Behind the curtain: Track curators embrace challenge, 'in it for long run'

Track curators Rik Stewart (manager), Callum Rowe and Gavin Lake are a small but mighty team working tirelessly to prepare the surface for the 2024 Flying Horse Bar and Brewery Grand Annual Sprint Car Classic starting January 19, as well as the Australian titles a week later.

It's not news to most there has been challenges with the surface this summer with Premier Speedway in the process of trying to replace its under-fire black clay.

While everyone has their opinions, there is no doubt Stewart and his team are putting in the hard yards to produce the best possible track for race day.

"It's a bit of a challenge, it's a bit like taking over a bottom side of a football league," Stewart told The Standard ahead of the classic.

"You're never going to win straight up. It's a process and we're here for the long run.

"We'll get it right eventually, it's just a matter of when.

"We're certainly getting closer, there is no doubt about that."

Stewart, Rowe and Lake took over from track curator Gary O'Shannassy in 2020, though Rowe has been involved for as long as 14 years and was an assistant under O'Shannassy.

For Stewart, 33, he had always dreamt of doing this kind of work.

"I actually remember standing up on the hill up there, watching Gary go around (the track), as a toddler, and thought to myself 'I always wanted to do that'," he said.

"Always wanted to race cars but first and foremost wanted to drive a grader and water-cart and here we are, 33-year-old, getting to live my dream."

However, it's not without sacrifices.

They spend hours away from friends and family, and do the role alongside their other full-time jobs with Stewart managing a garage-door company, Rowe an electrician and Lake a farmer.

"Last classic we were doing 18 hour days each day - that was Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday," Stewart said. "Average race meet would be a 50-hour week... just repetitive actions."

A familiar face at the track is Stewart's son Harry, 2.

"He comes out, tells us what to do, has a play around," he said. "This time of year, it's the only time I get to see him so I try get him out for a couple hours."

This week, the team has worked on blending the material through the track "so it's consistent", as well as "working to free it up a bit", with each event they get under their belt a learning experience.

"Still learning, you're never going to stop learning," Stewart said.

"As long as people know, we're giving 110 percent every time.

"We're always watching, we're always learning, we're always on YouTube, watching overseas, and trying our very best."

Lake, who has plenty of experience with heavy-duty machinery, said the weather was the uncontrollable ingredient in their work.

"It's three seasons in one day," Lake, 46, said. "You've just got to keep working with the elements."

Rowe, who first starting attending speedway as a young kid, conceded "you only get 12 shows a year to work it out".

However, he feels the job's rewards when seeing Premier Speedway jammed-packed all three nights of the classic.

"To know you've been a part of making that happen... that's probably the most rewarding part of the week," the 28-year-old said. "It's a very tiring week but that's the reward that we all get a buzz out it."

Stewart also feels a similar sense of pride when seeing others happy.

"Nine times out of 10 we're not going to be the most favourite people out here," he said.

"We're doing our very best to put on good, clean racing for the fans, and if at the end of the day we can go home and be satisfied with our result... we know what we need to achieve."

A strong working relationship between the trio helps make the whole enterprise enjoyable.

"We're good mates and we get in and have a crack," Stewart said. "As I said, we're learning all the time, we're taking on advice.

"Our aspiration is to get this place right."