Nine-time World Series Sprintcars Champion Brooke Tatnell will be in unfamiliar territory this weekend as he and fellow contracted driver Daniel Harding head to Toowoomba�s Hi-Tec Oils Speedway for the first time in the modern era.

Both Tatnell and Harding have never been on the racetrack since former promoter Allan Woods dug two metres out of the infield, shaping the race track into a banking steeper than any other speedway on the World Series circuit.

Tatnell, who crashed out of last Saturday�s main at Archerfield while battling for the lead is unfazed by the challenge however, and recalled times in his career where an unfamiliar racetrack has been an advantage.

�From memory, I think I may have actually won on my visit to Toowoomba at an Easter round back in the 1990�s. I remember it being a narrow slick track back then that didn�t build much of a cushion and you�d have to drag the brake pedal a bit to get around it, but it was a cool place to visit, and after hearing about how racey it is these days, I�m really looking forward to it.�

�When you�ve raced at a track heaps of times, you can become complacent and you can easily fall into a rut of having the same approach every time you go there, but when I turn up to a new track, it lets me just take it at face value. My first priority is to make sure the coffee machine in the truck is working, I suit up, and then have a look during engine starts! � he said, seemingly unfettered.

Jamie Veal was posed with the same challenge in April this year, but walked away from Toowoomba with a convincing win, proving that its possible to win at the unique venue on debut.

For Daniel Harding, racing on unfamiliar territory has become part of his arsenal, after 30 race events in America this year forced him to rapidly adapt to a wide range of shapes and surfaces in a jam packed two month period.

�This year I did more races in America than I did in Australia and they were pretty much all new tracks, so you could say we�re used to the idea of turning up to a new venue without any idea. But after getting a podium on Saturday at Brisbane, we�re feeling really good about going to Toowoomba and really keen to see what the team have done up there� we�ve heard a lot of good things about it.�

The round four line up at Toowoomba has also been stirred by rumours of the season debut of another former national champion. Stay tuned to the Hi-Tec Oils Speedway facebook page for updates.

This Saturday, Modified Sedans, Late Model Muscle Cars and Wingless Sprints join the WSS circus for a massive night of speedway. Spectator gates open at 3pm with racing from 5pm.




Pic: Stephen Edgley (FTBC Photography) Hi-res photo available on request.