GILLMAN SIDECAR MASTERS OCTOBER 5

The Sidecar Masters will be held at Adelaide’s Gillman Speedway this Saturday night (October 5).

The meeting is something of a rarity at Gillman – an out-of-season fixture a month before the 2024/25 summer term officially starts, but nevertheless has attracted a strong line-up including three former Australian Champions and four of the seeded riders for the 2024 Australian Championship which is at Tamworth, NSW later this month.

With another five riders from the qualifying meeting, the Masters is a virtual shakedown meeting for the Australian Championship.

Leading the line-up at Gillman are 11-time National Champion Darrin Treloar, and former champions Justin Plaisted and Trent Headland, along with seeded riders Shane Hudson and Max Howse.

The riders from the qualifying meeting are Headland, Shane Rudloff, Brian Silvy, Josh Pascoe and Byron Mordaunt.

Competing the 18 bike line-up are Dean Hobbs, who was selected for the qualifier but has withdrawn because or work commitments, Kym Menadue, Thomas Adams, Nathan Fleet, Stephen Fowler, Adam Pascoe, Wayne Lethbridge, Joshua Kerr and Willy Walker.

As well as the Sidecar Masters, there is a support programme of 500cc Solos, Flat Track Solos and Juniors.

In the 500cc Solo class Ashley Jansen-Batchelor and Harry Sadler will be making their debuts in senior racing, after turning 16 during the year, but they have stiff opposition in Mildura’s Patrick Hamilton, who has just returned from six months in the UK where he was travelling around with fellow rider Dayle Wood, local riders Brayden McGuinness and Sam Martin, and another teenager, Riley Plum, from Murchison in Victoria.

The trip over from Murchison means almost a 1500km round trip for Riley Plum, so he’s making the most of the trip by also doubling up in the Flat Track class, where he and track champion Kyle Machin will be the favourites in the 8 rider races.

In the junior events, Kobi Canning and Ruby Chapman will be on the 250s, with Chapman also riding the 125cc against her brother Owen Chapman, Riley Stout, Connor Machin and William Nicol, while Judd and Kobe Plaisted and Broken Hill’s Jobe and Nash Zammit-Harvey will clash in the junior Sidecars.

Gates will open at 4pm, and racing will start at 7pm.

For those who can’t attend, the meeting will be live streamed through the website link [https://www.spacequakesports.com/ppv] for a cost of $25. As always this is the only official live streaming link. Any other links touted on Facebook sites are scams and should be ignored.