HOME TRACK: Kurri Kurri’s Grant Bond and Glen Cox will be riding for sidecar glory at home.
Kurri Kurri has further enhanced its reputation as one Australian speedway’s go-to places by securing the 2012 Australian Speedway Sidecar Championship.
Kurri Kurri Speedway Club has already won the rights to host the final round of the three-round Australian Solo Speedway Championship on January 12, 2013 and the sidecar title will now kick-off the representative season at the venue on Saturday, September 29.
Motorcycling Australia called on the club to host the prestigious sidecar event after a mishap with track preparations at Maryborough Speedway in Queensland last month after the first night of competition resulted in the second and final night being abandoned.
“They know we have a great venue and can host big events, so they called us up to see if we could take over,” club president Peter Campton said.
“Our venue and our presentations have quickly built up a solid reputation in the speedway world, especially on the back of the successful Australian Championship events that we conducted in January. When we were asked if we were interested in conducting the postponed sidecar title, all we needed was a suitable date.”
The club hosted the second round of the Australian Speedway Solo titles, Australian Under 21 Australian Solo and Australian Under 16 350cc Solo Speedway championships in January this year, after showcasing some of the world’s best speedway talent including three-time world champion Jason Crump at the Boxing Day Spectacular.
Negotiations are under way for Kurri to host the Australian Best Pairs Sidecar Championships the night after the Aussie sidecar titles in a huge long weekend of speedway action in September.
“We still have to finalise the pairs championships but it’s looking good. It involves the top four placegetters in each state racing off,” he said.
“It’s great reward for the club, we have put a lot of effort in getting the venue up and running and making sure we can run big events.”
The sidecar championship coup is great news for Kurri Kurri Speedway club members, Grant Bond (Maitland) and Glen Cox (Boolaroo) who are currently ranked the world No 3 speedway sidecar combination and they will relish the opportunity to win the Australian title on their home track.
The club is looking forward to a huge January, with the Australian Under-21 Solo Championships and 350cc Under-15 Australian title to be held on January 19.
Speedway action returns to the Kurri Kurri Speedway this Sunday with the running of the third round of the Club Point Score Championship. It will be a full day of racing with junior speedway events in the morning from 9.30am and senior events in the afternoon.
The junior riders will be competing for the annual Todd Wiltshire Cup – an event in honour of local speedway solo rider Todd Wiltshire who won an Australian Speedway Solo Championship in 1999 and 2001 and who was a member of Australia’s successful Speedway World Cup team in 1999.
