A LONG off-season at the Borderline Speedway has resulted in some exciting improvements to the venue ahead of tomorrow’s season-opener.
Sprintcars will headline the first night of racing, along with the South Australian Formula 500 Championships, but there is more to like about the new season than just the racing alone.
In a huge year for the club, which includes the jewel in the crown in January – the Australian Open Sprintcar Championships – the whole venue has received some TLC, from a new racing surface to improved facilities for spectators.
Club president Cary Jennings said a lot of tireless hours had gone into the venue over the past six months, with the rewards on show tomorrow night.
“The efforts of some of our “retiree” speedway enthusiasts has been great, with the lead of Bill Barrows, plus David Vears, who have been around a long time,” he said.
“We pick up a few other volunteers now and again – there are too many names to mention – and I appreciate them all for coming out to give us a hand.
“It has been a great effort by those people.”
Much of the hype revolves around the new track, which has seen the old base removed and many metres of new clay laid down.
The base itself has been relocated, to improve the experience for patrons heading out to the venue, with the highway-side bank extended and the angle reduced for more comfort, plus other features such as a new terraced booth and extra corporate boxes.
“We have had some contractors come out to do some earthworks for us and we have been able to make the mounds a more friendlier slope,” Jennings said.
“We can now fit more people up there, plus we have a new booth and we have terraced it to make it more comfortable.
“The old canteen has disappeared and a new ramp is in place to make it more wheelchair friendly.
“It has been a massive effort.”
Nine new corporate boxes will function for tomorrow’s meeting, with another to be installed before the Australian Championships.
Jennings said he was now looking forward to the start of the season tomorrow night.
“It has been a long six months with working bees and volunteers out here weekly and sometimes daily,” he said.
“It has been a great effort by the group.”
The club has been functioning since the mid-1950s, with continued improvement over that time, but this year that has been taken up a notch.
However, Jennings said while a lot of focus is on the Australian Titles, the work has been ongoing throughout the history of the club.
“There are always new things happening out here,” he said.
“The latest revamp started last season, but this season has been a major revamp
“I think our patrons will be surprised with what they see tomorrow night.”
Apart from the work around the venue, Jennings said he was excited to have the sprintcars back in action for the opening night, which extends throughout what will be a big season of action.
“The sprintcar shows bring the crowds in,” he said.
“We have some top names here this weekend, we will have a bit more of the cream for the World Series Sprintcars and we will probably see some Americans racing in the World Series and the
Kings Challenge before they go home for their summer series.
“Then we have the Australian Titles with the biggest names in the country here.”
The dates for the Australian Title, the King’s Challenge and the WSS coincide with other regional tracks at Geelong and Warrnambool, which Jennings said would bring plenty of action for fans this year.
“Between Mount Gambier, Warrnambool and Avalon in Geelong, we work together regularly and try to encourage our competitors to come to each of our events,” he said.
“The World Series follows each other, Geelong has the President’s Cup, we have the King’s Challenge and Warrnambool has the Classic, then this year it will come back to us for the Australian Title.
“It is a massive 10 days of speedway.”
