The dirt track scene in Australia will focus its attention on Forbes in the central west of New South Wales this weekend for the staging of the 2022 Australian Senior Track Championship meeting.
The Forbes Auto Sports Club will host the meeting at their Daroobalgie Speedway track just north of the town on the road to Parkes.
Riders from Queensland, Victoria and South Australia are heading to Forbes to take on the best of the host state.
Among the entry list of over 130 riders there are four riders who will be defending titles they won at the 2021 championship meeting at Quirindi.
Queenslander Jarred Brook is the defending champion in both the MX Open and Pro 450 classes, while James Sawdy (Pro 250), Michael Slade (Unlimited Slider) and Briony Hendrickson (Womens) were also 2021 winners.
The massive entry list for both the MX Open and Pro 450 classes means there will be six heats in each of the four rounds of the MX Open and five heats for the premier Pro 450 class which will see the winners’ name inscribed on the prestigious Duke of Edinburgh Trophy.
After the four rounds there will be a cut-throat repechage race before the six-lap race to decide the champion.
In some classes where there is just one grid of riders their championship will be decided on cumulative points over five rounds, so every placing in every heat is important.
That format will also be used for the supporting junior classes and the non-championship Over 35s.
Besides Brook and Hendrickson other Queenslanders like Dale Borlase, Cyshan Weale, Harry Maxwell and Jedd List are all expected to be prominent in their classes.
Much attention will centre on local teenager Tom Drane who is just back from a second head-turning performance in the American Flat Track competition.
Add in the likes of Tom Herrick, who lowered the colours of Brook at the recent New South Wales Dirt Track Championship meeting, Daniel Wicks, Jordan Dall, Grant Charnock and Harry and Connor Ryan and it is easy to see why a class win at this Australian Championship will only go to the most deserving.
The performance of Kyle Machin in the Pro 250 class will be of particular interest as he strives to be first rider from South Australia to get on to the rostrum for many years.
This meeting was originally allocated to the Gunnedah Motorcycle Club, which had planned to stage the meeting at the Gunnedah Showground which is a facility owned by the local council.
Gunnedah Shire Council passed a resolution 5-4 for the event to go ahead, subject to the club assuming responsibility for track preparation, post-event restoration and all cost involved. But, a rescission was moved, and passed, squashing plans.
The local newspaper quoted concerns over whether the Showground’s other user groups, such as camp draft, pony club and dog trial groups would be able to stage their own scheduled events “later in the year”.
So Gunnedah’s loss was Forbes’ gain.
The Forbes club has previously staged a New South Wales Senior Track Championship which was by well received by participating riders and it quickly stepped in and significantly the Forbes Shire Council is right behind it.
Practice gets under way at 9am on Saturday, and then on Sunday there will be a parade lap of competitors and the National Anthem at 9.30am.
Visit event Facebook page for more information.
