Get Your Tops Off.

Its time to try something different this weekend as the LMRA take off their tops and race around the Bunbury Speedway. Don’t panic, it doesn’t mean they will be racing with out a shirt on, it will be sans roof.

In what is a first here in Western Australia, the big bodied powerful Late Models hit the clay at the Bunbury bull ring with out a roof, something that could be quite interesting if you haven’t seen anything like it before.

The team at Bunbury Speedway has been busily preparing for this show, heavily promoting this inaugural event being held in conjunction with the Laurie Matthews Memorial for Speedcars. This event has raised plenty of interest, not just for the fans but the drivers too.

TVR driver Craig Vosbergen is looking forward to it. “I think its going to be great for the fans. They will be able to see us doing what we do, our heads bobbing around plus Doug Drown said that in testing in America it actually makes the cars faster.

American team mate Drown has talked up just what it’s like during the week. “Track testing without a roof has seen a couple of tenths picked up per lap, and I have only ran a couple of races topless in the states but I think its just great for the fans to see the driver work the wheel and sometimes you can see their legs moving in there and stuff, I’m not sure of the track layout but it should be interesting for the fans to see what a driver does during a race.”

The most improved driver of this season is without a doubt Jay Cardy, the winner from last weekend at the Motorplex, and he too is looking forward to attending a meeting at the big 510 metre circuit. “I really like Bunbury, in fact it’s where I had my first race in an AMCA. The way they water the infield concrete means you have to make sure that you get your line right into the corners or it becomes a ‘whole lotta fun’ when you slide across the wet patch if you get it wrong.”

The format for the evening will see hot laps at the start of the evening, followed by four heats, a dash and then a thirty lap final, something many of the drivers are looking forward too.

Speaking of drivers, as of this morning (Wednesday) seventeen drivers are confirmed for this Saturday night, with another five to be confirmed who are working against the clock to be ready as well. Two of the oldest and best competitors in the state Ben Ludlow and Bert Vosbergen will be there, plus the like of Jamie Oldfield, the Noakes brothers Clint and Matt, Ryan Halliday plus new Australia #1 Marc Giancola, as well as locals Brad Blake and Jason Moyle.

Blake is one of the best known pilots of theses thundering machines and has been at the top of this division since its inception all those years ago. Moyle has come in to the division this season and has impressed many with the way he has taken to the Late Models. This will be the first time Moyle has raced in front of his home crowd and is looking forward to it. “It’s been tough this season, but that’s to be expected. It was especially tough at the start of the year, but now we are avoiding the crashes and finishing races so it’s good to get some results. I’m a fan of the longer races too so it will be good to do thirty laps around Bunbury.”

Now we just have to wait as we count down the days to this inaugural event. Who will win? Well that’s anyone’s guess, but make sure you are there to see this awesome spectacle this Saturday at Bunbury Speedway.