Michael Slade wins Australian Senior Track Championship unlimited slider title

On the weekend that dream became a reality with the Quirindi native being crowned the national unlimited slider champion.

His first Australian senior title and first national title since he won the junior pairs when he was 15, Slade's victory also earned him the chance to take on the best in the world.

The winners of both the unlimited and 500 classes earned a ticket to Germany for the World Championships.

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They are meant to be held in August but there is a bit of uncertainty with COVID.

If they do go ahead it will be Slade's first time competing on the world stage. In his earlier years, the now 36-year old had the chance to go to Europe to race professionally, but he didn't take it up.

In the motorsport game since he was six, he said it was a "pretty special" feeling standing on top of the podium.

"To do this in my hometown surrounded by family and friends has made this so much more memorable than I could ever have dreamt," he wrote in a post on Facebook.

It was supposed to happen last year (the Quirindi hosting part) but the event was put on hold with COVID with Quirindi running a state championships at the end of the year instead. For the record Slade won that, in what was his first meeting in about eight years after taking a bit of a break from the sport.

He took good form into the nationals, winning the state title in both the unlimited and 500, which he finished third in on the weekend, at Forbes about a month ago.

In what was a successful event on and off the track, Slade wasn't the only local to make the podium.

Quirindi's Sharna Stinson was second in the open quad ATV women's class, while Gunnedah's Jordan Dall finished second in three championship classes.

Hosted by the Tamworth Motorcycle Club, club president Paul Slade said it was a great couple of days.

Bringing around 1500 people to town he said it was a good kick-on for the local economy too.

And it might be an annual kick-on.

"All the riders said they want to come back every year and do it here every year," Slade said.

Whether that is the case or not, on the back of the success of the event on the weekend, he said there will be a long track event run in Quirindi once a year.

"It might not necessarily be an Australian title or a state title, although the way it's looking for next year I'm 90 per cent sure it will be an Australian title again," he said.

"Purely because there's no other venue in Australia."

The weekend wasn't without incident.

Slade said there were three ambulance cases over the weekend, including one who was airlifted to John Hunter Hospital in Newcastle for further treatment, but he had spoken to them all and they were all okay"

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