An early season treat for all off-road motorcycle fans comes to the UK shores on Sunday 26th April as ASTRA Grasstrack Club host the European Grasstrack Championships Semi Final at Swingfield in Kent. This crucial event for the European Grasstrack Solo fraternity is sure to be a hotly contested competition; 18 of Europe’s best riders compete with only 9 qualifying slots available for the final, which will be held in Netherlands in July.
There could be no more perfect a venue for this prestigious event than Swingfield. Having hosted the British Masters (the pinnacle of the British Grasstrack calendar), the World Long Track Team Cup, two European Semi Finals and the European Final itself in the past, this circuit has a proven track record for success. It is notable for its rolling hills along the straights, often causing 1000cc sidecar outfits to lift the front wheel spectacularly. For a British circuit, it is large which means it is super quick. Spectators will see riders topping 100 miles per hour on this famous venue.
Heading the home contingent will be current British Masters Champion Andrew Appleton. He is a former winner of the illustrious European crown and will desperately want to confirm his place in the final for 2015. And Swingfield is a circuit that has been kind to him in the past; two of his four British Masters titles were won at the super-fast Kentish venue.
Another talented Brit who will surely be amongst the favourites is David Howe. The former Great Britain International speedway ace has shown tremendous capability aboard a Grass bike and was the runner-up last year in the European Final. Howe competed regularly in last season’s World Long track Grand Prix and brings a wealth of experience of racing at this level. After narrowly missing out on his first Euro crown in 2014, he’ll also be eager to ensure he is comfortably within the top 9 at this year’s Semi-Final.
Yorkshireman Paul Cooper, another rider with plenty of International experience, joins the foray at Swingfield, hoping to once again qualify for the Euro Final at Staphorst in July. Last season, ‘Cooperman’ performed brilliantly at Swingfield to secure a 3
rd in the British Masters.
The last Brit in the line-up is sure to create excitement. 18-year old James Shanes enters what has to be his biggest event to date at Swingfield. The youngster burst into 500cc adult Track racing in 2014 with wins up and down the country, a British Under 21 Championship and a hugely impressive 4
th in the British Masters at his first attempt. This season, Shanes will hope to continue his improvements and get himself into racing across Europe. Swingfield provides a platform for him to do so. Spectators may witness a star being born on 26
th April. So for Britain, it will be the top four from the British Masters who are up against the riders from overseas.
And what a crop of overseas talent that will be on show for the crowd. Heading the German contingent will be former 3 times European title holder and vastly experienced rider Stephan Katt. ‘Katman’ has ridden at Swingfield before, winning the 2006 European Semi Final held at Swingfield. The German ace has a proven track record in this event. He will no doubt start as favourite.
Some strong French riders have been announced, headed by vastly talented and immaculately presented Jerome Lespinasse. The Frenchman won his last European Semi Final to be held in Britain, when Mid Cornwall Premier hosted the event back in 2010. Needless to say, his record on British Grasstrack is excellent. The other French rider is Gabriel Dubernard. This rider has plenty of European racing experience under his belt and will want to put it to good use at Swingfield.
The French governing body have selected Dutch former two-time European Champion will start as one of the favourites at a circuit he knows very well. He won his second European title on the rolling slopes of Swingfield. More recently, he led a strong Netherlands side to World Team Cup gold at Swingfield last year. On paper, Pijper would arguably begin as the outright favourite to take the top step on the podium.
Tidy Dutch rider Henry Van Der Steen makes a welcome trip to Kent. He has been steadily improving for a number of seasons and will certainly suit this type of circuit. His neat riding style has seen him consistently place high in some top events across the continent.
Lastly, a word must be spared for the man who leads the Czech entrants: Josef Franc. The talented Czech comes with experience of racing on the grandest stage of speedway, having been a wildcard in the Speedway Grand Prix several times. Coupled with this is his wealth of experience in the Long Track Grand Prix. He too showed well at the World Team Cup at Swingfield last season.
Due to one of the governing bodies not taking their allocation of places, an extra space for the event has become available to Georgie Wood. The young star returned to full time racing in 2014 having missed two seasons with a severely broken leg. He quickly found the form that had turned so many heads in his early days. Having had plenty of speedway experience this season, it’ll be interesting to see how Wood measures up against some of Europe’s best.
Supporting the prestigious Euro event will be the awesome 1000cc sidecars. The 160bhp monsters have been a feature of racing at every ASTRA event and really are a sight to behold at the stunning Swingfield circuit. Current British Masters Champions Rod Winterburn and Liam Brown managed to get one over on their bitter rivals Mark Cossar and Carl Blyth at the British Masters final last year. These two crews are sure to be at loggerheads once more. But with sidecar racing, anything is possible. With the top sidecar crews from across the country in attendance there is opportunity for several other top crews to show their hand early on in the season at this event. The ‘big chairs’ will relish an opportunity to display their capabilities on a European stage, with the long term view of creating a European Championship for the class in the near future.
So all roads lead to Swingfield for Sunday 26
th April. Any Grasstrack fan will know it is a must-see event but if you have never witnessed Grasstrack before, this would be the perfect event to begin. The Swingfield circuit can be found off of the A260 Canterbury Road. Ticket prices for the event will be Adults £18, Concessions £15, Children up to 12 are free and Programmes are £2. Practice is scheduled for 9:30am until 11am with the first race at 1:30pm.