While a strong contingent of mainland invaders prepares to make the trek to Cranes Combined Carrick Speedway in Tasmania for the 2017 Powranna Plant Hire Australian Wingless Sprint Championship, the talented local line-up is certainly not to be discounted.
No doubt leading the charge for the Tasmanian posse come February 23-25 will be Launceston’s Brad Whitchurch, who will be vying to go one better after finishing second in last season’s Australian Championship behind Perth’s Daniel Hartigan at Toowoomba’s Hi-Tec Oils Speedway in Queensland. Now on home soil, the current and two-time Tasmanian Champion, who has already racked up numerous feature-race wins this season, will not make it easy for his rivals.
Jeremy Smith has made a strong return to the driver’s seat and has been in solid form, recently racing to a feature-race win at Solo Hobart Speedway. The Latrobe-based racer has repeatedly finished among the top three, while running second to Whitchurch on multiple occasions. He will be hoping to improve on second-place results come the Australian Championship.
Photo: Angryman Photography
Another top-three regular in Jamie Rolls, also from Latrobe, will be one to watch, having joined Whitchurch and Smith on the podium a number of times, as will former Lightning Sprints driver Luke Redpath, from Sassafras just outside of Latrobe, who has also visited the podium this season, but will be hoping to improve on his composure, having sustained significant damage recently due to a driver error which resulted in a large crash.
Latrobe’s Haydn McBain is a definite contender, having finished third in the 2016-17 season Tasmanian Title at Solo Hobart Speedway, along with Jacob Goodluck, who has only contested a handful of race meetings so far this season and has already visited the podium. Hard-charging Launceston teens Wade Lello and Luke Wilson will be among the drivers in top-five contention, as will former Tasmanian Champion Chris Breen, who made a comeback to the class after 12 months on the sidelines due to a work-related injury and illness.
Two-car Hobart-based team of former Tasmanian Champion Brad Herbert, who recently visited the podium with a second-place finish at Hobart Speedway, and his dad Tim Herbert will be hoping to pick up as much track time as possible prior to the Australian Championship, having run limited meetings this season, while Bradley Walkley, who is yet to score his breakthrough win, will also be hoping to gain some more experience. Having endured some bad luck in recent meetings, Walkley’s fortune seems to have changed, with the racer seizing the final podium spot in a recent meeting at Hobart Speedway.
Also amongst the local line-up will be Hobart’s Jack Crossin in the Ashley Walsh-owned Tas # 45 machine, Joe Turnbull and Josh Padman, along with a small contingent of rookies including Hobart’s Jake Power in his new Stinger Chassis, Troy Lewis, Narelle Blight and Ryan Harding.
The Australian Championship will be held over three days, beginning on Thursday, February 23 with practice and the Calcutta. The following Friday night will see drivers contest the first rounds of heat races and a preliminary feature race, with the remaining heats and Australian Championship-deciding feature race to be held on the Saturday night of February 25. The event offers a whopping prize pool of $22,000, with $5,000 to win.
Two weeks later, Cranes Combined Carrick Speedway will host the Tasmanian Wingless Sprint Title on the Saturday night of March 11.
To find out more about the Australian Wingless Sprints Championship, contact Mick Parry on 0423 548 622, and to find out more about the Tasmanian Title, contact Chris Breen on 0409 951 868.
To find out more about the Tasmanian Wingless Sprints, visit their website at www.awsr.com.au/tas or LIKE them on Facebook by searching Wingless Sprints Tasmania.