Leading international Sidecar riders from Great Britain and the United States of America will compete at Gillman Speedway this Saturday night (24 March) as part of a big double-bill feature night.
Mark Cossar, Mick Cave, Paul Whitelam and Will Penfold, who finished first, second, third and fifth in the British Speedway Sidecar Championship, will compete against USA numbers one and two, Joe Jones and Bryan Motis, and Western Australian rider Jeff Bishop, in a ten event series, while Australia’s leading riders will compete in the fourth and final round of the $35,000 Nankang Tyres/Mitch Chassis Sidecar Super Series.
Although the Super Series is over four rounds, the overall series place getters will be decided by each riders’ best three rounds, meaning the top money positions behind series leaders Darrin Treloar/Jesse Headland are all still up for grabs.
Treloar has been in phenomenal form around Australia this season and has yet to be beaten by an opponent in the Super Series, dropping just three points through a time limit exclusion.
The leading scorers behind Treloar after three rounds are Trent Headland/Darryl Whetstone and Mark Plaisted/Ben Pitt, who are only two points apart, while Mark Mitchell/Tony Carter and Mick Headland/Brenton Kerr are also within striking distance of a top three series finish.
Riders looking to dent their chances include Australian Championship finalists Dave Bottrell/Chris Bottrell, Damien Niesche/Mitchell Spear and Warren Monson/Andrew Summerhayes, and Kiwi Jamie Moohan.
With the FIM Oceania Speedway Sidecar Championship, and the FIM Speedway Sidecar World Cup, being held at Gillman over the Easter weekend (31 March/1 April), Saturday night will be the last appearance this season of the 500cc Solos and the junior riders.
Admission prices have been kept at the normal cost of $25 for Adults, Age Pension & Student Concession $20, Children aged 12-15 $5, Under 12 free and Family $55, with grandstand seating free for this meeting.
Everything You Need To Know:
Meeting Date: Saturday, 24 March 2018.
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 approximately 6.30 pm.
Riders/Passengers:
Nankang Tyres/Mitch Chassis Sidecar Super Series: 1-Trent Headland/Darryl Whetstone (SA), 11-Thomas Adams/Katelyn Silvy, 14-Kym Menadue/Eric Melton, 14p-Jamie Moohan/Ayrton Canning (NZ/SA), 15 Shane Rudloff/Scott Morris, 21-Aaron Silvy/Jaron Speyer-Silvy, 27a-Dylan Moohan/Tyler Berger (NZ), 35-Mark Mitchell/Tony Carter (SA/NZ), 36-Dave Bottrell/Chris Bottrell (Qld), 40-Damien Niesche/Mitchell Spear (SA), 43-Warren Monson/Andrew Summerhayes (Vic), 61-Chris Dess/Cameron Diwell (Vic), 68-Neale Hancock/Brock Gates (Vic), 75-Mark Plaisted/Ben Pitt (SA/Vic), 84-Darrin Treloar/Jesse Headland (NSW/SA), 107-Mick Headland/Brenton Kerr (SA/Vic).
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 three highest scorers from the 20 heats go into the final.
International Sidecars: 1-Joe Jones/Tom Summers (USA), 2-Bryan Motis/John Bach (USA), 5-Mick Cave/Bradley Steer (Eng), 22-Will Penfold/Ricky Pay (Eng), 37-Mark Cossar/Carl Blyth (Eng), 81-Jeff Bishop/Daniel Bishop (WA), 92-Paul Whitelam/Alan Elliott (Eng), tba
Format: ten races.
Editorial by Dave Parker