Parker, Fallon and the Hartwigs the winners - November 2013

November 23, 2013 by Gillman Media

Shane Parker (Div 1 Solo), Jack Fallon (Div 2 Solo) and Arron and Teagan Hartwig (Div 2 Sidecars) were the Gillman Speedway track championship winners tonight in a short, sharp meeting which saw 34 races plus 12 trophy presentations all done and dusted by 10.10pm.

Full heat results are on the Results tab of the Gillman Speedway website.

The feature event of the night was the CBS Bins Gillman Solo Championship in which Shane Parker successfully defended the title he won last season, perhaps surprisingly in the end.

Prior to the final, Justin Sedgmen looked to be the man to beat, with Robert Branford as much of a threat as Parker.

Sedgmen started the meeting in great style when he beat Parker relatively easily in heat one; and then when they met again in heat three, Sedgmen came from third place to go around Max Fricke in turn three and Parker in turn four.

At this point most people had the title going Sedgmen’s way but in his next ride he was beaten by Arlo Bugeja. Bugeja and Sedgmen were wheel-to-wheel for four laps but Bugeja led throughout to win by 5 metres.

He recovered from that surprise loss to win his fourth ride to go into the final as the highest scorer with 11 points. Parker was next best with 10, beaten only by Sedgmen (twice), with Robert Branford the third qualifier with 8 points.

Branford was well beaten by Sedgmen and Parker in heat one but improved as the night went on and figured in one of the races of the night with Parker in heat seven. Branford led for the first three laps by Parker got under him down the back straight on the last lap, only for Branford to come back at him through the last two turns. They crossed the line side-by-side but it was Parker who got the judge’s nod.

The fourth finalist was Max Fricke who had to go via the last chance semi-final which he won after eventually overcoming a strong challenge for a couple of laps by Bugeja.

In the final, Sedgmen, with the first pick, chose gate 1, and Parker, with the second pick, took 4. Branford and Fricke were between them in 2 and 3 respectively.

The race favourite, Sedgmen, won the start and led on the first lap but Parker roared around the outside of him through turn four, replicating the move Sedgmen had made on Parker in heat three, and from that point it was Parker all the way. Sedgmen finished second and Fricke a distant third after Branford fell while in third place.

Branford should be highly commended for his wonderful effort to clear the track thus avoiding a race stoppage. His fall was a heavy one and he finished quite some distance from his bike, but he quickly jumped up and ran to his bike and dragged it across the track to the infield before Parker and Sedgmen came around on the next lap.

Gillman Solo Championship Final: Shane Parker goes around Justin Sedgmen on the opening lap. Photo © JDM Photos.

The CBS Temporary Fencing Division 2 Solo Championship went to 16-year-old Jack Fallon, but although Fallon was one of the favourites and therefore a worthy winner, it will probably be best remembered as the one that got away from his Mildura mate Brodie Waters.

Waters breezed through his four heat rides untroubled, even by Fallon, to top score in the heats with 12 points, but he struck trouble in the final. Fallon was the second highest scorer with 8 (after an exclusion in his first ride, and a dropped point to Waters in his second ride), and the final was always going to be between those two.

When Waters won the start and was first into turn one it looked like he was going to continue his unbeaten run, but he made his first mistake of the night and lost his line going into the turn. He throttled off and that was all Fallon needed. He nipped through on the inside and took the lead. Waters came straight back at him but tried to do it all in one lap. He roared around the outside of Fallon through turns three and four and it was either going to a sensational passing effort, or end in disaster. Unfortunately it was the latter.

As they came out of turn four onto the straight, Waters slammed into the fence at high speed and was pitched over the handlebars. Fortunately after some attention from the paramedics he was okay but, of course, excluded.

In the rerun Fallon was untroubled to lead all the way, with Bob Stoneham second and Brady Webb third.

Division 2 Solo Championship Final: Jack Fallon (blue) and Brodie Waters moments before Waters crashed. Photo © JDM Photos.

The Division 2 Sidecar Championship saw the only unbeaten run of the night, by the Riverland brother and sister team of Arron and Teagan Hartwig.

The Hartwigs shared favouritism before the meeting with Shane Evans, Daniel Puddy, and Brenten Dwyer, with Shane Rudloff and Aaron Silvy the biggest threats, but on the night it was plain sailing for the Hartwigs. They were only challenged once in the heats, by Dwyer in heat 7 when the lead changed a couple of times on the third lap, and led all the way in the final, although there was a nervous moment on the last lap when they got sideways out of turn two and very nearly ran off the track.

Shane Evans, and new passenger Kane Turner, were the second highest scorers in the heats, beaten only by Hartwig, but they came in fourth in the final behind Dwyer and Rudloff.

Rookies Shane Rudloff/Damian Egan were the third highest scorers in the heats (9) and were in the thick of it in the final which basically saw all four bikes finished wheel-to-wheel.

Brenten Dwyer/Adam Pfitzner would have seriously fancied their chances after a dominating opening night a fortnight earlier but he had a few bikes troubles during the night. In his first ride it looked as if the clutch let go as he rolled forward towards the tapes. He desperately tried to pull the bike up before touching them and consequently badly missed the start and could only manage third place behind Aaron Silvy and Reg Waters. He missed his next ride, then ran second to Hartwig before an easy win in his last ride saw him just scrape into the semi-final as the last qualifier with 6 points.

The other semi-finalists were Aaron Silvy/Matthew Barkla (7), Tasmanians Reg Waters/Jonathon Sheehan, riding the ex-Darren Cafe bike (7) and Keith Bichard/Derick Thomas (6). Missing a berth was one of the favourites, Daniel Puddy/Luke Puddy, who had problems with their new bike and had two retirements and a non-start before a good win over Rudloff, Waters and Bichard in the last heat.

Dwyer led all the way in the semi-final to suggest he’d be a chance in the final but the Hartwigs led all the way while Dwyer, Rudloff and Evans diced for second place.

Division 2 Sidecar Championship Final: Arron Hartwig/Teagan Hartwig leading Brenten Dwyer/Adam Pfitzner. Photo © JDM Photos.

The winners: