This Saturday sees Bunbury Speedway host the second edition of the Carby Nationals for the Limited Sprintcars division.
After a couple of event cancellations due to the Covid pandemic for the 2 previous years, last season finally saw the first running of the Carby Nationals.
On that occasion it was held at Narrogin Speedway and it was Michael Keen who prevailed over Clayton Dickinson and Nathan Davis.
With 16 nominations set to tackle the Bunbury bullring on Saturday night, there are multiple names that would like to add their name to one of the more unique trophies in WA Speedway…a wrestling/boxing style belt.
Michael Keen would love to retain his Carby Nationals belt, but strong competition is likely to be felt from Craig Bottrell, who was dominant at this venue on his way to victory on 1st January, Joel Ettridge who won his first feature race at this venue last season and Tim King who has won at Bunbury before and is coming off a victory at the King of the Hill last weekend.
Two men who are tough to beat around Bunbury Speedway are Gavin Davis and Anthony Gaudio.
Last year Gavin Davis didn’t start the Carby Nationals feature race after rolling over the #8 in his heat race and Anthony Gaudio recently had motor problems destroy his night at Bunbury Speedway on New Years Day…can both men turn it around in 2 days time?
Newcomer and local boy Aaron Chircop would love a podium result on Saturday. Chircop qualified in P3 for the feature at Bunbury Speedway on New Years Day and would love to recapture that form after failing to finish at Geraldton last week.
Geraldton’s Matthew Peaker is chasing the Club Championship this season and currently sits in the top 4 in the points, so he will be out to maintain that position. Another driver to watch out for is Jarrin Bielby. Bielby showed some elite speed at the Perth Motorplex earlier this season in a spectacular battle with Keen at the King of Wings. He repeated the dose last weekend in the feature charging to finish 4th after starting 13th (as a result of dropping a heat race).
The Carby Nationals last season saw Clayton Dickinson claim his first ever podium result and last month he also notched up a third place at Collie Speedway. Dickinson Motorsport will again be giving Clayton the opportunity to match those results at Bunbury Speedway. His father and teammate this season, Glenn, has had a mixed history at Bunbury with some good results, but also has had finishes that require the help of the tow truck. Glenn would love to join his son on the podium, hopefully this weekend.
Brooke Newson and her team are having a busy week building a new car after twisting a chassis last weekend. Whilst Nash Waldron, Mat Borgas, Peter Shepherdson and Tony Pracilio all return this weekend after missing the most recent round and will all be aiming for their best result of the season so far.
With this weekend being the last race meeting before the state title for Limited Sprintcars, all teams will be hoping for a good result and to gain some momentum for the 17th and 18th February at the Perth Motorplex.
Who is your tip to win the Carby Nationals Champion belt?