LAUNCESTON’S JOCK GOODYER WINS TOP GONG AT NATIONAL SPEEDWAY AWARDS

Launceston’s Jock Goodyer has been honoured by the Australian Speedway community as the 2024 Sportsperson of the Year and Open Wheel Competitor of the Year at the sport’s annual Gala Dinner at the RACV City Club in Melbourne on Saturday.

Growing up around speedway his whole life, it’s hard to believe Launceston’s Jock would be classified as a late bloomer in the sport.

Despite the biggest names in the sport staying in his home when driving for the family team during his childhood years, Jock’s natural athletic talent was channelled into football and basketball, both of which he represented Tasmania in national competition.

However, in 2016 as a midteen, he took an interest in dirt karts and instantly showed talent, earning him the right to step into Junior formula 500’s and rapidly into Sprintcars at just 16 years of age.

Now just eight years later, Jock Goodyer is one of the biggest names in the sport, and despite winning the Open Wheel Competitor of the year accolade a record three times, this is Jock’s first overall Sportsperson of the Year award.

Resolving to carry the Australia #1 to as many venues as he could in the 2023-24 season, Goodyer was a proud ambassador for the sport clocking up 34,253kms to go racing across the nation.

The tour collected at least one win in every state, starting with three Chariots of Thunder wins & the overall series spoils in August in the Northern Territory, the Speedweek Championship with 3 out 5 nights won across South Australia and Victoria, before claiming the Red Hot Summer Shootout at Toowoomba.

The visit to WA rendered the Mr Sprintcar Barbagallo Nationals and Krikke Boys Shootout wins before making history as the first person to win all three national winged category Australian titles with Australian Pro Sprintcar Championship adding to his Open Sprintcar and Formula 500 titles.

Jock and the team sealed 13 feature race wins for the 2023/24 season while still salvaging a third in the 2024 Australian Sprintcar Championship in his title defence, convincingly establishing him as the leading open wheel competitor in the nation for the 2023-24 season.