ALBURY-WODONGA Motorcycle Club is preparing to welcome hundreds of competitors to this weekend’s second round of the Skylift Hire & Rental Summer Short Track Series at Diamond Park Circuit at the Lincoln Causeway on Saturday night, January 30.
Now in its fifth year, the successful Short Track Series has grown from strength to strength and is now a fully-fledged open meeting rather than a club-member only meeting.
“We realised that we got so many entries last year that we needed to lift the level of the meeting to an open meeting so we could accommodate all the extra riders,” Albury-Wodonga MC president Shane Clare said.
“It’s a really good spectacle. The event gives dirt track riders the chance to ride under lights on a speedway track. The racing is really close and exciting,” Shane added.
Short track racing is similar to dirt track racing but it takes place on a speedway circuit which makes it a lot faster. There are only eight riders allowed on the track for any single race which makes for close and personal racing.
“In the Pro Open final in Round 1, the lead changed up to five times and each of the place-getters were leading the race at some stage so it was really close, awesome action,” Shane continued.
Local rider Josh Antone will be looking to improve on his opening round performance this weekend. “We just got a new bike and we were playing around with it a little bit and we were pretty happy with how the heats went in Round 1,” Josh said.
“We got to the final but unfortunately we got a couple of bad starts which sort of put us back a bit. We ended up getting third in the 450cc class and fourth in the All Powers class.
“We were a little bit disappointed at the end of the night but we showed really good promise in all the heats,” he added.
On the popularity of the Skylift Hire & Rental Summer Short Track Series, Josh added: “I love racing under lights. The event is getting bigger and bigger and more and more people are coming to spectate.
“It’s a nice action-packed form of sport with all the action right in front of everyone and the racing under lights just adds to it.
“It’s great to have family and friends come down and cheer you on,” Josh added. “Short track is a lot faster, quicker, closer racing and it’s really exciting. We can safely reach speeds of well-over 100km/h around Diamond Park,” Josh said.
“I’m feeling pretty confident again so hopefully we go into the second round and possibly finish on top of the podium,” Josh added. Josh would like to thank Phil Ivanoff Racing, his Dad, brother-in-law Danny Wright, and wife, Keegan, and son, Cooper, for all their support.
The Skylift Hire & Rental Summer Short Track Series is a great family-friendly night out with spectator tickets at rock-bottom prices. “It’s a great night out for the family to have a bit of fun. Rider entries are still open and they can enter on the day if they haven’t already,” Shane added.
“The volunteers at the club have all been working really hard and the place is looking like a gem,” Shane said.
The final round of the competition takes place at Diamond Park Circuit on Saturday, February 13. For more information please contact AWMCC president Shane Clare on 0401 152 498.