SEITON YOUNG (V8 DIRT MODIFIED), KYE BLIGHT (LATE MODEL) CROWNED AUSTRALIAN CHAMPIONS

Feature photo by: Matthew Paul Photography…
Australian V8 Dirt Modified Championship: Australian Champion Seiton Young pictured with second placegetter David Clark and third man home in the national title Zac McDonald. Defending national titleholder Kevin Britten, who finished fourth, is at far right. At left of picture is Australian title winner of the Sportsman class, Noah Douglas.

BY DAVID BUDDEN

Twins are too terrific – and the Twin Australian Titles at Hi-Tec-Oils Speedway Toowoomba May 2 – 3 certainly featured all that and more!

Mother Nature may have won on Saturday night with numerous rain delays and the postponement of the last few rounds of heats. They were rescheduled for Sunday night. Sunday night was a different story with a warm night and no rain in sight, and the action didn’t disappoint.  Huge thanks to Ryan Harris and his team for not giving up, likewise David Whell and the hours put in keeping the track racy under very difficult circumstances. 

Seiton Young took out the 2026 Australian V8 Dirt Modified Championship, while national title honours in the Late Model division went to Kye Blight who entered the Toowoomba showdown as defending champion.

When the V8 Dirt Modifieds rolled out for the Sweetacres Speckle Park Australian Title and formed up, we knew we were in for a treat. Seiton Young started alongside Kevin Britten, who has won the title more times than anyone else, defending his sixth national title.

Chris Corbett has a habit of starting near the front of the field in Australian titles. He formed the second row, two-time  National Champion David Clark, alongside him. 

Young got the better of the start, but it didn’t take long for Britten to drop to the bottom and into the race lead. Shortly after Britten, having a moment, the car pushed up the track and bumped the wall, giving Young and Clark the opportunity they were looking for. That saw Britten drop back to sixth. At the front, the race was on with Clark all over the back of Young, with Brock Gardiner, Kurt Wilson and Britten were in the mix.

Gardiner drops to the bottom as Wilson elects to stay high and closes in on Clark. By this time, Britten had moved to 5th after he and Corbett raced side by side two laps prior, as Gardiner bumped the wall and would take no further part in the race due to a flat right rear tyre. He was running third at the time. Kurt Wilson tried a slider on David Clark and couldn’t make it work as Clark accelerates away next time around. Wilson had a moment as he brushes the wall. Britten was also involved in the incident; luckily, his race didn’t end there.  At the front, Clark was throwing all he had at Young, and the race fans loved it, wanting more.

At this point, Zac McDonald had moved into third, and Britten was back to 5th. Lapped traffic was now starting to enter the equation as Young weaved his way through with Clark in pursuit. Clark has a big look down the inside with 8 laps left to run and levels up as again lapped traffic came into play.  Clark, having to roll off the throttle, switches to the top and starts to wind up momentum again, racing side by side.

At the chequered flag, Seiton Young was the winner of the 2026 Australian V8 Dirt Modified Championship. He drive superbly in traffic, didn’t put a foot wrong all race as he stamped his name into Australian Speedway history. Seiton’s father, Trent, won the crew chief award.  A hard-charging David Clark finished second, Zac McDonald third after he came from position 10. Defending Champion Kevin Britten eventually finished fourth while setting the fastest lap of the race of 13.564. Noah Douglas won Australia 1 in the Sportsman category.

AUSTRALIAN LATE MODEL CHAMPIONSHIP

The Late Model National Championship will be one that will be talked about for years to come.

No one could have predicted the outcome or how the race was to unfold after 40 laps of pure speedway entertainment.

Todd Bayley earned his right to start off the front row surrounded by Australia’s best. Callum Harper was there, as were Darryl Grimson and Warren Oldfield. Bayley got a lightning start and leapt to a two-car lead momentarily as Oldfield pulled up alongside Harper. It was a busy midfield also as they ran three wide as Jordan Cunningham raced wheel to wheel with Peter Nicola. The first five cars in a race of their own, Bayley, Grimson, Oldfield, Harper and Ben Nicastri, setting a cracking pace. Harper dropped to the bottom and fired a shot at Oldfield, who, in turn, had a big look underneath Bayley for the lead. Lachlan Onley made the bottom work and started to move forward. At around this time, defending National Champion Kye Blight had us all a little excited as he started to move forward quickly. He and Cunningham raced hard for track position as the lead cars entered lapped traffic. Blight then moved into sixth. 

Bayley is still in front as Harper made a move on Oldfield on the bottom.

Oldfield has plenty of pace on the top and dives back around Harper. Deep in traffic, Blight goes past Harper racing three-wide for third.

The best was yet to come: all eyes were on the young Western Australian, he was on a mission, the podium in sight. While this was happening, Oldfield was all over the back of Bayley as Blight was trying to make the top work. With 10 to go, Blight had made his way to second and started to pressure Bayley, searching high and low for the fastest line. With two to go, Blight has a big look down the inside of Bayley and takes the lead. Bayley fires a shot back and levels up as traffic slows them both. Blight, throwing caution to the wind, drops to the bottom and back into the race lead, which had the crowd on their feet. Was it luck, quick reflexes in traffic or a combination of the two, or just meant to be? What it was,  was a brilliant drive from position 15, making the most of every opportunity to win back-to-back Australian Lade Model Championships.

Photo by: Matthew Paul Photography…Late Model Championship: Winner Lye Blight (centre), runner-up Todd Bayley (left) and third placegetter, Ben Nicastri (at right).

Todd Bayley finished second, and Ben Nicastri was placed third followed by Warren Oldfield and Callum Harper. Toowoomba’s Jordan Cunningham finished sixth in a commendable drive amongst Australia’s best . . . surely, a sign of things to come.

Congratulations to  Kye Blight and Seiton Young and your entire teams on winning your respective National Championships, well deserved. 

(MATTHEW PAUL PHOTOGRAPHY)

Other Results from Night 2 

Formula 500 Seniors 

Wayne Jukes

James Kennedy

Amanda Chaffey

 Formula 500 Juniors 

Zack Hilder

Sam Nucifora Jnr

Ari  Perry 

 Speedway returns to Toowoomba this Saturday night for another action-packed program.

Wingless Sprints will contest the 2026 RSC Machinery Queensland Title, along with the Speedcar 50 lapper, plus Modlites for their EFS Series, the 360-LS Sprintcars return to the high banks, plus the Street Stocks Grand final, Bully’s Off-Road 4WD Dirt Masters Series, along with Production Sedans contesting round 4 of the Engage Ag Champions Series powered by Steering and Suspension Warehouse.

There are over 140 nominations across the 6 classes. Pits open at 11 am, Spectator gates at 1 pm, racing from 2.30 pm

Speedcars Queensland 

May 9 at Toowoomba features the QSRA’s Jimmy Holden 50 lapper, the last Queenslander to have won an Australian Speedcar Championship way back in 1984, and one of only four Queenslanders to have achieved this honour.

The prestigious 50-lap event attracts many interstate drivers to challenge our locals, and this year is no different, with two international drivers coming from New Zealand, Hayden Williams on his first visit to the speedbowl, piloting the N5 Andy Hassen “piecart”. and Travis Buckley from the BSL Stable.

The A1 of Kaidon Brown will definitely be trying to make up for not finishing the Sydney 50, as well as no fewer than eight New South Wales cars. Last year’s highest point scorer, Mitch Saunderson, will be one of them, and the Geering Brothers, who have been in great form as of late. Then there’s three Victorians making the trip, namely Australian number two Nick Parker and Australian number three Aston Rodriguez. Travis Mills is heading to Toowoomba to do some reconnaissance work before the Australian title here in March next year.

Harry Stewart, winner of the Sydney 50, is coming off a win last time in Toowoomba and will be the one to watch.

As well as those O’Connell Brothers in the Millo Motorsport cars, Scott Farmer and Rusty Whittaker will be sure to be in the mix. There’s plenty of other local talent stepping up to the plate, happy to do a Steve Bradbury if it all goes pear-shaped for the guys coming from the back in the “school boy draw” format. This will be one exciting race, so make sure you get out and watch it live, or grab it on Clay-Per-View television coverage.