Back on Saturday the 8th of March, 1997, promising young talents Darryl and Jason Krikke were tragically killed in a road accident on their way home from testing their Sprintcar at the Claremont Speedway.
Aged just 21, Darryl was the son of two-time Australian Sprintcar Champion Ron Krikke and had been running well here in WA and was just starting to make a name for himself in appearances over East.
Jason, aged just 18, was the son of former WA Sprintcar Champion John Krikke, and was on a meteoric rise alongside his cousin as the one behind the scenes turning the spanners.
Just 25km from their home base of Bunbury, their car left the road and hit a tree, leaving the local Speedway devastated.
From the ultimate sadness was born the ultimate Sprintcar event: a true party where a Sprintcar race broke out scenarios, many teams making the trek across from the East to Bunbury every year, such is the prestige.
Although a tribute was held at Claremont Speedway in the weeks after their death in conjunction with the King of Wings event, the first official Krikke Boys shootout was held in the 1997/98 season, won by the late great Michael Figliomeni.
In the years that followed Robbie Farr would amass a record seven wins in the event, while Victoran Max Dumesny, who was a close family friend and made the trip over every year, claimed the win three times. Figs would claim another event while others including Terry Cutts, the late American Jason Johnson, fellow countrymen Shane Stewart and Tim Kaeding, plus Kerry Madsen would all add their names to the winners list in the late 2000’s and into the 2010’s.
From left to right: Ron Krikke, Shane Krikke, Max Dumesny, Robbie Farr, Trevor Green and John Krikke
Brooke Tatnell finally won the race in the 2014/15 season while Steven Lines won the event the year after. In 2016/17 the race took on a new meaning when Shane Krikke, long time racer and team owner of Krikke Motorsport, passed away on June 26th, 2016 after a long battle with cancer.
Brooke Tatnell and the KMS team celebrate on the wing at Bunbury Speedway – Richard Hathaway Photo
James McFadden would win that year, the first of his three victories which would come in 2019 and 2020: Jamie Veal interrupting McFadden’s streak when he claimed victory in 2018.
The race first headed to the Motorplex in 2021 (where Farr claimed his seventh win) before returning to Bunbury in 2022 where local driver Kris Coyle stunned the racing world to take the win, the first local driver in twenty years to achieve the feat.
Kris Coyle, the last West Aussie to win the Krikke Boys Shootout in 2021/22 – Richard Hathaway Photo
The Krikke Boys Shootout then came back to the Motorplex the following year, where it has been held, with the blessing and support of Ron and John Krikke, ever since. Queenslander Lachlan McHugh won in 2023 while Tasmanian Jock Goodyer is the defending champion of this weekend’s race having claimed victory last year.
Fifteen different drivers can claim having a Krikke Boys Shootout victory on their racing resume, but this weekends field features only five former winners: McFadden, Madsen, Coyle, McHugh and Goodyer.
Richard Hathaway Photo
That being said, there is a pile of drivers who have podiumed in the race previously that would love to go even better: names like Callum Williamson, Andrew Priolo, Taylor Milling, Jason Kendrick, Cory Eliason and Daniel Harding all having previously finished in the top three and hungry to step onto the top step of that podium.
Make sure you are here this Friday and Saturday night to see who is crowned 2025 Krikke Boys Shootout champion!
