"VAN" (Sports Desk - 27.04.2025) :: The final showdown of the 2024/2025 ANDRA Regional Sportsman Championship has been run and won, with championship winners announced after two days of epic racing at Dragway at The Bend.
The two-day event, held over the ANZAC Day long weekend (25-26 April), wrapped up the action-packed season and celebrated the best of the best across the 11 sportsman championship brackets.
Taking home the Gold ANDRA Championship Christmas Tree trophies for their performance in the 2024/2025 ANDRA Regional Sportsman Championship were Cory Dyson (Gallagher Modified), Adrian McGrotty (South Australian Drag Racers Association Super Gas), Leon Davies (Top Sportsman Competitors Group Top Sportsman), Tony Miskelly (Super Sedan Competitors Group Super Sedan), Rob Cassar (Lectron Australia Competition Bike), Michael Jennings (Goodyear Racing Super Street), Bailey Hawke (Langtree’s Machinery Services Junior Dragster), Doina Day (Huntsman Racing Supercharged Outlaws), Dean Jamieson (Ballistic Performance Parts Modified Bike), Steve Norman (Jackie Watt Consultancy / Fardella and Watt Racing SuperStock) and Rick Johns (Competition Eliminator).
Also recognised for a job well done this season were championship runners-up Kenny Stewart (Gallagher Modified), Colin Griffin (South Australian Drag Racers Association Super Gas), Vlado Turic (Top Sportsman Competitors Group Top Sportsman), Robert Kardum (Super Sedan Competitors Group Super Sedan), Edge Mallis (Lectron Australia Competition Bike), Michael Bridges (Goodyear Racing Super Street), Taylor Horton (Langtree’s Machinery Services Junior Dragster), Shane Baxter (Huntsman Racing Supercharged Outlaws), Peter Bartlett (Ballistic Performance Parts Modified Bike), and Leigh Donaldson (Jackie Watt Consultancy / Fardella and Watt Racing SuperStock). Also celebrated as a title runner-up was Craig Geddes- 10-time ANDRA champ Geddes wasn’t racing at The Bend this weekend, but had accumulated enough points throughout the previous events of the season to take out the Competition Eliminator runner-up position.
It was double the celebrations for Johns, Cassar and Jamieson, who also claimed the ANDRA Grand Final event victories in addition to their championship wins, with Johns and Cassar also setting new national records in the process. Cassar reset the Competition Bike AA/CBN ET to 7.008s and Top Speed to 186.45mph, while Rick Johns reset the Competition B/AA ET to 7.096s and TS to 187.37mph.
Joining them in the event winner’s circle were Dean Cleary (Goodyear Racing Super Street), Kardum (Super Sedan Competitors Group Super Sedan), Antton Krajina (South Australian Drag Racers Association Super Gas), Bob Sherry (Huntsman Racing Supercharged Outlaws), David Foster (Top Sportsman Competitors Group Top Sportsman), Derrick Wills (Gallagher Modified) and James Barlow (Langtree’s Machinery Services Junior Dragster).
Event runners-up Darryl Stephen (South Australian Drag Racers Association Super Gas), Tim Stewart (Huntsman Racing Supercharged Outlaws), Sam Cardinale (Top Sportsman Competitors Group Top Sportsman), Tony Antonino (Goodyear Racing Super Street), Kenny Stewart, Hawke, Bartlett, and Mallis were also celebrated.
Also presented at the end of event presentations were the Top Qualifier Medallions presented by New Gen Business Park - click here for the details of who claimed these awards during Friday’s running.
It was a big weekend, and indeed a big year for Mallis, who not only claimed the Lectron Australia Competition Bike championship runner-up and event runner-up honours this weekend, but also the John Storm Memorial Trophy.
Commissioned in memory of Mr John Storm, the first National Director of ANDRA, the John Storm Memorial Trophy is an annual national award made to the competitor in Group Two, Three or Four who scores the highest total overall points from all rounds of the ANDRA Regional Sportsman Championship, including the final event.
“As someone said to me today, there are 11 champions but only one John Storm Memorial Trophy, so yes it was very important to us.
“It feels awesome to win it, it has been a big effort – I have been in every final bar one all year and had two runners-up and all the rest were wins, so it was going to be hard for anyone to beat me.
“It is very rewarding definitely, I am having a great year!
“When it comes to who to thank, I seriously have had so many crew this year, and no one could do what we have done without all of their efforts, so thank you to everyone who has crewed throughout the season.
“Thank you to Blazecraft (Blaze Hansen and Gavin Hansen), my son Jeram, Mick Donahoue, Daniel Fox, Heather Hall, Max Theocharides, Nathan Stone, Mathew Stone, Joe Khoury, Cheryl Beddoes, Jake Hamilton Moderate, all of my fellow racers in our class, Mr Six Second Luke Crowley and Donna Marie Balmer, Jay Gardner and Patrick Honan, Aaron Kilderry, and Simon Allinson – none of this would have been possible without them.
“I also must make special mention of my life partner Letishia for her unwavering support; ANDRA for this series; CIM Wellness Centre; and Brock’s Performance USA; and bracket sponsor Lectron Australia.”
Also taking to the track at Dragway at The Bend this weekend were the non-championship Langtree’s Machinery Services Junior Drag Bike and fan-favourite Scootaround Sales and Hire Scooter Scooter brackets. Lucas Bergamin and Neil Mellett and Cooper Plummer and Vlad Ostashkevich took out the event winner and runner-up honours respectively.
Further details from the ANDRA Grand Final weekend, including national record updates and comment from more of our championship and event-winning racers will be released across this coming week.
ANDRA thanks Dragway at The Bend and all of its volunteers and sponsors for an outstanding race track and a well-run event.
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