PROMISING SPEED FOR KRIKKE MOTORSPORT
THERE was no doubt about it, the Krikke Motorsport’s results with team driver Dayne Kingshott during their recent east coast trip, which included contesting two of Australia’s biggest 410 Sprintcar events, weren’t a true reflection of their overall speed.
Although the results in the Grand Annual Classic at Warrnambool’s Premier Speedway in Victoria and the Australian Sprintcar Championship at Murray Bridge Speedway in South Australia didn’t fall their way, due to a range of misfortunes, Kingshott and the Krikke Motorsport team certainly showed plenty of promise.
In what was their first attempt together at contesting the Grand Annual Classic, Kingshott and the Krikke Motorsport team, who had finished 11th in the feature race of the International Sprintcar Carnival at Premier Speedway in the lead up to the Grand Annual Classic, were on the backfoot from pretty much the beginning of the event, when Kingshott was crashed out by another competitor on the opening lap of his opening heat race, but the team were able to rebuild their WA # 2 Mobil 1 / Bunbury Toyota supported Maxim in order to continue their Grand Annual Classic campaign. For the rest of the weekend, Kingshott drove from position nine to fourth in the B main to earn a spot into his preliminary feature race where he started 24 and finished 15th, but another DNF in his heat race on the final night hindered his chances to earn a spot into Sunday night’s feature race after finishing 14th in the B main.
The following weekend, the Krikke Motorsport team ventured to Murray Bridge Speedway for their second Australian Championship attempt with Kingshott. In between the Grand Annual Classic and the Australian Championship weekends, the team made their first visit to Bordertown’s Tolmer Speedway for a midweek race meeting and Kingshott went on to finish the feature race just outside the top 10 finishers in 12th.
Over the two Australian Championship nights, Kingshott performed strongly over both nights by being quickest in his qualifying group and recorded an eighth and two second place finishes in his heat races resulting in a ninth place starting position for Saturday night’s Australian Championship feature race. From the start of the feature race Kingshott was on a mission to the front of the field and by the middle of the 40-lap event was battling for spots on the podium, passing defending Australian Champion Lachlan McHugh briefly for second; however, on lap 32, he made contact with the outer wall, which damaged the right-rear rim and consequently deflated the tyre and it saw him limp to the infield and be credited with a 15th place finish and a DNF.
Despite the challenges over the past fortnight, Krikke Motorsport team manager Ryan Krikke was pleased to have their driver right up there mixing it with the country’s best 410 Sprintcar racers in unfamiliar territory on tracks that are unlike anything back in their home state of Western Australia.
“The whole trip was about R&D, so that we could gain experience on different tracks with different competitors; it was great to expose both Dayne and our team’s crew chief Matt (Cochrane) to tracks, surfaces and scenarios unlike what we have back at home, as that’s how you get better and getting better is what we were focusing on,” he explained.
“We didn’t go over to the east coast thinking that we could win races; we went there thinking it would be beneficial to our program, which it absolutely was. We qualified well every night and had great car speed every time we hit the track. Some things happened that were beyond our control and some things happened that were within our control, but that’s racing. The results on paper aren’t everything, but we are happy with how it all went, and we will take a lot away from it for sure.”
The Krikke Motorsport team is now back on the west coast and will be back on their home deck this Friday and Saturday night at the Perth Motorplex for the $40,077 to win Australian Mr Sprintcar Nationals.
“The team is looking forward to getting back to the Motorplex where we have five nights over the next two weekends,” enthused Ryan Krikke.
“We have the Barbagallo Mr Sprintcar race, followed by the 10k to win on the Wednesday night and then the Krikke Boys Shootout the weekend after, so it’s going to cap what has been a massive stint for us, where we will have raced a total of 20 nights since Boxing Night – it’s been full on!”
Upcoming Schedule:
Feb 7 – Perth Motorplex – Australian Mr Sprintcar Nationals Night 1
Feb 8 – Perth Motorplex – Australian Mr Sprintcar Nationals Night 2
Feb 12 – Perth Motorplex – Midweek Mayhem
Feb 14 – Perth Motorplex – Krikke Boys Shootout Night 1
Feb 15 – Perth Motorplex – Krikke Boys Shootout Night 2
Latest Maddington Toyota Series Point Standings (after 14 of 22 rounds):
1 Dayne Kingshott – 2102 points
2 Callum Williamson – 2010
3 Taylor Milling – 1952
4 Kaiden Manders – 1896
5 Andrew Priolo – 1804
The Krikke Motorsport 45th anniversary and the 2024-25 season car design merchandise is available online – www.krikkemotorsport.store – and they are also available to purchase at the track on race nights from the team’s transporter via either cash or eftpos payments.
The Krikke Motorsport team would like to thank their 2024-25 season supporters:
• Mobil 1
• Bunbury Toyota
• Maxwill Racing Engines
• PWR Advanced Cooling Technology
• Redline Media
• Hough Cabinets
• Taralea Farm Macadamias
• Performance Racegear
• P1 Advanced Racewear Australia and New Zealand
• JFE Group
• Wilson Brewing Company
• Number 4 Composites
• AFCO Shock Doctor
• Resolve Automotive Spraypainters
• Heater Designs
• JP Signs
• www.krikkemotorsport.store
To keep up to date with the Krikke Motorsport team, visit their website at krikkemotorsport.com.au or follow them on their social-media channels – Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter – by searching Krikke Motorsport.
