November 6, 2019 by Gillman Media
Gillman Speedway opening meeting this Saturday night
Three young English Solo riders – Dan Bewley, Kyle Bickley and Tom Brennan – will compete in the Jack Young Cup at the opening meeting of the Gillman Speedway summer season, which will also feature the Gillman Sidecar Championship, on Saturday night.
Bewley, aged 20, was the 2018 British Under-19 Champion, and now rides for the famous Manchester-based Belle Vue Aces. Brennan, aged 18, rides for the Eastbourne Eagles and was very impressive during the 2019 British season before a broken leg ruled him out for later stages of the season, and Bickley is only 17 but had an outstanding junior career and this season rode for the Glasgow Tigers, and also for Belle Vue’s second team, the Colts.
All three are likely to make the Cup Final with Bewley the favourite to win.
Their major opposition from the local riders will come from Robert Medson who went close to winning the event last season. After an enthralling night’s racing, Medson was one of three riders tied for first place with 13 points, but narrowly lost the subsequent final to Brayden McGuinness, who misses the chance to defend the Cup as he will be riding in the Victorian Championship.
The current Gillman Sidecar Champion, Tim Bichard, also misses the chance to defend his title (because of work commitments), but the other placegetters from last season - Brian Silvy/Cameron White, Nathan Fleet/Ayrton Canning and Aaron Silvy/Jaron Silvy – are all back and hoping to step up onto the top step of the podium.
The favourites, however, will be Shane Rudloff/Damian Egan and Rick Stephens/Nick O'Brien. Rudloff is always a major contender at Gillman, while Stephens, from Broken Hill, was in career best form at the end of last season.
Kym Menadue/Eric Melton were also in good form last season until a blown motor finished their season and Dean Hobbs, with former passenger Justin Richards, was a finalist in the 2018 championship, so most of the line-up have the ability to make the final which should ensure close and exciting racing during the heats.
The under 16 junior solo riders will also be competing for glory in the 125cc Gillman Junior Solo Championship on the smaller infield track.
Top Photo: Kyle Bickley (white) and Tom Brennan (red) in action at Gillman Speedway. Photo by Judy Mackay.
Everything You Need To Know:
Meeting Date: Saturday, 9 November 2019.
Venue: Gillman Speedway Stadium, 65 Wilkins Road, Gillman – near the Port Adelaide area.
Parking and entrance: Patrons can enter via gates at the western and eastern ends of the venue. There are free off-street parking areas near both gates.
Gates open: at 5 pm.
Racing starts: at 7.30 pm. Free spectator access to the pits until approximately 6.30pm.
Nominations:
Solos 500cc Jack Young Cup : Dan Bewley (Eng), 18-Kyle Bickley (Eng), 27-Tom Brennan (Eng), 9-Robert Medson (SA), 12-Roy Stout (SA), 51-Fraser Bowes (SA), 18 Jake Mitchell (SA), 88-Blake Ridley (SA)
Solos 500cc practices : 12-Darryl Christopher (SA), 47-Nicholas Possingham (SA), 211-Teagan Pedler (SA)
Sidecars Gillman Championship : 12-Brian Silvy/Cameron White (SA), 14-Kym Menadue/Eric Melton (SA), 15-Shane Rudloff/Damian Egan (SA), 21-Aaron Silvy/Jaron Silvy (SA), 22-Stephen Fowler/Corey Palmer (SA), 31-Darryll Woods/Willy Walker (SA), 69-Rick Stephens/Nick O'Brien (NSW), 89-Nathan Fleet/Ayrton Canning (SA), 970-Dean Hobbs/Glen Zaworski (SA),
Solos 125cc Juniors Gillman Championship : 26-Jordan Hargreaves (SA), 27-Travis Clarke (SA), 33-Jake Fleet (SA), 47-Nicholas Possingham (SA), 131-Ashley Jansen-Batchelor (SA), 295-Lucius Payne (SA), 524-Harry Sadler (SA). 48-Kobi Canning (SA) in 6pm Novice events.
Pee Wees : 03-Blake Schlein (Vic), 13-Jackson McPherson (SA), 16-Riley Edson (SA), 37-William Nicol (SA), 297-Esther Payne (SA) and 50cc : 03-Blake Schlein (Vic), 5-Jack Silvy (SA), 10-Darcy Bennett (SA) on the infield junior track at 6pm.
Championship formats: All championships decided over four heat rides for each rider, with the top three point scorers qualifying for the final, along with the winner of a last chance semi-final for the 4th to 7th highest scorers. The finishing order in the finals will determine the championship placegetters.
Admission: Adults $25, Age Pension & Student Concession $20, Children aged 12-15 $5, Under 12 free, Family $55, Programme $5. Parking free. Grandstand free.
Concession is limited to holders of the Centrelink Pensioner Concession Card and Student Concession card holders only. Eftpos is only available at the eastern gate. The western (main) gate is cash only.
Seating: Grandstand seating is free for this meeting but is 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] Eftpos available at the main canteen.
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 is not available in the souvenir shop.
Weather Forecast: Maximum 19, minimum 9. Partly cloudy. Forecast as at 6 November. [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. 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). Continue down Port Road for about 1 km to the first intersection which is Grand Junction road and turn right. 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 onto Bedford Street. Keep going on that road until you get to the speedway. About 2km.
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.
Contact for this meeting: Ivan Golding 0417 138 378 or email contact@gillmanspeedway.com
