The third SSA National Title of the 2025/26 season roars to life this weekend as the 2026 Hire Australia SSA Super Sedan National Title heads to Warrnambool’s iconic Premier Speedway,. From Thursday night onward, forty-seven of the nation’s best Super Sedan drivers will battle it out for the sport’s most coveted prize.
And it’s not just any championship showdown.
This marks the first time in 27 years that Warrnambool has hosted the Super Sedan National Title, last doing so in 1997/98. It will be just the ninth time in history that Victoria has crowned a Super Sedan National Champion, ensuring a historic atmosphere surrounds the three-night spectacle.
In a field that features fifteen drivers who have claimed thirty -two feature race wins between them already this season, defending National Champion Joel Berkley arrives ready to defend the crown he claimed at Murray Bridge. Fresh from racing commitments in New Zealand, Berkley returns home battle-hardened and prepared for the immense challenge of defending a National Title against one of the deepest fields assembled this season.
No fewer than five former National Champions headline the nominations, bringing a wealth of experience to the grid. Two-time champion Callum Harper looms as one of the major threats, having claimed three feature wins this season, while three-time title holder Mick Nicola, also a feature winner this season, can never be discounted when the pressure rises.
Former champions Trent Wilson, who claimed the 2022/23 title at Gympie, and Steve Jordan, the 2010/11 winner at Latrobe, add further pedigree to an already stacked field.
Several drivers enter the weekend in formidable form. Brock Atkins picked up his fifth feature victory of the season at Tolmer Speedway last weekend, while brother Todd Atkins has already claimed two feature wins this season. Ian Boettcher Classic winner Zac Brims will also be among the contenders.
Arguably the form driver of the moment is Brad Pascoe, who last weekend secured the NSW Super Sedan Championship at Morris Park Speedway in Dubbo with an emphatic victory ahead of Sam Hughes and Steve Jordan (both of whom are also in the field). Pascoe also captured the Grand National and Tasmanian Title in Tasmania last month, not to mention the Queensland Title back in November, giving him enormous confidence heading into Warrnambool.
Among those chasing a maiden National Title is former multi-time State Champion Dave Gartner, who has finished second three times and third once at National level. Armed with a brand new machine, Gartner will be determined to finally climb the top step.
Mick Nicola Jnr and Dylan Barrow were both on the podium last year at Murray Bridge and are keen to go even better with Nicola have claimed four wins in season 2025/26 this season already and keen to carry through on that form.
Lucas Roberts, a previous third-place finisher, is also firmly in the mix, having also claimed four feature race wins already this season.
With forty-seven nominations, multiple champions, proven winners and hungry challengers all set to take the green flag, the stage is set for a spectacular weekend of racing.
By Saturday night at Premier Speedway, a new chapter in Australian Super Sedan history will be written, and one driver will etch their name into the record books as the 2026 Hire Australia SSA Super Sedan National Champion!