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Australian Senior Speedway Championship Round 2 - Australian Junior
Championship January 19th, 2004 - Images by Keith Muir |
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Australian Senior Speedway Championship Round 2 - Australian Junior
Championship January 19th, 2004 - Images by Keith Muir |
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Four-time world grand prix winner Ryan
Sullivan (Jawa) is on the cusp of adding the 2004 Australian senior
speedway title to his already impressive racing CV after a brilliant
all-the-way victory in round two at the Gosford (NSW) City Speedway
on Saturday, January 17. Sullivan, who turns 29 tomorrow, nailed the holeshot from gate three in the four-lap A Final, and was then untroubled as he led home world championship compatriot – and seven-time national champion – Leigh Adams (Jawa) for the second week in succession. “I must admit it was a bit of a low start for me tonight – I was struggling to come to grips with the track. “However, it all turned out for the best, so I can’t complain too much. “Next week (round three in Mildura) is going to be really interesting – I haven’t raced at the circuit for a long time, and it is also Leigh’s home track, so he knows it like the back of his hand. But, like tonight, I’ll just concentrate on getting in the A Final, and we’ll see what happens from there.” With his second successive A Final coup de grace, Sullivan now leads the three-round national title by 4pts (40 to 36) over Adams as he seeks to add the prestigious senior trophy to his previous national under 16 and under 21 successes. New South Welshman Todd Wiltshire (GM) – a former national dirt track champion before making the successful switch to speedway – finished third in the A Final at Gosford ahead of Jawa-riding Travis McGowan, and now sits in third on 33pts. Wiltshire, who will retire after round three, was only defeated once in the preliminaries – by Adams in heat five – which saw him with the second choice of gate in the A Final; he settled on the outside gate four. Meanwhile, Adams punted on the inside gate one, which had hitherto proven to be the most lucrative on the night – eight of 21 holeshots. However, it all turned pear-shaped for the 32-year-old when he botched the start – and with it any real hope of defeating Sullivan. “I came out of the start a bit crooked and that was it,” said the reigning world number four. “All I can do now is to head home to Mildura and give it my best shot. At the moment, just making the A Final is a major achievement in this company, so anything could happen in the final round.” The B Final at Gosford was quite simply a brilliant exhibition of high-level speedway, with GM trio Jason Lyons, Western Australian Steve Johnston and 41-year-old John Jorgensen just inches apart at the end of four hard-fought laps. Lyons, after displacing Johnston from the lead on lap three, held on for a thrilling victory, with Jorgensen third. Just minutes earlier, under 21 national champion Rory Schlein (GM) crashed on the opening lap of the first attempt at the B Final, and was then excluded for the re-run. It was Lyons’ second consecutive victory in the B Final, after crashing in a run-off against Johnston and McGowan to decide who would claim the last spot in the A Final. The triumvirate had all finished the heats on 10pts, behind Adams, (14), Wiltshire (14) and Sullivan (13). Round three of the Australian Senior Solo Speedway Championship will be held at Olympic Park Speedway in Mildura (Vic) on January 24. Practice will be held from 7.00-9.30pm on Friday night, with racing starting at 7.00pm on Saturday. Gates will open at 4.30pm. Admission is $25 for adults, $12 for children 10-15 (under 10 are free), and $60 for a family. Australian Senior Solo Speedway Championship - Round Two - Gosford A Final B Final Final Under 16 Teams |
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