Queensland News

[whowasthatberntpersson]

Following on from the very successful Queensland v New South Wales series comes more very encouraging news for riders and fans in the Sunshine State.

 

Negotiations are currently taking place between Motorcycling Queensland and various riders and promoters to stage a series of meetings for domestic (Australian based) riders only.

 

At this stage the meetings should comprise of a North Queensland v South Queensland solos series covering both Juniors and Seniors, all the tracks mentioned so far have infield Junior tracks and Juniors will be part of the programme.

 

Exact details to follow however at this stage it looks like being five man teams with weekend racing on consecutive days/night.

 

An example of the way things may run ;

Saturday night Gold Coast

Sunday afternoon North Brisbane

or

Friday night - Pioneer Park

Saturday night - Brandon

 

Still a little work going on behind the scenes to make this happen but it looks a real possibility and will be a huge boost for domestic racing in the State of Queensland.

 

Let the good times roll

Edited July 29, 2005 by whowasthatberntpersson

[Guest Sir Lunchalot]

Gee WWTBP it nearly makes a bloke think about venturing up north for a weekend or two. Hope it comes off though, I know that the summer just gone there was talk of some team meetings between the three tracks in south east Queensland and despite lots of early enthusiasm by the riders when it came to the crunch they didn't seem to be able to get riders for three teams. Perhaps there just weren't enough riders available who were prepared to fully commit to the entire series.

 

Hopefully the expanding of the series to include Nth Qld might do the trick. I know Victoria and SA are a long way away but are there any thoughts of potentially including riders from that far afield ? I also hope if it goes ahead the promising juniors get a fair representation too. For the fans and riders sake I'd like to wish MQ and the promotions all the very best of luck with it all.

[whowasthatberntpersson]

Hi Lunchy,

I think you hit the nail on the head, lack of riders wanting to commit was the main reason for last years no go, compounded by John Jorgensen's early return to Europe.

Looks like a goer this time though.

I think the fact that the North Queensland scene is currently quite active is really helping things, two tracks within a few hundred metres of each other and promoters working together helps too.

For anything like this to work logistically and financially you really need meetings on two consecutive nights, not too many riders will drive 17 hours for one meeting these days.

Obviously financial assistance will help and on that I believe sponsorship from the Southern side of the border may be forthcoming.

 

No idea of Southern State involvement at this stage, although I'd say its doubtful.

 

However the last time Australia unearthed a crop of International riders (Boyce, Poole, Adams, Lyons, Parker, etc) it was all helped along with additional winter meetings at Appin promoted by Bob Sharpe.

 

Maybe a little help from the Flying Kangaroo is a possibility....:<))

 

On a personal note I'm hoping my young fella gets a race jacket for the NQ Junior team.

[whowasthatberntpersson]

Venues for the 2006 Queensland State Championships are due for release today.

 

I failed in my attempt to get a sneak preview however someone has already reported that the Mike Hather Park venue on the Gold Coast will get the Senior Solo Title.

 

So still waiting on Junior Solo Title and Sidecars.

[whowasthatberntpersson]

Pioneer Park have been allocated the Queensland Sidecar Championship and Queensland Junior Solo Championship.

 

Good news for North Queensland.

[whowasthatberntpersson]

Pioneer Park have a meeting scheduled for this Saturday night the 13th August.

 

This will be the third meeting for new promoters Shelly and Rhino Ryan and follows close on the heels of the hugely successful Queensland v New South Wales series.

 

Racing starts at 6pm with Junior and Senior Solos and Sidecars, Stockbikes and Formula 200's.

 

In other North Queensland news;

 

Mick Poole will be conducting a Junior (Under 16's) coaching clinic at Pioneer Park on 24th September. The day is due to start at 0900 continuing until late afternoon.

 

The North Queensland v South Queensland series is now confirmed with the first two meetings at Pioneer Park due in September (9th and 10th). The Northern teams are due to be announced this weekend.

 

Pioneer park will stage the Queensland Junior Championships on October 8th, the top 8 from the North and South will compete with qualifying for the Northern kids during one of the September meetings.

 

Next meeting at Brandon will be the annual May Steel Trophy on 27th August, this meeting usually see's quite a few of the elder Statesmen donning leathers, riders like Merve Jenke who can still cut the mustard with the youngsters.

May Steel was involved in speedway racing in North Queensland for many many years and this meeting is held in her memory.

 

For more info on Pioneer Park speedway check out the website http://www.pioneerparkspeedway.com

[BrizHeathen]

Some pretty good racing at Pioneer Park on Saturday night, the clashes between the top three of Ricky Barney, Scott Mckenna and Steven Reid were very competitive.

 

First race of the night saw Kevin Anderson flip his bike at the start, his bike was quite badly damaged and he withdrew from the meeting leaving only three division one riders.

 

Race of the night was the penultimate race when Barney was leading Mckenna, Mckenna very bravely roared around the outside of Barney, using the deep stuff, to gain the extra speed. Barney is a rider in fine form at the moment so it was a top effort by young Mckenna to get past.

 

In the final Steven Reid gated the top two but was then passed first by Barney then Mckenna, this time Mckenna couldn’t make up ground on Barney, but it wasn’t for the lack of trying.

 

Shane Reid (Father of Steven) was unbeaten in the B grade events.

 

I must mention a superb race in the Junior sidecar events, the Moon combination (Gary’s Son’s) fought neck and neck with Junior solo whiz kids Josh Grajczonek and Clinton Dennis, with Grajczonek piloting the youngsters to a hard earned victory, there was nothing between the two outfits throughout the race, top notch stuff.

 

The two young Junior solo riders doubled up and were also dominant in the 125cc solo division.

 

Another cold night in Brandon but still a reasonable crowd despite the VP60 celebrations in Townsville.

 

Unfortunately I don’t have any sidecar results due to being rather busy with my Son in the pits.

 

 

 

A raffle was held to assist with a Junior training day which will be held at Pioneer Park on September 24th, NSW legend Mick Poole will be on hand to offer his expert advice to around a dozen Junior solo riders.

Edited August 15, 2005 by BrizHeathen

[whowasthatberntpersson]

It has been confirmed that the Holder brothers Chris and James will be making the very long trip to North Queensland courtesy of Pioneer Park owners Shelly and Rhino Ryan.

 

The brothers will ride in two meetings at Pioneer Park, the first on Friday 9th September and then the following night Saturday 10th.

 

The two brothers will be split one joining the North Queensland team (Chris I believe) and one joining South Queensland.

 

The teams will be made up of either five or six riders (TBA).

 

I also believe Chris and James will be competing at the Mike Hatcher Park Speedway on the Gold Coast in the very near future.

 

Its an exciting time for the sport in North Queensland, here's a list of upcoming events;

 

27th August - May Steel Memorial (Brandon) Annual event in memory of the many years service this lady gave to North Queensland speedway. This meeting usually see's some old timers don their leathers with riders like Merve Jenke and Peter Christopher mentioned. From all accounts Jenke stole the show last year.

 

28th August - North Queensland Team Practice (Pioneer Park)

 

9th September - North Queensland v South Queensland (Pioneer Park) - Meeting one in the Junior and Senior Solo teams challenge

 

10th September - North Queensland v South Queensland (Pioneer Park) - Meeting two in the Junior and Senior Solo teams challenge

 

17th September - Dirt Track / Speedway meeting (Brandon)

 

24th September - Mick Poole's Junior Training Day (Pioneer Park)

 

8th October - Queensland Under 16 Solo Title (Pioneer Park) - Qualifying to be conducted during the September meetings with top 8 from NQ and top 8 from SQ

 

15th October - Dirt Track / Speedway meeting (Brandon)

 

29th October - North Queensland Sidecar Masters (Pioneer Park) - Top quality sidecar field including current Australian champions and placegetters.

 

12th November - Queensland Sidecar Titles (Pioneer Park)

 

28th November - Dirt Track / Speedway meeting (Brandon)

 

 

In addition to the above plans are currently underway to re introduce solo racing to the Edmonton Speedway in Cairns, former rider Dennis Cavil is in the process of finalising riders for an appearance possibly in the first week of September.

 

The top local riders face a very hectic schedule right through the winter months with many also competing in dirt track events.

[whowasthatberntpersson]

Pioneer Park Speedway situated in Brandon just South of Townsville will host one of the biggest sidecar meetings in the world on Saturday 29th October - The North Queensland Sidecar Masters

 

A magnificent field of Australian talent will be complimented by a very strong field of A grade solos.

 

Current Australian Champions Koppe/Christopher will be amongst the favourites although picking a winner could be harder than winning the lottery with the likes of Gary Moon, Jason Aldridge, Wayne Munck, Darren Treloar, The Sewell's, plus plenty other real chances.

 

The racing leading up to this meeting and also the Queensland Sidecar Championship on 12th November has been top shelf.

 

This is a meeting not to be missed, but if you can't make it (Australia is a long way afterall) why not have a go at picking the winner, check out the Pioneer Park website and enter the competition by following the "latest news" link.

 

The full lineup is;

 

 

 

1 Gary Moon / Simon Sinnott (Aust #3)

 

2 Steve Cracker / Keith O'Brien

 

3 Jason Alderidge / Ricky Dearness

 

4 Darrin Treloar / Jason Plaisted (Aust #4)

 

5 Josh Sinnott / Hamish Golding

 

6 Scott Christopher / Trent Koppe (Aust #1)

 

7 Ricky Laycock / Kim Laycock

 

8 Deon Lynd / Robert Thistleton

 

9 Stuart Firth / Steve Chivers

 

10 Chris Hughes / Jodie Donavan

 

11 Skin Chessells / Doug Shaefer

 

12 Russell Mitchell / Mark Strachan

 

13 Kevin Pittman/ Bernard Davis

 

14 Wayne Munck / Brodie Cohen

 

15 Bill Sewell/ Loueen Sewell

 

16 Dave Botterell / Peter Teale (Aust #2)

 

17 Michael MacKenzie / Robbie Wilson

 

18 Col Nichilson / Shortie

 

The website address is http://www.pioneerpark.homestead.com/

[whowasthatberntpersson]

This Saturday night Pioneer Park stage the Queensland Sidecar Championship, in addition to a top quality sidecar field promoters Shelly and Rhino Ryan have also organised a top shelf solo support program with impressive New South Welshmen James Holder and Korey Williams taking on the top locals.

 

Junior racing commences at 5.30 with the big boys taking centre stage at 7pm.

 

A super solo lineup is also planned for the Christmas double header on December 16th and 17th...Standby for some big news regarding these meetings.

Edited November 22, 2005 by whowasthatberntpersson