The speedway season will draw to a close at Olympic Park this Saturday night with the running of the 33^rd Mildura Coca-Cola Sidecar Spectacular. This popular event is a must for Sidecar riders and enthusiasts alike as all of the top riders are always so keen to have their names included in the event,

The winner of the 2010 Keith “Curly” Carmes Trophy will be deserving, as the field is top class in the top group of ten. More than twenty sidecars will be on the program, but the Trophy will be decided amongst the ten “A” grade nominees.

Last week’s winners and runners up will start the meeting as firm favourites as Darrin Treloar and Justin Plaisted have five Australian Titles under their belt, but it could always be the local stars, and now Victorian seeded riders into the 2010 Australian Title at Newcastle, Byren Gates and Mick O’Loughlin, who, with their local knowledge could wrest the Curly Carmes Trophy away from the visitors.

Gates and O’Loughlin have been electrifying with their starts in recent meetings and are obviously grooming their style to suit the requirements of most tracks, and certainly the Newcastle venue for Easter, which will also auger well for them for this weekend too. Most local officials have not seen the Gater Racing Team make such impressive starts, as they have been during this season, which has only really heated up for sidecars over the last month, but something has been done to focus the attention of the team on their starts, which is working well.

It is vital that any team gets away from the gate well and over the past few seasons Treloar, who is a great exponent of the start process, has been showing the way by example and has obviously won many races because he is just so good from the trap. Treloar and Plaisted have a very purposeful routine at the start line, which usually gives them an advantage over all other teams in the regular field. Treloar stays on the machine, just hanging back from the line, while Plaisted grooms the start rut or groove before allowing the machine to settle in the start box. It is noticeable that Treloar gets maximum drive from the line, often having the front wheel raised slightly off the ground, such is the total power being delivered through the back wheel. Treloar has always used this technique and now has it perfected, but maybe the other riders have learned from this skill and are applying it, or some variation of it, for their own purposes.

We see the return of Warren Monson and Deven Gates for this week’s meeting after Monson was on Australian Superbike duty last weekend at Phillip Island. Monson will add some action to the track as his is one of the most powerful engines in Australian Sidecar speedway today. He and Gates are no slouches when it comes to getting around Olympic Park and Monson certainly does not mind taking the wide line to go around some other rider which is one of the best sights in speedway anywhere in the world. Monson should be expected to finish in the top order, especially as the Speccy format includes the top eight points scorers into two semi-finals, with the top two teams from each going on to the Curly Carmes Trophy final.

Fellow local riders, Jason Bradshaw and Simon Cohrs and the Munro brothers, as well as Andy O’Rourke / Jason Mayes and Chris Holmes / Neale Hancock should also acquit themselves well.

Bradshaw and Cohrs have something to prove after last meeting, to show that their form is better than their result would have shown. They are a class act and have shown some incredible speed, so it is hoped that some good luck and just some good starts are theirs for the meeting. They have good speed, although sometimes get caught washing off too much speed, particularly in the pit end turn, but Jason has been around the track plenty of timers as both rider and formerly as passenger with his elder brother Wayne, now team mentor, so they should be comfortable that the draw is kind and they get a chance in the odds and evens selection into each semi-final.

O’Rourke / Mayes, Holmes / Hancock and the Munro brothers are the big improvers of the season and are well deserving of their place in the main game for the night. Holmes rides the faster machine owned by passenger Hancock and often comments that it is a joy to ride, with he and Holmes saying recently that “old men are not supposed to have so much fun riding a motorcycle”, such is the ride that they each get from the Olympic Park racing.

The Munro’s have put away the Headers and have been able to concentrate on their racing, although one wonders whether former West Coast Eagles player, Kane, often thinks of his time in Perth as a regular senior player with the Eagles. It sure is different to training the body and mind to the physical requirements of football. Kane comments too that Sidecar racing is” just such a buzz”, so we followers should just accept that football at the very top can be difficult to handle, whereas, sidecar racing is just fun to do.

A rotten meeting last week saw O’Rourke and Mayes with a major engine problem which has now been rectified, so they will be looking forward to measuring themselves, particularly against Treloar, to ascertain whether a trip to Newcastle is a positive goal.

Most of the top flight of Mildura based riders should be thinking very seriously about the chance to ride and qualify into the 2010 Australian Title, as only very few Sidecar riders have ever ridden the big expanse, which is the Showground facility at Newcastle. Speeds will be amazing as the machines will get plenty of space to wind up to top pace and the track should be wide enough for even those with the most massive “tackle” to go around the outside, should there be a requirement to do just that.

Clint Mayes and Jamie Knudsen have had an inconsistent season so far so will be wanting to finish off on a top note as they complete their first season together, while Dale Milner and Nick O’Brien have moved up to the top grade and have had a good season of consolidation during this year.

The unlucky two “A” grade riders who miss out on the two finals will move into a Consolation final, where the top two “B” grade riders will join them to finish the year with something a little different.

The semi-final will see the top eight riders pitted against each other with the selection being made for odd numbers from the top and the even numbers from the top; again something just a little different.

Support events will be a “B” grade division and also a six team Classic Sidecar division, who will also have a final amongst themselves.

Patrons are advised that gates will open at 5:00pm and a full Junior program will be conducted before the senior meeting. Olympic Park operates a full catering facility and advises that there must be No BYO by law.

Patrons are reminded too, that the next meeting at Olympic Park will be the 2010 Easter Haymes Paints, Arena Motorcross, which will be conducted on Easter Saturday night, 3^rd April as part of the Mildura Rural City Council Easter Power Sports Promotion, which is now in its twelfth year of operation.

The Club thanks all of its valued sponsors, particularly those who have been naming rights sponsors for the year or those who have given of their time, effort or the machinery to assist in the new improvements to the Track and surrounds which are part of the ongoing new planning and strategy changes which the Club can progress as the longer term lease of our grounds has been secured during the year.

Patrons should look forward to the continual improvement of facilities and services into the next season.

Download the press release: PRE – 2010 Sidecar Spectacular, 060310