240 | JANUARY 2018 http://www.adbmag.com.auREAR GUARD
ACTION EQUATION
HOW TO RIDE / ADB GARAGE / WE RECOMMEND / TECH / KIDZ KORNER / USED RIDE /
SPEEDWAY
It will be all-change in the Australian
speedway titles this season as our
leading Under-21 riders, Max Fricke,
Brady Kurtz, Jack Holder and Josh
Pickering, are all progressing to the
Senior championship.
Victorian Fricke will be one to watch
after a breakout year in Britain, where
he fi nished second behind Fredrick
Lindgren in the SGB Riders’
Championship at the end of the season.
THE CALENDAR
6 Jan Australian Senior Solo Speedway
Championship R1, Kurri Kurri, NSW
10 Jan Australian Senior Solo
Championship R2, Undera, Vic
12 Jan Australian Senior Solo
Championship R3, Mildura, Vic
12 Jan Australian U21 Solo
Championship, Mildura, Vic
14 Jan Australian Senior Solo
Championship R4, Gillman, SA
25-28 Jan Australian U16 Solo
Championship, Mildura, Vic
31Mar Oceania Speedway Sidecar
Championship, Gillman, SA
13-14 Apr Australian Speedway
Sidecar Championship, Tamworth, NSWTRAILRIDES AND ADVENTURE TOURS WWW.ADBMAG.COM.AU
1-3 Dec Three-day, non-competitive
Alpine Assault Rally in the Vic High
Country, using roadbook and/or GPS.
maschine.com.au
3-8 Dec Five-day KTM New Zealand
Adventure Rallye Southern Alps starting
at the base of Mt Cook and heading south
to Alexandra (sold out). ridektm.com.au
10-17 Mar Eight-day APC Rally with start
points near Melbourne, Sydney or
Brisbane and improved course.
9-15 Apr Uluru Desert Express Tour forseven days from Alice Springs to Uluru.
trapptours.com.au
11-13 Apr Three-day Escape Tour from
Cairns. capeyorkmotorcycles.com.au
25-27 Apr Three-day Escape Tour from
Cairns. capeyorkmotorcycles.com.au
30 Apr Top End Motorcycle Tour for 12
days over 1950km from Mt Isa to Darwin.
trapptours.com.au
15 May Top End Motorcycle Tour for 12
days over 1950km from Darwin to Mt Isa.
trapptours.com.au20-26 May Seven-day Cape York Tour to
Seisa, fi nishing with a ferry trip to
Thursday and Horn islands.
trailbikeadventures.com.au
3-9 June Seven-day Cape York Tour to
Seisa, fi nishing with a ferry trip to
Thursday and Horn islands.
trailbikeadventures.com.au
23 Jul Ultimate Canada ADV Bike Tour for
14 days starting and fi nishing in
Vancouver with sweep vehicle and rider
with John Hudson.ICE RACING
Ice racing is about as crazy as it gets,
which probably explains why Russians
dominate the FIM’s Ice Speedway
Gladiators. The series’ name might
have something to do with the fact the
riders used to wear chainmail vests
under their leathers to stop them
getting perforated by the hand-
sharpened spikes on the tyres.
The two-valve engines are made by
speedway manufacturer Jawa but are
limited to 34mm carburettors and
two-speed gearboxes. With 40kW on
tap they can crack 140km/h and scrape
the handlebar on turns.
The meetings run over two days
with at least 20 heats per day, followed
by semis and the fi nal. The four-lap
races only take about a minute each.
Monster Energy-sponsored Dmitry
Koltakov won last year’s title, his
second, so it must be Red Bull’s turn,
perhaps two-time champ Daniil Ivanov,
who fi nished fi fth last year.
THE CALENDAR
The FIM was yet to announce the 2018
ice speedway schedule at press time
but it usually kicks off in early January.FLAT TRACK
The 2018 fl at track season will kick off
at Daytona Beach, Florida, for the
second year in a row with the Daytona
TT, but riders will be hoping for a better
prepared oval after battling the bumps
in 2017. The speedway infi eld marked
the debut of new rules forcing pro
riders to use twins at all rounds and it
was hard work, even for pilots of the
lightweight Indian factory racer.
It was worth it, with American Flat
Track boss Michael Lock reporting
record crowds all season for the
modern era of the sport.
He’s already confi rmed another
double dose of the Springfi eld Mile,
with the event returning on its
traditional dates during the Memorial
Day and Labor Day weekends. WK
THE CALENDAR
The AMA was yet to announce the full
schedule at press time but here’s what
we have so far:
5 Apr Daytona TT, Daytona Beach
27 May Springfi eld Mile I, Illinois
5 Aug Buffalo Chip TT, South Dakota
7 Aug Black Hills Half Mile, Sth Dakota
2 Sep Springfi eld Mile II, IllinoisSNOW BIKE
The AMA has recogized that it’s onto a
good thing by giving its snow bike
series national championship status for
the men’s and women’s pro classes this
season. There’s also a Senior class for
riders over 40 and a Trophy class for
bikes with turbos or nitrous oxide.
“The sport continues to evolve and
our tracks will be closer to supercross
than ever before, with more jumps,
banked turns and rhythm sections,
taking advantage of riders’ increasing
skills and better equipment,” series
direction Ron Dillon said.
“We are proud to be working again
with the AMA and have some fantastic
new venues, including a round at Eagle
River, Montana, during the World
Championship Snowmobile Derby.”
THE CALENDAR
9 Dec Rd 1, Hill City, Minnesota
20-21 Jan Rd 2, Eagle River, Wisconsin
27 Jan Rd 3, McCall, Idaho
10 Feb Rd 4, Hard Rock Casino, South
Lake Tahoe, Nevada
24 Feb Rd 5, Kalispell, Montana
11 Mar Rd 6, West Yellowstone, Montana
24 Mar Rd 7, Diamond Lake, Oregon