International dirttrack motorcycle racing returns to Ammanford on Saturday 7th. June with the staging at the Amman Valley Trotting Track of Round Two of this year’s Silkolene Short Track UK championship.
A half-miler unique to this part of Wales, the event sees some of Europe’s top flattrack racers bring their particular brand of powersliding to the cinder circuit, in a real harp back to the pioneering days of motorcycle racing in the Principality. Many motor sport historians claim that Wales was the true birthplace of oval track motorcycling in the UK, with races documented at
Carmarthen Park a remarkable 105 years ago; and the likes of Welsh export Don Johns credited with inventing the pendulum skid or broadslide over in Los Angeles on adapted trotting circuits there 100 years ago.
The world has turned full circle with the hugely popular sport of Flattrack in the States now finding a home back here in the UK thanks to the Short Track UK series: with riders from numerous motorcycling disciplines taking to adapted Moto-cross, Supermoto and other off-road racing machines - ranging incredibly from 125cc all the way to 1200cc – onto the shale surfaces of Speedway and trotting tracks in no-holds-barred races of 12 riders over six to 12 laps.
The inaugural STUK half-miler at Amman Valley last year was a great success and under the circuit’s new flood-lights on a Saturday night this time, promises to be a hugely exciting and dramatic event.
Leading the way is last year’s winner (both at Ammanford and of the whole series), top Italian, Marco Belli; and the continental challenge is joined also by four top flattrackers appearing in their only 2008 British meeting: Swiss speedsters, Jan-Willem Jansen and Tom van Ness (opting for size and power on monster 1200cc Harleys, truly a sight to behold on this super-fast circuit) and Dutch duo, Mick Jansen and Mario Muggler.
Home interest comes in the form of Llanddewi Brefi -based racer, Guto Llewellyn - mounted on a Husaberg 600 - who has on his racing CV a second in the Welsh national Moto-cross championship; Ian Howells from Narbeth, Pembrokeshire who was in the championship points in the Thunderbikes last year at Amman Valley; and Tim Greig, who captained the Wales national team to sixth place in the sport’s inaugural Nations Cup last year, as well as claiming a rostrum position in the European championship. The English pretenders include newly-crowned Short Track Champion of Champions, Steven Hall; one-time World Ice Racing rostrum man Peter Boast (also many times an Isle of Man TT competitor); and top young starlet, Aidan Collins, nephew of one-time World Speedway champion, Peter Collins.
The programme comprises four events (all accredited ACU-national championships) with the main Short Track event, the Thunderbikes for larger multi-cylindered bikes, the CCM Junior Shorttrack championship (dominated currently by the prodigious and unbeaten Tom Woolley) and there’s even four-wheeled action courtesy of the harum-scarum Welbourns ST Quads
The action takes place at the Amman Valley Trotting Club, Tairgwaith, Gwaun-Cae-Gurwan, Ammanford SA118 1UT on Saturday 7th June with the main event at 7pm (qualifying heats taking place in the afternoon commencing at 4.30pm). Please follow brown directional signs for Trotting Track, then signs for car-parking.
Adults £10, Concessions £8, Juniors (12-15 years) £3, Under 12s Free.
