The 2018 Australian Speedway 500cc Solo Motorcycle Champion will be crowned this SUNDAY night (14 January) at Adelaide’s Gillman Speedway.
The Championship is being run over four rounds, in New South Wales, Victoria and South Australia, and the Gillman meeting, presented by CBS Bins, will be the fourth and deciding round.
With only one round completed it is too early to single out any rider as a favourite but this season’s from rider, Rohan Tungate, has continued his impressive start to the season by winning the first round, and holds a three point lead going into tonight’s second round at Undera Park Speedway in Victoria.
Tungate’s summer started in spectacular style when he took two reserve’s rides for two wins against some of the Word’s best riders in the Australian Speedway Grand Prix (World Championship) at Etihad Stadium at the end of October, and has just rolled on ever since, winning every meeting he has contested – the Jack Young Cup at Gillman, Phil Crump Trophy at Mildura, NSW Championship and Jason Crump Trophy at Kurri – before winning the first round of the national championship at Kurri last Saturday night.
So Tungate is the rider to beat at the moment but surprisingly he does not have a good record at Undera which hosts round 2 tonight. In five previous rounds at Undera he has never reached the final, and has only reached the semi-final twice, whereas defending champion Sam Masters (who had a poor meeting in round 1) has been on the rostrum in each of the last three rounds, and second-placed Max Fricke has been in two of the last three finals.
It is a similar story at Mildura where Tungate has never been a finalist (in Australian Championship rounds) but Masters and Fricke have been finalists in the last two seasons.
Tungate does, however, have a good record at Gillman where, as well as the Jack Young Cup in November, he has won a round of the national championship and the SA championship, so a lot will hinge on how he can go on the two Victorian tracks over the next three nights.
If he can reach the final tonight and Friday night he’ll go into the final round at Gillman next Sunday brim full of confidence – but slip up tonight or at Mildura and former World Under 21 Champion Fricke (second) and former Australian Champion Brady Kurtz (fourth) in particular will be ready to take advantage.
The Championship points after the first round are: Rohan Tungate 18, Max Fricke 15, Josh Pickering 14, Brady Kurtz 12, Jaimon Lidsey 11, Mason Campton 10, Jack Holder 9, Sam Masters 7, Jordan Stewart 7, Matthew Gilmore 6, Robert Medson 5, Jye Etheridge 5, Joel Coyne 4, Cooper Riordan 3, Declan Knowles 2, James Davies 1, Matt Pickering (res) 0, Ben Cook (res) 0.
The series points will be updated on the Gillman Speedway website on Wednesday night after the second round at Undera, and Friday night after the third round at Mildura.
Some of Australia’s leading Sidecar riders will also compete at Gillman on Sunday night, including current Australian Champions Trent Headland/Darryl Whetstone, current Australia #2 Andrew Buchanan/Denny Cox, former Australian Champion Mark Mitchell/Dale Knights, Byren Gates/Michael O’Loughlin and Damien Niesche/Mitchell Spear.
Photo: Current series leaders Rohan Tungate and Max Fricke riding at Bell Vue Speedway in Manchester, England. Photo: Ian Charles.
Everything you need to know:
Meeting Date: Sunday night, 14 January 2018
Venue: Gillman Speedway Stadium, 65 Wilkins Road, Gillman – near the Port Adelaide area.
Gates open: 3 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 between the finish of practice and the riders’ briefing, approx. 5pm to 6.30pm.
Riders (alphabetical order): Mason Campton (NSW), Joel Coyne (Qld), James Davies (Vic), Jye Etheridge (NSW), Max Fricke (Vic), Matthew Gilmore (NSW), Jack Holder (NSW), Declan Knowles (Vic), Brady Kurtz (NSW), Jaimon Lidsey (Vic), Sam Masters (NSW-defending champion), Robert Medson (SA), Josh Pickering (NSW), Cooper Riordan (Vic), Jordan Stewart (Vic), Rohan Tungate (NSW). Reserves: Matt Pickering (NSW), Josh Coyne (Qld).
Format: 16 riders x 20 heats plus a last chance semi-final and a final. The 4th to 7th highest scorers go into the semi-final; and the winner of the semi-final and the highest three scorers from the 20 heats go into the final.
Sidecars: Australia 1 Trent Headland/Darryl Whetstone (SA), Australia 2 Andrew Buchanan/Denny Cox (NZ/NSW), Mark Mitchell/Dale Knights (SA), Byren Gates/Michael O’Loughlin (NSW), Damien Niesche/Mitchell Spear (SA).
Australian Solo Championship Round 4 Sponsor CBS Bins : CBS Bins is a family owned and operated businesses which commenced in 1975 when Graham and Marion Baker started in business with the purchase of a model 610 Bobcat. As the years progressed they were joined by their sons Steven, Mark and Darren, and today CBS Bins has grown into one of South Australia’s leading waste and rubbish removal companies. Sadly Graham passed away in January 2013, but his family continue to support Gillman Speedway and Graham’s past support has been remembered by the western end terraced area being named The Graham Baker Terrace. Website [www.cbsbins.com.au]
Admission prices: Adults $30, Pension and Student Concession $25 (*), Children aged 12-15 $10, Under 12 FREE, Family Tickets $70. Car Parking free. Souvenir programme $5.
(*) Concession is limited to holders of the Centrelink Pensioner Concession Card and Student Concession card holders only. A family ticket covers 2 adults and children under 16.
Programmes: The souvenir programme includes colour action and portrait photographs of the 16 riders and a detailed history of the Championship going back to the 1920s.
Seating: Grandstand seating, large grassed viewing mounds and terracing 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]
Bar facilities are available but please note a condition of our liquor licence is no byo alcohol or glass can be brought into the venue. Security will check at the gate.
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. Souvenirs can also be purchased online (see the Shop tab on the Gillman Speedway website).
Weather Forecast (as at 10/1/18): Maximum 25, minimum 14. Partly cloudy. [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) for $5.50 payable by credit card or PayPal.
Contact for this meeting: Speedway Manager, David Parker 0403 364 658
Editorial by Gillman Media