Sidewinders Speedway

Sidewinders Speedway

The Place Where Junior Champions Meet
Sidewinders U/16 Speedway in 2011 showing "Mt. Wingfield" to the left and the clubrooms at the top right
Location	Wingfield Reserve, Eighth Street Wingfield, South Australia 5013
Coordinates	34°50′12″S 138°33′12″E / 34.83667°S 138.55333°E / -34.83667; 138.55333Coordinates: 34°50′12″S 138°33′12″E / 34.83667°S 138.55333°E / -34.83667; 138.55333
Capacity	1,000
Owner	Sidewinders U/16 Speedway Club Inc.
Operator	Sidewinders U/16 Speedway Club Inc.
Opened	25 February 1978
Major events	Australian Under-16 Solo Championship South Australian Under-16 Solo Championship South Australian Under-16 Sidecar Championship Barb Miller Memorial Birthday Meeting Roy Bitmead Cup
Surface	Dolomite
Length	0.069 mi (0.112 km)

The Sidewinders Speedway is a junior Motorcycle speedway that was opened in 1978 in the semi-industrial Adelaide suburb of Wingfield in South Australia. The Sidewinders U/16 Speedway Club Inc. was founded two years earlier in 1976 by Graham Baker and Roy Bitmead, with help from Rowley Park Speedway riders Robin and Kym Amundson, and their father Bill. As it was then, Sidewinders goal is to promote and develop speedway through its junior ranks with riders aged 4–15, something that had rarely been done in Australia to that point. Once a rider turns 16 he or she then move into the senior ranks.

Prior to the opening of Sidewinders, most Australian Solo riders came into the sport with a background in Cycle Speedway (in Adelaide this was usually through the Findon Skid Kids cycling club) or through , including local Adelaide hero John Boulger who during the 1980s and 1990s was a strong supporter of the speedway (despite having retired from riding in 1983 to move into first the Sprintcar, then the Speedcar ranks), lending his experience, including two Australian Championships, nine South Australian Championships, a World Team Cup win, and two World Final appearances, to up and coming riders.

The 112 metres (122 yards) Sidewinders Speedway, which has a dolomite surface, is the only dedicated, stand alone junior motorcycle speedway track in Australia. Other venues around the country such as the nearby Gillman Speedway, the Olympic Park and Undera Park Speedways in Victoria, and the Loxford Park Speedway in New South Wales, all boast junior tracks on the infield of their main track. The 142 metres (155 yards) Pinjar Park motorcycle speedway just north of Perth in Western Australia is similar to Sidewinders and regularly runs junior events, though the speedway also doubles as Perth's main senior motorcycle speedway.