Australian Speedcar Championship

The Australian Speedcar Championship is a dirt track motor racing championship held in Australia each year to determine the Australian national champion in midget car racing. The single championship meeting, run over two nights in either late January or early February, has been held each year since first being run at the Tracey's Speedway in Melbourne in 1935.

Over the years there have been at times more than one Australian Championship meeting held in Australia (and sometimes in the same city) due to being sanctioned by different governing bodies. There were also times during the 1950s and 1960s when several track promoters around the country staged meetings which they claimed were either an Australian Championship, or sometimes even a World Championship, usually in defiance of not being awarded the right to host the official championship.

While there have been drivers who have won more than one Australian Speedcar Championship, only three drivers have ever won both the national Speedcar championship and the Australian Sprintcar Championship. They are the George Tatnell from Sydney who won the Speedcar title in 1972–73, 1973–74 and 1976–77, plus the Sprintcar championship in 1987–88. Adelaide's Phil March won in his Nissan powered Speedcar in 1985–86, and also won the Sprintcar championship in 1998–99. The third driver was Sydney's Robbie Farr who won the 1997–98 Speedcar title and the 2003–04 Sprintcar championship.

Andy McGavin and Ray Revell from Sydney, with five championships each are the most successful drivers in the championships history (all won before 1964–65). Western Australia's Mike Figliomeni, Warrenne Ekins from Darwin and Adam Clarke from NSW have each won the event four times while five drivers have won the event three times. Twelve drivers from the United States have won the championship.

Australia's first Formula One World Champion Sir Jack Brabham won the event, winning the championship in 1948–49.

The oldest Australian champion was Bob Holt who won the 1998–99 title at the Northline Speedway in Darwin at the age of 58. Holt, originally from Sydney, began racing Speedcars in the early 1960s and was one of the leading competitors at the Sydney Showground during Australian speedway's "golden era".

Unlike other national championship meetings in Australian speedway racing, overseas drivers are permitted in the Australian Speedcar Championship. Eight winners of the title since 2002–03 have been Americans, while one New Zealander Michael Pickens won the title in 2015–16.

The 2011–12 Australian Speedcar Championship was due to be held on 16–17 March 2012 at the Maryborough Speedway in Maryborough, Queensland.^[1] The meeting was cancelled due to inclement weather conditions caused by Cyclone Yasi.

The current (2022–2023) Australian Speedcar Champion is United States driver Brady Bacon, who won the title at Eastern Creek Speedway in Sydney, New South Wales.

Winners since 1935

Year	Venue	City/State	Winner	Runner-up	3rd place
1935			Bob Finlay (Vic)
1935–36			Les Gough (Vic)
1936–37			Bert Woodman (SA)
1937–38			Harry Shaw (Vic)
1938–39			Ted Gray (Vic)
1938–39			Beal Simmons (USA)
1939–40			Dinny Patterson (NSW)
1945–46			Ray Revell (NSW)
1947–48			Cal Niday (USA)
1948–49			Sir Jack Brabham (NSW)
1949–50			Ray Revell (NSW)
1950–51			Ray Revell (NSW)
1952–53			Ray Revell (NSW)
1953–54			Andy McGavin (NSW)
1954–55			Andy McGavin (NSW)
1955–56			Andy McGavin (NSW)
1956–57			Ray Revell (NSW)
1957–58			Len Brock (NSW)
1958–59			Andy McGavin (NSW)
1959–60			Bob Tattersall (USA)
1960–61			Andy McGavin (NSW)
1961–62			Bob Tattersall (USA)
1962–63			Jimmy Davies (USA)
1964–65**	Sydney Showground Speedway	Sydney, NSW	Peter Cunneen (NSW)	Lew Marshall (NSW)	Blair Shepherd (Qld)
1965–66**	Sydney Showground Speedway	Sydney, NSW	Johnny Stewart (NSW)	Len Brock (NSW)	Blair Shepherd (Qld)
1966–67**	Sydney Showground Speedway	Sydney, NSW	Johnny Stewart (NSW)	Blair Shepherd (Qld)	Bill Goode (Qld)
1967–68**	Sydney Showground Speedway	Sydney, NSW	Johnny Stewart (NSW)	Howard Revell (NSW)	Barrie Watt (Qld)
1968–69**	Sydney Showground Speedway	Sydney, NSW	Blair Shepherd (Qld)	Bill Goode (Qld)	Barrie Watt (Qld)
1969–70**	Sydney Showground Speedway	Sydney, NSW	Bob Morgan (Qld)	Blair Shepherd (Qld)	Ron Wanless (Qld)
Year	Venue	City/State	Winner	Runner-up	3rd place
1970–71**	Sydney Showground Speedway	Sydney, NSW	Ronald Mackay (NSW)	Johnny Fenton (WA)	Ron Wanless (Qld)
1971–72**	Sydney Showground Speedway	Sydney, NSW	Ronald Mackay (NSW)	Charlie West (WA)	Johnny Fenton (WA)
1972–73**	Sydney Showground Speedway	Sydney, NSW	George Tatnell (NSW)	Col Henning (SA)	Johnny Fenton (WA)
1973–74	Redline Raceway	Ballarat, Vic	George Tatnell (NSW)	Brian Dillon (Qld)	Johnny Fenton (WA)
1974–75	Rowley Park Speedway	Adelaide, SA	Johnny Fenton (WA)	Ronald Mackay (NSW)	Greg Anderson (SA)
1975–76	Liverpool International Speedway	Sydney, NSW	Johnny Fenton (WA)	George Tatnell (NSW)	Ronald Mackay (NSW)
1976–77##			George Tatnell (NSW)	Ronald Mackay (NSW)	Johnny Fenton (WA)
1977–78	Brisbane Exhibition Ground	Brisbane, Qld	Ron Wanless (Qld)	George Tatnell (NSW)	Danny Davidson (Qld)
1978–79	Claremont Speedway	Perth, WA	Ron Wanless (Qld)	Howard Revell (NSW)	Bill Sutherland (WA)
1979–80##			Barry Pinchbeck (NSW)	Johnny Fenton (WA)
Year	Venue	City/State	Winner	Runner-up	3rd place
1980–81	Speedway Park	Virginia, SA	Keith Mann (WA)	Steve Stewart (SA)	Terry Wigzell (SA)
1981–82	Avalon Raceway	Lara, Vic	Keith Mann (WA)	Peter Curtis (NT)	Terry Wigzell (SA)
1982–83	Archerfield Speedway	Acacia Ridge, Qld	Geoff Pilgrim (WA)	Ian Lewis (Vic)	Ronald Mackay (Qld)
1983–84	Northline Speedway	Darwin, NT	Keith Mann (WA)	Rex Hodgson (SA)	Danny Davidson (Qld)
1984–85	Melbourne Speedbowl	Melbourne, Vic	Jim Holden (Qld)	Ray Bishop (Vic)	Jack Porrit (NSW)
1985–86	Speedway Park	Virginia, SA	Phil March (SA)	Ray Bishop (Vic)	Gary Dillon (SA)
1986–87	Claremont Speedway	Perth, WA	Tom Watson Sr. (WA)	Gary Dillon (SA)	John Sears (SA)
1987–88	Parramatta City Raceway	Sydney, NSW	Stephen Gall (NSW)	Paul Lindberg (Qld)	Phil Herreen (SA)
1988–89	Rockhampton Speedway	Rockhampton, Qld	Graham Jones (WA)	Paul Lindberg (Qld)	Ray Bishop (Vic)
1989–90	Northline Speedway	Darwin, NT	Warrenne Ekins (NT)	Neville Lance (WA)	Phil Herreen (SA)
Year	Venue	City/State	Winner	Runner-up	3rd place
1990–91	Claremont Speedway	Perth, WA	Warrenne Ekins (NT)	Graham Jones (WA)	Tom Watson Jnr (WA)
1991–92	Speedway Park	Virginia, SA	Phil Herreen (SA)	Tom Watson Jnr (WA)	Greg Farrugia (NSW)
1992–93	Bendigo Raceway	Bendigo, Vic	Warrenne Ekins (NT)	Mike Figliomeni (WA)	Neville Lance (WA)
1993–94	Parramatta City Raceway	Sydney, NSW	Warrenne Ekins (NT)	Neville Lance (WA)	Rod Bowen (NSW)
1994–95	Charlton Raceway	Toowoomba, Qld	Mike Figliomeni (WA)	Warrenne Ekins (NT)	Neville Lance (WA)
1995–96	Claremont Speedway	Perth, WA	Mike Figliomeni (WA)	Warrenne Ekins (NT)	Joe Little (WA)
1996–97	Newcastle Motordrome	Newcastle, NSW	Craig Brady (NSW)	Troy Jenkins (NSW)	Joe Little (WA)
1997–98	Avalon Raceway	Lara, Vic	Robbie Farr (NSW)	Troy Jenkins (NSW)	Mark Brown (NSW)
1998–99	Northline Speedway	Darwin, NT	Bob Holt (NT)	Dave Lambert (NSW)	Toby Gibb (WA)
1999–2000	Western Auto Raceway	Ballarat, Vic	Mike Figliomeni (WA)	Michael Kendall ()	Shayne Alach ()
Year	Venue	City/State	Winner	Runner-up	3rd place
2000–01	Speedway Park	Virginia, SA	Adam Clarke (NSW)	Darren Jenkins (NSW)	Craig Brady (NSW)
2000–01	Archerfield Speedway	Acacia Ridge, Qld	Mike Figliomeni (WA)	Todd Wanless (Qld)	Warrenne Ekins (NT)
2001–02♦	Speedway City	Virginia, SA	Adam Clarke (NSW)	Brett Morris (NSW)	Joe Little (WA)
2002–03	Speedway City	Virginia, SA	Cory Kruseman ()	Adam Clarke (NSW)	Craig Brady (NSW)
2003–04	Speedway City	Virginia, SA	Tony Elliot ()	Brett Morris (NSW)	Lance Beale ()
2004–05	Perth Motorplex	Perth, WA	Steven Graham (NSW)	Michael Pickens ()	Dene McAllan (WA)
2005–06	Parramatta City Raceway	Sydney, NSW	Davey Ray ()	Jerry Coons Jnr (USA)	Adam Clarke (NSW)
2006–07	Toowoomba Speedbowl	Toowoomba, Qld	Jerry Coons Jnr ()	Mark Brown (NSW)	Dene McAllan (WA)
2007–08	Perth Motorplex	Perth, WA	Davey Ray ()	Scott Glazebrook (WA)	Rick Geneve (WA)
2008–09	Riverview Speedway	Murray Bridge	Kevin Swindell ()	Brad Kuhn ()	Neville Lance (WA)
2009–10	Avalon Raceway	Lara, Vic	Nathan Smee (NSW)	Brendan Palmer (QLD)	Sid Whittaker (QLD)
Year	Venue	City/State	Winner	Runner-up	3rd place
2010–11	Lismore Speedway	Lismore, NSW	Davey Ray ()	Adam Wallis (Qld)	Michael Pickens ()
2011–12	Maryborough Speedway	Maryborough, Qld	Not Held (inclement weather)
2012–13	Perth Motorplex	Perth, WA	Neville Lance (WA)	Daryl Clayden (WA)	Casey Shuman ()
2013–14	Speedway City	Virginia, SA	Adam Clarke (NSW)	Alex Bright ()	Ryan Jones (SA)
2014–15	Premier Speedway	Warrnambool, VIC	Adam Clarke (NSW)	Nathan Smee (NSW)	Alex Bright ()
2015–16	Valvoline Raceway	Sydney, NSW	Michael Pickens ()	Andrew Felker ()	Alex Bright ()
2016–17	Archerfield Speedway	Acacia Ridge, Qld	Rico Abreu ( )	Brady Bacon ( )	Nathan Smee ( NSW)
2017–18	Murray Bridge Speedway	Murray Bridge, SA	Kaidon Brown ()	Dayne Kingshott ()	Alex Bright ()
2018–19	Perth Motorplex	Kwinana Beach, WA	Dayne Kingshott ()	Adam Clarke ()	Jason McDougal ()
2019–20	Premier Speedway	Warrnambool, VIC	Carson Macedo ()	Alex Bright ()	Kaleb Currie ()
2021–22	Archerfield Speedway	Acacia Ridge, Qld	Matt Smith ()	Kaidon Brown ()	Travis Mills ()
2022–23	Eastern Creek Speedway	Sydney, NSW	Brady Bacon ()	Kaiden Manders ()	Thomas Meseraull ()

** The championship was run as a national series between 1963/64 and 1971/72 (with the final round always held at the Sydney Showground), following which it reverted to a single championship meeting.
## 1976–77 and 1979–80 Championships were run over three rounds at three different tracks with a pointscore deciding the winner
♦ 2001–02 Championship was sanctioned by NASR and not Speedcars Australia as previous (and after)

1977–78 Controversy

The 1977/78 championship at the Brisbane Exhibition Ground remains controversial. In the feature race the field, led by defending champion George Tatnell who had built up almost half a lap lead, was under the yellow caution flags with 8 laps remaining due to a stalled car on the narrow track. With the restart imminent, officials erred by switching to the green light half a lap before the field reached the start line, catching out most of the field, including Tatnell. Local driver Ron Wanless powered past Tatnell and built up a winning lead before the Sydney-based driver could respond. Instead of calling for a restart as they should have, officials unbelievably allowed the race to finish, though Wanless was shown the "racing under protest" flag. Post-race Tatnell immediately protested, as did Adelaide driver Rex Hodgson who was third before the restart but was passed at the early green light by another local driver Danny Davidson. The officials failure to restart the race after the green light error led to conspiracy theories that as it was local Brisbane drivers who benefited (at the time, the local bodies assigned officials to national championship meetings), officials had no intention of admitting they were wrong, thus there was no intention of correcting the problem. There was also a theory that going green early was a common practice at the Exhibition Ground and that knowing the local drivers would be ready for it, the locally supplied officials gave the early green to give them an advantage in an effort to have a home town winner. After numerous protests and votes by committee's, Wanless was eventually awarded the win from Tatnell and Davidson. If any body had bothered to read the ASCC rule book of the day the rule clearly said the race could and would be started after a stoppage when the track was clear which was agreed and affirmed at the drivers meeting before the event began, consequently Wanless was declared the winner by the ASCC (Australian Speedcar Control Council) affirming also that the Chief Steward made the correct decision.

See also

• Motorsport in Australia

References

External links

• Australian Speedcar Championship Honour Roll - Speedcars Australia

This page was last edited on 23 March 2024, at 20:39