A Mega Day Of Racing

If you think the thrills and spills of the first day of the bp Adelaide Grand Final set a high bar that can’t be topped, strap on your seatbelt for Day 2.

With more speedway action, the start of the Supercross and the first qualifying session for the Supercars, Friday’s racing attractions are next level.

 

NAPA SPEEDWAY

 

The bp Adelaide Grand Final has created history again, with the first night of the NAPA Speedway Sprintcars In the City on Thursday thrilling the chock-a-block crowd.

Fans were lined 10 people deep behind the fenceline all around the temporary, custom-built speedway circuit to see the sprintcars roar around the track, the first time a circuit has been built in a CBD location.

They were treated to sprintcar hot laps, time trials and B Main racing before Tasmania’s Jock Goodyer won the A Main feature race.

“Hats off to everyone who built this (track), they built an awesome venue in seven days, or just a tad over,” he said after his win.

“I’m just stoked that we can showcase our sport in this awesome way and show a new audience what sprintcars are.”

US racer Chase Randall was second, while NSW driver Grant Anderson finished third.

“I led for a good 20 laps I think and fell to third in the end but it was an awesome race, I was really happy with the surface, the track, how it turned out, there was a top and bottom groove,” Anderson said.

“The crowd said it was a pretty good race to watch.”

The sprintcar action will not end there, with another big night of racing under lights on Friday night, in which some of the world’s best sprintcar racers will battle for a share of the $126,000 prize purse.

 

FOX AUSTRALIAN SUPERCROSS

 

The Boost Mobile AusX Supercross Sprint gets underway from Friday, with the nation’s top dirt bike riders competing in the fourth round of the Fox Australian Supercross Championship.

Australian as well as international Supercross riders in SX1 and SX2 categories are competing in a unique sprint-race format on a custom track, built especially for the bp Adelaide Grand Final.

Practice and qualifying sessions take place on Friday ahead of the main races from 5.30pm on Saturday.

Up and coming riders in SX3 and 85CC categories hit the track for practice on Saturday and competition on Sunday.

The riders say they are excited to bring Supercross to Adelaide’s Supercars-loving crowd and believe fans will quickly fall in love with their sport, too.

For home-grown SX1 rider Brett Metcalfe, it’s the last time he is racing competitively in Adelaide as he retires from the sport this year.

“I couldn’t be happier to finish off 24 years of racing at the hero (motorsport) event here in Adelaide, it’s pretty special for me,” he says.

“I think the crowd is really going to enjoy it.”

Metcalfe is a Supercross fan favourite and says the penultimate round for the season is very important for riders to excel in.

But as a sprint format, it is not normally how riders race.

“There’s four 7-lap sprints, so a different format than we’re used to,” he says.

“There’s 20 riders on the start line and we’re all racing side-by-side, fighting for position, jumping into the air side-by-side – it’s quite amazing to watch for people who’ve never seen it before.”

SX1 rider Luke Clout believes fans who haven’t seen supercross before will be “hooked” after this weekend’s event.

“It’s got excitement, chaos, fun; we’ve got quite a tight track this weekend so from the guy winning the race through to 10th position, until the drop of the (finish) flag, there’s going to be something going on,” he says.

 

SUPERCARS

 

The grid for the first 250km Supercars race of the bp Adelaide Grand Final will be mostly set late Friday afternoon when the first qualifying session of the weekend is held.

The 24 Supercars drivers will have 15 minutes from 5.30pm to set their fastest lap time that may determine their prospects in Saturday’s gruelling race.

James Courtney, David Reynolds and Nick Percat set the pace in the first practice session held on Thursday, but drivers have been allocated a further 30-minute practice session at 1.05pm on Friday to hone their race vehicles for qualifying.

Those who qualify 11th to 24th will know what position they will start the race in, while those who finish 1st to 10th will compete in the Top Ten Shootout on Saturday to determine their spo.