With the 2026 New Zealand Championship just over two months away, the intensity of the Midget Car action will ramp up when Baypark Speedway hosts its second race night of the season on Saturday, November 8.
The crowd for the annual Baypark Fireworks Spectacular night (the only public fireworks display in Tauranga this year) will get to see the elite of New Zealand’s Midget Car talent battle out in the second annual Bill Buckley Midget Car Classic.
The 20-lapper and preliminary heats will include the main protagonists from an exciting opening night feature, plus the season debut of 10-time NZ champion Michael Pickens (Auckland), who joins the grid.
Manawatu drivers Shane Dewar and Nic Davey also join the field, and Auckland racer Jayden Worthington returns to action as the Midget Car line-up grows to 18 cars.
The theme from the first night of Midget Car action at Labour weekend was the fast start by the teenage and early-20s Young Guns of the division.
It was Te Awamutu’s Mitch Fabish who made all the right moves to claim his first Baypark feature race win ahead of Tauranga’s Luke McClymont and Aucklander Ben Morrison. It was a very competitive start to the season with Auckland racers Brock Maskovich, Brad Mosen and Alec Insley all playing a part in the lead battle.
The Bill Buckley Classic was raced for the first time last season and was won by Mosen.
The quick-fire racing programme which precedes the big fireworks show also features a strong Sprint Car line-up with 17 entries, and the Super Stocks are back in action with a 20-car entry list headed by opening night feature race winner Daniel Thomas (Hamilton).
The first appearance of the 2025-26 season for the Youth Mini Stocks puts the spotlight on speedway’s next generation of stars with a capacity 26-car line-up that features visiting racers from the Gisborne, Rotorua, Hawke’s Bay, Kihikihi and Auckland tracks.
Racing starts at 6.30pm. In the event of bad weather, a Sunday, November 9, rain-out date is available.
Header Image: Jessica Barnes / Blissful Photography
