WINNING the first round of the South Australian championship was a great start to the off-road racing season for Port Lincoln’s Damien Smart and racing partner, Alice Springs-based Brett Taylor.

Damien and past number one Brett, who won the final of championships at Port Germein last year, took out the SA championship at Baroota in front of Hayden Bentley, the owner of the track and the Australian number one off-road champion.

The pair now has the first lot of nationals at Donald in Victoria in their sights this weekend.

They reached speeds of over 172 kilometres/hour on the Port Germein track, according to Damien.

“It’s a pretty tight track and very windy, and a lot of people get motion sickness,” he said.

“Hayden Bentley was clocked at 175 kilometres an hour in that race, and we beat him - the fastest we were clocked at was 172, but that wasn’t on the fastest part of the track.

“Our car can get up to 200 ... 220.”

As well as national competitions they hope to race in several South Australian contests in 2008.

Damien encouraged locals to look into the sport - which he describes as riding a motorbike with a cage around you - but be warned, it gets quickly addictive.

“The sport starts with a base range of cars and products - it starts at a reasonable price, and you can start with a modified car and work your way up from there.

“We’ve got a new car, worth about $250,000 now.

“It can be an expensive motorsport if you want to get to the higher levels, but the adrenaline rush you get is huge.

“Brett and myself have been racing for years.”

There’s no track near Port Lincoln, but Damien says if you’re keen for a thrill it’s worth travelling for, with championships held in several spots across the State and nationals interstate.