By Adam Hamilton
Past winners James Herbertson and Angus Garrard will return along with WA champion Gary Hall Jr for the third running of the Ultimate Driver Championship at Albion Park early next year.
The superstar trio are the only confirmed drivers at this stage, after the 10 slot holders for this year’s 20-race series on February 19 and 20 were revealed.
Garrard, who won the inaugural series in 2023, finished second to Herbertson last year and will return in the slot held by SEN, 1 Equine and Garrards.
Herbertson will reunite with professional punter Ryan Spice and his “The Herb Factor” slot.
WA’s “Gloucester Park Gurus” syndicate will again team with Hall Jr, who is lining up for the third successive year.
Although he is yet to win, Hall Jr finished second to Garrard in 2025 and third to Herbertson and Garrard earlier this year.
A highlight of the series has been its ability to attract some of the world’s greatest drivers.
North American superstars Dexter Dunn, Yannick Gingras and James Macdonald have competed, as has Swedish Hall of Famer Bjorn Goop.
Along with the slots confirmed for Herbertson, Garrard and Hall Jr, the other successful slot owners for next year are Harvey Kaplan, Andy Colenso’s Lion Kings group, prominent owner Scott Whitton and the Matchday Group, Joel Boustani, the Turpin clan and WA-based Eddie Burchill.
The host club Albion Park has also taken a slot of its own under “The Creek 100 Club” brand.
“This is really exciting because the idea is to enable the general public to become part of their slot,” Racing Queensland’s EGM of Racing David Brick said. “Details will be released closer to the series on how people can get involved.”
“We’re thrilled with the strong interest and calibre of the slot holders again for next year.
“It’ll be fantastic to have the three podium finishers from last year’s series back again and there are some huge international names being thrown around by some of the slot owners.”
The full list of drivers will be confirmed in the coming weeks.
Click here for more information on the Ultimate Driver Championship series.
