Local Heroes Ready To Take The Battle To Springmount Visitors This Weekend

North Queensland’s drag racers are set to take on droves of travelling racers at their home-track of Springmount Raceway this weekend, as the venue hosts the first ‘Eastern Conference’ round of the new Aeroflow National Sportsman Championship.

Part of the newly established National Drag Racing Championship (NDRC), the August 18-19 event is expected to host a talent-filled roster of racers from both near and far as they look to secure not only prestigious Christmas Tree trophies, but also valuable national championship points.

Competitor entries close at 6:00pm on Wednesday August 16, but there is already a long list of local racers hoping a home track advantage will play in their favour against the visitors this weekend.

Amongst the line-up are Springmount regulars, Performance Bike competitor 52-year-old Speewah racer Mike Sutherst grew up racing in Brisbane before relocating to North Queensland.

“I always had a thing for motorbikes. By the time I got a bike to go racing I moved to North Queensland, and when I realized there was a drag strip in Townsville, it closed!” Sutherst laughs.

“When I found out Springmount Raceway was becoming a reality I bought a V-Rod Drag Bike from a guy in Brisbane and spent a couple of years racing locally and making some trips to the Winternationals.

“By then I had caught the bug well, so I turned it up a bit and imported a nitro Harley from America. We have spent the last two to three years learning the ropes and after some great advice from others at the All Bike meet at Benaraby last year, we are really getting on top of it now.

“Of course, we would definitely love to win the event this weekend. As a local, we always want to do that, to win at home against the visitors, but most of all we are just keen to go racing – as they say, the first person you are racing, is yourself!

“The quality of the track at Springmount is great and we always have good racing here from the street cars right through to the motorbikes to the Super Comp cars, and there are some very competitive local racers. I can’t wait to see if the locals can take it out this weekend!” he concluded, while thanking his partner Juzi, crew chief Matthew Arrowsmith, and Springmount Raceway/FGF for building such an awesome facility.

The August 18-19 event at Springmount Raceway is the first Eastern Conference event of the newly established Aeroflow National Sportsman Championship, which is part of the National Drag Racing Championship (NDRC).

Friday August 18 will host a three-hour test ‘n’ tune from 6:00pm to 9:00pm

Saturday August 19 hosts a non-stop qualifying and racing action program. Gates open at 9:00am, with on-track action from 10:30am. As part of Saturday’s action, the Nitro Wheel Standers ‘Pit Party’ will be held at 3:00pm, with the Aeroflow Wheelstanders to be on-track at 4:30pm, 6:30pm and 8:30pm.

Entries and tickets are on sale now, with competitor entries closing on August 16.

For event information, visit www.springmountraceway.com

For more information about the NDRC, please visit www.ndrc.tv