THE big boys of speedway are set to hit the clay of the Borderline Speedway tomorrow night for round two of the World Series Sprintcars season.
It will be the third night of racing in the series after back-to-back runs in Murray Bridge.
All the big names will be out and looking to claim the first big prize of the series – Speedweek.
The Speedweek calendar runs from yesterday (December 26), with the two opening nights at Murray Bridge, then one night each at the Borderline Speedway, Premier Speedway, Warrnambool and Avalon Raceway and Geelong, before the final night back at Warrnambool on New Year’s Day.
Two of the contracted drivers in the series with Mount Gambier connections – Glen Sutherland and Brooke Tatnell – will be keen to get their season rolling in front of the home crowd.
Sutherland returns as a contracted driver this year, while Tatnell is back in the Scott Motorsport car for the third straight season, but this time with the WSS squarely in his sights.
Both would hope for some good returns through Speedweek to set up their season.
But they will face plenty of tough opposition from fellow contracted drivers, along with non-contracted drivers who would hope to emulate Steven Lines’ effort last season.
Lines claimed the WSS title after not committing to the full season early.
As it all unfolded it was clear he was in with a chance to take the top honours and contested every round, which eventually came down to the last corner of the final race in Perth.
Lines will certainly be another to watch tomorrow night, but again with a long list of challengers on the Borderline bullring.
Joining Sutherland and Tatnell as contracted drivers will be David Murcott, James McFadden, Jason Pryde, Jock Goodyer, Kerry Madsen, Lachlan McHugh, Lucas Wolfe and Rusty Hickman.
Borderline Speeedway president Cary Jennings said he expects a big night of racing, which he described as being “next level”.
“On our opening night we had a good roll up of sprintcars and I would think most of those will come back for the World Series, plus the entourage that comes with the series,” he said.
“Our opening night we had Steven Lines and James McFadden and you do not get much better than that in Australia at the moment when they go head-to-head.
“We had a three-lane track that night and I hope we get that tomorrow.
“With the likes of Tatnell, Lines, Sutherland, Kerry Madsen and McFadden, it is a high-calibre field.”
Jennings said Bill Barrows and a dedicated crew had worked hard on the track to ensure it presented in the best possible condition on the night.
“I think come race night the track will be ready to go,” he said.
“However, the weather can determine what the track turns out like, along with the other cars on the track.”
Those other cars will be the Formula 500s, who will contest round two of their own Speedweek series.
Jennings said they would complement the sprintcars in action and the track itself.
“The Formula 500s will roll the track in for the sprintcars and it should all run well,” he said.
“We will have four heats of sprintcars and four heats of formula 500s, then the feature races, which will fill in the night well.”
A wide range of competitors are expected for the Formula 500s, with the Speedweek series running from tonight at Simpson Speedway, through to January 4, 2020, at Portland.
As for the WSS, Jennings said the club was proud to have been involved since its inception, with this the 32nd running of the series.
Action is expected to kick off at 5pm.
