Speedway Grand Prix of Australia

Australia Speedway Grand Prix of Australia
Stadium Telstra Stadium
Sydney, New South Wales
Years1 (2002)
Tracktemporary track
Track Length400 m
Last event (season 2002)
Date26 October 2002
RefereeUnited Kingdom Anthony Steele
WinnerUnited States Greg Hancock
2nd placeUnited Kingdom Scott Nicholls
3rd placeAustralia Jason Crump

The Speedway Grand Prix of Australia was a speedway event that was a part of the Speedway Grand Prix Series.

The event, run on a 400 metres (440 yards) long temporary track, was won by American rider Greg Hancock, from Englands Scott Nicholls, with Australian Jason Crump finishing third. The Australian GP was the 10th and final round of the 2002 Speedway Grand Prix series.

In spite of a number of top Australian riders competing, including Australian Champions Crump, Leigh Adams, Ryan Sullivan and Sydney born 1990 World #3 Todd Wiltshire, attendance for the event held at the 2000 Olympic Stadium was estimated to be around 31,500, well short of the expected attendance of 50,000.

Winners

Season City Stadium Winner
1 2002 Sydney Stadium Australia United States Greg Hancock result

Most win

United States Greg Hancock 1 times

Future

Despite Australia being the birthplace of motorcycle speedway in 1923, and producing two World Champions since 2002 in Jason Crump (2004, 2006 and 2009) and Chris Holder (2012), as well as dual Under-21 World Champion Darcy Ward (2009, 2010), the Speedway Grand Prix of Australia has not returned to the SGP calendar as of 2014.

This is set to change from 2015 with Etihad Stadium in Melbourne, a 53,359 seat stadium with a retractable roof and movable seating, signing a 5-year deal to host the event.[1] Eithad is mostly used by the Australian Football League so a temporary track (early estimates put it at approximately 350 metres (380 yards) long) will need to be installed for the 2015 event scheduled to be held on 24 October (after the end of the 2015 AFL season). The Grand Prix is set to be the 12th and final round of the 2015 Speedway Grand Prix series.

Triple World Champion Jason Crump and ten time Australian Champion Leigh Adams will serve as Australian SGP ambassadors in 2015.

References