Former New Zealand Sprintcar champion Daniel Thomas made another fast start to a new racing season when he won the opening meeting feature race at Baypark Speedway on Sunday night.
It was the second time in three years that Thomas has clinched the Baypark season opener, and he led home a Waikato trifecta ahead of Dean Brindle and Keaton Dahm on a track that produced spectacular wheel stands and very quick lap times.
Dahm was the top qualifier following a win and a fourth placing in his heat races and he led for six laps till the first caution, but Thomas powered away from the outside position on the restart.
A shower of rain just before the meeting was scheduled to start softened the track surface and produced the combination of bumpy turns and high grip. Thomas said the outside line was the best place to run.
“It was quite treacherous around the top, but it was faster. After I passed Keaton on the first restart, I chose the outside each time after that,” he said.
Thomas is campaigning the same car as last summer, owned and set-up by Jason McIndoe. But one off-season development has been a custom moulded Fastmaster seat.
“It actually makes a massive difference. I felt really comfortable in the car even though there was a lot of character in the track tonight,” he added.
The Midget racing produced a first-time winner, with Travis Buckley taking the honours after top scoring in the heat races and holding off challenges from battling brothers in-law Brock Maskovich and Michael Pickens.
“Winning my first feature at Baypark is a great start to the season,” says Buckley.
“I knew there were a couple of cars right behind me, but it’s hard to know how close they are when you’re in the lead.
“The big thing with this win is we are showing the Esslinger is a competitive engine platform. What Esslinger is trying to do is offer an engine option which is more affordable than some of the others out there.”
North Island champ Elias Dykstra top scored in a hard-fought, three-race Superstock contest taking a sequence of third, second and fourth placings. Dykstra secured the overall win with 72 points from Kerry Remnant on 70 and Todd Hemingway on 66. Hemingway won the second and third races after finishing back in 13th place in the opening race.
Evenly matched competition in the Six Shooter class produced three very close race finishes. The smallest margin of just 0.044s decided the 15-lap feature, with Rotorua brothers Luke and Boyd Westbury being side-by-side at the chequered flag after battling though the closing laps.
Baypark Speedway is in action again this Saturday night, November 2, with the annual Bay Superbowl Fireworks Extravaganza. The on-track competition is headlined by the Bill Buckley Midget Car Classic and the season debut of the Super Saloon division.
