IT has been the perfect start to 2020 for former Mount Gambier wingless sprint racer Mitchell Broome, after he swept up the Victorian Super Series honours at Sunday’s final round in Warrnambool.
It came as a sweet reward following a consistent series and Broome was “rapt” to secure the title among a strong field.
“It was kind of the goal to get in the top three this year,” he said.
“I have finished third in the series twice and now to finally go up and win it was pretty cool.”
On another local note, Mount Gambier’s Kirby Hillyer was also in the hunt on Sunday and headed into the round in fourth position.
Second places in both his heats saw him start the feature in third position, eventually crossing the line in sixth to finish third in the Super Series by just 14 points to runner-up Travis Millar.
Heading into the weekend, there were three scheduled meetings to wrap up the series, but Mother Nature played havoc on both Friday night’s event at Hamilton and Saturday’s outing at Mount Gambier, with finals not held at either venue.
“We only ended up competing in one of the rounds so it was a bit anticlimactic, but we still got the job done,” Broome said.
The achievement looms as Broome’s biggest in a wingless sprint, as he contests his fifth season in the category.
“I have won a couple of series in go karts and stuff, but in speedway (the Super Series win) is definitely up there,” he said.
Heading into the final round on Sunday with a 171-point lead over Clint McClaren, Broome knew he only needed a clean run to tie up the series.
He put in solid performances in his heats where he finished first and third to qualify on the front row of the grid in the A Main feature race.
Starting out of second Broome raced conservatively and crossed the chequered flag in fifth position.
That was enough to hold the series lead and polish off an impressive start to the 2019-20 season.
“I knew I just had to finish in front of the guys I was racing against (for the series win),” Broome said.
“Kirby finished third in the series and he could still have won it if I stuffed it up big time.
“I did not want to wreck it all for one race.”
Broome’s careful approach paid off and now he will have another trophy for the cabinet when presentations are held mid year.
Broome and Hillyer are good mates and had tussled for positions throughout the series.
But despite the friendliness of competitors off the track, it is a different story when drivers hit the clay.
“All of us are pretty good mates, but once you put the helmet on it is game on,” Broome said.
In terms of highlights of the series, Broome said the win at Simpson in round three came at a pivotal point of the title chase, while he was happy with his heat race performances across the six rounds.
“I had decent heat races for the whole series – I did not finish lower than fifth in a heat race,” he said.
“That made the starting positions a bit better and made trying to gain more points easier.”
However, Broome said he tried to put the series standings to the back of his mind during races.
“I tried to forget about the points and just go race and pass as many cars as I could,” he said.
With family history in speedway, Broome always knew he wanted to venture into the bullring eventually and when facing a class change in go karts, decided to opt for a change of scenery.
“I had to move classes in go karts because I got too old for juniors and had to go to seniors,” he said.
“They had just changed all the engine rules and it was going to be nearly as expensive as buying a wingless.
“The time was right and we found a car that was good and cheap at the same time, so it worked out well.”
Broome will now enjoy a short break from racing, before a busy period over February and March.
“We are going to the Australian title in Kalgoorlie at the end of February, so we will do that and hopefully have a good run there,” he said.
“The South Australian title is back in Mount Gambier at Borderline in March and then we have the Victorian title in Warrnambool the week after that.”
But for now Broome will enjoy some time to watch the “big boys” in action.
“This coming month I am just watching the sprintcars – it is the best time of year to watch them,” he said.
“Then we might do one or two club shows just to keep the feel of the car and make sure everything is running smoothly before we head west.”
Broome thanks his parents, pit crew and sponsors for their ongoing support.
