The Hunter’s newly crowned Australian solo speedway champion Rohan Tungate has set his sights on qualifying for the World Speedway GP series.
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Pelaw Main’s Tungate became the third Hunter rider to win the title in the past four years when he outscored Cowra’s 2016 title holder Brady Kurtz in the final race of the series.
Tied on points going into the A-final at Gillman on Sunday, Tungate finished second, behind Australian under-21 champion Jack Holder, to clinch the crown and follow Novocastrians Jason Doyle (2015) and Sam Masters (2017).
Winning the Australian title capped off an incredible Australian summer for Tungate which began with two heat wins from two rides at the Australian GP in Melbourne in October.
“Winning the heats at the Australian GP was huge because it was an international event, but winning the Australian title beats that,” Tungate said this week reflecting on his best season to date.
“After this year’s Australian GP I set myself to win the Australian title and the next step is to go to the GP qualifiers and hopefully qualify for the world series.”
He will be joined by the Hunter’s 2017 champion Sam Masters in the GP qualifying series in Europe later this year, with both hoping to join reigning world champion Doyle in the series.
While claming the crown eventually came down to the A-final, Tungate said his biggest challenge came in the final heat when he beat Kurtz to tie the series back up after the Cowra rider established a one-point gap.
Riding back after the heat victory, he said he realised the Australian title was his for the taking after three years of knocking on the door only to be denied.
He only had to outpoint Kurtz, the 2015 Australian champion, in the final and he would realise the biggest moment in his career to date.
Tungate and Kurtz had gone into the final round at Gillman tied on 45 points and after the five heats were locked on 14 points.
The Hunter rider prevailed in the A-final finishing second behind Australian under-21 champion Jack Holder to clinch the title.
He had a two-point break after Kurtz finished fourth behind Victoria’s Max Fricke.
“I needed to beat Brady in the final heat of the night or I would be pretty much out of the title hunt,” Tungate said.
“That was probably the biggest challenge of the night and series.
“Brady was on 12 points and I had 11 and needed to win or otherwise I would be two or more points behind.
“I won and he came second which put us both into the A-final with 14 points.
“The final is still a bit of a blur, but to finally get the title is the biggest moment in my career so far.
“I think it will sink in over the next couple of weeks.”
The Hunter’s 2017 Australian champion Sam Masters withdrew from the meeting in his opening ride after crashing in practice.
Kurri Kurri’s Mason Campton made the B-final with nine points and finished fifth overall in the championship.
Masters tied with Heddon Greta’s Josh Pickering in sixth in the championship with Buttai’ Jye Etheridge 10th.
FINAL AUSTRALIAN CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS: 1 Rohan Tungate 62, 2 Brady Kurtz 60, 3 Max Fricke 53, 4 Jack Holder 51, 5 Mason Campton 39, 6= Sam Masters 37, Josh Pickering 37, 8 Jordan Stewart 35, 9 Jaimon Lidsey 31, 10 Jye Etheridge 28, 11 Matthew Gilmore 21, 12 Cooper Riordan 20, 13 Robert Medson 16, 14 Joel Coyne 10, 15 Declan Knowles 9, 16 James Davies 4, 17 Josh Coyne 3, 18 Brandon McGuinness 2.
GILLMAN HEAT SCORES: 1 Rohan Tungate 14, 2 Brady Kurtz 14, 3 Max Fricke 13, 4 Jack Holder 11, 5 Jaimon Lidsey 10, 6 Jordan Stewart 10, 7 Mason Campton 9, 8 Josh Pickering 9, 9 Jye Etheridge 7, 10 Cooper Riordan 6, 11 Matthew Gilmore 5, 12 Robert Medson 4, 13 Josh Coyne 3, 14 Brandon McGuinness 2, 15 Joel Coyne 2, 16 Declan Knowles 1, 17 Sam Masters 0, 18 James Davies DNR.
B Final: Holder, Stewart, Lidsey, Campton.
A Final: Holder, Tungate, Fricke, Kurtz.
