Mount Gambier’s Borderline Speedway has hardly been given a chance to catch its breath from its opening event as a state title goes on the line this Saturday night.

The racing will be on for young and old as 54 drivers fight for the 2021/22 SA Wingless Sprint Title.

The hunted is reigning SA #1 Joel Chadwick, while there will be a trio of local drivers searching for a win on home turf.

Kirby Hillyer, Rory Button and Mitchell Broome will be doing their level best to impress the local fans in a bid to win the first state wingless title at Borderline Speedway for a number of years.

Button is a former Australian champion and will be keen to return to form.

Broome will be hard to miss in his red and black bullet and will be keen to feature at the pointy end of the field after a solid start to the season.

He stitched a consistent night together in his most recent race meeting at Murray Bridge remaining in the top 10 throughout and recording a solid seventh in the final.

But Broome’s big strength has been rolling out of the truck with a fast car having started the first two race meetings on pole before finishing fifth.

Hillyer could also be a front-runner after his lightning start to the summer of speedway.

In the first night of the season Hillyer sped out of the blocks with a come-from-behind win at Murray Bridge.

After starting fifth, the #S86 quickly progressed into the podium places before hunting down the leader with an impressive switchback move.

Leading the way, Hillyer set a hot pace and could not be caught, winning the race and breaking the track’s 25-lap record by 30 seconds in the process.

The success was the 21-year-old’s first feature win and said it was the result of putting in the hard yards over the winter.

“We did a lot of work in the offseason, so it was great to see it finally pay off,” Hillyer said.

“We just tuned the car a little bit and pulled it all down to make it a little more reliable

“I was not actually expecting too much from that weekend and just wanted to make sure everything was bolted on.

“So it was pretty cool to have my name in the record books.”

Hillyer was not far away from another victory at the same venue three weeks later, climbing from eighth to third in the feature race.

However, that was the last time he has raced in anger, but the young charger is not concerned about the near two-month break between events.

“It is a little concern, but we had a practice session at Borderline a couple of days ago and the car was good,” Hillyer said.

“We have just spent time servicing the car, getting some new tyres, so we are ready to go straight out of the box.”

Hillyer has enjoyed plenty of good battles with his fellow Mount Gambier drivers and has a great relationship with Broome in particular.

“It will be cool to have a Mount Gambier 1-2-3,” he said.

“The Broome’s have helped us a lot along the way, so we are a team with a good rivalry.

“It is great to have Mitch there in case we need something and we are always pushing each other to get better, which is great.”

The pair will be pumped to race for a state title on their home track, a venue Hillyer gets a great buzz from driving.

“It is an unreal track being a tight little bullring which makes racing nice and tough,” he said.

“The track can change so much so we will just take it as it comes.

“It sometimes gets ruts in turns one and two and out of turn four, so we will set our car up to suit that.

“I will try to use my home advantage and get some good results because I love racing at Borderline.”

Like all drivers, Hillyer is keen to get his hands on the state title.

It will be the third time the young Blue Lake driver will race his green and black machine to fight for the category’s biggest prize in South Australia.

“It will be cool to do well in front of all the home town supporters, sponsors, family and friends,” Hillyer said.

“I finished 10th in the Victorian title last year in a stellar field, so I know we have the pace, but I just have to be smart.

“Top five is my goal, but even a top 10 would be cool because any title is big and a lot of work goes into it.”

Borderline Speedway president Cary Jennings said he anticipated a great night of action with Late Models, Formula 500’s and Limited Sportsman also gracing the dirt.

“We have an excellent field of drivers from all over South Australia and Victoria for the state title,” he said.

“I think the local three drivers have a good chance of getting onto the podium, but there will be some good competition.

“There are many hard drivers from the Murray Bridge and Warrnambool areas.

“We will have 10 heats of wingless sprints with a C Main, a couple of B Mains before the main event, so it will be a full night of racing.

“The Limited Sportsman’s are hungry to get back because they have not had a lot of race meetings due to COVID in Victoria.

“They will have a dozen or so cars led by local Josh Aston who has been racing for many years and could get a podium too, holding the fort for Mount Gambier.

“The Formula 500’s will also come back from Adelaide and Victoria where young Ryan Harry will race after rectifying a steering problem.

“We may also have a field of Formula 500 juniors, so we are looking forward to seeing them out there.”