Solo teams at Gillman Speedway this Saturday

August 1, 2018 by Gillman Media

The August round of the 500cc Solo Teams Development Program, being staged at the Gillman and Mildura Speedway tracks this winter, takes place this Saturday (August 4) with racing starting at 1pm.

The 15-heat match between teams representing affiliated overseas clubs Swindon (England) and Leszno (Poland) will be the main event and will be finished well in time for those who want to watch both the speedway and the AFL showdown between the Crows and the Power.

This month the two teams are more closely aligned to the riders’ home states with all the Gillman and Mildura riders representing Swindon, while the Leszno team is almost all New South Wales riders.

Adelaide rider Robert Medson will captain the National Karate Swindon Robins and his team-mates are fellow Gillman riders Fraser Bowes, Dakota Ballantyne and Brayden McGuiness, Mildura’s Declan Knowles and Tom Dixon, and Kiwi Jake Turner.

Turner, a three-times and the current New Zealand Under 21 Championship, was impressive in his first Gillman meeting in June when he won his first-ever ride on the track before being hit by mechanical problems, while local rider Brayden McGuinness will be making his first appearance in the teams’ events after only recently returning from two months racing in Denmark.

Twice World Under 16 250cc Champion, Matthew Gilmore, from Cowra will lead the CBS Bins Leszno Bulls team of fellow New South Wales riders Mitchell Cluff, Kane Lawrence, Matthew Pickering, Dayle Wood and Aden Clare, plus Queenslander Aaron Jackson who is making the long trip down from Ipswich.

With strong links to both overseas teams, Leszno and Swindon, where he spent many successful years, 10-times Australian Champion Leigh Adams will be making a welcome visit to Gillman on Saturday to act as team manager for the Bulls. Adams says “It’s a great initiative by the guys at Gillman and Mildura to run teams racing this winter. It has been great for the riders, and for the fans to see something different”.

Adams will have his hands full trying to steer the Bulls to victory as the Robins have the home track advantage and his opposition managers Lyndon Schlein and George Taylor have proven to be astute team managers in the previous matches.

Following the Solo match there will be a full afternoon of practice events for other classes including Sidecars, Classic bikes, Dirt bikes, Juniors and TQs.

Racing starts at 1pm and the spectator admission price is $15 for everyone 16 years and older, with under 16 free. Entry is by the eastern gate (behind the pits) only.

Top photo: Robert Medson. Photo by Judy Mackay.

Everything You Need To Know:

Meeting Date: Saturday, 4 August 2018.

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

Gate opens: 11 am. Eastern gate (near the pits) only.

Racing starts: 1 pm.

500cc Solo Teams:

National Karate Swindon Robins: 1-Robert Medson (SA), 2-Fraser Bowes (SA), 3-Jake Turner (NZ), 4-Dakota Ballantyne (SA), 5-Brayden McGuiness (SA), 6-Declan Knowles (Vic) replaced by Steve Graetz (SA), 7-Tom Dixon (Vic). Team Managers-Lyndon Schlein (SA), George Taylor (Sco).

CBS Bins Leszno Bulls: 1-Matthew Gilmore (NSW), 2-Mitchell Cluff (NSW), 3-Kane Lawrence (NSW), 4-Aaron Jackson (Qld), 5-Matthew Pickering (NSW), 6-Dayle Wood (NSW), 7-Aden Clare (NSW). Team Manager-Leigh Adams (Vic)

Practice Classes: Sidecars, 250cc Under 16 Solos, Flat Track Solos, Classic 500cc Solos, Classic Sidecars, 125cc Under 16 Solos, Three Quarter Midgets. NOTE Steve Graetz reserve for the teams.

Admission: Age 16 and over $15, Under 16 free. Parking free. Race card (A4 sheet) free. Grandstand free.

Seating: Grandstand seating, large grassed viewing mounds and terracing suitable for deck chairs.

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, doughnuts, coffee, cold drinks, sweets. “Gillman has far and away the best speedway tucker” [Peter White’s Speedway World]

Bar facilities available but please note a condition of our liquor licence is no byo alcohol or glass can be brought into the venue.

Pets: No pets, other than guide dogs, are allowed into the venue.

Souvenirs: There is a well-stocked souvenir shop. Eftpos available in the souvenir shop. Souvenirs can also be purchased online (see the Shop tab on the Gillman Speedway website).

Weather Forecast (as at 1/8/18): Maximum 17, minimum 9. Cloudy. [www.bom.gov.au/sa/forecasts/Adelaide]

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 from the airport, 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 kms.

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