Two meetings at Gillman Speedway this weekend - January 2014

January 24, 2014 by Gillman Media

Speedway fans get the chance to see two meetings at Adelaide’s Gillman Speedway this weekend.

Following the CBS Bins Australian Under 21 Solo Championship meeting tomorrow (Saturday) night (see story Championships Continue at Gillman Speedway Saturday night), the annual Jack Young Cup will held on Sunday night, 26 January.

The meeting commemorates the memory of South Australia’s greatest rider, the late Jack Young (pictured above), the first rider from any country to win the World Speedway Championship twice (1951, 52), the only Australian to have successfully defended the championship, and the only South Australian winner.

This will be the last major Solo meeting of the season and appears to be a wide open event with no clear cut favourite.

With a number of riders new to Gillman there could be a surprise winner, perhaps someone like Queensland’s Jake Allen for example.

Allen would not be known to most people in Adelaide but he is a good rider in his home state as he showed last weekend when he won a meeting in Maryborough against several British League riders, including Rohan Tungate who won the Australian Championship round here a fortnight ago.

WA’s Cameron Heeps will also be a major contender. He had a very good year with Ipswich in the British League in 2013 and although he hasn’t been racing in Australia this summer he could well be WA’s first ever winner.

The local contingent will also be amongst the favourites, particularly Shane Parker and Robert Branford who have both been in good form in the major events at Gillman this season.

Another rider who many will fancy will be Victoria’s Max Fricke. The 17-year-old makes the long 860km trip from the alpine country town of Mansfield on a regular basis and is always a chance of a place on the podium.

The winner could well come from one of the other riders, however, and most would be disappointed if they don’t make it to the semi-final stage, but sixteen won’t go into seven, so there will be some good riders who miss out.

One thing we do know is that there will be a new winner tonight as there are no previous winners in the line-up. Last year’s winner Tyron Proctor was aiming to be here for this event after sitting out the last seven months because of a neck injury but unfortunately he hasn’t yet received the all clear to resume riding. The meeting probably came just a couple of weeks too soon for him. We wish him well in his return to racing however, and hope to see him back here next season.

There will also be a full programme of Sidecar events.

Everything you need to know:

Meeting Date: Sunday night, 26 January 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:

Sailun Tyres Jack Young Solo Cup

Riders (alphabetical order): Jake Allen (Qld), Hunter Anderson (NSW), Robert Branford (SA), Arlo Bugeja (SA), Matt Day (Qld), Jye Etheridge (NSW), Jack Fallon (Vic), Max Fricke (Vic), Cameron Heeps (WA), Robert Medson (SA), Shane Parker (SA), Nigel Sadler (SA), Tyson Snow (Qld), Bob Stoneham (Vic), Brodie Waters (Vic), Brady Webb (WA).

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.

Solo Support Races: Ernest Harker (WA), Seth Hickey (SA), Jake Mitchell (SA), Luke Mitchell (SA), Blake Russell (WA), Douglas Scoble (WA).

Sidecar Races: Keith Bichard / tba, Tim Bichard / Dale Knights, Mick Cave / Gaz Williams (Eng), Shane Evans / Kane Turner, Rick Fechner / Justin Richards, Mal Greig / Scott Banyer, Arron Hartwig / Teagan Hartwig, Dean Hobbs / Andy Westover, Mark Mitchell / Tom Golding, Kym Menadue / Anthony Schulz, Ronny Parker / Derick Thomas, Daniel Puddy / Luke Puddy, Shane Rudloff / Damian Egan, Aaron Silvy / Jack Tucker, Brian Silvy / Josh Knott

125cc Junior Solos on the infield Junior track: Declyn Adams (Vic), William Coombes, Troy Kutcher, Jaimon Lidsey (Vic), Liam May, Brayden McGuinness, Corey Pangbourne (Vic), Blake Ridley, Layne Riordan.

Sponsor : Sailun Tyres

Sailun Tyres are a high quality tyre from one of the most technically advanced tyre manufacturers in China. In 2002 several well-known corporations and experts in the tyre industry invested and established Sailun with technological support from the rubber industry and Qingdao University of Science and Technology. Sailun is the first tyre manufacturer to integrate production, research and demonstration techniques, while developing new products, and many experts in the tyre industry have come to Sailun to improve their tyre design theory, technique and test methods.

Admission prices:

Adults $20, Pension and Student Concession $15 (*), Children aged 12-15 $5, Under 12 FREE, Family Tickets $45. Car Parking free. Souvenir 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.

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 34, minimum 14. 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 (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