Cameron Woodward spoils the party for Parks - December 2013

December 3, 2013 by Gillman Media

Can Shane Parker win #5 against the strong Victorian challenge

The first of the State championships, the CBS Bins South Australian Solo Championship, takes place at Gillman Speedway in Adelaide this Saturday night, 7 December, and the big question is can Shane Parker win his fifth championship against the strong challenge from Victoria’s best riders?

Parker won the Gillman Solo Championship a fortnight ago, to prove he is still a match for most riders at this level, however he was beaten twice in the heats by 2013 Victorian Champion Justin Sedgmen, so Sedgmen will go into the meeting confident he can beat Parker.

However, both riders might find themselves beaten out of the top places by another two Victorians, Cameron Woodward and Dakota North, who finished first and second in the 2014 Victorian Championship at Mildura last Saturday night, after successful seasons in Great Britain.

Woodward finished fifth in this season’s World Long Track Championship in Europe, the highest ever finish by an Australian rider, and they finished second (North) and third (Woodward) in last season’s Australian Championship series, which suggests they’ll go into the SA Championship as equal favourites slightly ahead of Parker and Sedgmen.

Other riders with a genuine chance of a berth in the final are 21-year-old English rider Kyle Newman, Australian Under 21 Champion Max Fricke, and British Under 21 Champion Robert Branford. Fricke and Branford finished fourth and fifth respectively in the Victorian Championship (behind Woodward, North and Sedgmen), and Branford was the only rider to defeat Woodward.

It is hard to see anyone outside this seven reaching the semi-final/final stage after the twenty heats, but there are riders capable of springing some upsets, as Arlo Bugeja did a fortnight ago when he beat Sedgmen just when it looked as if he would go through the card unbeaten. Bugeja, Sam Martin, Robert Medson and possibly Victorian newcomers Brodie Waters and Jack Fallon all look capable of pinching the odd points from the star riders, but they may not be able to amass enough points for a semi-final berth.

Bob Stoneham (Victoria) and Brady Webb (WA) make up the fourteen seeded riders. Both will find the competition too tough but both have earned their places with solid performances at division two level.

The final two places will be determined by a series of qualifying races (to be held at the earlier time of 7pm) between Seth Hickey, Gary Fischer, Brock Gates (Vic), Ryan Sedgmen (Vic), Ernest Harker (WA), Ben Cook (NSW).

The Championship will be supported by division one Sidecars, and the inaugural South Australian 250/350cc Solo Championship for riders aged 14 and 15.

The Sidecars see the return of the division one riders who were competing interstate a fortnight ago, including British riders Mark Cossar and Mick Cave. Making up the eight riders will be former Australian champion Mark Mitchell, current Gillman champion Jason Hardy, the Prince of Port Adelaide Ron Parker, Damien Niesche, Mildura’s Rob Patterson, and newly crowned division two champion Arron Hartwig.

The Sailun Tyres South Australian 250/350cc Solo Championship will be contested by riders from five states – South Australia, Western Australia, Victoria, New South Wales and Queensland. Several of the heats will be held with the 500cc championship qualifying races at 7 pm before the main programme starts at 7.30 pm.

Gates open at 5pm (not 3pm as the last programme incorrectly said), qualifying starts at 7pm and the main programme starts at 7.30pm.

All you need to know:

Meeting Date: Saturday night, 7 December 2013.

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

Gates open: at 5 pm.

Racing starts: Qualifying races and some 350cc heats at 7 pm; CBS Bins SA Solo Championship at 7.30 pm.

Riders:

CBS Bins South Australian Solo Championship:

Robert Branford (SA), Arlo Bugeja (SA), Jack Fallon (Vic), Max Fricke (Vic), Sam Martin (SA), Robert Medson (SA), Kyle Newman (Eng), Dakota North (Vic), Shane Parker (SA), Justin Sedgmen (Vic), Bob Stoneham (Vic), Brodie Waters (Vic), Brady Webb (WA), Cameron Woodward (Vic). Qualifying races (highest two point scorers to qualify): Ben Cook (NSW), Gary Fischer (SA), Brock Gates (Vic), Ernest Harker (WA), Seth Hickey (SA), Ryan Sedgmen (Vic).

Sidecars:

Mick Cave / Gaz Williams (Eng), Mark Cossar / Darryl Whetstone (Eng), Jason Hardy / Geoff Langdon, Arron Hartwig / Teagan Hartwig, Mark Mitchell / Tom Golding, Damien Niesche / Mitchell Spear, Ronny Parker / Nik Schwarzer, Rob Patterson / Brenton Kerr (Vic). Reserves: Shane Rudloff / Damian Egan, Aaron Silvy / Matthew Barkla, Tim Bichard / Dale Knights.

Sailun Tyres South Australian 250/350cc Solo Championship (Under 16):

Declyn Adams (Vic), Dakota Ballantyne (SA), Aden Clare (NSW), Zach Cook (NSW), Brody Eves (Qld), Mitchell Gill (WA), Sheldon Gill (WA), Mitchell Grech (SA), Jimmy Jones (NSW), Matthew Marson (WA), Jett Muller (WA), Cooper Riordan (Vic), Jordan Stewart (Vic).

About the sponsors, CBS Bins & Sailun Tyres:

CBS Bins is a family owned and operated businesses which commenced in 1975 when Graham and Marion Baker started in business with the purchase of a model 610 Bobcat. As the years progressed they were joined by their sons Steven, Mark and Darren, and today CBS Bins has grown into one of South Australia’s leading waste and rubbish removal companies. Sadly Graham passed away in January, but his family continue to support Gillman Speedway and Graham’s past support has been remembered by the western end terraced area being named The Graham Baker Terrace.

Sailun Tyres are a high quality tyre from one of the most technically advanced tyre manufacturers in China. In 2002 several well-known corporations and experts in the tyre industry invested and established Sailun with technological support from the rubber industry and Qingdao University of Science and Technology. Sailun is the first tyre manufacturer to integrate production, research and demonstration techniques, while developing new products, and many experts in the tyre industry have come to Sailun to improve their tyre design theory, technique and test methods.

Admission: Admission: Adults $25, Pension and Student Concession $20 (*), Children Under 16 $5 (aged between 12-15 inclusive), Children Under 12 free. Family $55. Parking free. Programme $5. (*) Concession is limited to holders of the Centrelink Pensioner Concession Card 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 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.

Weather Forecast: Maximum 27, minimum 12. Mostly sunny.

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