Championships continue at Gillman Speedway on Saturday night - January 2014

January 22, 2014 by Gillman Media

Keen Speedway fans have the chance to see the next two generations of Australian speedway stars on the one programme when the Australian Championships continue this Saturday night (25 January) at the Gillman Speedway Stadium.

The feature event on Saturday night will be the CBS Bins Australian Under 21 Solo Championship, which also doubles as the World Under 21 Championship Australian Qualifying Round.

The first two placegetters will be offered the chance to compete in the European rounds will be held in Neustadt Donau, Germany; Terenzano, Italy; and Leicester, England in late April/early May. Australia only has two places available this year, however Motorcycling Australia are lobbying the FIM for a third place.

The Under 21 Championship is often the most exciting meeting of the Australian speedway fixture list because most of the riders are of a similar standard to those in the open Australian Championship, but the racing can be even more exciting because the variation in skill between the riders at the top of the scorecard and the bottom is much closer.

This year’s line-up includes five of the riders from the Australian Championship – Mason Campton, who finished third in the last round here at Gillman, Max Fricke, the current Under 21 champion, Jack Holder, the NSW Under 21 champion, Tyson Nelson and Robert Medson – but also has several riders who would have done well in the Australian Championship but chose to concentrate on the Under 21 title with the long term aim of reaching the World Under 21 Championship. They include British League riders Nick Morris, Cameron Heeps and Ryan Douglas, and exciting young prospect Brady Kurtz, who rode in the Danish League last year.

17-year-old Kurtz won the New South Wales Championship last month ahead of many riders who rode here a fortnight ago in the open Australian Championship, including new Australian #2 and #3 Jason Doyle and Rohan Tungate, Mason Campton, Jack Holder and Sam Masters. Holder finished second to Kurtz, and another of Saturday night’s riders, Hunter Anderson, finished sixth in the same meeting.

Further proof of the standard of tonight’s meeting is the fact that Matthew Day, who was on the pace a fortnight ago when he replaced the injured Troy Batchelor in the Australian Championship, has only been selected as a reserve for the meeting (although he and fellow reserve Jye Etheridge have both been selected to ride in the Jack Young Cup on Sunday night).

The support event on Saturday night will be the Sailun Tyres Australian Under 16 250cc Solo Championship with riders from Western Australia, South Australia, Victoria, New South Wales and Queensland.

These are 13 to 15 year-old lads riding full-sized bikes with 250cc engines rather than 500cc and their race times are usually only a couple of seconds different to the Under 21 riders over the four lap race distance.

The under 16 lads are also competing to race overseas with four places available in the FIM Speedway Youth 250cc World Cup in Badia Calavena, Italy in August.

Top photo: Mason Campton (blue) and Tyson Nelson (red) in action. Photo © Judy Mackay.

Everything you need to know:

Meeting Date: Saturday night, 25 January 2014.

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

Gates open: at 2 pm.

Practice: 5 pm to 6 pm.

Racing starts: at 7.30 pm.

Riders:

CBS Bins Australian Under 21 Solo Championship/World Championship Qualifying Round

Riders (alphabetical order): Jake Allen (Qld), Hunter Anderson (NSW), Mason Campton (NSW), Ryan Douglas (Qld), Jack Fallon (Vic), Max Fricke (Vic), Cameron Heeps (WA), Jack Holder (NSW), Tyler King (NSW), Brady Kurtz (NSW), Robert Medson (SA), Nick Morris (Qld), Tyson Nelson (NSW), Blake Russell (WA), Douglas Scoble (WA), Tyson Snow (Qld). Reserves: Matthew Day (Qld), Jye Etheridge (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.

Australian Under 21 Solo Championship Sponsor : CBS Bins

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 2013, 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. Website [www.cbsbins.com.au]

Sailun Tyres Australian Under 16 250cc Solo Championship/World Cup Qualifying Round

Riders (alphabetical order): Declyn Adams (Vic), Dakota Ballantyne (SA), Brandan Coglan (Qld), Zach Cook (NSW), Max Croker (NSW), Brody Eves (Qld), Sheldon Gill (WA), Matthew Gilmore (NSW), Mitchell Grech (SA), Jimmy Jones (NSW), Declan Knowles (WA), Matthew Marson (WA), Jett Muller (WA), Cooper Riordan (Vic), Jack Smith (WA), Jordan Stewart (Vic). Reserves: Aden Clare (NSW), Daniel Clemens (WA). Note: As at Friday, 24 January, Brandan Coglan and Daniel Clemens have withdrawn. Aden Clare has replaced Coglan.

Australian Under 16 250cc Solo Championship Sponsor : Sailun Tyres

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 prices:

Adults $25, Pension and Student Concession $20 (*), Children aged 12-15 $5, Under 12 FREE, Family Tickets $55. Car Parking free. Souvenir 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.

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