Division 2 Sidecars take centre stage at Gillman Speedway - February 2017

February 2, 2017 by Gillman Media

Division 2 Sidecars take centre stage at the Gillman Speedway Stadium on Saturday night (4 February), with the staging of their own Sidecar Championship.

Gillman has the best Sidecar riders in Australia racing on a regular basis and the final, and even the semi-final, at most meetings is equivalent to an Australian Championship final, which makes it almost impossible for the Division 2 riders to get any silverware, no matter how good they are, and there are some very good riders in the Gillman Division 2 ranks.

So this week Gillman is giving them their own Championship, but it will still be tough to get on the podium as the line-up is on a par with the South Australian Championship qualifying round earlier this season, and the majority of the line-up capable of finishing in the top three to earn direct qualification to the final.

With a very even field, all riders outside of the top three will get a second chance to qualify for the final this week, with two qualifying finals in addition to the usual last-chance semi-final.

There will also be support events for 500cc Solos, 250cc Solos and Flat Track Solos.

Top photo: Tim Bichard/Brenton Marsh (white) and Aaron Silvy/Adam Pascoe (red). Photo by Judy Mackay.

Everything You Need To Know:

Meeting Date: Saturday, 4 February 2017.

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

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

Racing starts: 7.30 pm. Free spectator access to the pits until around 6.30pm.

Riders/Passengers:

Division 2 Sidecar Championship: 11 Thomas Adams / Katelyn Silvy, 12 Brian Silvy / Josh Knott, 14 Kym Menadue / Eric Melton, 15 Shane Rudloff / Scott Morris, 21 Aaron Silvy / Adam Pascoe, 22 Stephen Fowler / Ben Goodridge, 28 Nathan Cock / Jack Wilson (Vic), 56 Steve Browne / Colby Higgins, 57 Chris Bichard / Brett Lewis, 69 Rick Stephens / Nick O’Brien (NSW), 77 Tim Bichard / Brenton Marsh, 83 Paul Donnelly / Jake Roberts (Vic), 905 Ricky Fechner / Cameron White, 970 Dean Hobbs / Justin Richards

500cc Solos : 19 Brayden McGuinness, 42 Seth Hickey, 56 Arlo Bugeja, 82 Dakota Ballantyne.

250cc Solos : 11 Connor Bailey (Vic), 22 Jack Norman, 51 Fraser Bowes.

Flat Track Solos : 10 Bruce Russell, 18 Jake Mitchell, 19 Lincoln Tucker, 47 Dean Maul-Dunn, 67 Daniel Mitchell, 96 Mark Stevens, 150 Sean Chapman, 312 Dylan McKenzie, 420 Shaun Allen, 511 Shane Church.

125cc Junior Solos (infield track) : 11 Connor Bailey (Vic), 47 Nicholas Possingham, 51 Fraser Bowes, 70 Jack Sadler, 80 Patrick Bowes, 211 Teagan Pedler.

Admission prices: Adults $25, Age Pension and Student Concession $20 (*), Children Under 16 $5, Under 12 free. Family $55. Grandstand seating free. Programme $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: maximum 30, minimum 17, partly cloudy, possible showers. [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. 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.

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.

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