In a relatively short time in Australian speedway, Dutch-born Tasmanian driver Cees Hendriks made his mark on the national and Tasmanian speedway scene.

And he did it during the glory days of Tasmanian speedway in one of the most competitive eras in the history of the sport in this country during the late 1970s and early 1980s.

There’s no doubt Tasmanian speedway during that time was riding on a wave of success and the boys from the Apple Isle were regularly kicking mainland butts.

To break into such an elite level of the sport at that time was an incredible feat.

Cees Hendriks came to Tasmanian as a four year-old and first started racing in 1974 when he was inspired as a spectator watching another local speedway legend Neville Harper racing a HQ Holden.

Cees purchased a Torana XU-1 and before too much longer he was beating his former idol.

From then he moved into a succession of cars (always racing in the top sedan division), including a Torana SLR 5000, a Mustang, a Chev Monza, and a Torana LX Hatchback to name a few.

He also raced two Rodney Combs-built Chev Camaros, with he had great success around the country.

At one stage during the period when some tracks in Australia were being converted to asphalt, Cees had two speedway sedans – one for clay and one for asphalt.

His rise to the top of the tree in Australian speedway sedan racing was very quick and by 1978 he had won his first Australian asphalt championship.

He went on to win two more in 1979 and 1980 in an impressive hat-trick.

Cees also won four Tasmanian State championships in succession from 1979 to 1982, which was also no mean feat when you consider who he was racing against at the time.

In 1980 he received the Jacko Award, recognised as the highest award in Australian sedan racing (the equivalent of football’s Brownlow Medal).

He also established track records at various venues in Tasmania, Victoria, and South Australia during the late 1970s and early 1980s, and competed in major events around the country, including the legendary Marlboro Grand National at Sydney’s Liverpool Raceway.

But perhaps his greatest achievements came in 1983.

In that year the Australian Saloon Car Federation conducted the Australian super sedan championship over the three-round format at Avalon (Vic.), Warrnambool (Vic.), and Adelaide (SA), with Cees being the winner in what he still maintains was a fairer way of deciding the national champion than a one-off championship weekend.

That year Cees was also judged by the readers of his daily regional newspaper in North-West Tasmania as the Coastal Champion of Champions for 1983-84, in what was quite an honour against more mainstream footballers, cricketers, jockeys, athletes and other higher profiled sports.

He retired from racing in 1986 when still on top and moved to the Gold Coast in 1993.

His impressive career tally included Australian asphalt sedan champion (1978, 1979, 1980), Australian super sedan champion (1983), Tasmanian super sedan champion (1979, 1989, 1981, 1982), Jacko Award winner (1980), Wynns Tasmanian Grand National winner (1981, 1983, 1985) and Peter Jackson Grand Prix (now Festival IGA Apple Isle Grand Prix) winner (1984).

 Written by Martin Agatyn

Photos by Greg Blake