Willmington makes speedway debut
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BRAYDAN Willmington began his racing career at Blue Ribbon Raceway in Horsham, Victoria last Saturday night. Braydan, who has had an ambition to race on dirt from a very young age, finally had the opportunity to stage his first big time race.
Having enjoyed the prime opportunity to race go-karts, Braydan’s only interest and passion has been speedway racing. Braydan was born and bred around motorsport.
His father, Garry Willmington, competed in every Bathurst race from 1978 to 2000 as well as Touring Car Championships, V8 Supercars rounds and truck racing.
His mother, Natalie Willmington, competed in burnout competitions, drag racing and the production touring car championship.
Naturally, this young chap was bound to follow in their footsteps.
Whenever he was asked at a young age if he was going to race like his dad, Braydan would reply: “Yeah, but not on bitumen, I’m going to race on the dirt.”
Due to the age restriction on juniors in NSW and the ACT – they’re not allowed to race until the age of 14 – Braydan had no option but to go interstate to fulfil his dream.
Junior Speedway Racing in other states is limited to a 1200cc car where the fields are made up of mainly Datsuns, Toyota Corollas and Daihatsu Charades.
Braydan has had a great opportunity to kick start his career with his parents’ support and passion. Garry and Natalie, owners of the Marulan Driver Training Centre, highly encourage the younger generation who have an ambition to go fast to hop on the right track and get into some form of motorsport rather than waiting to hoon on the streets.
Race ‘craft’ is a form of car control and knowledge not just a form of going fast. Ask Braydan what he wants to a few years down the track and he already has a plan.
“Next I want to race a late model,” he says.
“My big dream is to race sprint cars and I would love to go and race them in America.”
After running his first race on the weekend in Horsham and finishing 19th out of 27 starters, Braydan is keen to go on, travel interstate and be a strong competitor for the rest of the season.
This looks to be the start of a competitive future for him. Best of luck, Braydan!