GILLMAN SPEEDWAY: PLAISTED / PITT GO BACK TO BACK IN SIDECAR CHAMPIONSHIP

Feature photo by: Judy Mackay

Plaisted/Pitt go back-to-back in FIM Oceania Speedway Sidecar Championship.

Mark Plaisted and his passenger Ben Pitt have retained the FIM Oceania Speedway Sidecar Championship after a crushing victory March 29 at Adelaide’s Gillman Speedway.

After an unbeaten run in the heats, the duo was in control from start to finish in the four-lap final, winning ahead of Tyler Moon/Adam Lovell and Kym Menadue/Shane Dolan. Justin Plaisted and Brian Anthony were excluded after breaching infield track limits.

It was the fourth victory for Plaisted and the third for Pitt in the FIM Oceania Championship, with their path to success made a little easier with the late withdrawal of reigning Australian Champions Darrin Treloar and Blake Cox.

Mark Plaisted/Pitt (15pts), Justin Plaisted/Anthony (14pts) and Moon/Lovell (12pts) were automatic qualifiers for the championship decider, while Menadue/Dolan progressed from a dramatic B final.

The first attempt at the B final saw passenger Cameron White shunted out of the outfit he was sharing with Malcolm German, before being clipped by the helpless pairing of Josh Pascoe/Ayrton Canning – whose sidecar then became airborne and cartwheeled into the fence.

White sustained a broken arm and elbow, while Pascoe and Canning were okay but their machine was too battered to make the restart.

Moon and Lovell lead the way in a heat race

In the restart, Trent Headland/Jaxon Rayner, who had been leading the first attempt, dropped a chain at the start which then left Menadue/Dolan to circulate on their lonesome to progress through to the finale.

Next up on the local speedway sidecar calendar is the 2025 Australian Championship in the Queensland coastal town of Bowen on the April 19-20 Easter long weekend.

Plaisted/Pitt lead Menadue/Dolan in a heat race

2025 FIM Oceania Speedway Sidecar Championship results

1. Mark Plaisted/ Ben Pitt 15pts

2. Tyler Moon/Adam Lovell 12pts

3. Kym Menadue/Shane Dolan 10pts

4. Justin Plaisted/Brian Anthony 14pts

5. Trent Headland/Jaxon Rayner 12pts

6. Josh Pascoe/Ayrton Canning 8pts

7. Malcolm German/Cameron White 10pts

8. Brian Silvy/Glen Zaworski 7pts

9. Rick Stephens/Jeremy Sherwood 7pts

10. Byren Mordaunt/Kate Barnes 6pts

11. Shane Rudloff/Damian Egan 4pts

12. Jonah Sita/Jamie Forrest 3pts

13. Darcy Risstrom/Jake Doyle 2pts

14. Willy Walker Liam Sherwood 2ps

15. Simon Cohrs/Cameron Diwell 1pt

16. Stephen Saunders/Isaac Mitchell 1pt

Reserve

Matthew Binns/Jake Armstrong 3pts