Treloar, Headland and Monson head Blackhrome Sidecar line-up at Gillman

February 17, 2016 by Gillman Media

The countdown to the 2016 FIM Speedway Sidecar 1000cc World Cup to be held at Adelaide’s Gillman Speedway Stadium at Easter begins this Saturday night (20 February) with Blackchrome Sidecar Feature event and will continue with the Paintmaster SA Gillman Sidecar Championship in a fortnight’s time on 5 March and the President’s Trophy on 19 March before the biggest weekend in Australian speedway sidecar history with the World Cup on 26 March and the Oceania Championship the following night, 27 March.

Headlining the bill Saturday night are four of the Australian riders who will be riding in the World Cup – eight-time Australian Champion Darrin Treloar and passenger Blake Cox from Sydney, his arch-rival of recent years Mick Headland and son Jesse Headland, current Australia #2 Warren Monson/Matt Morgan from Melbourne, and our local rising stars Damien Niesche/Mitchell Spear.

It would be a major surprise if the winner is not one of Treloar, Headland or Monson, but as well as Niesche there are other challengers, and at least another half-a-dozen riders would fancy their chances of at least a semi-final place and maybe even a berth in the final.

Leading the challengers will be current SA#2 Arron Hartwig and sister Teagan Hartwig, who went very close to taking their first state title in December.

That title was won by the Headlands, and was well-deserved as they only dropped one point in the heats before winning the final, but the point they dropped was to the Hartwigs, who won four of their five heats but were excluded from their third ride when they spun off the track while clear leaders.

The other challenges should come from Mildura trio Byren Gates/Michael O’Loughlin, Neale Hancock/Brendan Johnson and Chris Dess/Brenton Kerr, Sydney’s Shane Hudson/Eli Wright and local riders Shane Rudloff/Tom Adams and Klae Hobbs/ Dave Power.

Gates is the best known of the visitors to Adelaide fans, but it was actually Hancock who was the highest placed Victorian rider in their state championship in January.

Dess and Hobbs have been dominating the division two races this season and Hobbs has scored some impressive wins on trips to Mildura so it will be interesting to see if they can break into the top seven for a semi-final berth.

Tim Bichard/Anthony Schulz, Aaron Silvy/Adam Pascoe, Mark Radford/Chris Walker (Vic), Stephen Fowler/Benny Goodridge and Luke Puddy/Damian Egan complete the line-up but it is unlikely they will be able to finish in the top half of the scorers, although you never know with Bichard – he’s a quick rider when his bike is on song, as he showed in the SA Championship when he only missed out on a start in the semi-final on countback.

There’s also a good line-up of riders in the support races and their races should be very competitive with several of the riders believing they were worthy of a place in the main event.

Everything You Need To Know:

Meeting Date: Saturday, 20 February 2016.

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

Gates open: at 5 pm.

Parking and entrance: Patrons can enter via two gates, at the western and eastern ends of the venue. There are free parking areas near both gates. The eastern gate will close at 8.30pm.

Racing starts: at 7.30 pm. Free spectator access to the pits for a close look at the bikes until approximately 6.30 pm.

Riders:

Blackchrome Sidecar Feature : Tim Bichard/Anthony Schulz, Chris Dess/Brenton Kerr (Vic), Stephen Fowler/Benny Goodridge, Byren Gates/Michael O’Loughlin (Vic), Neale Hancock/Brendan Johnson (Vic), Arron Hartwig/Teagan Hartwig, Mick Headland/Jesse Headland, Klae Hobbs/ Dave Power, Shane Hudson/Eli Wright (NSW), Warren Monson/Matt Morgan (Vic), Damien Niesche/Mitchell Spear, Luke Puddy/Damian Egan, Mark Radford/Chris Walker (Vic), Shane Rudloff/Tom Adams, Aaron Silvy/Adam Pascoe, Darrin Treloar/Blake Cox (NSW)

Sidecar Support Races : Peter Adams/Katylen Silvy, Keith Bichard/Michael Bell, Steve Browne/Scott Morris, Ricky Fechner/Cameron White, Dean Hobbs/Andy Westover, Kym Menadue/Eric Melton, Brian Silvy/Josh Knott, Mick Tucker/Corey Palmer.

125cc Junior Solos on infield track : Connor Bailey, Fraser Bowes, Patrick Bowes, Liam May, Jack Norman, Teagan Pedler, Nicholas Possingham, Jack Sadler, Angus Vandenberg

Admission prices: Adults $25, Age Pension and Student Concession $20 (*), Children Under 16 $5 (aged 12-15 inclusive), Children Under 12 free. Family $55. Programme $5. Grandstand seating $5. Parking free.

(*) Concession is limited to Centrelink Pensioner Concession Card and Student Concession Card holders only. A family ticket covers 2 adults and children under 16.

Weather Forecast: Sunny, maximum 33, minimum 15. [www.bom.gov.au/sa/forecasts/Adelaide]

Seating: 216 seat grandstand; terracing and large grassed viewing mounds suitable for deck chairs.

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.

Sponsor: Blackchrome Sportswear. An Adelaide based company with a reputation for unmatched product quality and on time delivery. See their website www.blackchrome.com.au for examples of their customised sportswear.

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, nachos, doughnuts, coffee, cold drinks, sweets. “Gillman has far and away the best speedway tucker” [Peter White’s Speedway World, February 2015]

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.

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, 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 kilometres).

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; and the Mawson Lakes Hotel and Function Centre, Main Street, Mawson Lakes, offer a discount to speedway fans but you must ring the venues 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