James Murphy
HIGH octane action returns to Borderline Speedway this Saturday night, with two South Australian state titles on offer.
The feature event will be the SA Pro Sprint title, which has attracted a quality field of 26 drivers, while the Modified Sedan title will also be hotly contested by drivers from across the country.
The Pro Sprintcars utilise a smaller engine than their big brothers in the Open category.
However, they are no less entertaining.
“The Open sprintcars are 410’s and these have a 360 cubic engine in them,” Borderline Speedway club president Cary Jennings said.
“They are a smaller car, but they go just as quick.”
The field is stacked with talent, including the current Australian champion.
“His name is Mark Caruso, he is out of Adelaide,” Jennings said.
“His brother is coming as well, Steve Caruso, he is another good charger.”
Victoria’s Paul Solomon is another drawcard, having tasted his share of success over a lengthy career.
Also in the mix are a couple of local drivers.
Scott Enderl has converted his number 11 Sprintcar to the smaller capacity engine and will compete for the state honours on his home track.
Daniel Pestka will also put his skills to the test, driving the number 27 Stark car out of Port MacDonnell, which has also had the smaller engine swapped in for the event.
“We have a good roll up of cars from South Australia and Victoria,” Jennings said.
It is a similar story in the Modified Sedans, which has attracted drivers from most states.
“We have people coming from Western Australia, Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria and South Australia,” Jennings said.
“We have a good mix of cars from those states to compete for the South Australian Modified Sedan title.
“Those cars are a replica of what you see on the street and the engine has been modified and the suspension has been modified to adapt to the clay surface.”
There will be around 20 cars in the category, with one driver to lift the SA championship trophy at the end of the night.
Jennings said the track would be in prime condition, with track officials working tirelessly in the lead up to what will be a busy month of racing.
Just four meetings remain at Borderline for the season including this weekend’s event.
Of those, three will be in March, with the Easter Sprintcar Trail on March 30 one of the venue’s bigger events.
The following weekend will then conclude the season in Mount Gambier, with the SA Sprintcar title and SA Limited Sportsman title on April 6.
This Saturday’s event will be supported by the Junior Sedans, which replaced the Formula 500’s due to a lack of entries for the latter.
There will be three locals racing in a field of about eight.
