The Sidewinders Speedway is a junior
Motorcycle speedway
Motorcycle speedway, usually referred to simply as speedway, is a motorcycle sport involving four and sometimes up to six riders competing over four anti-clockwise laps of an oval circuit. The motorcycles are specialist machines that use only ...
that was opened in 1978 in the semi-industrial
Adelaide
Adelaide ( ) is the capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater Adelaide (including the Adelaide Hills) or the Adelaide city centre. The dem ...
suburb of
Wingfield in
South Australia
South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a state in the southern central part of Australia. It covers some of the most arid parts of the country. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories ...
. The Sidewinders U/16 Speedway Club Inc. was founded two years earlier in 1976 by Graham Baker and Roy Bitmead, with help from
Rowley Park Speedway
Rowley Park Speedway
is a former dirt track racing venue that was located on Torrens Road in Brompton, South Australia and supplanted the Kilburn speedway (1946–1951) on Churchill Road, and the earlier Camden motordrome (1935– ...
riders Robin and Kym Amundson, and their father Bill.
About Sidewinders
As it was then, Sidewinders goal is to promote and develop speedway through its junior ranks with riders aged 4–15, something that had rarely been done in Australia to that point. Once a rider turns 16 he or she then move into the senior ranks.
Prior to the opening of Sidewinders, most Australian Solo riders came into the sport with a background in Cycle Speedway (in Adelaide this was usually through the Findon Skid Kids cycling club) or through Scrambling
Scrambling is a mountaineering term for ascending steep terrain using one's hands to assist in holds and balance.''New Oxford American Dictionary''. It is also used to describe terrain that falls between hiking and rock climbing (as a “scramb ...
, including local Adelaide hero John Boulger
John Boulger (born 18 June 1945 in Adelaide, South Australia) is a former international motorcycle speedway rider. After he retired from riding Solos in the early 1980s, Boulger raced somewhat successfully in Speedcars (Midgets) from the mid- ...
who during the 1980s and 1990s was a strong supporter of the speedway (despite having retired from riding in 1983 to move into first the Sprintcar, then the Speedcar ranks), lending his experience, including two Australian Championships, nine South Australian Championships, a World Team Cup
The World Team Cup was the international men's team championship of the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP). The inaugural edition of the tournament was contested in 1975 in Kingston, Jamaica and was called the Nations Cup. No tourname ...
win, and two World Final appearances, to up and coming riders.
Track
The Sidewinders Speedway, which has a dolomite Dolomite may refer to:
*Dolomite (mineral), a carbonate mineral
*Dolomite (rock), also known as dolostone, a sedimentary carbonate rock
*Dolomite, Alabama, United States, an unincorporated community
*Dolomite, California, United States, an unincor ...
surface, is the only dedicated, stand alone junior motorcycle speedway track in Australia. Other venues around the country such as the nearby Gillman Speedway
Gillman Speedway (sometimes called Gillman Speedway Stadium) is a purpose built, long motorcycle speedway located in the Adelaide suburb of Gillman in South Australia. The track opened in 1998 and runs approximately 13 meetings per season fro ...
, the Olympic Park
An Olympic Park is a sports campus for hosting the Olympic Games. Typically it contains the Olympic Stadium and the International Broadcast Centre. It may also contain the Olympic Village or some of the other sports venues, such as the aquatics ...
and Undera Park Speedways in Victoria
Victoria most commonly refers to:
* Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia
* Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada
* Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory
* Victoria, Seychelle ...
, and the Loxford Park Speedway in New South Wales
)
, nickname =
, image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg
, map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates:
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name = Australia
, established_title = Before federation
, es ...
, all boast junior tracks on the infield of their main track. The Pinjar Park motorcycle speedway just north of Perth
Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth is ...
in Western Australia
Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to th ...
is similar to Sidewinders and regularly runs junior events, though the speedway also doubles as Perth's main senior motorcycle speedway.
Sidewinders offers raised viewing on the back straight which allows spectators to see over the fence with an unimpeded view of the entire track. The track also has lights allowing for night racing (installed in 1986) and a raised Control Tower with FIM
FIM may refer to:
Organizations and companies
* Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme, the International Motorcycling Federation
* Flint Institute of Music, in Michigan, United States
* Fox Interactive Media, now News Corp. Digital Media
* ...
standard controls for the starting gate and lights, while the pits are located on the outside of turn 4 (the pit gate is located directly to the right of the cover photo). Sidewinders also offers canteen and toilet facilities as well as merchandise sales. Entry is Adults $5.00 and Children U16 Free for race meetings, the venue has a full Canteen and both the Amenities and Canteen have disable access.
Sidewinders is located on North Terrace at the end of Eighth Street Wingfield, and the season runs every fortnight from September to April.
In October 2014, new bays were built in the pits for the first time giving an undercover pit area for riders and their crew to work on their machines as well as giving welcome shade.
In 2017 the Club was leased the land to the west of the venue, from the previous boundary to the Gun Club, from the Port Adelaide/Enfield Council, on which to build a bigger track to be used for training for the 250cc Class. The track will have no track fence but will have sufficient run-offs instead, and there will be no racing conducted on it at all but will give the Intermediate riders a place to hone their skills before going to senior riding at Gillman.
History
Sidewinders, which held its first official meeting on 25 February 1978, has produced some of the biggest names in Australian speedway. Local riders to learn their skills at the speedway include 1983 European (World) Under-21 Champion Steve Baker (son of club founder Graham), Four times South Australian Champions Mark Fiora
Mark Fiora (born 16 May 1962 in Mount Barker, South Australia) is a retired Australian international Motorcycle speedway rider. He is a four time South Australian Champion, and winner of the Australian Best Pairs championship in 1988 with Cr ...
and Shane Parker, triple SA Champions Craig Hodgson and Ryan Sullivan
Ryan Geoffrey Sullivan (born 20 January 1975, in Fitzroy, Victoria) is a retired Australian international Motorcycle speedway rider who has won the Australian senior, Under-21, and Under-16 championships during his career. Sullivan achieved ...
(winner of the 2004 Australian Solo Championship), current Track Manager and twice SA Champion Scott Norman (his son Jack Norman is currently a rider at the speedway), former World Under-21 Finalist Shane Bowes
Shane Bowes (born 4 March 1969, Adelaide, South Australia) is a former motorcycle speedway rider. Bowes was a finalist in the 1990 Individual Speedway Junior World Championship, 1990 Under-21 Speedway World Championship, finishing in eighth pl ...
, and former Moto3
Grand Prix motorcycle racing is the premier class of motorcycle road racing events held on road circuits sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme (FIM). Independent motorcycle racing events have been held since the start of ...
rider Arthur Sissis
Arthur Sissis (born 15 June 1995) is an Australian motorcycle and speedway rider and former Grand Prix motorcycle racer who last rode for Mahindra Racing in the Moto3 World Championship before being replaced by Andrea Migno mid season due t ...
(who in 2014 made a welcome return to the speedway ranks). Former Riders such as Parker, Norman and Bowes often host various coaching clinics at the speedway, lending their experience to young riders.
Interstate riders who have also excelled at Sidewinders include triple Speedway World Champion Jason Crump
Jason Philip Crump (born 6 August 1975) is an Australian international motorcycle speedway rider. He is a three-time Speedway World Champion, a World Cup winner and a former World Under-21 Champion.
In a 21-year career in Speedway, Jason ...
, 10 times Australian Champion Leigh Adams
Leigh Scott Adams (born 28 April 1971 in Mildura, Victoria)Oakes, P.(2004). ''British Speedway Who's Who''. is an Australian former motorcycle speedway rider. He is a multiple Speedway Grand Prix winner and World Team Champion. He also w ...
and former Victorian and South Australian
South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a States and territories of Australia, state in the southern central part of Australia. It covers some of the most arid parts of the country. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest o ...
champion Jason Lyons
Jason Rodney Lyons (born 15 June 1970 in Mildura, Victoria) is an Australian international motorcycle speedway rider. Jason is the son of former rider Rod Lyons. The younger Lyons was the winner of the Australian Pairs Championship in 1992 as ...
– all from Mildura (Sidewinders and Mildura would stage "test matches" between the clubs at their respective venues). 2012 World Champion Chris Holder
Christopher Robert Holder (born 24 September 1987 in Sydney, New South Wales) is an Australian speedway rider currently riding for Lejonen in the Swedish Elitserien and for Apator Toruń in the Polish Speedway Ekstraliga. He became the Austral ...
from Sydney
Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...
and twice World Under-21 Champion Darcy Ward
Darcy Stephen Ward (born 4 May 1992 in Nanango, Queensland) is an Australian former motorcycle speedway rider who won the 2009, 2010 and 2011 Australian Under-21 Championships as well as the 2009 and 2010 World Under-21 Championships. His ca ...
from Queensland
)
, nickname = Sunshine State
, image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg
, map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name = Australia
, established_title = Before federation
, established_ ...
have also ridden at the speedway.
Sidewinders hosted the inaugural Australian Under-16 Championship in 1982, and subsequently hosted the Championship, and the Australian Best Pairs Championship in 1985, 1988, 1991, 1997, 2002, 2006 and 2011. Local rider Paul Snadden won the first Australian U/16 title in August 1981 but this subsequently counted as the 1982 title, while other local winners include Shane Parker (1985), Ryan Sullivan (1991), Rusty Harrison
Russell Wade "Rusty" Harrison (born 11 October 1981 in Elizabeth, South Australia)
is an Australian speedway rider.
Career summary
Harrison won the Australian Under-16 Championship in 1995 in Perth and again in 1997 at his home track in Ade ...
(1997), and Dakota Ballentyne (2011). Victorian rider Jason Hawkes (1988, where Jason Crump finished second), Western Australia
Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to th ...
n rider Trevor Harding (2002), another Mildura rider Ryan Sedgmen (2006) and NSW rider Matthew Gilmore
Matthew Gilmore (born 11 September 1972 in Ghent) is a Belgian-Australian retired track cyclist, who mostly competed and was most successful on track for Belgium. Although Gilmore was born in and represented Belgium, he is the son of Australian ...
(2016) have been the interstate winners. The club also hosts the South Australian Under-16 Solo and Sidecar
A sidecar is a one-wheeled device attached to the side of a motorcycle, scooter, or bicycle, making the whole a three-wheeled vehicle. A motorcycle with a sidecar is sometimes called a ''combination'', an ''outfit'', a ''rig'' or a ''hack''.
...
championships.
Sidewinders U/16 Speedway currently runs between 10 and 13 meetings per season starting in October and finishing in April. Meetings are run every second Saturday night so as not to clash with the bike only Gillman Speedway which also stages junior racing on its junior infield track. As speedway in Australia is a summer sport, Sidewinders has a hot weather policy which sometimes sees meetings cancelled if the forecast temperature is too hot (generally 35–40 °C
The degree Celsius is the unit of temperature on the Celsius scale (originally known as the centigrade scale outside Sweden), one of two temperature scales used in the International System of Units (SI), the other being the Kelvin scale. The ...
or higher).
Classes that race at Sidewinders Speedway are Junior Solos, Junior Sidecars, Novice Solo Class, Novice Sidecar Class and 50cc Mini Bikes. The club holds regular "Come and Try" events for kids interested in speedway riding. Although Solo and Sidecar racing is generally a male dominated sport, Sidewinders has seen several young girls take up speedway racing.
See also
*Motorcycle speedway
Motorcycle speedway, usually referred to simply as speedway, is a motorcycle sport involving four and sometimes up to six riders competing over four anti-clockwise laps of an oval circuit. The motorcycles are specialist machines that use only ...
*Gillman Speedway
Gillman Speedway (sometimes called Gillman Speedway Stadium) is a purpose built, long motorcycle speedway located in the Adelaide suburb of Gillman in South Australia. The track opened in 1998 and runs approximately 13 meetings per season fro ...
References
{{reflist
External links
Official Website
Motorcycle speedway
Speedway venues in Australia
Sports venues in Adelaide
Motorsport in Adelaide