Article i have written up for my Sports Writing Course, i hope you enjoy :) STUNNING FIELD ANNOUNCED FOR THE AUSTRALIAN SIDECAR CHAMPIONSHIP! Motorcycling Australia have released the draw and rider line up for the historic 2014 Australian Speedway Sidecar Championship. This highly anticipated event is set to light up the Loxford Park Speedway in Kurri Kurri (NSW) on the 28th and the 29th of March, as some of the best riders from Australia, New Zealand and the UK race off to be crowned the 2014 champion! Seven times Australian Champion Darrin Treloar will enter the 2014 Championship without former swinger Simon Cohrs, but remains one of the top favourites to take out his third consecutive Championship. Blake Cox will continue his great form on the back for Treloar, as Darrin looks too build on some solid performances in the Grand Slam to take home his eighth title. Eight of the top riders from each state (excluding Tasmania) have been seeded through from their efforts in the state titles recently. Mick Headland and son Jesse Headland will be looking to build on their form of late in the Sidecar Grand Slam to nail down there first Championship win after two runner up awards (2008, 2013). Travelling down once again from QLD will be the very fast combination of Scott Christopher and Tyler Moon, after he continues to try and win his second Championship (2005). Christopher has been a top runner in the past decade, finishing with one Championship, and 4 third places. Grant Bond and Glenn Cox find themselves in the mix again after a very strong performance in 2012, and so does Veteran Russell Mitchell travelling from Western Australia. Russell has been in and out of the Sidecar Championships dating back from the last 1980’s. The most experienced rider in the pack will be looking to seal down his third Championship which began with his first win in 1992, in a ride-off with Ian Smith and Craig Fordham. Mark Plaisted and passenger Brian Anthony will be looking to bounce back into form after that horrific injury in the Sidecar Grand Slam, which saw him miss one of the vital rounds. This will be a great chance for Plaisted to keep up his great form in the Australian Titles after 2 thirds in 3 years. One of many underdogs to take out the Championship is the experienced combination of Warren Monson and Matt Morgan. They are one of the fastest competitors in Australia, and after 3 consecutive Victorian Titles, and finishing a hard fought fourth in the 2013 FIM Oceania Sidecar Championship, they will be looking at topping it off by taking out the Championship for the first time. The final seeded combination is returning Queenslanders Dave Bottrell and Ben Pitt. Bottrell was involved in a terrible incident many years back, but will be a serious contender and will put some pressure on some of the top seeded riders. After finishing second in 2005 to following Queenslander Scott Christopher, he will be looking at adding a win to his tally. On the 28th of March, the Australian Speedway Sidecar Championship will hold are very hard fought qualifier, which will see 16 riders take the track to trying to transfer through to the main on the 29th. Eight riders will go through, and with some of the supporters commenting about the rider line up, a lot of them are struggling to name eight because of how competitive the field is. Queensland veteran Wayne Munck and passenger Hagan Campbell will be pushing hard for a good performance to transfer through. Another rider in red hot form is the Husband and Wife duo of Andrew Buchanan and Philippa Burns. Based in New Zealand, they have come over and made a big impression on the Speedway World in 2014 and are one of the under dogs to take out Championship. Young combination of Hayden Bond and Brady Cox will be looking to upstage their fathers and put on a great performance and build on their confidence. UK flyers Mark Cossar and Daryl Whetstone have the chance to transfer to the Main unlike fellow UK rider Mick Cave. Cossar has surprised many riders this year with some strong performances, and the bike seems to be running very well, so expect something big from them over the Sidecar Championship weekend. Other favourites to go through are Shane Hudson and Brad Pitt from New South Wales, who have been pushing out some good results in the past few months, along with Dylan Blain and Hamish Golding from Queensland who will be pushing to go through to the main event with fellow Queenslanders Munck, Hagel and Banjo Smith. Veteran rider Byren Gates and swinger Mick O’Loughlin will be looking for a strong performance after finishing fourth in the World Sidecar Championship in 2011. Other notable riders are South Australian Due Damien Niesche and Mitchell Spear who qualified for the Australian Championship in 2003 and competed in the Sidecar Grand Slam for the past two years and also veteran rider Ron Parker, who is also an outsider that could make it through the qualifier. The Kurri Kurri Speedway Club has done a tremendous effort to host this huge event, and with a good following and great facilities, the riders and supporters cannot wait till the tapes go up! There’s going to be some exciting races, with the best riders around the world showcasing their 1000cc machines. So get down there, take a friend, and get ready to watch these dare devils in action! Gates will open at 2:00pm on Friday and 4:00pm on Saturday. Practise is 4:30pm to 6:00pm on Friday, NO PRACTISE on Saturday. Rider’s briefing at 6:45pm on both nights, and racing starts at 7:30pm on Friday and Saturday. 2014 Australian Speedway Sidecar Championship Seeded Riders Mark Plaisted / Brian Anthony (SA) Mick Headland / Jesse Headland (SA) Grant Bond / Glenn Cox (NSW) Warren Monson / Matt Morgan (VIC) Russell Mitchell / Justin Winchester (WA) Darrin Treloar / Blake Cox (NSW) Dave Bottrell / Ben Pitt (QLD) Scott Christopher / Tyler Moon (QLD) Qualifier 1. Wayne Munck / Hagan Campbell (QLD) 2. Byren Gates / Mick O’Loughlin (NSW) 3. Mark Radford / Chris Walker (VIC) 4. Mick Farrell Snr / Don Morris (NSW) 5. Aaron Hartwig / Teagan Hartwig (SA) 6. Andrew Buchannan / Philippa Burns (NZ) 7. Richard Stephens / Darcy Risstrom (NSW) 8. Dylan Blain / Hamish Golding (QLD) 9. Hayden Bond / Brady Cox (NSW) 10. Damien Niesche / Mitchell Spear (SA) 11. Phillip Hudson / Nathan McFadden (NSW) 12. David Hagel / Ben Cooper (QLD) 13. Shane Hudson / Brad Pitt (NSW) 14. Mark Cossar / Daryl Whetstone (UK) 15. Banjo Smith / Brett Carr (QLD) 16. Ron Parker / Derick Thomas (SA) Reserves 17. Stephen Saunders / Clarissa Mitchell (NSW) 18. Rob Patterson / Brenton Kerr (VIC) 19. Reginald Waters / Johnathan Sheehan (TAS) 20. Mick Cave / Gaz Williams (UK) 21. Michael Farrell Jnr / Shane van Gineekan (NSW
Posted on: Tue, 11 Mar 2014 04:07:30 +0000
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