Kingshott prepares for biggest night of his speedway career

Former Australian Speedcar Champion Dayne Kingshott is preparing for the biggest moment of his Speedway career when he takes the reins of the iconic TEH Krikke Motorsport sprintcar at the Perth Motorplex’s season opener on Saturday night.

The talented Bunbury wheeler has been given the dream shot to drive for long-time family friends the Krikke family after Covid 19 border restrictions made it unlikely that regular KMS driver Kerry Madsen will be able to return to Australia from his current duties in the US.

“Obviously the landscape of the Australian Sprintcar industry has changed in 2020,” KMS principal Ryan Krikke told Speedcafe.com.

“With the idea of national travel for our team being extremely unlikely, coupled with the fact that we don’t know if and when Kerry (Madsen) can return from the USA to Australia we had to look at localising our program and remaining based in WA.”

Kingshott, who has also been sponsored by the Krikke family’s auto sales interests through his Speedcar career, was an easy choice for the KMS team.

“We’re putting no pressure on Dayne at all,” said Krikke.

“We completely understand that this is a steep learning curve for him and that it’s about getting acclimated with the car and the totally different feel to that of his Speedcar.”

Kingshott sees the opportunity with Krikke Motorsport as a lifeline for his career.

“I was basically done,” admits Kingshott.

“We were parking the Speedcar and accepting that I’d be a spectator for the foreseeable future when Ryan (Krikke) offered me the chance to drive for one of the best teams in the world.

“I couldn’t believe it. It’s a dream shot.”

Though he lacks experience in sprintcar competition, Kingshott does have one ace up his sleeve.

KMS crew chief Matt Cochrane is one of Kingshott’s closest friends and was his Speedcar crew chief for many years.

“The chemistry that Matt has always had with Dayne will be a valuable tool in getting Dayne up to speed,” said Krikke.

“We feel confident that it won’t take him long to get comfortable in the car.”

The 2020/2021 Perth Motorplex season kicks off with the Shannon’s Power Palooza this Saturday night.