SA Solo Championship the first item on the Gillman Christmas menu - December 2016

December 25, 2016 by Gillman Media

The first of the major State and Australian Championship meetings at Gillman Speedway over the Christmas and New Year period, the Littlehampton Clay Bricks and Pavers South Australian Solo Championship, takes place this WEDNESDAY night, 28 December — POSTPONED UNTIL TUESDAY, 3 JANUARY.

The favourites for championship will be international riders Troy Batchelor, Dave Watt, Justin Sedgmen and Tyron Proctor.

Batchelor is the only former winner in the line-up and he will be attempting to win title number six. Batchelor has an impeccable record in the event as he’s competed on five occasions for five victories, but this is his first appearance since 2013. His 2016 season in the UK was hindered by a badly broken arm but the signs are he is on the way back to his best form as he made a whistle-stop trip to Australia at the beginning of the month and won the Victorian Championship. He flew in, won the meeting, then flew straight back to England to sort his work visa for 2017 before flying back for tonight’s meeting, and the Australian Championship which starts at Gillman next Wednesday night (4 January).

This is Dave Watt’s first appearance in an SA title and he is also in good form and won the Queensland Championship in Brisbane on 17 December.

Justin Sedgmen and Tyron Proctor need no introduction to Gillman regulars as both have ridden here on many occasions and with considerable success, Sedgmen as recently as last meeting when he won the Jack Young Cup, and both are former Victorian Champions.

The other riders with the best chances of reaching the semi-final and then possibly the final ahead of one or more of the favourites appear to be the four Mildura riders, Brodie Waters, Jordan Stewart, Jaimon Lidsey and Cooper Riordan.

Waters was runner-up to Proctor in the Victorian title last season and Stewart has finished third in the past two Vic titles, relegating Proctor to fourth this year, while Lidsey and Riordan both made the semi-final of this season’s Vic Championship, and on the 17th finished third and fourth behind international riders Max Fricke and Jack Holder in the Victorian Under 21 Championship.

Favourite for the supporting SA Under 16 250cc Championship will be Queenslander Jedd List who is the current World number three, with fellow Queenslander Keynan Rew, who has won the Qld, NSW, WA, SA and Vic 125cc Championships since September, as his biggest challenger. SA’s main hopes will be first year 250 riders Jack Norman and Liam May.

Everything You Need To Know:

Meeting Date: Tuesday, 3 January 2017.

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

Gates open: at 5 pm. Entry via Western and Eastern gates. The Eastern gate will close at 8pm. Off-street parking areas near both gates.

Racing starts: at 7.30 pm. Free spectator access to the pits for a close look at the bikes until approximately 6.00 pm. Practice at 6.15 pm

Riders:

SA Solo Championship 500cc riders : Dakota Ballantyne (SA), Troy Batchelor (SA), Arlo Bugeja (SA), Josh Coyne (Qld), James Davies (Vic), Mitchell Grech (SA), Declan Knowles (Vic), Jaimon Lidsey (Vic), Brayden McGuinness (SA), Robert Medson (SA), Tyron Proctor (Vic), Cooper Riordan (Vic), Justin Sedgmen (Vic), Jordan Stewart (Vic), Brodie Waters (Vic), Dave Watt (Qld). Reserves: Oliver Hamilton (Vic), Aden Clare (NSW).

SA Solo Championship 250cc, Under 16 riders : Fraser Bowes (SA), Shani Cole (Vic), Tom Dixon (Vic), Jedd List (Qld), Liam May (SA), Jack Norman (SA), Keynan Rew (Qld), Bailey Viner (Qld).

Solo 125cc, Under 16 riders : Patrick Bowes (SA), Ben Dixon (SA), Hugh Evans (SA), Patrick Hamilton (Vic), Jackson Milner (Vic), Nicholas Possingham (SA), Jack Sadler (SA), Angus Vandenberg (SA).

Admission: Adults $25, Age Pension and Student Concession $20, Children aged 12-15 $5, Children Under 12 free, Family $55. Programme $5. Grandstand seating $5. Parking free.

Concession is limited to holders of the Centrelink Pensioner Concession Card and Student Concession card holders only.

Seating: Grandstand seating (limited to 216 people). There are 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]

Please note a condition of our liquor licence is no byo alcohol or glass can be brought into the venue. Also note no pets, other than guide dogs, are allowed into the venue.

Souvenirs: There is a well-stocked souvenir shop including the latest Blackchrome manufactured shirts and jackets. Eftpos available only in the souvenir shop.

Weather Forecast: Maximum 29, minimum 14. Sunny (as at 28 Dec). [www.bom.gov.au/sa/forecasts/Adelaide]

Sponsor: Littlehampton Clay Bricks and Pavers

Littlehampton Clay Bricks and Pavers have been the leading supplier of quality clay bricks and pavers to Australians for over a century.

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. An exciting new accommodation venue, Quest Port Adelaide, has recently opened only five minutes from the track. Quest Port Adelaide has modern studio, one, two and three bedroom apartments.

Contact for this meeting: Speedway Manager, David Parker 0403 364 658