Australian Solo Championship January 2012

[BigFatDave]

First provisional date has been released (or more likely escaped) for next January's OzChamps; Kurri Kurri January 14th. It's a greattrack with really cool people involved in the organisation; none more so than Julie Sweetman and Peter Campton. I like standing next to Pete: he makes me look skinny!! More dates as they happen, but if the last few years is anything to go by we'll probably be starting at Gillman and finishing at Kurri.

Hopefully your currency, the Pommy Peso, will have improved in value against our good ol' AUS$REAL MONEY enough that any of you heading south will have enough to buy me a beer or several.

 

PS Oooooooops, forgot to mention Kurri is also the venue for next season's Oz under-21 titles as well, dates to follow. This year's was a ripper at North Brissy; Darcy showing his class to take out his third title.

Edited May 10, 2011 by BigFatDave

[BigFatDave]

More news escaping from Fortress MA: it appears that Round 1 will be at North Brisbane on the 7th January, subject to a track and venue inspection; Kurri Kurri as announced on Jan 14th and the Grand Final at Gillman on Jan 21. Mildura, for reasons best known to themselves, declined to run a round this year.

Under 21s look like being at Kurri Kurri as part of a Speed Week as Gillman declined to run it on the 28th due to a clash with the Australian Sprintcar Championships at Speedway City.

North Brisbane will need a lot of work to get it to an acceptable state for a major Championship round as interest will be high in SE QLD, and a crowd of upwards of 2000 could be on the cards. In particular a decent fence around turns 1 & 2 is a must. Both Kurri Kurri and Gillman will have airfences next year

Edited May 10, 2011 by BigFatDave

[BigFatDave]

Looks like Speed Week at Kurri Kurri is taking shape nicely; provisional dates as follows:

 

 

Thursday January 12 U/16 125 Solo Practise

 

"Black Friday " 13 Australian U/16 125 Solo Championship

 

Saturday 14 Australian Solo Champioship Round 2

 

Sunday 15 Australian U/16 Teams Championship.

 

Sunday 15 Australian U/16 Sidecar Championship

 

These may be subject to alteration as there may be a qualifying meeting for the Under 16s 125 solos, depending on number of entrants.

 

The main problem with Mildura looks to be down to safety issues, mainly to do with the Poles for the Lights being too close to the track. See, you Pomgolians thought you were the only ones with problems with Poles.

[BigFatDave]

Kurri Kurri Cobras Speedway Club seem to have scooped the pool; they now have the option of 2 dates for the U/21 & 350 Oz Championship , which will both be run on the same day; either 28th Jan. 2012 or 31st December 2011. Geez, New Years Eve at the Kurri - that'd be a wild night for sure.

 

It's also been confirmed that Thursday January 12 U/16 125 Solo Practice is now also the Qualifying meeting for the comp. Thanks to John Jackson from the Cobras for clearing that up for me.

Don't know if I'll be able to make the under-21s; probably the most cut-throat racing we'll see Downunder if this year's was anything to go by - these boys are riding for Cattle Stations! I might hafta rob another bank - ho hum.

 

Stand by for an important announcement regarding Aussie Speedway in the next week or so; not to do with a 2012 GP although that's looking more & more definitely in the mix. Alas, my lips are sealed - wait 'til I find the bastard who put Superglue in me Ovaltine!!

[BigFatDave]

A couple of interesting developments re the Ozchamps 2012 schedule: Kurri Kurri are planning a combination Grand Ball and presentation night for the Juniors and a Calcutta for the Solos on the evening of the Under 16s 125 Finals on Friday 13th. This will now be a twilight meeting so's the youngsters can get to bed early, and their parents can party on - Yes!

 

Also, the 2012 South Australian Championships will be held at Dutton Raceway, Kapunda on the 22nd January 2012.

The meeting is being held on this date to try to attract some the Australia's best international riders who will be in Adelaide for the Grand Final of the Australian 500cc Motorcycle Speedway Championship at Gillman Speedway the previous night, and to provide an attractive option for travelling supporters who will be able to see the best speedway and longtrack meetings in the state on the one weekend.

Longtrack Racing is arguably the most spectacular form of Australian dirt track racing due to the high speeds achieved on the tracks which are much longer than the typical speedway circuits. Speeds of 160kmh, or the old 100mph mark, are regularly achieved at Longtrack venues around the world, and the 817 metre dolomite track at Kapunda is capable of producing speeds in excess of this.