Blackchrome Sidecar Grand Slam brings down the curtain for 2013/14 season at Gillman Speedway
March 18, 2014 by Gillman Media
Gillman Speedway brings down the curtain on the 2013/14 season this Saturday night (22 March) with the staging of the Blackchrome Sidecar Grand Slam Series Final.
The seventh and final round of the prestigious tournament will feature riders from England, New Zealand, New South Wales and Victoria as well as the best South Australian riders, contesting 20 heats, a last chance semi-final and the Grand Final.
Leading the line-up will be current Australian Champion, Darrin Treloar, who, along with passenger Blake Cox, holds an 8 point lead in the series over their nearest rivals, SA’s Mick and Jesse Headland. Both are former World Track Champions and are the only two riders who can win the series, although Treloar and Blake already have one hand on the trophy, and the Murray Bridge-based Headland team admit they will need everything to go right on the night for them to take the title.
Mick Headland told series organiser David Tapp, “We have a massive job ahead of us but we are up for it. Obviously Jesse and I trail Darrin and Blake by 8 points but the unexpected often happens in speedway.
“If Darrin and Blake encounter some bad luck on the night then we’ll be there to pounce.”
In response Darrin Treloar said: “We are focusing on what we have to do, I’m not worrying about Mick and Jesse. We are comfortable with the 8 point advantage but we know we have a job to do on Saturday night and that involves Blake and I winning our five heat rides and qualifying for the A Final. If we make the A Final we’ll take the series outright and should that happen it will rank as one of my career highlights.”
While Treloar and Headland lead the chase for outright victory there are any number of teams who can win the final round of what has been a break-through series for the international riders as evidenced by the fifth round, also at Gillman, in which Treloar was the only Australian to reach the final.
New Zealand’s Andrew Buchanan, who this weekend teams up with Englishman Gaz Williams, finished second in round five so will be a major threat, as will be reigning British Champions, Mark Cossar and Darryl Whetstone, who are currently third in the series points.
Defending Grand Slam Champion and reigning Oceania Title holders, Mark Plaisted and Brian Anthony, will also want to end the series on a good note after a serious crash in the South Australian Championship in January ruined Plaisted’s chance of retaining his title.
Other major contenders are current and multiple Victorian Champions, Warren Monson and Matt Morgan, former Australian Champions Mark Mitchell and Tom Golding, and one of the season’s form riders, Trent Headland with Jack Spear as passenger.
The grand parade gets underway at 7.20pm and the first race is scheduled for 7.30pm, with the meeting expected to finish by 10.30pm.
Everything you need to know:
Meeting Date: Saturday night, 22 March 2014.
Venue: Gillman Speedway Stadium, 65 Wilkins Road, Gillman – near the Port Adelaide area.
Gates open: at 5 pm.
Racing starts: at 7.30 pm.
Riders/Passengers (Alphabetical order):
Blackchrome Sidecar Grand Slam:
Andrew Buchanan (NZ) / Gaz Williams (Eng), Mick Cave / Ben Goddard (Eng), Mark Cossar / Darryl Whetstone (Eng), Brenten Dwyer / Adam Pfitzner (SA), Jason Hardy/ Adam Pascoe (SA), Arron Hartwig / Teagan Hartwig (SA), Mick Headland / Jesse Headland (SA), Trent Headland / Jack Spear (SA), Mark Mitchell / Tom Golding (SA), Warren Monson (Vic) / Matt Morgan (SA), Damien Niesche / Mitchell Spear (SA), Rob Patterson / Brenton Kerr (Vic), Mark Plaisted / Brian Anthony (SA), Daniel Puddy / Luke Puddy (SA), Stephen Saunders / Clarissa Mitchell (NSW), Darrin Treloar / Blake Cox (NSW)
Format: 16 riders x 20 heats plus a last chance semi-final and a final. The 4th to 7th highest scorers go into the semi-final; and the winner of the semi-final and the highest three scorers from the 20 heats go into the final.
Sidecar Support:
Keith Bichard / Brett Lewis, Tim Bichard / Dale Knights, Mal Greig / Scott Banyer, Kym Menadue / Anthony Schulz, Shane Rudloff / Damian Egan, Aaron Silvy / Jack Tucker, Brian Silvy / Josh Knott, Darryl Woods / tba
125cc Junior Solos (infield track): William Coombes, Mitchell Grech, Troy Kutcher, Liam May, Brayden McGuinness, Nicholas Possingham, Blake Ridley
250cc Junior Sidecars (infield track): Jackson Barbary / Josh Malik (Vic), Tom Adams / Katelyn Silvy, Jayden Hardy / Belinda Silvy
About the sponsor, Blackchrome:
Blackchrome Sportswear & Workwear manufactures the best quality customised apparel for sports, promotional and corporate activities, and it has contributed greatly to lifting the standard of team presentation and professionalism in sport in recent seasons. Dozens of different Blackchrome shirts are seen at Gillman every meeting, but this weekend they will also have available an exclusive range of official series merchandise. The Blackchrome merchandise stand will also double as a rider autograph centre; providing fans with a rare opportunity of meeting their favourite riders prior to the start of the meeting, whilst at the same time having their purchases autographed if so desired.
For more information about Blackchrome visit www.blackchrome.com.au
Admission Prices:
Adults $25, Pension and Student Concession $20 (*), Children aged 12-15 $5, Children Under 12 free. Family ticket $55. Parking free. Programme $5. (*) Concession is limited to Centrelink Pensioner Concession Card and Student Concession card holders only. Family includes up to 2 Adults and 4 Children
Parking and entrance:
Patrons can enter via two gates, the main entrance which is at the western end, and the competitors’ gate which is at the eastern end near the pits. The back gate will only be open until 8pm. There are parking areas near both gates.
Weather Forecast: Maximum 25, minimum 16. Mostly sunny.
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 (security will check at the gate). Also note no pets, other than guide dogs, are allowed into the venue.
Seating: There are large grassed viewing mounds and the western end is fully terraced, but there is no grandstand seating, so bring deck chairs or blankets if you do not want to sit on the grass.
VIP Area: The V.I.P. area is available to anyone who would like to treat their business colleagues, family or friends to the best view of motorcycle speedway action in Australia. Any number from one up to fifty spectators can enjoy the elevated view overlooking the track, either from inside the temperature controlled room, on the timber decks, or the enclosed lawn area, for a very reasonable price per person. A fully stocked bar and a variety of food to suit all budgets is available and you can book the whole room or part thereof. Ring Gillman Speedway Manager David Parker on 0403 364 658 or e-mail dave@gillmanspeedway.com for more details.
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