The Hammer Has Fallen For the past 5 days it has been Hammerdown time at the inaugural $35,000 Barrick Kanowna Goldrush Hammerdown at Esperance & Kalgoorlie Speedways and to sum it up in a few simple words, this was bigger than I ever expected. On Wednesday I arrived at Perth airport to be greeted by the biggest personality in speedway sedan racing in Wes Beadman, only ever speaking with him on the phone and not meeting him before after 5 minutes of conversation I knew I would be friends with this guy for a long time, Wes is one of the most upbeat showman in Motorsport and was a pure pleasure to work with. We headed out towards Esperance late Wednesday evening ready to meet up with 7 of Australia's biggest Super Sedan teams at the Pier Hotel in Esperance, when I arrived I was greeted by the Will Gould team led by Killer & Darren Kane, Dave Gartner & Watto, Lucas Roberts, Reidy & go Garry go, Daniel Miller and a entourage of 6 crew, Ron & Ash Bergmier, Paddy & Lyn Ward, Mr. & Mrs. Onley, Lachlan & his brother & of coarse Trevor Bale. The town was a buzz from the moment we arrived as we all sat down for dinner at the Pier Hotel, Vanessa & the beautiful English back packers who took care of the boys were a treat to the hospitality industry. As the sun arose on the Thursday Morning we all set of to Bandy Creek for a fishing charter on the award winning boat Jaws at Black Jack Charters, we were greeted by Peter & the Skipper Sean two of the most generous guys I think I have ever met, these guys took us around the Esperance Harbour through the Archipelagoes, one of the most unbelievable experiences I think I have ever seen, to think there is 135 islands in that small area is unreal and something I will never forget. As for the fishing, there were a few green face people including myself for a little while as well as the two barmaids we had on board for the day, catch of the day went to Big Ron Bergmier who pulled in a Snapper that Rex Hunt would have landed a big kiss on and as Ron said "that’s going straight to the pool room". Thursday night it was again off to the Pier Hotel for dinner and to all our surprise some Wes Beadman karaoke, I though he was kidding until I looked around and saw the big fella belting out a few Aussie classics, this definitely stirred up the boys & we felt it was our duty to give big Wes the cheer he deserved. Friday morning and the teams shifted into race mode, as we all finished breakfast some of the Perth Teams arrived at the Best Western Esperance to park up transporters and get some much needed rest before the big nights racing ahead. At 12.00pm all teams had gathered at Trevor Bales Esperance 4x4 for a media presentation as well as some extra coverage with GWN. From there all teams arrived at the race track to be greeted by Don McAlpine and his very efficient Esperance Speedway team of officials, some of the best I have worked with in Speedway. Night one Racing was about to get underway and wit the pits full of super sedans everybody was excited to get underway. The racing was fast and the night one action went to NSW young Gun Lachlan Onley who did nothing but impress all weekend, he and his family are great people and I am privileged to have met the Kitchen Mechanic & team Onley. Winners for Night 1: As the checker fell on night 1 the heavens opened up for a brief moment forcing teams to quickly pack up & head to the clubrooms where we auctioned off some Hammerdown merchandise with the money going to charity. Thanks to Phil Todkill from Hero Engineering who helped with arranging the merchandise and auction and his support towards the Hammerdown. As the clock passed 2.00am most teams hit the road towards Kalgoorlie International Speedway for night two of the Goldrush Invitational Hammerdown, Arriving at 6.00am it was pretty much straight onto the computer to tally all results and put a release together for the night 1 action, we again had 5 radio shows to do Hot FM, Radio West Kalgoorlie, Radio West Esperance, Race line Perth, Lets Talk Speedway Fremantle as well as a photo shoot at the Kalgoorlie super pit & interviews for the GWN Saturday night news. As I went for a drive through town I soon realized all our hard work in promoting the Hammerdown was paying off with a lot of people from Perth & Esperance in Kalgoorlie for the night two action. Arriving at the workshop of race sponsors Rom Services & Goldfields Bitumen I noticed a plethora of race transporters & teams preparing for the night 2 action at Kalgoorlie Speedway. In the yard was WA1 Robbie Bawdon, V1 Lucas Roberts, V16 Ash Bergmier & W8 Murray Welstead. Arriving at the track on Saturday Afternoon there was 30+ cars already on the hill at the goldfields venue and it was only 2.00pm. We set up all the Barrick Banners, Hammerdown Flags, awards & trophies on the infield of the venue as Kalgoorlie boss Robbo & Foz were hard at work preparing the race track. Bar was full, Sponsors box was sorted and we were set to go, we only had one problem, the ice cream van came in the pits and we lost big Wes he chased after it up the hill until he got the biggest sundae I have ever seen. Racing time and a big crowd was in the venue as the four cars made their way onto the track for the national anthem parade laps, then Hammerdown was to commence at Kalgoorlie Speedway. Another great nights racing with more & more two & three wide racing, all weekend the Super Sedans put on a show of slick, skilful & outstanding racing from all cars in the pits. The main event was again an eastern invasion with the exception being a hard charge from WA come back kid Dusty Higgs, he made his way from outside the top 10 to 4th place. Darren Kane was the victor followed by Young Gun Lachlan Onley, The Big Dog Lachlan Onley, and Higgs & WA 1 Robbie Bawdon. With DK Kane winning the night two main event & on a count back of points over the two night’s he was declared the inaugural winner of the 2008 Barrick Goldrush Hammerdown followed by two of Australia’s next big things in Super Sedans Lachlan Onley & Ash Bergmier. After the meeting the Hammerdown after party went into effect and was well supported by the locals from Esperance & Kalgoorlie, some of the antics in the pits were relevant to the whole weekends outcome, this race meeting is based on an end of season trip for teams and was treated as such, for me it was the delight of seeing all drivers, crews & officials bonding together for the final time of the weekend. Winners for Night 2: For those many people asking & wondering why this event wasn’t covered at the track with live results, it was just because we didn’t have enough time to get it done, I only had two moths to pull this all together and this will be rectified next season with the 2009 Hammerdown going to live results & audio, this is already confirmed. This is not an event run by wascf, ssrc or any other sanctioned group and won’t ever be, it is a combined F&T, BCM promoted event and will continue to do so for many years to come. We have the full support of the tracks, drivers & teams to continue doing it this way, and we will. So ends the first of many Goldrush Hammerdowns that will occur at Esperance & Kalgoorlie Speedways, I already have had both club presidents on the phone this morning ensuring we have their full support for the future of this event & are already in plans for next years dates to be advised on the Hammerdown website soon. To the Hammerdown team led by F&T Promotions, Leanne & her team, Murray & his infield & pit team & all the Esperance & Kalgoorlie staff & officials thank you for all your support, with out you guys we just can’t do these events. My promotions team of Nathan, Kylie & Glen thanks a million for all your efforts. And the team of sponsors for the 2008 Hammerdown that believed in our idea of forming an event to match those on the east coast thank you from BCM & All the teams, drivers & crews for your efforts for the last 5 days. Barrick Kanowna, Delsa & Neil thank you for your support, we will make this event bigger each & every year. And finally personal thanks to Frank Bawdon & Trevor Bale (F&T Promotions) who saw the positive sides of this concept of a different format, race style & other activities. These two guys are a pleasure to work with and we have bigger plans for Hammerdown 2009, Thanks guys. For those wanting Hammerdown Merchandise please keep an eye on the website for up coming developments, also for Esperance people your orders can be placed to Don & Kalgoorlie people place your Hammerdown merchandise orders to Nathan Powell. There will be hats, shirts & jackets you will have to be quick, because limited amounts only. Photos will be online in the next few days thanks to Sheldon for his efforts. Also keep an eye out on the website for the DVD release in the next few weeks. For more on Hammerdown visit www.supersedanhammerdown.com Remember 2009 the fun, fishing & relaxation of the Hammerdown. BCM Motorsports Marketing www.bcmbear.com
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