By Daniel Powell
Although his 2010/11 season was brought to a halt via a massive crash at Sydney Speedway aboard his Speedcar in late January; Brock Dean continues to impressively fight his way back into form.
Currently placed second in both the Polar Ice Series and Queensland Club Championship, Dean returned to his regular ride, the QLD # 99 Hawk powered Aggressor that was severely damaged in the Sydney Speedway crash, last Saturday night at Brisbane International Speedway for the latest round of the Polar Ice Series and he managed to finish in second place behind winner and current Polar Ice Series leader, Todd Wanless.
“We were strong on the night and in the end we let ourselves down in the setup area, as weren’t prepare for the track staying tacky for the entire feature race and our setup was just too tight, and couldn’t able to challenge Todd [Wanless],” commented Dean, who had prior to that ran for the Sloan Family Racing team for two race meetings and then, more recently, jumped into his spare car, QLD # 11 Gaerte powered Aggressor, for a round of the Polar Ice Series. “This was our first race meeting back in our number one car since its big crash at Sydney Speedway and it performed very well. Since the crash in late January we’ve been repairing the car in our workshop and it’s taken a little long than we first expected, but we wanted it to be 100%.”
In regards to his recovery as a driver, Dean, in hindsight, said that maybe he returned a little too soon to racing after had spent three days in Westmead Hospital (Sydney, NSW) recovery from the massive crash and then just under a fortnight at home.
“The crash happened only a few weeks out from the Australian Championship, so we were in a bit of a rush to get back out there and that was when we worked out a deal to run the QLD # 54 car for the Sloan Family Racing team for a few shows, which included Queensland Stampede and Australian Championship, due to the fact at the time that we didn’t have our spare car available at the time,” he explained. “In my first show I wasn’t feeling the best as I thought could’ve spent another week on the sideline, but once I got back into it I started to feel a lot better and I wanted to get some laps in before the Australian Championship. At the Queensland Stampede we had a disappointing DNF due to being involved in a crash and then finished seventh after we had started 18th in the Australian Championship, so, all in all, we didn’t have too bad of a run.”
With both the Polar Ice Series and the Queensland Club Championship still within reach, Dean is focused on trying to win both of them with a strong finish to the season. Apart from the aforementioned goals, Dean is aiming to break his Queensland Championship hoodoo after he has finished second in the past two seasons and at this seasons event at Maryborough Speedway on Saturday night, May 14 he is looking to break through for his maiden victory. If budget permits, Dean is also looking to return to Sydney Speedway, which will be the first time since his crash there in late January, on Saturday night, April 30 for their 50 lap Classic.
The next event on Dean’s schedule is set for Saturday night, April 16 where he will return to Brisbane International Speedway for the latest round of the Polar Ice Series.
Dean would like to say a special thanks to Tony from CPM Landscape Constructions and the Sloan Family Racing team for all their support.