BROCK Hallett hopes a three-week stint in Queensland can boost his chances of success in the upcoming South West Conveyancing Grand Annual Sprintcar Classic.
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The Portland-based speedster journeyed north from Avalon on Boxing Day, arriving in the sunshine state after 18 hours on the road.
Hallett planned to tackle up to 50 meetings through the current sprintcar season but lockdowns and COVID-19 restrictions thwarted plans.
Now, it's just about spending as much time as possible behind the wheel as he prepares to challenge reigning classic champion James McFadden for the prestigious title.
I'm pretty much up here until the classic.
- Brock Hallett
"We want to race as much as we can before that. Obviously we've been in lockdown before now so we haven't been able to travel and do as many races as I'd have liked," he said.
"I had the 50-odd races scheduled and we've probably missed out on 10 to 15 of those already. The fact is that in the month leading up the classic, we need to be as race fit and professional as we can be."
"You have someone like James (McFadden) who has just done 80 races (in the United States) and that's massively an advantage before he even starts."
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Hallett will tackle 14 meetings in Queensland - the majority at Archerfield Speedway - before venturing home to the south-west. His team will also check off a meeting in Sydney on the way back to Victoria.
"I'm pretty much up here until the classic," he said.
"The new major sponsor, GW Racing, is based up here so it was good to come and run with them for a bit.
"It's been touch and go for the last couple of years as to where we can go but we got in, everything is all good and we're here now just looking forward to some racing."
Hallett revealed the chance to race on different surfaces under different conditions would build his driving skillset.
"A lot of Queensland cars don't travel a lot so there'll be a lot of people I haven't raced against or haven't done so for several years," he said.
"I'm looking forward to that different aspect and the different track conditions racing in Queensland will provide.
"They don't have daylight savings, so it's dark at about 7pm. That's one of the biggest things to adapt to."
Archerfield Speedway's longer straight and tight corners - a stark contrast to Premier Speedway's "flowing" circuit - would also prove testing.
"It's definitely a challenge and for someone like me, who comes from down south, we don't have a lot of those stop-start tracks," he said. "Ours are usually pretty flowing so it's a bit different in that you can keep a lot more speed up." Hallet's campaign will kick off at Archerfield on Wednesday night.
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