The Premier Speedway Club board recently met and unanimously decided to change the racing surface clay at Sungold Stadium immediately after Easter. As reported in December the club has endured many challenges with the dark, black coloured clay which was implemented prior to the 2021/22 season.
“Multiple strategies have been tried and tested to improve the performance however, we have not been able to produce the results that we strive for as a club” stated club president Richard Parkinson.
These efforts particularly over the past 12 months have included engaging external resources to assist bring more knowledge to the club. The advice led to formal testing of the current clay and also the replacement. This has enabled the track curators to better understand clay material, broadening our internal knowledge.
While the knowledge gained hasn’t been able to rectify the current clay, already it has enabled sound decision-making with our approach for a replacement clay.
In parallel to these works, the club has been searching for an alternate material for some time, initially as a backup plan which more recently escalated into identifying a suitable material for immediate implementation.
The search has focussed on orange coloured clay material due to feedback received from multiple stakeholders including drivers. The dark coloured clay impaired vision with similar feedback from our safety team when trying to locate debris on the racing surface.
The public statement in December led to numerous leads of clay, with one recently found only 8 kilometres from Premier Speedway. The clay was subsequently evaluated, internally and externally, showing promising results to become the new racing surface at Premier Speedway.
While the cost to the club will be significant, expected to be in excess of $100,000, many would acknowledge the racing surface is a critical part of the club’s success. Over the past three years since the introduction of the black coloured clay the club’s reputation has been impacted as a result. The change of clay allows us the opportunity to restore our proud reputation and ensure Premier Speedway remains a leading Speedway venue in Australia.
The project to change the racing surface will commence the day following our Easter Sunday event and is estimated to take a week to replace the clay. The new clay material is an orange colour, eliminating reported visibility issues along with attracting less heat on the surface than the current dark coloured clay material.
Ends release.