Trevor Jackson
THE inclement weather of recent weeks has made its mark in the region, sometimes with disappointing results.
Saturday night was supposed to be the opening of the Borderline Speedway’s 2022-23 season, but that has now been pushed back, with the opening meeting cancelled.
Such is the condition of the track, club president Cary Jennings said the committee felt it was best to make the decision early to allow competitors and spectators to make other plans, rather than leaving it until Saturday morning.
“We have been very concerned about the weather and the rain leading up to this weekend,” he said.
“We went out there on the weekend, did a few little jobs and were very concerned about the track condition.
“Bill Barrows was doing some work out there and said he drove the track and the tractor went down six to eight inches in certain spots.
“We have drains on the infield and there is three to four inches of water sitting on the infield on top of the grass.”
Jennings said with around 100 cars booked into the pits for this weekend, the club had no other choice than to cancel early.
Unfortunately the South Australian Sprintcar Title was set down as the drawcard for the weekend, along with a round of the Formula 500 SA Series.
However, with plenty of rain during the week, there was not enough time for the track to dry sufficiently for a meeting to go ahead.
“We were working hard on the list and had some good nominations for the meeting,” Jennings said.
“But we thought it was better to call it off early rather than on Saturday morning.
“We have competitors coming from Swan Hill, the other side of Melbourne and other places.”
Not just the Borderline Speedway has been affected, with various other tracks also suffering from the deluge through Victoria and South Australia.
Horsham and Hamilton are both in doubt for their upcoming meetings, while the track at Moama Echuca is under water.
“Renmark got their meeting done on Saturday night, then had 50mm of rain,” Jennings said.
“They could have had speed boats there the next day on the infield.”
Jennings said other than the water, the venue itself was in good condition.
“Other than that the venue is in pristine condition,” he said.
“We have been cutting the grass and it has come up well, but because of the banking on the track, the infield is water logged due to the recent weeks of rain.”
The next meeting, set down for December 10, will now change to include the Sprintcar title, along with Round 2 of the SA Wingless Sprints series.
