Warrnambool sprintcar driver Darren Mollenoyux to move to Queensland in 2023

But the Grand Annual Sprintcar Classic runner-up - he finished second in the famous race's 2017 edition - plans to hop behind the drivers' seat a few more times beforehand.

Mollenoyux, 40, will drive for fellow Warrnambool competitor Tim Van Ginneken at Premier Speedway on Sunday and Monday.

"For Tim I hope we can get a decent result," he told The Standard.

"I suppose for me, and for him, it's a good opportunity.

"I wasn't expecting to race at all so I hadn't got my licence, so it's all last-minute.

"I had to get a doctor's appointment for a medical clearance."

Mollenoyux has raced for 19 seasons but feels ready for a new chapter.

"I was probably ready to stop before I started driving for David Dickson," he said.

"That opportunity came up and it was too good not to do.

"He said he had a couple of years he wanted to do it for and I said 'yep, that's fine I'll probably be ready to retire when you are'.

"It wasn't really a shock but I was not prepared for it at the same time when he said at the end of last year that he'd had enough.

"I said 'that's fair', we knew the day was coming we just didn't know when.

"I guess for me, as a driver, I am ready to stop but at the same time I wanted to know it was going to end as opposed to it being all gone."

Mollenoyux, wife Deanne and children Jacob, 12, and Maddi, 9, will move to Trinity Beach near Cairns in the new year.

"It is just a lifestyle change and Deanne's family is from up there," he said.

"She moved down here 19 years ago and came down racing the formula 500 series and it's how we met.

"Now we've decided to go up there and have a bit of an adventure."

Racing will take a backseat.

"There's no real plans to continue racing at least up there," he said.

But the family will look into joining a BMX club.

Mollenoyux was president of the Warrnambool club for three years during a time when it secured an upgrade to its Jetty Flat facilities.

"It's been great. Taking on that role is something I never thought I would do or dreamed of," he said.

"It was a rewarding experience and we managed to achieve a lot in a fairly short amount of time so it was fairly satisfying in that respect."

Premier Speedway will host the final round of the South Australian-Victorian four-round speedweek series on New Year's Day and the Victorian title on January 2.

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