Tenth Anniversary Australian Solo Championship at Gillman Speedway Saturday night - January 2014

January 7, 2014 by Gillman Media

This Saturday night (11 January) marks an exceptional achievement in Gillman Speedway’s history as it hosts its tenth consecutive Australian Solo Speedway Championship, and the highlight will be the first appearance in South Australia of New South Wales rider Chris Holder since he won the World Championship in 2012.

The South Australian followers of the sport were looking forward to acknowledging Holder’s World Championship victory at last season’s Australian Championship meeting but unfortunately he was unable to compete after suffering a serious injury only week’s after winning the World Championship.

Another serious injury during the 2013 European season prevented him from successfully defending his World championship and although he has only just returned to racing after a lengthy lay-off he showed he is straight back into top form by winning two major meetings in NSW, and then finishing second to Jason Doyle in the first round of the Australian Championship at Kurri Kurri in NSW on Saturday night.

The two riders were side-by-side throughout the race with Doyle getting home first just by centimetres. Mildura’s Cameron Woodward, who won the SA Championship at Gillman in December, was third and defending Australian champion Troy Batchelor was fourth after being forced wide in the first corner of the final.

As well as the four finalists, another rider to stand out was Josh Grajczonek, who was the only unbeaten rider after two rides each, and opened his night with a win over Holder, but Grajczonek ultimately finished fifth after being beaten by Holder in the last chance semi-final.

Another rider to impress was Holder’s 17-year-old brother Jack, who finished sixth and was the only rider to beat Doyle on the night.

As well as the CBS Bins Australian Solo Championship, there will be a limited number of Sidecar events which will include the British riders Mick Cave and Mark Cossar. Cossar in particular was in fine form last Sunday when he looked like he could spring an upset victory in the South Australian Championship until he was excluded from the final after an opening lap crash.

There will also be a spectacular fireworks display just before the final, which is expected to be around 10.30pm.

The Gillman meeting will be the deciding round of the Solo Championship and the series points going into Gillman will be available on the Gillman Speedway website on Wednesday night after the second round at Undera Park Speedway in Victoria.

Everything you need to know:

Meeting Date: Saturday night, 11 January 2014.

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

Gates open: at 3 pm.

Racing starts: at 7.30 pm.

Riders:

CBS Bins 2014 Australian Solo Championship

Riders (alphabetical order): Jake Anderson (Vic), Troy Batchelor (SA-the defending champion), Mason Campton (NSW), Jason Doyle (NSW), Max Fricke (Vic), Josh Grajczonek (Qld), Chris Holder (NSW), Jack Holder (NSW), Sam Masters (NSW), Tyson Nelson (NSW), Dakota North (Vic), Justin Sedgmen (Vic), Kurt Shields (NSW), Daine Stevens (NSW), Rohan Tungate (NSW) and Cameron Woodward (Vic). Matt Day (Qld) is the 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.

Sailun Tyres Sidecar Support events:

Mick Cave / Gaz Williams (Eng), Mark Cossar / Darryl Whetstone (Eng), Jason Hardy / Geoff Langdon, Mark Mitchell / Tom Golding, Ron Parker / tba (reserve).

Australian Solo Championship Sponsor : CBS Bins

CBS Bins is a family owned and operated businesses which commenced in 1975 when Graham and Marion Baker started in business with the purchase of a model 610 Bobcat. As the years progressed they were joined by their sons Steven, Mark and Darren, and today CBS Bins has grown into one of South Australia’s leading waste and rubbish removal companies. Sadly Graham passed away in January, but his family continue to support Gillman Speedway and Graham’s past support has been remembered by the western end terraced area being named The Graham Baker Terrace. Website [www.cbsbins.com.au]

Sidecar 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.

Fireworks:

There will be a major fireworks display just before the final race of the Championship.

Admission prices:

Adults $30, Pension and Student Concession $25 (*), Children aged 12-15 $10, Under 12 FREE, Family Tickets $70. 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.

Programmes:

The souvenir programme will include colour action and portrait photographs of the 16 riders and a detailed history of the Championship going back to the 1920s.

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 32, minimum 19. 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. Event T-Shirts by Speedway Star Racewear (Wayne Meyer NSW) will also be available.

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