Last year’s inaugural National Forum saw over half of Speedway Australia’s recognised racing divisions gathering for an instructive session of information gathering and networking. Over 90% of attendees requested that the forum be held on an annual basis, so Speedway Australia has committed to that process and it will again be held on the day of the Australian Speedway Awards, at the same Rydges Southbank venue in Brisbane.

We received plenty of feedback from the divisions that they would like track operators to be a part of the forum, and we are pleased to advise that the Australasian Speedway Promoters Association have committed to the Forum. They represent many of the tracks throughout the country, and the offer is now there for all tracks to make their way to Brisbane to be a part of the Forum.

Please contact us if you are a track operator who is interested in attending the National Forum.

2018 will see Speedway Australia staff visiting most tracks in the country to undertake track assessments. These are required annually in New South Wales, and every two years in all other states and territories. 

This year, the inspections are being timed to coincide with national titles wherever possible, so that staff can be on hand to network with as many stakeholders as possible. The Speedway Australia truck will also be present, starting with the Australian 360 Sprintcar Championship next weekend in Perth before moving to Horsham at Easter for the Australian Modified Sedan title, Maryborough for the Production Sedan title and culminating in Darwin with the Australian Junior Sedan and Formula 500 title. 

We are pleased to advise that long-standing speedway identity Darren Shaddock has been appointed to the Board of Speedway Australia. The Track Manager at Murray Bridge Speedway, Darren has been involved in many facets of the promotional side of the sport, through such ventures as Sprintcar World and Speedway.Net. 

Darren replaces Steve Green, who has left the country to undertake an exciting venture in the automotive industry overseas. We welcome Darren to the team, and thank Steve for his many years of service both to Speedway Australia and the sport in general. 

The Board of Speedway Australia consists of four competitor representatives, four promoter representatives and an independent. The current Board is as below, with details on their speedway involvement and year of appointment:-

Competitor Representatives
Greg Lynd | CEO, Speedway Sedans Australia (2014)
Darren Cassidy | President, Racing Sedans Australia (2014)
Mark Cooper | Speedcars Australia (2014)
Gary Winterbottom | Sprintcar Control Council of Australia (2017)

Promoter Representatives
Guy Thompson | Chairperson, Latrobe Speedway Pty Ltd (2014)
Gavin Migro | Longest serving Board member, Perth Motorplex (2002)
John Kelly | Archerfield Speedway, also Sprintcars Queensland (2006)
Darren Shaddock | Murray Bridge Speedway, Made Too Go Group (2018)

Independent Board member
Damien McKern | Deputy Chair, Chartered Accountant (2015)

Speedway Australia’s health insurance partner CBHS has a reputation as one of the leaders in the market, and with a number of special offers for the speedway fraternity they need to be considered as an option for you and your family. 

For more details on how CBHS Corporate Health can help you out, head to their dedicated speedway landing page.

Held in conjunction with this year’s World Series Sprintcars championship was a fundraising raffle, initiated following the inclusion of an Eagle Sprintcar chassis and bodykit in the title sponsorship of Queensland Speedway Spares. Winners were as follows:- 

Eagle Sprintcar Chassis | Mikey Rimmer, WA
Revolution Racegear Voucher | James Rosenberg, SA
Speedway Star Merchandise | Adam Currie, SA
                                                Dyson Motorsport, NSW
                                                Robert Warner, QLD

Also on the night was a prize draw for three Knoxville Nationals tickets, generously donated by QSS’s Bill Mann. V88 Victory Lane Racing were the lucky winners. 

And the inaugural World Series Sprintcars Fantasy League was won by Glen Ince, a V6 Sprints competitor from SA. Congratulations to all winners, along with series champion James McFadden from Monte Motorsports. 

There have been no changes to any rules so far this year. This means the current rulebook in force is the December 2017 version, available here.

Speedway tracks don’t come much more remote than the venues in northern Western Australia, but fans and drivers from these tracks know that the quality of facilities is comparable to metropolitan venues. Nickol Bay Speedway operate out of Karratha from April to December, with the season concluding with their famous New Years Eve Derby. Other highlights include the Sprintcar Stampede in June and the Brett Johnson Memorial for Modified Sedans in July. 

We are delighted to welcome Nickol Bay Speedway into the Speedway Australia organisation, and for more information check out their Facebook page here.