By Trevor Jackson
ALL is set for a huge season of motorsport at the Borderline Speedway, with a full calendar released.
Despite the real threat of Covid-19 disruptions, the club has gone ahead with its plans and hopes to see full fields with the border reopening.
Club president Cary Jennings said they were unsure initially how the season would pan out, but with the Borders set to reopen it was full steam ahead.
“Due to the Covid stuff we didn’t know whether we were going to have Victorian competitors at the Borderline Speedway this season,” he said.
“With the borders to open on November 23 we will continue with the SRA Victorian group (Sprintcars) which will be good to crank up the season.
“I think there are some competitors keen to get back on the track – they haven’t had any racing over there yet so ours is virtually the first meeting for them.
“Looking at the big picture we are going to push ahead with our program for the season.”
The season includes four South Australian state titles, along with the Australian Speedway Karts title.
The season kicks off on November 19 with Round 1 of the Eureka Garages and Sheds Sprintcar series, along with Formula 500s and Street Stocks, before moving to the SA Wingless Sprint title on December 11, which Jennings said would be an action-packed night of racing.
“Until the borders opened it looked like we were only going to get 20 or 30 cars but I’m guessing now we will get somewhere between 40 and 50,” he said.
“The Limited Sportsman have 15-18 cars ready to go and are keen to get here as well.”
Once again the World Series Sprintcars has been cancelled due to issues faced with border closures and no guarantees for interstate competitors anywhere in the country.
However, a mini speedweek will held in each state, with South Australia and Victoria working together for a four-night series.
The series will converge on the Borderline Speedway on December 28, after the opening night at Murray Bridge on December 26.
It then crosses the border and heads to Avalon Speedway at Geelong December 30, then Warrnambool on January 1.
“Due to the World Series not running, they have put some money into a point series for the competitors who compete over the whole four tracks over our South Australia/Victoria Speedweek,” Jennings said.
“I feel some of the NSW cars that haven’t had a race will want to get down here, so if the borders are fully opened we might be able to encourage some of the Queensland and NSW competitors to come down here and do some racing.
“I think we will see some good Sprintcar racing and we have topped it up with some Modlites, Super Sedans and Street Stocks.”
The Triple Crown follows on January 8, with the SA Speedcar title, the Wingless Sprints Summer Slam and Formula 500 Dash for Cash.
That is followed by the time-honoured Kings Challenge, supported by Super Sedans and a Wingless Sprints State of Origin SA v Victoria, where the top 10 Wingless Sprints drivers will go head-to-head for bragging rights.
The Kings Challenge could well see some American drivers in action, should restrictions allow that, with the President’s Cup in Geelong preceding the Mount Gambier meeting, then three nights of racing at Warrnambool for the Classic.
The Speedway Karts title runs from February 24-26, followed by a Sprintcar meeting on March 5 with the All Stars 360 Sprintcars the headline act, along with another state title – the SA Modlites.
The SA Super Sedans title in the main attraction on April 2, with the season to round out on April 16 with the second night of the Easter Sprintcar Trail.
All in all Jennings said the season looked as strong as ever and he expected plenty of support from motorsport fans in the region.
“We have been very proactive in ensuring the Borderline Speedway has something on its track all season,” he said.
“We should see plenty of action with the state titles and the Australian Kart titles.
“At the end of the day there is top-class racing for every show we are putting on.”
