Motorsport: Sidecars main event

Western Springs Speedway, Auckland. Photo / Richard Robinson.

Sidecars take over Springs Speedway in Auckland on Saturday night with the transtasman clash and Grand Prix TQ Midget Championship night.

The sidecars have become hugely popular in Australia and the four leading contenders from across the ditch will be in Auckland to race the Kiwis in a country v country battle.

"The Kiwis are looking up at these guys thinking 'wow these guys are the best there are'," promoter Greg Mosen said.

"A guy like Grant Bond, who has Glen Cox swinging for him, they are almost semi-professional.

"These bikes tour interstate to run in this Oceania Series over a four-week period. Winning that is bigger than winning the Australian Championship.

"These bikes they are riding are all the latest technology - they are somewhere around $40,000-$45,000 to build. They are 200-220hp with an all-up weight of 170kg so power to weight they are bigger than most and of course they don't have any brakes so the only way to stop it is to jump off it."

The night will see the sidecars on track a number of times and in each race they will be contributing points to their country's cause.

"You have a collection of points for your country across the six races on the night.

"They add up all points over the night and at the end a country will win rather than an individual," Mosen explained.

"I expect a big crowd because this is the beginnings of something we will see year after year and one day we could even be part of this Oceania Series."