Leith, who is sponsored by Margaret River Paintball, names Shane Earnshaw, Darren Mouna and Glen Richards as his toughest competition and wishes to thank Paul Shipp and Darren Mouna for their support and assistance.

...and Leith's thoughts on the sport's future? 

"The future is looking ok but we have to remember that the members are really the heart of the club, every effort should be made to encourage every division to prosper from the true ¼ scale hand-made cars to the 1/5th and 1/6thkit car divisions".

Compiled by Pedrospics for West Oz 1/4 Scale Speeedway Association 2019

EARNSHAW AIMING FOR AUSTRALIA #1

A visit to Henderson to look at WARMS one day in 2007 and finding a West Oz speedway event in progress was the beginning of this much loved hobby for Shane Earnshaw.

Shane was hooked immediately on RC speedway but due to financial and time commitments the opportunity to participate in the sport was placed on-hold. In 2013 he purchased a rolling chassis from Glen McDougall and he has never looked back.

The 48 year old truck driver from Kwinana now has a Sprintcar, a Sedan, Dirt Mod, Speedcar and a Late Model all running under W27.

Sponsored by EMD Racing, he has successfully gathered numerous feature race and heat race wins over the past three seasons, after his inaugural success in the 2015 Sedan Winter Series. Some of his biggest highlights were wins in the WA championship, KIng of the Wings, Sedan Tin Top King and Sedan Night Thunder events, plus the honour of being named the 2017 Sedan Club Champion and the 2018 Dirt Mod Club Champion Awards acknowledges Shane's talent and consistency.

"Pushing myself with preparing and driving 3 or 4 different classes of car each meeting and the general camaraderie between fellow competitors" is what keeps Shane motivated.

He would like to thank his family for their support, Glen Mc Dougall, Darren Mouna and all my 1/4 scale speedway friends.

"My ambition is to be number 1 in Australia in any class. It’s a bit difficult to do this due to not being in a position to travel to other states to compete. Look forward to National Titles being held here in WA".

"I would like to see the hobby keep moving forward and thrive. Even with the turmoil happening with a body trying to take control of all R/C speedway in Australia, it’s in a relatively good place at the moment here in WA without them!"

Compiled by Pedrospics for the West Oz 1/4 Scale Speedway Association Inc.  2019

JIM WADDELL - BEEN THERE, DONE THAT!

Long-serving and well-travelled RC speedway racer Jim Waddell has been on the West Oz scene as long as the club itself. The fact that his name is engraved on the Track Champion Award both in recognition and as a winner really says it all.

At the age of 71, 'JW' is up there with the best of them, proving age is no barrier in RC racing. Currently with a Sprintcar (W7) and Sedan (W7) in his armory, he has also successfully raced in Speedcars and Dirt Mods over his career.

Listing his occupation as 'Desperado', his residence as 'Perth/Bush' and his hobbies as family, speedway and prospecting, the retired Waddell now has more time to concentrate on his racing.

His achievement in collecting 127 trophies over his 13 years of competition, including capturing Australia 1, 2 & 3 is impressive. Internationally, JW has represented his country in the USA World Series where he raced at the famous Knoxville circuit in Ohio and won that event. "That decision is still in dispute"  claims Jim. He also ran second in the New Zealand Championship. Include the numerous podiums and heat race victories and his record is quite remarkable.

He lists his sponsors as Jeff Hedington and 'the bank'. Jim wishes to thank Rick Triplett, Jeff Hedington and Bob Jeffreson (NSW) for their assistance.

His toughest competitors are Dale Pyke John Alford and he jokes, himself, "The little man in my head".

His ambition is to become a Life Member and remain competitive.

Compiled by Pedrospics for the West Oz 1/4 Scale Speedway Association Inc.  2019

GREG CONTINUES THE COWIE TRADITION

Greg Cowie grew up in the era when speedway was a way of life. His dad Wally was a legendary figure in the TQ/F500 scene winning 18 feature events and the 1972-73 WA championship. He was inducted into the Claremont Speedway Hall of Fame when the venue closed in 2000.

Greg, nicknamed 'Showtime' due to his early escapades whilst driving his #2 Dirt Modified, is a 63 year old builder. He began racing 1/4 scale speedway in 2013 after being involved in boat racing in 2012. Whilst looking online he saw an advert for an RC speedway event at Henderson and went along for a look. After contacting Jeff Hedington and asking to build him a racecar, the rest is history.

Currently running in 4 classes,  Speedcar (A1), AMCA (A1), Sprintcar (W26) and Sedan (W18), last season was his most successful  so far, claiming wins in the 2017-18 Australian AMCA and Speedcar titles and the WA Speedcar title.

With the support of sponsors DaVinci Homes, CVAC Airconditioning, Southern Kitchens and Baja Spares, he has been able to travel interstate to contest titles and gain valuable track-time at various venues.

Across the different classes Greg named Dale Pyke, Guido Versaico, Darren Mouna, Jim Waddell and Jeff Hedington as his most fierce rivals at his home track at Henderson.  Greg added "Without Jeff Hedington's help I would not be in the sport".

Greg did a season as Chairperson in 2016-17 and currently holds the position of treasurer of the association.

"Mateship" is what makes 1/4 scale speedway so enjoyable, and his thoughts on the future of the sport?..."Everyone need to be on the same page put their ego's away and make the sport even bigger and better".

Compiled by Pedrospics for the West Oz 1/4 Scale Speedway Association Inc.  2019

RICHARDS FAMILY DEDICATED TO WEST OZ

Glen and Terry Richards enjoy their involvement at West Oz.

Glen Richards was introduced to RC speedway racing by his dad Terry who had been racing road Nitro's and had a stint racing on the clay at West Oz. In 2012 Glen debuted an AMCA and then added a Dirt Modified a Late Model and recently a Sprintcar to his collection of racecars.

His trophies include the 2012 WA Dirt Mod Title, the 2012 Dirt Mod Top Gun, the 2016 Dirt Mod Top Gun, the 2016-17 Jim Connolly Dirt Modified Season Champion Award and the 2017 WA AMCA State Title.  Add numerous minor championship placings, A Main & heat race wins and it's a very impressive list of achievements.

Glen enjoys the fun of competition and the friendships he has made at the track. He respects all his fellow competitors and wishes to thank Guido Versaico and Scottie Elder in the AMCAs and Leith Jones and Paul Shipp in the Dirt Mods for their support and help at the track.

His hope is that RC speedway continues to grow for many years to come.

"My ambition right now would be success at the 2019 State titles. Ultimately the championship series wins are what I would be more proud of just because you need to be good week after week" said Glen.

With the late Terry Richards having raced and the volunteered as the pit-gate marshal and Glen racing four classes, the Richards family have been certainly dedicated to their RC speedway racing. The Pit gate has been named after Terry in his memory.

Compiled by Pedrospics for West Oz 1/4 Scale Speedway Association 2018.

QUARTERSCALE DOES IT FOR DAZ

When Darren Lockett walked into the Henderson Speedway venue in 2015 with his friend Garry Mann, he knew the end result would not be good for his wallet.  Jokes aside, he loved everything about the sport and now three seasons later his enthusiasm is still growing. "It's the best hobby I could have chosen" he states.

Darren, a 50 year old poly (plastic) welder from Rockingham started racing a Sprintcar but added a Late Model Sedan to his garage this season when this new class was introduced on a trial basis. Although 'Daz' is still looking for his first main event win he is hoping that milestone is not far away. After racing in the past two National titles, and nominating for the 2019 title in South Australia, Darren will keep gaining experience by adding laps under his belt at different tracks.

Darren lists his toughest opponents as Dale Pyke, Jimmy Waddell, Guido Versaico, Jeff Hedington, John Alford, Shane Earnshaw, Greg Cowie, Steven Summerfield and Ash Mann. 

"I would like to thank Jim Waddell, who is a champion on and off the track, Shane, Jeff, Guido and Dale who have all helped me over my time in the sport. Also Mike Rimmer, Craig Stewart and Jarrod Mashford who helped me from day one with parts and set-ups.

Darren has changed his role at West Oz and has taken on the role of main gate marshall. He is a huge asset to the club and keeps the flow of race day going with his "Dazza" humour adding to the enjoyment of race day.

in addition to this he has added his very own 1/5 scale "John Day Ute" to the atmosphere of West Oz. 

Compiled for West Oz 1/4 Scale Speedway by Pedrospics 2018.

CANTEEN CURES CRAVINGS

Big smiles from our canteen ladies Cherrie, Lyn and Maxine.

One of the most popular and important places at any racetrack is the canteen. The West Oz canteen is extra special due to its Burgers with the Lot, its 1990's prices and the extra friendly service.

With several improvements over the past seasons, including the introduction of hot chips, the club now has a fantastic facility for all members and fans.

The combined effort from manager Lyn Elder and support from Cherrie Martin and Maxine Anderton ensures that everyone in the venue is catered for with the best snacks in town.

Compiled by Pedrospics for West Oz 1/4 Scale Speedway Association Inc. 2018.

ALASTAIR IN CONTROL

Alastair pictured in his bubble, the Race Control Centre.

One man rarely seen during a West Oz event is former 1/4 scale racer Alastair Waddell.

The man assigned the role of race controller spends many continuous hours trapped inside a glass bubble that we know as the Race Control Centre. As the heart of the venue on race day, Alastair holds the key to the success of each and every event from punching-in nominations  and grid draws through to the final results published on the myLaps website.

But there is much more to race control. The operation of the track lights, the timing and transponder system checks, race lists and the allocation of points, false starts, crash intermissions, the tight schedule of heats and finals and much, much more. Of course there is occasionally a query from a disgruntled racer when things don't go to plan in their eyes!

This would cause a nervous breakdown to many of us, but Alastair's cool head and good humour makes him the perfect man for this tough job.

Everyone involved in the sport of Henderson Speedway knows the importance of this role for the functioning of our race meeting and we appreciate the effort put in by Alastair and his helpers each and every race meeting.

Complied by Pedrospics for West Oz 1/4 Scale Speedway Association Inc. 2018

VERSAICO RACING ON TRACK

Guido and Sergio are all smiles after recently capturing the 2018 King of the Wings crown. 

A brief conversation about 1/4 scale speedway in 2014 saw Guido Versaico purchase the ex Ron Hutchinson NSW #25 AMCA and commence a career that has paid dividends in the past 3 seasons. Since his debut he has added the #9 Speedcar and the #77 Sprintcar both from the Dale Concrete Racing stable to his team.

The 37 year old mechanic from Byford who lists his hobbies as scale model building and darts, has been a real speedway fan all his life and the opportunity to compete in RC speedway is a relatively cheap way to be involved. 

'GV' has become a regular sight on the podium at West Oz. He won the inaugural AMCA Season Championship in 2016-17, the WA AMCA Title in 2017/18, the annual Sprintcar Muster in 2017-18 and accrued 10 feature event victories across 3 classes during the 2017-18 season.

His latest success was winning the 2018 Dale Concrete sponsored Sprintcar King of the Wings event held earlier this month.

Guido would like to acknowledge the wonderful support of his sponsors Tony Saupold from Dale Concrete, the assistance from 'Vas Built', (his father Sergio who acts as crew-chief), AG Composites and Pedrospics.

His biggest rivals on the clay are Greg Cowie - AMCAs, Darren Mouna - Speedcars, and Dale Pyke - Sprintcars. He would like to also thank veteran RC racer Jim Waddell and Sergio for their mentoring during his career behind the controller.

Guido loves the mateship involved and the lack of stress in RC speedway.

His ambition is to travel to more tracks across the country, and his hope for the sport to unite and run under one banner.

Complied by Pedrospics for West Oz 1/4 Scale Speedway Association Inc 2018

TEAM MANN DOES IT IN THE DIRT!

Captured together in the pits at Henderson Speedway, Garry, Jayson and Ashley make a great combination.

Speedway has been an integral part of the Mann family for decades.

Dad Garry and Mum Kylie met at Claremont Speedway. Garry worked for Statewide Towing and Kylie's parents Rod & Kerry Bain were life-long speedway fans so it wasn't a big surprise that  Ashley, Jayson & Dannika would also have interests in dirt racing.

Ashley was 11 and Jayson (Juddy) 9 when their grandies purchased Go-Karts for the boys and with sponsorship from Ingot Metals and their careers in dirt racing has commenced.

A visit to the WALSOA RC track in Ravenswood captured Ashley's imagination and immediately liked what he saw. He purchased a Baja that day and decided that RC racing was the way to proceed.

Meanwhile, brother Juddy who was a 'flag kid' at the Perth Motorplex,  was seen by Rick Triplett one of the members at the West Oz 1/4 Scale Speedway in Henderson. He asked if Juddy could bring his flags down to the West Oz track to help with the events. This opportunity opened the way for the boys to get into speedway racing in an affordable way.

Ashley started his West Oz career in the 2014/15 season racing the #58 Dirt Modified, and was followed by Juddy the following season in Dirt Mod #34.

The boys were able to secure sponsorship from Tiny Marlow at Tiny Tipper Hire and Jake Beard Miller, TMG Fabrications, National Lubrication Systems, Collie Bin Hire and Design Signs.

Although he has an occasional skid on the dirt, Juddy is happy to be the dedicated crew chief for Ashley's Dirt Mod and the #95 Sprintcar that the team purchased from Brian Williams from Queensland after the 2015 Aussie Titles held in Perth.

Ashley loves "the atmosphere of racing and just the fun of being involved"

Team Mann is looking forward to the 2018/19 state championships to be held at Henderson in February and hopefully some success during the rest of the season.

Compiled by Pedrospics for West Oz 1/4 Scale Speedway Association Inc 2018.