Treloar and Headland Win the Coveted FIM Oceania Speedway Sidecar Championship

Sidecar duo Darrin Treloar and Jesse Headland (AUS) have made history by winning the 2018 FIM Oceania Speedway Sidecar Championship on Saturday night.

The A-Final was set up for a battle for the ages, but Treloar and Headland were simply unstoppable at Gillman Speedway. The victory putting them in a fantastic position to take on tonight‰Ûªs FIM Speedway Sidecar 1000cc World Cup.

Gillman Speedway was treated to an epic night of racing throughout the 20 heats and two finals. The track was in phenomenal condition and there was a real international flavor for this year‰Ûªs incarnation. Countries represented included Australia, New Zealand, USA, Great Britain and France.

Throughout the 20 heats there were three clear standouts in Treloar / Headland, Mark Mitchell / Tony Carter (AUS) and 2017 Champions Warren Monson / Andrew Summerhayes (AUS), who all booked themselves straight into the A Final. Monson / Summerhayes both suffered a crash during Heat 15. Luckily, they were able to recover and fix up their machine for the remainder of the event.

As the B Final roared into action, Andrew Buchanan / Denny Cox (NZ/AUS) were sensational. Completing the four laps with a time of 60.146 in first place. They finished ahead Trent Headland / Darryl Whetstone (AUS). The victory put them right in contention and a spot in the highly anticipated A Final.

With the A Final about to take place, Gillman Speedway was in a frenzy of excitement as Australia or New Zealand could claim the Championship! It was all down to the wire and anyone of the four duo's had a shot at the win. The clear favourite had to be Treloar / Headland, as they had not dropped a single heat. Their bike was in prime condition and the duo were working in unison to achieve their ultimate goal.

Treloar/Headland took the lead, but disaster soon struck as the defending champions, Monson and Summerhayes crashed out on the opening lap. It was a devastating result, as they were excluded shortly after and it was guaranteed a new champion would be crowned.

The A Final would then be restarted and Treloar / Headland would cruise to victory ahead of Mitchell / Carter and Buchanan / Cox. The crowd went wild and showed their respect for the excellent racing that just took place. FIM Oceania president Glen Williams was on hand to present the trophy to the well-deserving 2018 champions, Treloar and Headland.

Treloar sharing after the victory; ‰ÛÏIt means everything to get the win. It doesn‰Ûªt matter what meeting it is, you put in all the work and effort and you want to win them all. Obviously, the Oceania Championship is very special but we have another to try to claim tomorrow. It was all about getting the bike setup well tonight. We were able to suss out the track really well and tomorrow is the big one. I just wanted everyone to know that we‰Ûªre on the pace.

‰ÛÏI always love this event at Gillman because its sidecars only. Typically, we have to run with the Solo‰Ûªs. The track today was tailor made for sidecars and it was awesome. We wouldn‰Ûªt be running in the 56‰Ûªs if the track wasn‰Ûªt in great condition,‰Û