Paintmaster SA Gillman Sidecar Championship this Saturday night - December 2013
December 25, 2013 by Gillman Media
Saturday night’s Paintmaster SA Gillman Sidecar Championship is the first of two big Sidecar meetings in the space of a week, with the Speedway Racing News South Australian Sidecar Championship following six days later, and it will be interesting to see, with such a strong line-up, if any rider can win both events.
There are a number of riders who can win on Saturday night, but only three stand out as realistic chances of being able to take the double — Mark Mitchell/Tom Golding, Mick Headland/Paul Waters and Mark Plaisted/Brian Anthony.
Interestingly only one of these riders – Mark Plaisted – has won the Gillman championship before. And Plaisted is now in career-best form as he finished last season by winning the Grand Slam series, and started this season by winning the Oceania championship in Mildura last month.
Mitchell, however, is a former Australian and South Australian champion, and he also appears to be riding as good as ever in recent weeks. While it certainly wouldn’t surprise to see him win on Saturday night, for some strange reason the Gillman championship is one event he has never done well in, and he has never been placed in the first three. Unbelievable really, and surely he’ll be on the podium Saturday night after the speed and form he’s shown so far this season.
As for the third of the major stars, it goes without saying everyone will have Mick Headland in their top three. Again, however, despite being a twice World champion, he also doesn’t have a great record in the track championship and has only twice finished on the podium.
That just shows the strength of Sidecar racing at Gillman when two such acclaimed stars as Mitchell and Headland have only managed two podium places in the history of the event.
On the flip-side there are riders who traditionally do well in this event and the Prince of Port Adelaide, Ron Parker, has been one of the best with a first, second and third to his credit. Unfortunately the Prince had a massive off at the last meeting, and while he escaped injury the bike was badly damaged and he could be on a back-up bike which will harm his chances.
The riders who look the most likely to challenge the big three are Victorian Warren Monson (passenger Matt Morgan) and Englishmen Mark Cossar/Darryl Whetstone. If either, or both, get into the final they are more than capable of taking the first prize trophy.
It would be a surprise if one of the riders above did not win the final, but they said something similar last year and local rider Jason Hardy (passenger Geoff Langdon) came out and scored 14 points in the heats and then led all the way in the final. Can they do it again? Logic says no but they can’t be discounted.
The best of the rest appear to be Rob Patterson/Brenton Kerr, Damien Niesche/Mitchell Spear, and Aaron Hartwig/Teagan Hartwig. All will fancy their chances of a semi-final berth but if they go any further than that it will be a terrific achievement.
The large number of nominations means the night will start with some qualification races, and the non-qualifiers will still get a full night’s racing with half-a-dozen reserves’ races programmed.
Although the meeting is almost an all-sidecar night, there will be a small number of Solo events, which should produce some thrilling rides, particularly between the two teenagers Robert Medson and Jack Fallon, who both figured in some of the most exciting races of the night in the recent South Australian championship.
All you need to know:
Meeting Date: Saturday night, 28 December 2013.
Venue: Gillman Speedway Stadium, 65 Wilkins Road, Gillman – near the Port Adelaide area.
Gates open: at 5 pm.
Racing starts: at 7.30 pm.
Nominations:
Paintmaster SA Gillman Sidecar Championship:
Fifteen riders have been selected, and the sixteenth rider will be decided by qualifyng heats. The selected riders are:
Tim Bichard / Dale Knights, Mick Cave / Gaz Williams (Eng), Mark Cossar / Darryl Whetstone (Eng), Brenten Dwyer / Adam Pfitzner, Shane Evans / Kane Turner, Jason Hardy / Geoff Langdon, Arron Hartwig / Teagan Hartwig, Mick Headland / Paul Waters, Mark Mitchell / Tom Golding, Warren Monson / Matt Morgan (Vic), Damien Niesche / Mitchell Spear, Ronny Parker / Nik Schwarzer, Rob Patterson / Brenton Kerr (Vic), Mark Plaisted / Brian Anthony and Daniel Puddy / Luke Puddy.
Qualifying races:
The following riders will contest two heats and a final of qualifying with the winner progressing to the championship and the non-qualifiers will have their own series of support events.
Keith Bichard / Derick Thomas, Rick Fechner / Justin Richards, Dean Hobbs / Andy Westover, Kym Menadue / Anthony Schulz, Shane Rudloff / Damian Egan, Aaron Silvy / Matthew Barkla, Brian Silvy / Josh Knott, Darryl Woods / Will Walker.
Solos:
Jack Fallon (Vic), Seth Hickey, Sam Martin and Robert Medson
About the sponsor, Paintmaster SA:
Paintmaster SA is a South Australian company with over 15 years’ experience in residential and commercial painting and decorating.
Operated by Dave Adams, Paintmaster SA employs several teams of qualified full time tradesmen and apprentices, and services some of South Australia’s top builders, architects, government organisations and residential clients.
Paintmaster SA has a focus on service and quality and, by continually updating their skills, can provide top quality finishes in the latest technology and surface applications.
In addition they are fully licensed and insured and full members of the Master Painters Association.
They are so confident you will be happy with their services they offer a 5 year workmanship guarantee!
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
Weather Forecast: Maximum 30, minimum 19. 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. 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