As the countdown continues in earnest towards the staging of the 2007 FIM Track Racing Sidecar Gold Trophy 1000cc in Wayville, South Australia, competitors are finalising preparations for their chance to show off their wares on the world stage.

And while much has already been spoken about Aussie pairings Christopher and Koppe, as well as Treloar and Plaisted, it is worth sparing a thought for some of the other Aussie competitors who will be in action at the event.

With a host of international guests in attendance from New Zealand, Great Britain and The Netherlands, not much has been spoken of some of the local competitors – in particular, 40 year old Mick Headland.

Headland hails from Murray Bridge in SA, and with the event being staged less than an hour’s drive from where he lives, he could well be considered the event’s hometown hero.

Headland will be teaming up with fellow local Paul Waters, with whom he has been competing for the past four years, and the pair is setting themselves for a big night of action on November 24.

“The team’s rapt – we’ve been waiting for something like this for years,” and enthusiastic Headland beamed.

“It’s a total bonus to have the event at home in South Australia. 

“We’ve always done well around Wayville so we are really looking forward to it - we have excellent support from family, friends and sponsors, so it will be great.”

Headland admitted that despite some unfortunate results in some of their recent races, he is confident that the pairing can put in a show stealing performance at Wayville.

“This is our fourth season together, and we have done pretty well since we’ve been competing as a team together,” he said.

“We are based in South Australia, but we race in Mildura pretty regularly and we follow the Australian Titles around the country.

“In the Aussie Titles that have just been we managed only coming seventh in Ayr, in Queensland. 

“The bike broke down in the last heat and we probably should have made the final, but that was the way it turned out.”

Despite the setback, Headland said that the next few weeks of racing leading into the event should provide a solid footing for the team, and believes he can pull a few surprises on raceday.

“We have a couple of big meetings coming up at Gillman that we will be doing in the lead-up to the event, and we just did nine nights at Wayville Showgrounds at the Show to promote it. 

“We have also been racing at Murray Bridge, just trying to get two of our bikes together ready for it.

“We will be ready for the Gold Trophy event, and can’t wait to get out there to compete.”

Plenty of tickets are still available for the practise and race days at the 2007 FIM Track Racing Sidecar Gold Trophy 1000cc.