Race fans were treated to an action packed night of speedway racing at Western Springs last night. The season opening round of the Western Springs National Championship series dished up some surprises on what proved to be a very fast track surface.

The Sprint car old guard made way for Tauranga ace Dean Brindle who drove an accomplished race to take the feature win and pick up a valuable 26 points in the series. Brindle had a few close shaves getting through the slower lap traffic as the 20 lap race wore on.

“I nearly lost it there at one stage and need to sharpen up a bit, said Brindle, but I’m really happy, excellent, it’s a dream to drive such an awesome car”

Second place went to Springs legend Allan Wakeling who, earlier in the evening had broken his own, Western Springs track lap record by 2 one hundredths of a second. An inspired drive, after an incident on lap two which saw Wakeling spin onto the infield and return to the track in last place, resulted in a podium finish and the fastest lap (12.789sec) of the race finishers.

Brindle’s Auckland team mate Kevin Hinchcliffe drove his Kriner engine powered Maxim car into third place followed home by Hamilton’s Greg Pickerill and Tommy Rusher who battled local driver Harvard Daniels for fourth place. Ron Salter took 7th place ahead of Raymond Griffen and Warkworth’s Brett Sanford.

A mid race incident saw popular drivers Jamie MacDonald and Ossie Sokol get together and both drivers were sidelined for the race. Christchurch racer Gerard Ness traveled a long way to end up on the infield and out of the race on lap 11.

Current NZ Champion Kerry Jones’s first outing back at the Springs was plagued by fuel pump problems and he failed to start the feature race.

Some of the night’s fiercest racing was provided by the super competitive Midget class. In what proved to be a flawless exhibition of driving skill, Auckland’s Michael Pickens dominated his heat races and was never challenged in the Midget feature race. The young Western Springs regular was on top form after returning from winter season of racing in the USA.

Pickens steps into a new team this season with car owner Don Kay providing a Ed Pink powered Breka car originally campaigned at Western springs by US ace Tony Elliot. Pickens was typically modest about his first night back at the Springs.

“I’m really pleased with the car and team, Don has put together a great package, said Pickens, racing’s all about consistency and if you can win it’s even better”.

Nelson gasser Nevil Basalaj drove his new Beast/Mopar car into second place after a battle with Auckland’s Bryce Townsend who faded late in the race and finished back in 7th place. Basalaj looked fast all night and has a car and team package he believes will only get quicker.

“It’s early days but I’m really happy with the car and it’s so good to drive, said an elated Basalaj, the Mopar has been tricky but we seem to have got over the early teething problems and it is very strong now."

Auckland youngster Brad Mosen, also fresh off the plane from a winter in the USA racing, worked through the field to fill the last podium spot. Early fueling and car set-up gremlins kept the 19 year old off the pace early on in the night, but his Kunz/Mopar came good for the feature.

Auckland drivers Shaun Insley, Graham Standring and Scott Buckley filled out the top 6 after swapping places in an epic battle for 4th. Bryce Townsend was an early challenger for the lead but couldn’t stay with the leaders. Lance Beale also looked strong early on in the feature but dropped back to finish 8th ahead of the exciting crowd favorite Shayne Alach.

The points battle continues at Western Springs next Saturday 11th December.

WESTERN SPRINGS NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS

MIDGETS

Car No.          Name                            Town                     Total

54                    Michael Pickens        Auckland                    26

73                    Nevil Basalaj              Nelson                        21

19                    Brad Mosen               Auckland                    17

2                      Shaun Insley               Auckland                    14

31                    Graham Standring    Auckland                    12

25                    Scott Buckley             Auckland                    11

91                    Bryce Townsend       Auckland                    10

87                    Lance Beale              Auckland                      9

11                    Shayne Alach            Auckland                      8

12                    Matt Thompson         Auckland                      7

75                    Bill Clarkson              Auckland                      6

1                      Tony Fabish               Hamilton                       5

SPRINT CARS

Car No.          Name                             Town                   Total

22                    Dean Brindle             Tauranga                    26

27                    Allan Wakeling          Auckland                    21

7                      Kevin Hinchcliffe        Auckland                    17

18                   Greg Pickerill              Hamilton                    14

75                    Tommy Rusher          Hamilton                    12

9                      Harvard Daniels        Auckland                    11

63                    Ron Salter                  Auckland                    10

11                    Raymond Griffen       Auckland                    9

6                      Brett Sanford             Warkworth                    8

Back to News