, starting at 7.30pm and finishing at 10.30pm, and with 44 events to get through, speedway manager David Parker just says “we’ll just have to be right on our game and push things through. Barring any delays from accidents or unforeseen circumstances I think we can finish by 10.30 or maybe 10.45.”

The number of nominations means both the Solos and Sidecars will be split into division 1 and 2 races and, on paper at least, all four classes look like presenting some close, unpredictable results.

The division 1 Solos will include two national under 21 champions, Max Fricke, the Australian champion, and Robert Branford, the British champion, plus former Gillman track champion Sam Martin, Arlo Bugeja and Robert Medson.

Max Fricke (blue), Arlo Bugeja (red) and Robert Medson (yellow). Photo © Judy Mackay.

The division two races have a mixture of the old and the new, with 16-year-olds Jack Fallon and Jake Mitchell making their senior debuts, along with another speedway newcomer, road racing star Brodie Waters. At the other end of the scale former riders Sean Curtis, who rode at the first Gillman track, and Renmark rider Gary Fischer, who rode at North Arm, are both making comebacks. Both have shown enough form at practices to suggest they’ll be welcome additions to the division 2 ranks, against last season’s regular riders Sean Peterson, Bob Stoneham (both from Victoria), Brady Webb (WA), and locals Seth Hickey and Luke Mitchell.

The division 1 Sidecars will see the first appearance of the visiting British riders Mick Cave/Ben Goddard and Mark Cossar/Darryl Whitestone, but they’ll be hard pressed to reach the final against four of Australia’s best riders, Mick Headland/Paul Waters, Mark Mitchell/Tom Golding, Warren Monson/Matt Morgan and Mark Plaisted/Brian Anthony. Last season’s track champions Jason Hardy/Geoff Langdon will be out to build on last season’s excellent form, while the Prince of Port Adelaide, Ronny Parker is back for another season, this season with Nik Schwarzer as passenger.

Parker needed a new passenger as his former passenger, Shane Rudloff, has taken to the handlebars this season and is one of a number of new riders competing in Saturday night’s division 2 races.

Mark Plaisted/Sam Gilbert (red) and Mick Headland/Paul Waters (white). Photo © Judy Mackay.

Even picking who the four finalists will be in both the Solo and Sidecar division 2 races looks to be more difficult than picking the winner of the Melbourne Cup. With the Gillman track championships, and the State championships coming up the division 2 riders will all want to impress the selectors on Saturday night to get a berth in the 16 riders for the championships.

There will also be junior races, with the 250/350cc class for 14 and 15 year-olds on the main track, and the 125cc class on the smaller infield track when the main track is being watered. The Australian 250/350cc junior championship will be held at Gillman in January with riders from Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria, Western Australia and South Australia.

Meeting Date: Saturday night, 9 November 2013.

Venue: Gillman Speedway Stadium, 65 Wilkins Road, Gillman – near the Port Adelaide area.

Gates open: at 5 pm.

Racing starts: at 7.30 pm.

Nominations:

Division 1 Solos:

Robert Branford, Arlo Bugeja, Max Fricke (Vic), Sam Martin, Robert Medson

Division 2 Solos:

Scott Commins (NSW), Sean Curtis, Jack Fallon (Vic), Gary Fischer, Ernest Harker (WA), Seth Hickey, Jake Mitchell, Luke Mitchell, Sean Peterson, Bob Stoneham (Vic), Brodie Waters (Vic), Brady Webb (WA)

Division 1 Sidecars:

Mick Cave / Ben Goddard (Eng), Mark Cossar / Darryl Whitestone (Eng), Shane Evans / Darcy Risstrom, Jason Hardy / Geoff Langdon, Arron Hartwig / Teagan Hartwig, Mick Headland / Paul Waters, Mark Mitchell / Tom Golding, Warren Monson / Matt Morgan, Mark Plaisted / Brian Anthony, Ronny Parker / Nik Schwarzer, Rob Patterson / tba (Vic), Daniel Puddy / Luke Puddy

Division 2 Sidecars:

Tim Bannon / Jack Nicholls (Vic), Keith Bichard / Derick Thomas, Tim Bichard / Dale Knights, Brenten Dwyer / Adam Pfitzner, Rick Fechner / Justin Richards, Mal Greig / Scott Banyer, Kym Menadue / Anthony Schulz, Shane Rudloff / Damian Egan, Aaron Silvy / Matthew Barkla, Brian Silvy / Josh Knott

250/350cc Junior Solos:

Declyn Adams (Vic), Dakota Ballantyne, Mitchell Grech

125cc Junior Solos (infield track):

Declyn Adams (Vic), Mitchell Grech, Jaimon Lidsey (Vic), Liam May, Brayden McGuinness, Jack Norman, Blake Ridley.

About the sponsor, Eagle Fuels, your one stop Adelaide based Fuel and Lubricants distributor.

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Admission: Adults $20, Age Pension and Student Concession $15, Children Under 16 $5 (aged between 12-15 inclusive), Children Under 12 free, Family $45. Parking free. Programme $5. Concession is limited to Age Pension and Student Concession card holders only. Family includes up to 2 Adults and 4 Children.

Souvenirs: There is a well-stocked souvenir shop including the latest Blackchrome manufactured shirts and jackets. Eftpos available only in the souvenir shop.

Food and drink: Full bar and catering available. Food includes hot chips, pies, pasties, sausage rolls, Chico Rolls, dim sims, hot dogs, sandwiches, doughnuts, coffee, cold drinks, sweets. Please note a condition of our liquor licence is no byo alcohol or glass can be brought into the venue. Also note no pets, other than guide dogs, are allowed into the venue.

Seating: There are large grassed viewing mounds and terracing but no grandstand seating, so bring deck chairs or blankets if you do not want to sit on the grass.

Weather Forecast: Clearing shower, maximum 18, minimum 10.

Directions:

The best way to get to Gillman Speedway is off Hanson Road. If you are coming from the eastern and southern suburbs, get on to Hanson road off Torrens Road or Grand Junction Road, travel north on Hanson road over the train line then take the first road on the left, which is Wilkins road.

From the northern suburbs, travel down the new Port Adelaide expressway and take the Hanson Road exit. Once on Hanson Road, take the first exit on your right, this is Wilkins road.

From the western suburbs, Wilkins Road is the continuation of Bedford Street, north of Eastern Parade.

For interstate visitors flying into Adelaide and getting a hire car, Gillman is about 30 minutes’ drive from the airport. The easiest and most direct way, if not going to your accommodation first is: On leaving the airport, turn left onto Sir Donald Bradman Drive. Continue along Sir Donald Bradman Drive until you reach the end of the airports grounds and turn right onto Tapleys Hill Road. Just keep going on Tapleys Hill Road until you can’t go any further. That’s Port Road. Turn left onto Port Road. You can only turn left, you can’t go straight ahead or turn right, so pretty easy to this point. Continue down Port Road for about 1 km to the first intersection which is Grand Junction road and turn right. You only go 700 metres along Grand Junction Road over a bridge over a railway line. Stay in the left lane because at the bottom of the bridge you turn left into Gray Terrace. Go to the end of Gray Terrace and turn right (you can’t go straight ahead) onto Bedford Street. Just keep going on that Road until you get to the speedway. About 2 kms. The whole trip is about 20kms, and half-an-hour depending on traffic lights. Once you are on Tapleys Hill Road you can’t really go wrong. You only have to make three or four turns and most of those are simple.

Accommodation:

There is plenty of accommodation in Adelaide and suburbs, within 20-30 minutes of the Speedway, ranging from five star hotels to caravan parks and backpacker hostels. The Pavlos Motel on Main North Road, Pooraka offers a discount to speedway fans but you must ring the motel direct and ask for the Gillman Speedway discount. Full details are on the Gillman website under the information/accommodation tab.

Contact for this meeting: Speedway Manager, David Parker 0403 364 658