Ryan Farrell Update January 2011 – Farrell Motorsport W95

After the outcome of my recent court appearance in Darwin where I pleaded guilty to two counts of minor drug possession with a fine of $1200.00 & a further more serious charge was dropped, I was encouraged to reapply to NASR for insurance. I already had an SCCA licence & NDRA insurance which is legal & valid but NASR had threatened every track I entered to race at with commercial sanctions if they let me race. I raced only the one night at Bunbury.  Not only is the commercial threats made by NASR against the tracks illegal, the threat that NASR track insurance was potentially invalid is a lie.

I reapplied to NASR, taking the view that if I could be granted NASR insurance & go racing without the ongoing uncertainty that NASR threats against the tracks caused, that would be the best outcome.  I emphasised in my application that time was of the essence as It was the intention of my Team to race at the Classic & Australian Title. The reality is that my application was only considered almost two weeks after it was received & I was advised last Monday late in the afternoon that I could be granted their insurance but subject to certain conditions, the conditions where emailed to me last Friday afternoon. It was pointed out that if I wanted to discuss or negotiate the conditions or the Press Release that NASR had drafted, then any inputs from myself would have to go back to the full Board of NASR for review, the implication was “ if you want to go racing sign the Agreement as it is”.

In the overview  & based on legal advice I have no option but to reject the terms & conditions of the Agreement & the associated Press Release.  In essence it required me acknowledge that I am totally at fault & NASR are blameless in this matter, it required I could not take any action at law against NASR, it required that I acknowledge that I have a health problem, the implication being that it is drug related & it required I acknowledge that NASR had somehow supported me through all of this & I had to apologise for bringing the sport into disrepute.  Clearly the NASR Board member & others who tried to seek me out at the Darwin caravan park in the early hours of the morning after last year’s Australian Title which resulted in very adverse front page headlines in the Darwin paper is judged by NASR not to have bought the sport into disrepute!  Further there was no guarantee I would get to race in the short term indeed under the agreement NASR had complete control over this key point, in my view it is very likely that even if I signed the agreement, I would not race at all this season.

Reluctantly I accept that there is a real possibility I will not race this season but It is far better now that I put the matter before the courts where I will have a fair hearing with proper legal rights & where a proper assessment can be made of the damage  that has been done to my career, reputation & financial circumstance.

It is very easy to get lost in all of what has happened but the reality is that NASR had a legal opinion that they had no jurisdiction  over this matter which happened outside the race track & off season, that view was confirmed to me by a senior NASR management person.  The NASR Board however then implemented  retrospectively after the event a new Policy to try to give jurisdiction & the SCCA after publically declaring I had no case to answer, supported the NASR decision by reccomending to SAWA not to grant me an SCCA licence.  SAWA the WA branch ultimately ignored that SCCA recommendation & granted me a licence to race & I obtained perfectly legal insurance. It is worth noting that other sprint car drivers  have competed with & are continuing to compete with the same licence & insurance I have, without the threatened sanctions against the tracks that have occurred in my case.  It is also worth noting that other competitors have been found guilty of serious offences outside speedway, both in the past & this season, including Drug offences, no action has been taken against them! As should be the case it is nothing to do with NASR or the SCCA, why me.

I firmly believe that both NASR & the SCCA  have acted completely outside their jurisdiction as set out in their respective constitutions, rules & regulations & in NASR’s case are now trying to coerce me into signing an agreement which will legitimise their illegal actions, that I will not do. Of course my case has bought into the public domain the whole question of who issues our licences & who provides our insurance, the NASR suggestion that only NASR insurance is valid is not true.

I do accept that there is a need to improve the sport, the events after the Darwin Aussie Title, the recent events at Parramatta, the regular physical abuse that occurs, all tell you that, indeed it seems to me the sport has gone backwards it this regard of recent times. I can only say to those genuine people in NASR, the SCCA, etc,  you picked the wrong case because  you did not do proper due diligence on either the law, the facts or your own rules & regulations & sadly have caused me a huge injustice.  To those who maliciously have worked against me, you may think you have won,  to you I only have the utmost contempt.

If the Speedway family think I have wronged in any way, I apologise, it is certainly not my intention & I do not enjoy having this focus on myself, I only want to race. I believe that I am a good competitor & have been good for the sport. I have been completely humbled & overwhelmed by the support I have had from the sport generally & that includes some NASR Board members & staff.  Similarly Brian Hall, Russell Hall & Sean Careen had given me an opportunity to race which unfortunately has been frustrated by ongoing NASR actions. I also appreciate the efforts of Geoff Murphy representing SAWA, he is has been of great support & I will continue to work with him going forward.

Finally for the record, as has been insinuated by some & I presume the supposed reason why NASR have taken these actions against me, I DO NOT HAVE A DRUG PROBLEM.  I like all competitors are subject to random drug testing at the track, I raced almost 50 times last season & was not tested once! I have not been drug or alcohol tested at any race track for years, so much for NASR’s supposed tough stance on Drugs in speedway.  Knowing the slurs that where being made against me, I offered when NASR first rejected my WSS contracted driver status to submit to any form of drug testing they wanted  including away from the track. It was never even discussed, it seems it is easier to insinuate & spread rumours rather than deal with the facts. Now in the Agreement I was supposed to sign, random Drug testing is in there as a NASR initiative & in the Press Release I has to publically acknowledge I had a problem! I DO NOT RACE UNDER THE INFLUENCE OF DRUGS OR ALCOHOL, I AM AWARE OF THE RULES THAT RELATE TO THAT IN SPEEDWAY & AGREE & COMPLY WITH THOSE RULES.

Thank you,

Ryan Farrell.

WA 95.