A broken front wing couldn’t prevent former New Zealand champion Dean Brindle (Hamilton) from flying to his second Baypark Speedway Sprint Car feature race victory of the summer on Saturday night.
In the early stages of a duel with national title runner-up Dean Cooper (Taupo), Brindle’s nose wing front mounts sheared off, and the wing pivoted back to an upside-down position.
Brindle adapted quickly to the less-than-ideal aerodynamics and continued his chase of Cooper, getting to the lead on lap 14 just before the only caution of the fast-paced 20-lap race.
“It was awesome racing with Dean, and he was doing a really good job. I was following him and trying the run the lines which he wasn’t using to find a chance in the lapped traffic,” says Brindle.
“When the wing broke it made the car a bit light in the front and I had to be really smooth with the throttle. But I could still get into the turns really good.”
It was Brindle’s second win of the season after taking out the season opener in October.
“The competition is so tough these days; you have to take the wins when you can get them.”
The restart with six laps to run mixed up the order, with Tauranga’s Rodney Wood leaping from fourth to second while a charging Greg Pickerill (Hamilton) had an impressive late race pace to pass Cooper and Ryan O’Connor to claim third.
Recently crowned NZ Midget Car champion Brad Mosen boosted his Baypark win tally for the season to three feature victories. Mosen was in top form with a first and a third in the heat races, and in the 20-lap feature, his pace and ability to control the restarts kept him in front of a challenging Aaron Hodgson.
A 30-strong field of stock cars lined up for the annual Harry Fredrickson Memorial Gold Cup. Front-row starter Sam Wright (Auckland) was initially shuffled back a few places in the first corner chaos but made his way to the front again on the fourth lap and led home Gisborne’s Brad Simpson and Auckland racer Azaria Simpson, who advanced from a third-row starting position to complete the podium.
The Super Saloons raced a three-heat points format, with national champ Chris Cowling (Tauranga) to the fore, winning the first two races. Cowling’s attempt to make a clean sweep by passing leader Damian Orr (Rotorua) ended with a last-corner spin, leaving the points tied with Orr. The two earlier wins delivered a tie-breaker win for Cowling ahead of Orr, with one point back to Steve Cowling.
Tauranga’s Luke McClymont made a winning return to the Six Shooter class to take victory in the 15-lap feature race ahead of Rotorua’s Luke Westbury and Tauranga’s Roydon White. The next meeting at Baypark Speedway on March 31 (Easter Saturday) features the Bay Super Sundown 30-lapper for Super Saloons and the annual Demolition Derby
