Alex Thomson on the step up from wingless to winged sprint car racing

The 34-year-old, who until recently competed in a wingless sprintcar for eight years, will contest just his second sprintcar event at Simpson on Saturday.

With fellow Warrnambool driver Alex Ross now steering Thomson's wingless whip, the latter decided late last year to make the leap and invest in his own winged sprintcar.

"I thought, (Alex) can race (the wingless), and I might buy a sprintcar and have a go in that," Thomson said. "As a kid, I used to go to the speedway and always wanted to race a sprintcar, so now I'm doing it.

"One came up for sale, and I was talking to Dave McFadden one day and he said I should buy it and I did. I'm not getting any younger so I thought I should give it a go."

Thomson, who works as a builder, acknowledged the winged sprintcar was a more demanding venture to what he was used to, though it was one he was enjoying.

"I have a LS, so it's not a 410 but it's the next progression up from the wingless, the next stepping stone," he said. "But I race when I can, I'm not out there to race 20 races a year, it's just for fun."

"The ultimate to is race the 410s, that's why I thought I'd start off low and see how I go and if I'd like it," he said. "One day I'd love to have a 410 and race that."

He said he would attempt all seven races of the C&H Trucking Limited Sprintcar Series, with his first event netting him a ninth place finish in the A-Main at Premier Speedway last month.

"I finished top 10 so I was happy, being my first show," he said. "It was an eye opener, everything happens a lot quicker."

Thomson will be one of 44 drivers at Simpson Speedway all vying for the 360ci Sprintcars Victorian Championship.

Several past title winners are again in the mix for outright victory, including reigning champion Brenten Farrer, two-time winner Michael Tandcredi and Simpson's own Phil Lock.

Regular 410ci racers Brett Milburn, Tim Van Ginneken and John Vogels also line up in the 360ci event, while Christoper Temby joins Thomson in the recent switch from wingless to winged racing.

Thomson said he wouldn't place huge expectations on himself, though an A-Main berth remained a goal.

"I'm excited but haven't got big expectations," he said. "I just need to get some seat time. There is 40-plus cars, so you've got to be in the top 18 cars to make the A," he said. "If I made that, I'd be pretty happy."

Gates open from 4pm on Saturday, with racing to begin at 6pm.

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