From WSS
Decorated South Australian Sprintcar driver Luke Dillon will rejoin World Series Sprintcars on the road full time in 2012/13.
Whilst Dillon has competed in various World Series Sprintcars rounds over the past several seasons, it will be the team’s first full season since 05/06, where they recorded an impressive fifth place finish.
Despite only competing at 6 WSS rounds during a season in which James McFadden dominated headlines, Dillon finished 18th overall in points thanks to an impressive string of A Main qualifications and top 10 finishes.
In fact, Dillon may be rejoining the WSS road show at exactly the right time to make an impact, as the team’s 2011/12 season could be described as nothing less than impressive.
In 20 race meetings throughout the racing season, Dillon finished on the podium 10 times, and was the outright victor on 5 occasions, including the prestigious George Tatnell Cup at Speedway City and the 40 Lap Sprintcar Marathon. The S81 ran second to Brooke Tatnell in the Australian Sprintcar Nationals, and placed second at the Easter Sprintcar Cup (also SA Championship).
Dillon was also the Speedway City Track Champion for 11/12, besting nearest rival Jamie Cobby by over 400 points and marking the fourth consecutive year he has won the silverware.
In fact, looking back over Luke Dillon’s career, one can see a consistent history of a man determined to be the best, and he has a World Series Sprintcars championship firmly in his sights.
“I’ll be out there to win the series,” responded Dillon succinctly when asked about his goals for the series. “I wouldn’t be out there if I didn’t think we could win, so the aim is to get some wins on the board and score points consistently to be up there at the end.”
The confidence is no surprise given the history of achievement throughout his career, starting with Formula 500s at age 14. By the time Dillon had graduated to a Sprintcar at age 21, he was already a 3 time F500 Australian Champion.
Not one to dwell on past success, Dillon responded to questions about those titles with a single sentence.
“Yeah, we used to win a bit.”
What brought Dillon back to the WSS fray for the upcoming season was the appeal of a tightened series schedule, allowing him to be away from work to compete.
“We’ve had some success when on the road, but the long schedules and mid week racing have really kept us away due to work commitments for myself, my brother Lee and dad Garry (both part of Dillon’s crew).”
“We’ll be modifying the transporter slightly to cope with the 2 cars, but it isn’t a huge adjustment,” Dillon continued. “We kept last year’s car and have a new Eagle Chassis, and we’ll have an engine that we’ve been successful with and a new one ready to go, both thanks to Maxwill.”
Skeptics may claim that Dillon’s experience outside of South Australia and Speedweek could harm the team’s chance at contention, but after an impressive 6th place A Main finish at the 11/12 series finale in Perth, the fierce competitor thinks anything but.
“We’re in good form, and the series starts with Speedweek; a series we’ve had great success in over the years and know the tracks well – we’re expecting the form from that to carry over to the rest of the series.”
“I’ve raced in Brisbane and Sydney before as well as Perth and Bunbury, so the only real unknowns are Albany and Manjimup.”
“I’m also quite used to the series format with time trials and the shootout, which I think gives us an edge over the guys that won’t know when to push and when to let the race come to them.”
When asked what he considered his biggest Speedway accomplishment, Dillon had more than enough memorable victories to consider.
“Winning the (F500) Australian Titles was obviously big, the state title in my rookie year for Sprintcars…” mused Dillon.
With a confident attitude, sparkling recent form and a history of success, Luke Dillon would certainly like to add a World Series Sprintcars Championship to the list of achievements to consider in his next interview.
“We won some big races last season, and even though I only raced 20 meetings, we were top 3 in half of them.”
“We wouldn’t be doing the series if I didn’t think we could win.”
The 26th annual World Series Sprintcars Championship begins on December 26 at Speedway City in South Australia. Stay tuned to worldseriessprintcars.com.au for all of the latest news regarding the series, including the full roster of contracted drivers as they are announced.