AVON Valley Speedway will host a major speedway event on December 27 after it was confirmed the track would be part of the USA v WA Sprintcar Speedweek for the first time.
A couple of yet to be named American drivers will be in WA for the traditional four-night series that usually takes in two rounds at the Perth Motorplex and another two rounds at Quit Bunbury Speedway. The Sprintcar Entrants Group felt that to lure visiting drivers to WA, that another round of the series was necessary and has included Northam in the high-level competition. The series kicks off in Perth on Boxing Day and wraps up early in the new year.
All other rounds will be part of the season-long AHG Sprintcar Series, but the Northam will not be – however organisers wanted it to be included in the international challenge. This is the first time in a while that the open sprintcar class will be racing in Northam for the one-off show this summer.
Plenty of WA high-profile drivers are expected to be part of the round, including two-time WA champion Jason Kendrick who, over the years, has used the Northam track for many test days. Kendrick, who finished second in the AHG Sprintcar Series again last year, claimed a handful of feature race wins and will be looking to add Northam to the list.
The highly-successful LJM Racing outfit from Myalup, consisting of brothers Brad and Jamie Maiolo, are also strong possibilities of racing in Northam. Brad is the defending AHG Sprintcar Series champion, having won in for the past two years. Older brother Jamie is the most successful driver in the history of the AHG-backed series and despite struggling for big results last year, is pumped and ready for more race success.
Another driver likely to be in the mix is former late model racing star Jamie Oldfield who has returned to sprintcars this year. He is driving the Avon Valley Speedway-backed car in a mixed calendar of racing that includes both the open class (410) and 360 divisions. In his first outing for the season, at Ellenbrook Speedway, he managed to finish third in the feature race in his first drive in the car.
Oldfield and 15 other drivers will make their way to Pithara this Saturday for the second round of the 360 Power Series in an event that pays tribute to the late Ian 'Bonza' Bradford. This is one of only a handful of times the sprintcars venture to country tracks this summer and is always a popular one.
From there the season cranks up a notch when the Perth Motorplex hosts the first round of its season on Saturday, October 28. The first round of the Northam season is on December 2 when the venue features V8 non wing sprintcars, speedcars, pro modifieds, hornets, outlaw karts, junior sedans and even lawn mower racing. Supporting the sprintcars on December 27 will be production sedans and junior sedans. Other dates on the racing calendar are March 3, April 7, May 6 and June 2-3.