Fans of two-wheeled action will not be left out in the cold at the Gulf Western Oil Winternationals with 76 motorcycle teams in total to play a part in the event.
Pro Bike will see its biggest field of the season so far as nine of the high revving machines hit Willowbank Raceway from June 7 to 10.
While Queensland has a proud history in the class including current national record holder Brad Lemberg, it is the Victorians who have been dominant this season. Melburnians Corey Buttigieg and Maurice Allan are currently leading the points, but it is Warrnambool’s Glenn Wooster coming in as one of the favourites thanks to a brand new Suzuki motorcycle.
Wooster was one of the quickest riders in the last round of the championship in Sydney and the Force Wear Components team have their eyes on going even quicker.
“The bike performed fantastically in Sydney, running arrow straight on each pass,” he said. “We ran our personal best on the first day out.”
The bike was built by former Pro Bike championship winning team Trevor Birrell and Sam Scerri in Adelaide and was designed for better weight distribution and space saving.
“By being able to mount components where we need to we can move weight in the bike to suit the tune up,” Wooster said. “Also by moving to a new chassis we can take advantage of new components and keep up with the ever improving technology in the Pro Bike class.”
Wooster has been racing at the Gulf Western Oil Winternationals for the better part of a decade, which he said is the best event of the year on the Australian drag racing calendar.
“We always enjoy a great road trip up and then you have the best field of bikes for the season to race against,” he said. “As the finish to the season we always look forward to it. We get to catch up with teams from across Australia and the world.”
Initially modest, Wooster said he would just like to run some tough passes, but the famous track and air conditions at the Gulf Western Oil Winternationals may allow him to do more than that.
“We’d love to run another personal best time (currently 7.12 seconds), but winning the event is also on my mind,” he said.
Wooster will be taking on a classy field which includes Australia’s quickest Pro Bike rider Brad Lemberg, who will be aiming to improve on his own 7.05 second personal best time. Coming in as a real dark horse will be fellow Queenslander Luke Crowley, who has brought his Suzuki back from racing in the USA.
The field will be riding in memory of George Vella, a Pro Bike rider who took part in last year’s event but tragically passed away in a workplace accident earlier this year.
The Gulf Western Oil Winternationals take place from June 7 to 10 at Willowbank Raceway. For more information head to www.willowbankraceway.com.au.
