TRELOAR / COX DOMINATION CONTINUES

Photo: by Judy Mackay

Treloar and Cox Domination Continues…

By Mark Neale

After discovering an oil leak prior to the start of the meeting’s first heat, which they had to sit out, it was all but plain sailing after that for Australia’s most successful and professional speedway combination, Darrin Treloar and passenger Blake Cox at Gillman Speedway Saturday, April 9.

The team recorded five wins from their remaining five races to win the Chooks Custum Graphics Gillman Sidecar Championship,which was also the third and final round of the Sidecar Super Series they wrapped up with 48 points out of a total of a possible 51 point maximum (16pts,19pts,13pts).

After winning their three remaining qualifying heats, they took out the semi-final and then the all important four rider, four lap final.

Treloar and Cox finished ahead of Australia number two Warren Monson/Andrew Sumnerhayes,who were having their first ride back after Sunmerhayes broke his right foot in the Victorian title, comeback team of Justin Plaisted /Simon Cohrs(third) and New South Wales’ Shane Hudson/Adam Constable (fourth).

Treloar/Cox lifted out of the tapes and were trailing Monson/Summerhayes for the first lap,before making their move coming out of turn two when they went under the leaders and from then on it was their race.

With twenty six riders nominating, it was reduced to 23 come race time due to three riders pulling out because of Covid.

The field was split into a 13 rider – 13 heat format with the top point scorer from each group progressed through to the final and next four point scorers from each group battled it out for the last two spots in the final with only the winners from each semi going through to the final.

Group 1 had 12 teams and Group 2 had 11 teams.

Shane Hudson/Adam Constable from New South Wales topped Group 1 with a four ride, 12 point maximum score, while Treloar/Cox finished with 9 points and the semi victory came ahead of Mitchell Spear/Glen Zaworski (7 points two wins,a third and an exclusion second). Former Australian Champion Trent Headland/Darryl Whetstone (8 points: a wins two seconds and a third) was third and Broken Hill youngsters Max Howse/Riley Commons (7 points: three seconds and a third) was fourth.

Eight times Victorian champion Warren Monson and passenger Andrew Summerhayes topped the score chart in Group 2 again with a four ride 12 point maximum.

Former National Champion Justin Plaisted and Victorian passenger Simon Cohrs (9 points-three wins and an exclusion) continued their successful comeback by winning the the Group 2 semi ahead of New South Wales third generation rider Jake Treloar/Eli Wright (8 points a win,two seconds and a third) to finish second in his best meeting to date since stepping up into senior ranks at the start of the season.

Mildura’s Byren Gates/Eli Bock (8 points-a win,two second and a third) and Mick Headland/Brenton Kerr (9 points-a win and three seconds) were both excluded. It’s hard to believe that Plaisted/Cohrs were overlooked for the qualifying meeting by the track commissioners with these impressive performances after the field was selected.

The meeting was the last before next weekend’s Australian Championship. This pre-title fixture saw riders from South Australia,Victoria,New South Wales and Queensland get valuable track time in preparation for the national title.

The meeting attracted the top eight teams seeded into next weekend’s championship, all reigning state champions (bar Western Australia), the top five from Mildura last year and ten of the top twelve from 2021.

Four past and present Australian Champions faced the starting tapes headed up by eleven times Australian Individual Sidecar Champion Darrin Treloar/Blake Cox who have now stretched their winning record to sixteen wins (out of 17) that they have started contested at Gillman Speedway from their three meetings this season.

They haven’t actually been beaten by anyone on the track yet.

You would be a brave man to back against the GOAT winning his twelfth Australian Sidecar Championship next weekend.