Williamson fights back to claim podium at Ampol legends night in storming drive from back of the grid

Callum Williamson has not enjoyed the best of seasons compared to his dominance in the past two years but he gave his title defence a huge boost with a third-placed finish at the Ampol Legends of Speedway on Saturday.

Williamson struggled early qualifying fifth fastest in a two-lap sprint shoot-out before struggling to make an impression in his only heat race of the night.

He finished well off the pace in sixth place more than eight seconds off the leader in a lonely race at the back of the field.

It saw him start in 16th place for the feature with plenty of work to do to claim a good haul of points and keep himself in the hunt for the Sprintcar title.

However, the 50-lap race provided plenty of time for Williamson to work his way through the pack and he was already up to 10th by lap 10 as he stormed off the line.

Several restarts also helped his cause with only 10 of the 21 scheduled runners making it to the finish line.

Williamson continued to pick his way through the field to take third place just 3.4 secs behind winner Daniel Harding.

Championship leader James Inglis had a tough night, caught up in a multiple-car incident on the first lap, but he recovered despite racing with heavy damage to take seventh place.

Williamson is now only 32 points shy of Inglis, setting up an intriguing battle with five rounds remaining.

Williamson will be back in action on March 18 for the Silver Cup and next round of the series