Two-time New Zealand Sprint Car champion Jonathan Allard sent a clear statement of intent at Baypark Speedway’s season-opening meeting on Saturday night.
The Auckland racer, originally from Chico, California, won both of his national titles at Baypark Speedway (in 2011 and 2016) and started his 2026-27 campaign by winning the first 20-lap feature race of the summer.
With the 2027 New Zealand Sprint Car title set for Baypark in March, attention is on the early-season action to provide a form guide.
The season opener saw former champions Allard, Dean Brindle (Hamilton) and Jamie Larsen (Kapiti) to the fore, with Allard fending off a couple of mid-race challenges from Brindle to take the feature race win by 0.893secs
“Daltons give me the best equipment. Carl Campbell puts the car together with me during the week, and I’ve got my mentor Peter Murphy [2013 NZ champion] here with me tonight. If I do my job, we can be in a position to win,” says Allard.
Allard praised the track preparation, which delivered a wide racing surface.
“The track was really good. Once it got a bit far to get around the top, the bottom [racing line] came back,” says Allard.
Brindle was quickly out of his car to congratulate Allard. The 2009 NZ champ took a year off racing last season, and his strong return performance rekindles a respectful rivalry with Allard that has delivered some exciting battles in recent years.
Larsen was pleased with his new car’s debut pace, and fourth-placed Zackary Sokol (Auckland) might have been in the podium battle but lost places after a slow start from the outside of the front row.
Te Awamutu’s Mitch Fabish went back-to-back with season-opening wins at Baypark, delivering an impressive performance in his new Terminator Chassis midget.
Fabish won his first heat race and climbed from grid nine to third in heat two. He took the top qualifying spot and selected an outside front-row position for the 20-lap feature.
“I got a good start and was able to get a good gap,” says Fabish.
“I had an unbelievable car, and it was probably the best overall night I’ve ever had with two wins and third. We’ll be back in two weeks to try again.”
Hamilton’s Daniel Thomas was 2.271secs behind Fabish, with Brock Maskovich holding off Ben Morrison to complete the podium.
A close-fought three-race Super Stock contest saw former NZ champion Todd Hemingway (Tauranga) take the opening-night honours by one point over Stefan Roigard, with Scott Tennant in third. Each of the trio won a race.
Two wins and a fourth-place finish put Baypark racer Matt Coombe on top in the Stock Car class, narrowly ahead of Bryce Carter and Les Hepworth.
Gisborne visitor Arie Cuthbert edged out Kihikihi’s Reece Fraser by two points to take the opening night Youth Mini Stock honours.
The next Baypark Speedway event is the annual Bay Fireworks night on Saturday, November 7. The headline racing attraction is the third annual Bill Buckley Midget Car Classic.
Header Photo: Stuart Whitaker/The Write Angle
