Motorsport: It's pistons at dawn as Western Springs finale turns into triple duel

Hayden Williams (front) battling Brad Mosen during the the Barry Butterworth Memorial at WXC Speedway. Photo / James Selwyn

Duels are the theme at WxC Speedway-Western Springs' final meeting of the season tonight as all three major series championships will be won or lost by just two drivers in each division.

Auckland's Hayden Williams is the only driver who can dethrone defending champion and current series leader Brad Mosen in the midgets; the TQ division is a two-horse battle between brothers Scott and Ryan Baker and the sprint car trophy is up for grabs for Hamilton's Dean Brindle.

With points leader Jonathan Allard having returned to the US, the door is open for Brindle to snatch a series title which has eluded him for a number of years; all he must do is place in the top four tonight.

"To clinch the series would be a great achievement as we have never won it before; we've plenty of second's and third's but haven't quite got there in the past," he says.

Brindle has been astonishingly consistent this season, having landed on the podium on six occasions. He is also the only sprint car driver to finish every feature race of the series.

"I race hard and don't take unnecessary risks on the track, which I believe contributes to being on all four wheels at the end of the race," said the 39-year-old.

"We also have great gear at Kebbell Motorsport. It has taken us a few years to build and develop our equipment to maximise reliability and that definitely helps us finish races as well."

Despite the obvious back-story of needing a top four finish and his main rival being absent, Brindle still hopes to win tonight and will approach it like any other meeting.

"I always approach every race as just another race, this helps to keep me level-headed and allows me to focus on one race at a time," he said.

"We will definitely just focus on what we are doing and try our best to finish with a win."

Tonight will also see the return of sidecar racing after a successful trial run in January.

"The sidecars always receive tremendous support from the fans at Western Springs so it's great to be able to have this class back for a second time this season," said Springs Speedway promoter Bill Buckley.

F2 midgets and Kiwi Kidz will also be on show tonight, with gates open at 4pm and racing from 6:15pm.

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