International riders favourites for South Australian Solo Championship at Gillman - December 2015

December 9, 2015 by Gillman Media

The first of the 2016 SA State championships, the Littlehampton Bricks South Australian Solo Championship, takes place at Gillman Speedway this Saturday night (12 December), and international riders Sam Masters, Rohan Tungate, Ty Proctor and Max Fricke all have impressive credentials to take the title.

Masters is a former New South Wales and Victorian Champion, and, of course, as runner-up in last season’s Australian Championship, rode as the wildcard in the recent World Championship Grand Prix at Etihad Stadium.

Proctor is a three-time Victorian Champion – he won his third title at Mildura last Saturday night, and won the Jack Young Cup at the last Gillman meeting.

Fricke is the current and three-time Australian Under 21 Champion, and Tungate, while he doesn’t have any championship wins against his name, always rides well here and won a round of the Australian Championship here in 2014.

In would be a major surprise if those four riders do not reach the final, but if there is to be a surprise and one or more do not qualify – as happened to Fricke in the Victorian Championship when an exclusion for going infield cost him a place in the final – the best chances appear to be Brodie Waters and Kieran Sproule.

Waters was runner-up to Proctor in the Victorian title, while Sproule, from New South Wales, rode well at Gillman in his debut appearance at the track in last season’s championship and only missed a semi-final berth on countback with Waters.

It is wide open as to who will reach the semi-final places, with every one of the seeded riders a chance.

Apart from those already mentioned, Jordan Stewart finished third in both the Victorian Title and the Jack Young Cup; Jack Fallon rides well at Gillman and only missed a place in the Vic title by one point; Cooper Riordan was a finalist in the Jack Young Cup; Jaimon Lidsey and Jack Morrison both reached the semi-final of the Jack Young Cup; Dakota Ballantyne missed out by one point; and Queensland’s Matt Day is a good young rider who is keen to do well after a broken arm caused him to miss last season’s title.

The support events include the South Australian Under 16 250cc Solo Championship and two South Australian riders, Mitchell Grech and Brayden McGuinness, have a genuine chance of making the final, but the favourites for this are former Australian Champion Brody Eves, from Townsville, and in-form Victorian James Davies.

This will be the last meeting before Christmas and it is free entry for children under 16.

Photo: Max Fricke and Sam Masters in last season’s Australian Championship round at Gillman. Photo by Judy Mackay.

Everything You Need To Know:

Meeting Date: Saturday, 12 December 2015.

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

Gates open: at 5 pm. Entry via Western and Eastern gates. The Eastern gate will close at 8pm. Off-street parking areas near both gates.

Racing starts: at 7.30 pm. Free spectator access to the pits until approximately 6.30 pm.

Nominations:

SA 500cc Solo Championship (17): Luke Bacskai, Dakota Ballantyne, Matt Day (Qld), Jack Fallon (Vic), Gary Fischer, Max Fricke (Vic), Jaimon Lidsey (Vic), Sam Masters (NSW), Jake Mitchell, Jack Morrison (Vic), Blake Ridley, Cooper Riordan (Vic), Jordan Stewart (Vic), Tyron Proctor (Vic), Kieran Sproule (NSW), Rohan Tungate (NSW), Brodie Waters (Vic)

SA Under 16 250cc Solo Championship (9): Aden Clare (NSW), Mitchell Cluff (NSW), James Davies (Vic), Brody Eves (Qld), Mitchell Grech, Oliver Hamilton (Vic), Isaiah Hartley (Vic), Declan Knowles (WA), Brayden McGuinness,

Sidecars (10): Peter Adams/Katelyn Silvy, Keith Bichard/Michael Bell, Tim Bichard/Anthony Schulz, Steve Browne/Scott Morris, Dean Hobbs/Andy Westover, Mark Mitchell/Dale Knights, Luke Puddy/Damian Egan, Shane Rudloff/Tom Adams, Brian Silvy/Josh Knott, Mick Tucker/Corey Palmer

125cc Junior Solos (7): Angus Vandenberg, Hugh Evans, Liam May, Nicholas Possingham, Layne Riordan (Vic), Jack Sadler, Bailey Viner (Qld)

Admission prices: Adults $25, Age Pension and Student Concession $20 (*), Children Under 16 free. Grandstand seating $5, Programme $5, Parking free.

(*) Concession is limited Centrelink Pensioner Concession Card and Student Concession Card holders only.

Weather Forecast: Partly cloudy, maximum 24, minimum 12 [www.bom.gov.au/sa/forecasts/Adelaide]

Seating: 216 seat grandstand; terracing and large grassed viewing mounds suitable for deck chairs.

Sponsor: Littlehampton Clay Bricks and Pavers

Littlehampton Clay Bricks and Pavers have been the leading supplier of quality clay bricks and pavers to Australians for over a century.

Food and drink: Full bar and catering available. Food includes hot chips, hamburgers, chicken burgers, pies, pasties, sausage rolls, Chiko Rolls, dim sims, hot dogs, nachos, doughnuts, coffee, cold drinks, sweets. “Gillman has far and away the best speedway tucker” [Peter White’s Speedway World, February 2015]

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.

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

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 20kms, and 30 minutes’ drive (depending on traffic lights) 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 airport grounds and turn right onto Tapleys Hill Road. 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. 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, 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 kilometres.

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; and the Mawson Lakes Hotel and Function Centre, Main Street, Mawson Lakes, offer a discount to speedway fans but you must ring the venues 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