Speedway at Gillman this Friday night (25 April) - April 2014
April 22, 2014 by Gillman Media
Speedway fans have an unexpected chance to see some action at Adelaide’s Gillman Speedway this season, with an additional meeting taking place this Friday night, 25 April.
The season had officially closed last month, but the Speedway Riders’ Association had no hesitation in hastily scheduling a meeting for Anzac night to raise funds for badly injured Kiwi Sidecar passenger Philippa Burns.
Burns, who has been a regular at Gillman in recent seasons either as passenger or pit crew for her husband Andrew Buchanan, was air-lifted to hospital with multiple injuries after a fall in the qualifying meeting for the Australian Championship at Kurri Kurri in New South Wales on 29 March. She is expected to make a full recovery but is still hospitalised in Australia and not yet able to return home to New Zealand.
Friday night’s meeting will feature Solos and Sidecars, with this season’s leading riders – Robert Branford, Arlo Bugeja and Robert Medson – heading the list of Solo nominations, along with Mildura riders Jack Fallon and Chris Ferguson.
A full field of Sidecars will contest the regular format of 20 heats, a last chance semi-final and a final. Leading contenders are former Australian Champions Mark Mitchell and Tom Golding, current and multiple Victorian Champions, Warren Monson and Matt Morgan, Daniel Puddy and Luke Puddy, who almost pulled off the upset of the season when they went close to winning the Grand Slam Grand Final at the last meeting, and popular Riverland brother and sister Arron and Teagan Hartwig, who rode in their first Australian Championship at the end of March.
There will also be several events for Classic Sidecars, plus Junior Solos and Sidecars on the infield track when the main track is being watered or graded.
As it is Anzac Day, there will be free entry to all current and past service personnel, but proof of service is required.
Everything you need to know:
Meeting Date: Friday night, 25 April 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 (Alphabetical order):
Sidecars: Tim Bichard / Dale Knights, Rick Curran / Chris Prewett (Vic), Chris Dess / Emily Seymour (NT/Vic), Shane Evans / Kane Turner, David Gannon / Darryl Whetstone (NZ/ENG), Byren Gates / Michael O’Loughlin (Vic), Jason Hardy / Adam Pascoe, Arron Hartwig / Teagan Hartwig, Kym Menadue / Greg Menadue, Mark Mitchell / Tom Golding, Warren Monson / Matt Morgan (Vic/SA), Daniel Puddy / Luke Puddy, Shane Rudloff / Damien Egan, Aaron Silvy / TBA, Rick Stephens / TBA (NSW), Jayson Trewin / Jack French (Vic), Mal Greig / Scott Banyer (reserve), Brian Silvy / Josh Knott (reserve)
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: Arlo Bugeja, Robert Branford, Jack Fallon, Chris Ferguson, Seth Hickey, Robert Medson, Jake Mitchell, Luke Mitchell, Garry Fischer
Classic Sidecars: Geoff Baran/Ken Cherrington (Norton), Clinton Crabb/Matt Morgan (Kawasaki z1000), Dean Hobbs/Andy Westover (Suzuki GS1000), Steve Lewis/Rob Brown (Suzuki GT750), Mick Tucker/Jack Tucker (Suzuki T500)
Juniors (infield track, races during grades/watering of senior track):
125cc Junior Solos: Lachlan Barbary (Mildura), William Coombes, Mitchell Grech, Liam May, Brayden McGuinness, Nicholas Possingham, Blake Ridley, Layne Riordan (Mildura)
250cc Junior Sidecars: Tom Adams/Katelyn Silvy, Jackson Barbaby/Josh Malik (Mildura), Eli Bock/Ben Khan (Broken Hill), Talysha Dawson/Chealah Dawson (Mildura), Jayden Hardy/Belinda Silvy, Scott Topping/Andrew Erzay (WA)
Admission Prices: Adults $20, Pension and Student Concession $15 (*), Children Under 16 free. Parking free. Programme $5. Free entry to all current and past service personnel, but proof of service is required
(*) Concession is limited to Centrelink Pensioner Concession Card and Student Concession card holders only.
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 23, minimum 11. Partly cloudy.
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