Plaisted & Gilbert Win Ikon Suspension Sidecar Grand Slam Series - April 2013

April 13, 2013 by Gillman Media

Adelaide rider Mark Plaisted, and his NSW passenger Sam Gilbert, have won the 2012/13 Ikon Suspension Sidecar Grand Slam Series with a scintillating unbeaten performance at the Loxford Park Speedway in Kurri Kurri, NSW last weekend (6 April).

Plaisted and Gilbert went into the final round in third place with 70 points, two behind second-placed Darrin Treloar/Simon Cohrs, and six behind leadrs Warren Monson/Matt Morgan.

Unfortunately for Monson he had to miss the meeting because of work commitments, which left Treloar and Plaisted to fight it out, and in real show of strength Plaisted beat the Australian Champion three times to take the series.

Plaisted first beat Treloar in the heats, on his way to a 15 point maximum, and then beat him again in the final, and with Treloar finishing second it meant the two were tied in first place in the series on 90 points each.

That meant a run-off was required to determine the winner, and once again Plaisted and Gilbert were successful, winning the race and therefore the series.

The series win capped a highly successful season for Plaisted which started with an impressive sponsorship from Blackchrome Sportswear and Workwear, and continued with victory in the South Australian Championship and third place in the Australian Championship.

Despite missing the last round, Warren Monson and Matt Morgan still managed to finish third overall in the series.

Final Series points (unofficial):
Mark Plaisted/Sam Gilbert 90
Darrin Treloar/Simon Cohrs 90
Warren Monson/Matt Morgan 76
Mick Headland/Paul Waters 73, Byren Gates/Michael O’Loughlin 64, Trent Headland/Jesse Headland 41, Jason Hardy/Geoff Langdon 38, Wes Jenkins/Damian Egan 32, Damien Niesche/Mitchell Spear 29, Lindsay McGregor/Mitch Duncan 29, Mark Mitchell/Tom Golding 28, Andrew Buchanan/Philippa Burns 24, John Hannan/Bryce Rose 17, Grant Bond/Glenn Cox 16, David Bottrell/Ben Pitt 16, Shane Evans/Dean Hobbs 16, Tim Bichard/Dale Knights 13, Hayden Bond/Brady Cox 12, Justin Plaisted/Sam Harrison 12, Scott Christopher/Tyler Moon 12, Rick Curran/Brian Anthony 10, Michael Farrell/Shane Van Ginneken 9, Banjo Smith/Brett Carr 8, Michael Hoogland/Tim Evans 7, Mick Farrell (Snr)/Don Morris 6, Aaron Silvy/Matthew Barkla 6, Simon Hartley/Nathan Chisholm 6, Shane Hudson/Lionel Cornwell 5, Tim Lawrence/Chris Johnstone 5, Neale Hancock/Brodie Gebhart 4, Arron Hartwig/Teagan Hartwig 4, Stephen Saunders/Clarissa Mitchell 4, Darryl Woods/Kane Turner 1, Kym Menadue/Anthony Schultz 1, Ron Parker/Shane Rudloff 0.