The fi nal round of the
2017/2018 Summit Racing
Equipment Sportsman
Series concluded with
celebrations at Adelaide
International Raceway
with both event and
championship winners
crowned.
Strong winds on race day put
a halt to racing for a number
of hours, however with a
change of racing distance
to eighth-mile and a whole
heap of commitment from
the volunteers and offi cials at
Adelaide International Raceway,
the show continued for the large
crowd of excited spectators.
Taking out the ultimate honours
for their classes after an intense
season of competition were
Graeme Spencer (Super Gas),
Bradley Bishop (Summit Racing
Equipment Junior Dragster),
Danny
Rickard
(Modifi ed
Bike), Harry Harris (DENSO
Super Street), Peter Tzokas
(Super Sedan), Matt Czerny
(Modifi ed),
Justin
Russell
(Supercharged Outlaws), Jason
Arbery (Top Sportsman), Tony
Frost (Competition Bike), Jim
Ioannidis (Super Stock) and
Craig Geddes (Competition).
Each of the racers received a
prestigious Gold Christmas Tree
for their eff orts. The champions
will also receive a custom
champion’s jacket along with a
cash payment thanks to Summit
Racing Equipment.
At the same time, Warren
Bull (Super Gas), Jackson Perri
(Summit Racing Equipment
Junior Dragster), Bryan Finn
(Modifi ed Bike), Graeme Cooper
(DENSO Super Street), Alex
Gkroidis (Super Sedan), Sergio
Bonetti (Modifi ed), Jason Keily
(Supercharged Outlaws), Chris
Theo (Top Sportsman), Robert
Cassar (Competition Bike), Tom
Dimitropoulos (Super Stock)
and Shane Baxter (Competition)
claimed the runner-up honours
in their brackets.
Frost and Arbery had their
hands full at the presentations
in Adelaide, claiming the event
victories for their brackets
over Cassar and Paul Russo
respectively, while Crow Cams
Best Engineered Award Winner
Steve Norman joined them in
the winners’ circle after taking
out the SuperComp bracket
over Geddes. For Arbery, the
accolades didn’t end there
either, with the South Australian
receiving the prestigious John
Storm Memorial Trophy to his
great surprise.
Following the
conclusion of the
season, we caught
up with each and
every one of our
victors to talk about
the Grand Final, the
season, and their
victories – to fi nd out
what they had to say,
please see later in
this feature.
Arbery headed to the fi nale as
one of fi ve racers in contention
for the main honours in his
class. After clinching the title
in the early rounds, he went
all the way to the fi nal against
Russo, the Top Sportsman
recipient of the Top Qualifi er
Medallion-presented by The Tile
Co-The Shower People and KC
Tools. Earlier, he had defeated
championship rival Vlado Turic
in round two before taking on
Glenn Henley in the semi-fi nal.
Russo had enjoyed a bye in the
fi rst round before dispatching
Bruno
Romeo
and
title
contender Chris Theo (semis) on
his way the fi nal.
The SuperComp bracket in
Adelaide brought together
those contending for the
fast
fastlane
Competition and Super Stock
Australian Championships, with
fi ve racers in the running for the
Competition honours and three
in the box seat for the Super
Stock title at the beginning of
the event.
Geddes would claim the
Competition title for the third
consecutive time while going
all the way to the fi nal against
Norman, who would clinch the
event victory and also the Crow
Cams Best Engineered Award.
Geddes previously faced off
against Tom Dimitropoulos and
Hugo Di Gianvincenzo before he
took on Daniel Camilleri in the
semi-fi nals.
Norman
meanwhile
won
against Andrew Dyson, Super
Stock championship winner
and SuperComp Top Qualifi er
Ioannidis, and Alex Panagiotidis
on his way to the fi nal.
In Competition Bike, the
Australian title battle came all
the way down to the end with
the two contenders, Frost and
Cassar, facing off against each
other in the fi nal. Frost had a
bye in the semis after earlier
dispatching Jason MacFarlane in
the opening round, while Cassar
had taken on and defeated Jim
Hanlon and Gavin Dohnt before
eventually taking the runner-up
honours in both the event and
the Australian title chase. Frost
had also earlier taken out the
Top Qualifi er honours.
The Supercharged Outlaws
battle was another that came
right down to the end, with
Keily and Russell ending up
tied on points at the conclusion
of the event. The pair were set
to face off in the fi nal race,
however the track curfew saw
that race unable to be run. Tied
on points, the championship
would ultimately be decided
with the use of ANDRA tie
breakers, with Russell awarded
the championship. On their way