HEATHMERE’S Southern 500 Speedway will be in action once more tonight, with the first round of their 2023-24 calendar to see the Super Rods highlight an exciting round of action.

Speedway club president Bob Wilson said it will be a great way to get the season up and running, and for the hard work put in by club members over the off season to finally start to pay off.

“There’s been countless hours put in to the track to get it right to go, the track looks sweet and we’re keen to have people back on it.”

In a significant change to the event’s proceedings compared to previous years, the start time for the racing has been moved to 5pm.

“It allows for more families to come down and watch and ensures that it’ll finish at a reasonable hour so that it’s more family-friendly in that aspect,” Wilson said.

“We’ve also found that the sun becomes a bit of an issue at dusk, so this allows us to get some more racing in before that becomes an issue.”

Portland will have plenty of representation across the event, with Tanner Barclay set to line-up in the Super Rods event.

“He’s a really exciting young driver and I can’t wait to see what he gets out and does (tomorrow),” Wilson said.

In addition to Barclay, the likes of Jamie Pumpa, Ian Calderwood and Steven Aldridge will be inaction, while youngsters Tyler Wilson, Flynn Annett, Jackson Warrener and Cruz Carlin will also hit the track.

Tonight is the first weekend of a back-to-back for the speedway, as it will host Pro Sprints among others next weekend as there’s plenty of action to go around to start the season off.