GILLMAN’S COLD NIGHT DELIVERS HOT TRACK ACTION
All Photos by: Judy Mackay
Despite an at times bitterly cold evening, Gillman Speedway delivered on its promise of an entertaining night’s racing at the opening “summer” meeting for 2025/26 on Saturday night, November 8.
The meeting started with the Group 1 Solos, with the eagerly anticipated debut appearance of just turned 16-year-old Beau Bailey and he didn’t disappoint, not only winning the opening race but winning all four of his heats in fine style, including two against multiple state champion Justin Sedgmen, and clocking the fastest time of the night.
But, in the all-important final it was Sedgmen who triumphed with Bailey a close second. On another occasion Bailey may have been able to chase Sedgmen down, but this time he had his hands full trying to hold on to second place for the first three laps from a strongly challenging Kiwi Jake Turner. Another Kiwi, the current NZ champion, Ben Whalley retired while in fourth.
Bailey and Sedgmen apart, the closeness of the racing is shown in the heat points, with Turner qualifying for the final with just 6 points, ahead of Harry Sadler and Ben Whalley on 5, Reid Battye 4 and Lachlan Russell 3. The semi-final could have been anyone’s race but Whalley produced his best ride of the night to lead all the way with Battye second, Sadler third and Russell fourth.
The only rider from group one who didn’t figure in the finals was the unfortunate Alex Adamson. After a 1318 km drive from his home in Lapstone, New South Wales, 17-year-old Adamson only lasted a lap in practice before a crash appeared to have finished his night early. His bike had to be taken back to the pits on a trailer, and after a long time receiving medical treatment on the track, he suffered a similar fate, being placed on a stretcher and taken to the medical room in an ambulance.
No one expected to see him again, but with the two minutes counting down for the opening race, out he came. To say no one expected to see him is no exaggeration, even the referee held up the start while he got one of the start line marshals to check with the medics that he was cleared to ride. He was obviously nowhere near his best but nevertheless was still competitive and scored 3 points from three rides before pulling infield in his last ride.
Steven Graetz, with 10 points, top scored in the Group 2 Solos ahead of Isaiah Hartley (9), Jack Norman (7) and Tayla Street (6), after Hartley, from just outside Bendigo in Victoria, was the early front-runner. Hartley beat a surprisingly off the pace Graetz in his first two heats, and then won his third ride as well, before things went awry when he fell in his last heat and again in the consolation race which was won by Russell ahead of Graetz and Street. Jack Norman could have top scored as he was a clear leader ahead of Hartley, Graetz and Street in the opening heat when he dropped a chain with one lap to go.
The standout duo in the Sidecar events was New Zealand duo Taylor Green and Callum Innes, who were making their Gillman debut. The night did not start well for the Kiwis when meeting favourites Justin Plaisted/Brian Anthony slowed in front of them after only a quarter-of-a-lap in their first race, and they ran into the back of them and rolled the bike.
As with Adamson in the Solos, we thought that might be the end of them, but they came out for the rerun, won it, and then won their other three heats and the final for an unbeaten night.
Second in the final went to Kym Menadue/Shane Dolan with Shane Rudloff/Damian Egan third and Brian Silvy/Glen Zaworksi fourth.
The best race of the night, across all classes, was without doubt heat five with the same four riders. They were as close at is possible to be, and swapping all four places for the first couple of laps before Green took the win, with Rudloff second, Silvy third and Menadue fourth.
Plaisted and Anthony suffered an electrical problem with the bike and only took two rides.
Byron Mordaunt/Jarrad Katzorke (12 points) also clean-sheeted in the Group 2 sidecars, with brother Jason Mordaunt/Peter Robinson, and Joshua Kerr/Kate Barnes the next best on 8 points. Byron Mordaunt then had his chance to get into the sidecar final with a mix of Group 1 and Group 2 riders in the semi-finals, but was beaten by Brian Silvy, with only the winner going into the final.
The Under 16 250cc Solos produced probably the best racing of the night with Cooper Antone, Kobi Canning and Nate Smith wheel-to-wheel in every race. Smith, from Echuca in Victoria won the first two heats, then local rider Canning won the third, before Antone, from Table Top in New South Wales, won the fourth. Thirteen-year-old Antone was lucky to even make that race as his bike failed and he had to swap bikes and ride across the infield to get to the tapes with just 16 seconds to spare, but he then backed up by winning the final with Smith second, Canning third and Ruby Chapman fourth.
Jaxon Rayner spoiled the night for pre-meeting favourites David Footner and Chloe Ackerley in the Flat Track Solo races when he came in as a late replacement for Harry Sadler and clean sheeted, winning his three heats and then the final from Footner in second and Ackerley in third.
Ryleigh McGregor, Riley Stout and Hayden Pascoe were the favourites for the Under 16 125cc Solo events but they had mixed fortunes. McGregor beat Stout when they first met in heat two, but his bike failed while leading in his second ride and he was out for the rest of the night. In his absence, Stout won his other rides, twice beating Pascoe, to finish with 11 points and went into the final as the favourite, but Pascoe, from gate three, made a perfect start and swooped around Jett Plaisted (gate two) and Stout (gate one) to take the lead through turns one and two, and the expected chase from Stout didn’t eventuate as he spun around and fell in turn two bringing on the red lights. The rerun saw an easy win for Pascoe ahead of Plaisted and Nate Sadler.
Under 16 125cc Solos, left to right, Ryleigh McGregor with the finalists, Jett Plaisted, Hayden Pascoe, Nate Sadler, Riley Stout. Photo by Leah Stout.
