Fricke, Sedgmen and Bottrell headline Gillman Speedway Christmas meeting - December 2017

December 25, 2017 by Gillman Media

International Solo riders Max Fricke and Justin Sedgmen, and Queensland based former South Australian Sidecar star Dave Bottrell headline the annual Christmas meeting at Adelaide’s Gillman Speedway this THURSDAY night, 28 December.

Fricke and Bottrell are making their first appearance at Gillman this season, while Sedgmen is returning after winning the South Australian Championship on 2 December.

Queensland Solo rider Josh Coyne is also on the programme after finishing third in the Western Australian Championship on 16 December. Fricke, Sedgmen and Coyne will meet local riders Robert Medson, Dakota Ballantyne, Brayden McGuinness, and Victorian Oliver Hamilton in the Group 1 races, with Seth Hickey, Waikerie’s Blake Ridley, Mildura’s Tom Dixon and Albury’s Aden Clare meeting in Group 2.

In the Sidecars Dave Bottrell/Chris Bottrell’s main opposition in the Group 1 Sidecars will be Damien Niesche/Mitchell Spear and Shane Rudloff/Scott Morris with Kym Menadue/Eric Melton, Tim Bichard/Derick Thomas, Aaron Silvy/Jaron Speyer-Silvy, Dean Hobbs/Justin Richards and Nathan Cock/Jack Wilson all a chance of making the final for the top four point scorers.

There will also be Group 2 and Group 3 Sidecar races.

In other events riders from South Australia, Queensland, New South Wales and Victoria will contest the South Australian Under 16 250cc Solo Championship. Favourites to win the title are local riders Fraser Bowes and Liam May, and Queenslanders Keynan Rew and Jacob Hook.

Everything You Need To Know:

Meeting Date: Thursday, 28 December 2017.

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

Gates open: 5 pm. Entry via Western and Eastern gates. Off-street parking areas near both gates.

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

Riders:

500cc Solo riders : Dakota Ballantyne, Aden Clare (NSW), Josh Coyne (Qld), Tom Dixon (Vic), Max Fricke (Vic), Oliver Hamilton (Vic), Seth Hickey, Brayden McGuinness, Robert Medson, Blake Ridley, Justin Sedgmen (Vic)

Sidecars : Peter Adams/Belinda Silvy, Ricky Adams/Alice Cox, Thomas Adams/Katelyn Silvy, Chris Bichard/Brett Lewis, Tim Bichard/Derick Thomas, Dave Bottrell/Chris Bottrell (Qld), Nathan Cock/Jack Wilson (NSW), Clinton Crabb/Michael Bell, Paul Donnelly/Jake Roberts (Vic), Nathan Fleet/Glen Zaworski, Andrew Gault/Brad Pitt (NSW), Dean Hobbs/Justin Richards, Kym Menadue/Eric Melton, Damien Niesche/Mitchell Spear, Corkie Omeley/Chris Basham (Qld), Adam Pascoe/Tim Wegner, Shane Rudloff/Scott Morris, Aaron Silvy/Jaron Speyer-Silvy, Brian Silvy/Cameron White, Darryll Woods/Will Walker

Solos 250cc Under 16 SA Championship: Fraser Bowes (SA), Patrick Bowes (SA), Patrick Hamilton (Vic), Jacob Hook (Qld), Liam May (SA), Bradley Page (NSW), Teagan Pedler (SA), Keynan Rew (Qld), Bailey Viner (Qld)

Solos 125cc Under 16 on infield track : Joshua Beetham (Qld), Patrick Bowes, Ben Dixon, Hugh Evans, Jackson Milner (Vic), Nicholas Possingham, Harry Sadler

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

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

Seating: Grandstand seating, 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]

Bar facilities available but please note a condition of our liquor licence is no byo alcohol or glass can be brought into the venue.

Pets: No pets, other than guide dogs, are allowed into the venue.

Souvenirs: There is a well-stocked souvenir shop. Eftpos available in the souvenir shop.

Weather Forecast: Maximum 32, minimum 23. Partly cloudy. Medium (40%) chance of showers. [www.bom.gov.au/sa/forecasts/Adelaide]

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.

Live results: download the MYLAPS Speedhive app to your phone or tablet. Free to view. Gillman programme also available to download from the Gillman Speedway website (under the Shop tab) from Thursday afternoon for $5.50 payable by credit card or PayPal.

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