FRESH from the buzz of finishing second at his first New Zealand Cup drive, Cam Hart will headline a stellar line-up in the Australasian Young Drivers’ Championship.
Victoria will host the return of the series, which was cancelled the past two years due to the pandemic, during the upcoming Inter Dominion series.
New Zealand’s Sarah O’Reilly will return as the defending champion, having won it in 2019.
The AYDC consists of nine heats across four meetings during the second week of the Inter Dominion Carnival.
The schedule is:
Tuesday, December 6 (Melton): Two heats
Wednesday, December 7 (Ballarat): Two heats
Thursday, December 8 (Maryborough): Two heats
Friday, December 9 (Bendigo): Two heats
Saturday, December 10 (Melton): Final heat
O’Reilly is one of three Kiwis in the series, alongside Sam Thornley and Crystal Hackett.
Further showcasing the proud diversity of harness racing, six of the nine selected drivers are females. They are: Victoria’s Tayla French, SA’s Samantha Pascoe and WA’s Emily Suvaljko, Tasmania's Jordan Chibnall and the Kiwi pair O'Reilly and Hackett.
Females have won the past three AYDC’s with O’Reilly’s 2019 victory following Sheree Tomlinson (NZ) in 2018 and Queensland’s Narissa McMullen in 2017.
The in-form Brendan Barnes will represent Queensland.
2022 Australasian Young Drivers Championship Competitors
Tayla French - Victoria
Cam Hart - NSW
Samantha Pascoe - SA
Emily Suvaljko - WA
Jordan Chibnall - Tasmania
Brendan Barnes - QLD
Sarah O'Reilly - NZ
Sam Thornley - NZ
Crystal Hackett - NZ
