An exciting new South Australian Sprintcar series will begin this Saturday night at the Whyalla Speedway with the opening round of the Unearth Whyalla Sprintcar Track Championship. The opening round, on Saturday October 30, is the first of four rounds with the overall Champion set to be decided at the Grand Final on March 19, 2022.
The opening round has attracted 12 nominations with a majority of the established South Australian stars along with a couple of returning drivers, who will be making their first appearances after sitting out last summer.
Leading the charge will be Matt Egel driving the locally owned Whyalla Earthworks Racing #52, who is coming of a dominant display at the SA Season opener at Murray Bridge. Egel also won two of the three feature races at Whyalla last season, only being defeated by James McFadden in the South Australian Championship.
Among Egel’s biggest threats will be Ryan Jones, Luke Dillon, Daniel Pestka and Lisa Walker, all of whom race well at Whyalla.
Last season Jones managed to secure a quick time award in addition to a podium result, Pestka finished third in the State Title after starting on the front row while Walker recorded two fourth placed results. Although not racing at Whyalla last season Dillon was the runner-up in his last start at the venue during the South Australian Championship in 2020.
Joel Heinrich will make the trek west after missing the opening show at Murray Bridge due to competing in the Australian Dirt-Kart Championships although he did complete a shakedown at the official Murray Bridge practice in September. Heinrich has a stunning new wrap on his #16 and his car is sure to attract a lot of attention.
Regular bitumen racer Max Vidau will also be one to watch as he steadily improves after an impressive rookie season in a 410ci Sprintcar. The former Australian Junior Dirt-Kart Champion returns to the Whyalla venue with great memories having secured his first ever heat victory at the track last season.
After a season on the sidelines Loxton’s Keke Falland and Luke Bowey will re-join the “South Aussie Posse” with both drivers making their first starts since March 2020.
Rounding out the 12-car field will be second season racer Daniel Puddy, rookie Chris James and 360ci competitor Clinton Warner, who has become a regular racing against the open cars at Whyalla.
The format for the night will include Hot laps, Time Trials, one round of heats, an A and B Dash and a 30-Lap A-Main.
The main support class on the night will be the Wingless Sprints with a quality line-up of 16 drivers set to compete. The nomination list is a record for the venue, and they are sure to put on a great show as the fight it out in the Ti Bills supported main event.
After his victory at Murray Bridge Jack McCarthy will be hard to beat and he is a former winner at Whyalla. In addition to McCarthy, you can expect the likes of Anthony Tapley, Hayden Vickers, Tyson Martin, Brett Ireland, William Caruso, Rylan Furler and Bronson Mauro to also feature prominently throughout the night.
Completing the open wheeled action on the night will be the Formula 500’s and a competitive field of V6 Sprints.
The Formula 500’s event will feature Round 3 of the South Australian State Series with a field of nine cars including the two previous round winners, local Angelo Karoussis and Brendan Zadow. Corey Jones, Jordan Mansell, Richard Schmidt and Ben Cooper will also be among the drivers to watch.
Gates into the venue will open at 4pm with Hot laps at 5:30 before racing gets underway at 6pm.
Following Round 1 of the Unearth Whyalla Sprintcar Track Championship it will continue on November 20, 2021, January 29, 2022, and March 19, 2022.
Ends Release….
Release by Phil Michell Motorsport Media
