Only two more meetings at Gillman Speedway – President’s Trophy this Saturday night - March 2014
March 5, 2014 by Gillman Media
Speedway fans have just two more chances to see any action at Adelaide’s Gillman Speedway this season, with a meeting this Saturday night (8 March), followed by the final meeting of this season a fortnight later (22 March).
This Saturday night with see the President’s Trophy for Solos and Sidecars, with Sidecars once again taking up the bulk of the programme with a full 20-heat format plus finals.
The Sidecar Trophy should be an intriguing affair. With two of the big-guns of South Australian speedway, Mick Headland and Mark Plaisted, sitting this one out to attend to injuries and bike repairs respectively for the Grand Slam Grand Final, the likely qualifiers for the last chance semi-final, and the final on Saturday night, are impossible to predict.
As former Australian and South Australian Champions, Mark Mitchell/Tom Golding will start as slight favourites, but there are any number of riders after that who could make the top seven cut.
Major contenders will be Arron Hartwig, Ron Parker, Damien Niesche, Jason Hardy, Rob Patterson, Daniel Puddy, Brenten Dwyer and Shane Rudloff, with Shane Evans and Tim Bichard also a chance of a semi-final berth if they are on form.
The Solo Trophy should be a three-way battle between Jack Young Cup winner Robert Branford, Robert Medson and Arlo Bugeja with Chris Ferguson, Seth Hickey and Garry Fischer vying for the other spot in the final.
There will also be some support events for Classic Sidecars.
Top photo: Arron Hartwig/Teagan Hartwig (white) and Damien Niesche/Mitchell Spear (blue). Photo: JDM Photos.
Everything you need to know:
Meeting Date: Saturday night, 8 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:
Sidecars: Tim Bichard / Matt Morgan, Brenten Dwyer / Adam Pfitzner, Shane Evans / Kane Turner, Rick Fechner / Justin Richards, Jason Hardy / Gaz Williams, Arron Hartwig / Teagan Hartwig, Dean Hobbs / Andy Westover, Kym Menadue / Anthony Schulz, Mark Mitchell / Tom Golding, Damien Niesche / Mitchell Spear, Ron Parker / Derick Thomas, Rob Patterson / Brenton Kerr, Daniel Puddy / Luke Puddy, Shane Rudloff / Damian Egan, Aaron Silvy / Jack Tucker, Brian Silvy / Josh Knott
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.
Solos: Robert Branford, Arlo Bugeja, Chris Ferguson, Garry Fischer, Robert Medson, Seth Hickey
Classic Sidecars: Geoff Baran / Ken Cherrington (Kawasaki 1000), Tim Bichard / Brett Lewis (Yamaha 1000), Dean Hobbs / Andy Westover (Suzuki 1000), Mick Tucker / Anthony Diener (Suzuki 500), Tony West / Rob Brown (JAP 8-80) – late change Tony West replaced by Clinton Crabb / Matt Morgan (650 Triumph)
Admission Prices:
Adults $20, Pension and Student Concession $15 (*), Children aged 12-15 $5, Children Under 12 free. Family ticket $45. 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 30, minimum 14. 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