While he may not have been one of the hot favourites heading into last weekend’s Australian Wingless Sprint Championship, Mitchell Broome certainly gave the main contenders a run for their money, with his team drawing numerous positives from what was an impressive weekend.
Having raced at Warrnambool’s Premier Speedway on numerous occasions in the past, Broome felt confident heading into what was his second ever Australian Championship attempt, with a good team in his corner and a strong car underneath him.
With his confidence intact following a win in his opening heat race, Broome went on to place fourth in his second heat race, which was enough to qualify him into preliminary feature race one.
Driving the race of his career, the Mount Gambier, South Australia-based racer powered forward from his fifth-place starting position to come home in an impressive second aboard his SA # 35 MG Plasterers / BP Gambier West backed Cool car, narrowly missing out on the win but still automatically securing him a place in Saturday night’s feature race.
Another solid drive in the A Scramble to place fourth cemented Broome’s feature race starting position and from there, it was all systems go for the 40-lap Australian Championship decider. While he couldn’t maintain his position amongst the strong field of rivals, Broome was able to hold on for a pleasing seventh-place finish.
“I’m very happy with our Australian Championship result and the whole weekend has really given us a confidence boost for the rest of the season,” said the 22-year-old driver, who participated in last season’s Australian Championship at Sydney’s Valvoline Raceway, where he failed to advance out of the C main.
“I knew that my team had given me a solid car heading into the event and that it would be up to me to make the most of it and I really feel that I was able to do that. Saying thank you to my family, crew and sponsors doesn’t really cut it, because none of this would have been possible without them.”
Currently contesting his fourth season in Wingless Sprints, Broome’s interest in motorsport was no doubt due to his dad Andrew, who was a former leading Street Stock racer whose highlights include qualifying on the front row alongside now 410 Sprintcar racer Steven Lines in the 2002 National Street Stock Title.
Getting his own motorsport career underway in go karts on the tar circuits, where he spent a decade learning and building his race craft, Broome then traded tar for dirt, stepping into the open-wheel class of Wingless Sprints. His highlights include placing third in the 2016-17 season Super Series point standings.
Racing at his home track – Mount Gambier’s Borderline Speedway – this Saturday night for the fourth Indy Race Parts Australia Super Series round, Broome will be hoping to consolidate his current top-10 position in the point standings by backing up his Australian Championship form.
Broome would like to thank his 2018-19 season sponsors:
MG Plasterers
BP Gambier West
Burson Auto Parts
Cool Chassis
Max Medhurst Crash Repairs
MGS Towing
Facet @ 124
South West Research
Number 4 Composites
Performance Racegear
Skwid Signs
The Tyre Factory Warrnambool
Special thanks go to his mum and dad (Ange and Andrew), Denis ‘Crowie’ Crowe and Phil Johnson.
To find out more about Broome and his team, LIKE them on Facebook by searching Mitchell Broome Motorsport.
