FOR Borderline Speedway club president Cary Jennings the biggest race at the venue for many years has arrived, with the Australian Open Sprintcar Championships to kick off tonight.
The volunteer base has been working feverishly over the last six months to ensure the venue to up to a high standard, with the grounds undergoing a major revamp, the racing surface redone and plenty of plans put in place to ensure a smooth three days of racing.
Jennings said the actual racing itself should provide plenty of entertainment for fans from the region and those travelling to the event.
“When you look at the calibre of competitors coming, there are 80 and probably any one of 40 have a great chance to win,” he said.
“Not saying none of them have a chance, because they all do, but at the end there will be 20 finalists and they will go head to tail Saturday night.
“Patrons will see the top 20 Australian drivers who can be a champion in their own right, including the local drivers.
“Steven Lines won the Kings Challenge last week in a great race.
“Brooke Tatnell was scratching, but he came out the next night at the (Grand Annual) Classic and won, then Saturday night started off pole and ran third.
“Glen (Sutherland) was in the top seven cars at Warrnambool, so he is in the picture and Jake Tranter has been consistent all season.
“It will come down to set up, the driver picking the right line and the crew chief.
“The track changes regularly and they will know by the third night what the track will be like.”
But while 80 of the best drivers in the country will be on track, it is the massive effort from the volunteer base that Jennings said ensured the meeting ran smoothly.
More than 130 will sign in each night, from those working in the pits to others around the venue.
“We have an excellent team of people and you don’t see a lot of them,” Jennings said.
“Any sprintcar show takes about 130 people to run it.
“But this is over three days and the heat will be a factor.
“My responsibility is to ensure everyone has water and ice and we haven’t had to worry too much about that before.
“We’ve been lucky one of our main sponsors in Ray Scott Transport has been kind enough to lend us a mobile fridge van we can have running and keep the drinks and food cold for the weekend.”
Jennings said patrons would be well catered for over the three days, with food and drink from the Lions and Rotary clubs, plus other vendors all in a stunning setting.
“There is a band of workers out there that have been working tirelessly week in, week out to bring the venue up,” he said.
“People who work during the week have been coming out on weekends and doing their little bit, making the property look fantastic.
“I have been to numerous speedways around Australia and I have to say we have to be in the top three.
“Now, with what we’ve got, I believe we are the top venue in South Australia.”
The nature of speedway requires constant work on the racing surface to ensure a quality event.
With three days to run that job becomes even bigger, but Jennings said his track curators in Bill Barrows, David Vears and Milton Chant were up to the task.
“When I left the track yesterday Bill was putting water on it,” he said.
“The three track curators are flat out rolling the track, watering the track and grading the track to make sure it is ready, but the heat is coming.
“We have to make sure we have moisture underneath so the heat doesn’t scorch it.
“We also have to keep in mind we have three nights to bring the track up, so the curators are working hard to make that happen.”
Jennings said he expected to see more than 9000 fans at the track just on Saturday night alone, which he said could be noticed during the week as the caravans rolled into town.
“Driving up the street you see caravans with sprintcar stickers on the back and you know they are travelling from somewhere else,” he said.
“The show grounds park is full, plus the other parks in town are full.”
Traffic conditions will change for the three days, with drivers to be aware of signage and police directions.
“The City of Mount Gambier and Grant District Councils have been marvellous and the police have been fantastic,” Jennings said.
“We have new signs erected and the police will monitor the traffic around the venue.
“Along Brown Road they will only go one direction down to Kromelite Road to exit.”
Despite the major logistical undertaking, Jennings said he expected a seamless event.
“All going well I think we will have a magic three nights of racing,” he said.
“I think the patrons will appreciate what we have done and what we have at the Borderline Speedway.”
