Wilson McShane, Yorke Peninsula Country Times
Kadina’s Alex Larwood and Tate Cowie etched their names in Supercross and wingless sprint car history, after the duo competed for the first time at the VAILO Adelaide 500, held November 14 to 16.
Larwood competed in the SX2 class (motocross), while Cowie was in his wingless spring car.
It was the first time either of these events featured at the Adelaide 500.
Larwood placed third, to complement a relatively successful motocross season, during which he finished fifth overall (despite missing the first of eight rounds with a broken fibula), and an equally strong supercross season, which finishes this week at Marvel Stadium.
Larwood said the race was a great opportunity to expose the sport in front of a large crowd (259,400 people across the four days).
“It brought so much exposure to our sport because other fans proba-bly didn’t even realise what we sort of do, so I think it did a really good job bringing a lot more attraction to it,” Larwood said.
He explained the wingless sprint cars and SX2 events were some of the Adelaide 500’s side attractions to the Repco Supercars Championship.
“It was obviously a bit of a side gig to the V8s, so it gave everyone something to look forward to.”
Larwood competed in four separate races, from which points were compiled to determine the overall winner; he finished second, fifth, third and seventh in these races.
While Cowie did not have a podium finish, he said racing his wingless sprint car in front of a large crowd was enjoyable.
“It was awesome to be a part of and the atmosphere was unreal,” he said.
“I think it was great exposure for speedway and maybe one day soon it will be a mainstream sport on free-to-air television, or we get a new track north of Adelaide somewhere — that would be the dream.”
Cowie finished as high as second in the heats, but did not race in either of the two features (20-30 lap races).
The wingless sprint cars are the largest open wheel speedway category in Australia.
This article appeared in the Yorke Peninsula Country Times, 26 November 2024.
Related story: Come on Cowie.
