AUSTRALIAN SIDECAR CHAMPIONSHIP AT MILDURA’S OLYMPIC PARK APRIL 24-25
By Brendon Gledhill
Feature photo by: Judy Mackay
Mildura’s Olympic Park Speedway will host the RCA Civil Group, Australian Sidecar Championship for the eighth time on Saturday night, April 25. This much anticipated event has been the focus of the Mildura Motor Cycle Club’s speedway season, with many major events held as trial runs for Sidecar competitors from all around Australia.
The ANZAC night title will follow a qualifying meeting to be held on Friday night (April 24) amongst sixteen hopeful teams, with seven of them going on to join nine seeded teams in the national championship event to be run on Saturday night. The Friday night qualifier will be hotly contested as teams will only get their five heat rides to make their statement for inclusion the following night.
Action will start on both nights at 7.00pm with an Australian Junior Championship to be held as part of the senior meeting on the Friday night and will see the same seven teams engaged in the O’Brien Cup, which will be the only support racing on the senior championship night.
The field is full of chances for teams to take the RCA Civil Group, 2026 Title, with some teams looking to add to their list of Championship wins but many looking to make their first opportunity to be on top of the podium.
Four times Champions, Mark Plaisted / Ben Pitt, will be keen to make a fifth national title achievement, but will be seriously challenged by Plaisted’s brother Justin / Brian Anthony, who will be looking to spoil part of the family’s party. Former winner, Trent Headland / Jaxon Rayner, will be keen to add the top silverware to their mantle and recent form suggests, that that outcome is quietly possible. All three teams are past Champions, still at their peak of form, with Justin being in the unique position to have won Australian Championships both as a rider and as a passenger on multiple occasions.
Mark Plaisted / Ben Pitt, first won the Championship when Mildura hosted the Title back in 2021, but have since tasted success on three more occasions in four years. They will be keen to achieve that goal again in front of Pitt’s home crowd at Olympic Park.
Recent success, by way of a Victorian Title, came the way of Townsville’s Tyler Moon / Adam Lovell, who enjoyed their success just more than one month ago. Moon is a great rider with experience beyond his years and is most settled with his excellent passenger, Adam Lovell, who will be keen to see some more success. Moon is representative of a younger group of riders which also include the younger Headland, with Nate Headland / Harry Hearne, being seeded directly into the Title meeting.
They are rapidly developing their talent set and are already a most experienced young pair, who recently joined Nate’s Dad on the podium in Mildura’s Sidecar Spectacular, so their credentials are sound. Continuing the younger theme are the best out of Western Australian speedway, Jonah Sita / Morgan Cornwell, who have shown a good range of skills and will be keen to take good points from, more fancied riders.
Local star, Byren Gates / Damian Egan, have been showing great form since their early season pairing together, with a number of good podium positions at both Olympic Park and in Adelaide over recent weeks. Gates understands the Mildura circuit and has machinery which is more than competitive, especially in Saturday night’s company. The new NSW Champions Ricky Stephens / Nick O’Brien, from Broken Hill, have been rewarded for their consistency over many years and will always be a podium chance, especially at Mildura, which is really their adopted, home track.
The other seeded team is Brandon Warke / Mitch Danks-Firth, from Queensland, who come to Mildura as unknowns, but with a strong reputation for good speed and a good skill set.
Of the riders who will move on from the Qualifying meeting it is fair to assume that teams like Brodie Cohen / Jesse Headland from Townsville and Mildura, will be able to do enough to get through in the straight twenty heat format, as will the other great youngsters, Max Howse / Riley Commons, from Broken Hill, who have been riding in good form and taking experience from doing meetings all around the country. The Qualifying format is harsh, but teams must put all their best efforts into good track time and position themselves with good opportunity to qualify.
Now Adelaide resident, Shane Hudson / Jack Spear will be expected to do well as will the New Zealand team of Taylor Green / Callum Innes. Green / Innes have shown great form at Mildura over the last month and are a quick combination, who very rapidly, worked out the vagaries of Mildura’s Olympic Park and have looked good trackside. Green is a challenging rider who does not mind when it gets a bit tight. This team continue the good sportsmanship and friendship which has been demonstrated by the good NZ riders who have come before them,
The evergreen Grant Bond / Thomas Glover, from the NSW Hunter Valley, are back in for one more try. Bond has ridden more Australian Title meetings than most and is such a curious character as he is such a quiet and unassuming gentleman, until he gets on the track where he changes into a keen and fast competitor, who rides fast but with great safety as his ideal.
Regular Adelaide visitors include Kym Menadue / Shane Dolan, Brian Silvy / Glen Zaworski, Shane Rudloff / Kane Golding, Tom Adams / Seth Pascoe, Josh Pascoe / Jamie Flood and Byron Mordaunt with local passenger, Scott Cameron, will be all trying to fit into that select group which goes through to the Championship night.
Bailey Ogilvie / Denny Cox, Brad Pitt / Nathan McFadden and Zac Campbell / Jason Williams will all represent NSW well and will all be looking to move on to night two against the lone Victorian,, Mal German / Cameron White, who are enjoying their riding with a measure of success and the lone Sandgroper, Josh Wells / Jamie Forrest, who have not been to Olympic Park prior to this Qualifying night.
Arrangements for Olympic Park see that Spectator gates will Open at 4:00pm with tickets available at the gate for Friday night and separately again on Saturday for Saturday night. There is no single ticket for both nights. An additional ticket selling session will be available on Saturday from 10:00am until 12 Noon, when folk will be able purchase their tickets and place their chair inside the Stadium. Practice sessions will be held on both nights from 5:30pm. A rider presentation will begin at 6.30pm which will include the national Anthem. Racing will commence at 7:00pm.
Patrons are reminded that Olympic Park is a family venue and that folk make may avail themselves of a seat in the free grandstands (no chairs in grandstand PLEASE) or take their chair or rug to a nice location on the grassy banks which surround the Stadium.
Olympic Park is a licensed venue and patrons are reminded that there MUST be No BYO by Law and so therefore No Glass may be brought into the venue.
Olympic Park has fine food and drinks available at both ends of the track, so your tastes, over a range of providers, can be well satisfied.
On ANZAC night, prior to the event, at 6:30pm, an ANZAC ceremony will be conducted by Executive members of Mildura RSL Sub Branch Inc. Mildura Club is most grateful to Rob and Brad that we will be officially recognising the sanctity of ANZAC day and ask that all patrons show respect to the ceremony and pay your attention to the RSL members.
Photo caption: Defending Australian Sidecar Champion, and winner of four of the last five national titles, Mark Plaisted and passenger Ben Pitt. Photo by Judy Mackay
