Waddell, Fletcher and Mosen win Bay speedway titles at Baypark

Sam Waddell powered his US-built Super Saloon to victory in the BOP Champs on Saturday night.

It was champions to the fore on a fast track at Baypark Speedway as three Bay of Plenty titles were decided last night.

Former New Zealand champ Sam Waddell (Tauranga) drove to a convincing win in the BOP Super Saloon Car title while recently crowned national champ Jarred Fletcher (Cambridge) also claimed BOP title success in the Saloon Car category.

It was Waddell’s first home track success with the South Carolina-built late model style car previously campaigned by Mick Quin, as he continues on a steep learning curve with the car.

“We are still learning the car but we’ve made good progress in the last few weeks,” Waddell said after leading home national champ Chris Cowling (Tauranga) and Craig Cardwell (Auckland) in the BOP title feature.

A fortnight ago Waddell raced at Kihikihi then headed south for a double header at Cromwell where he won a round of the South Island Super Series.

“We made some big changes for Kihikihi and built on that for Cromwell. The car feels a lot more balanced now,” Waddell said.

“I did change my driving style to start but I think I was being a bit soft on it, so I went back to my original driving style.”

The progress comes ahead of the North Island Super Saloon Car Champs in Auckland next weekend and an Easter Saturday $5000-to-win 30-lap feature when the Super Saloons next appear at Baypark.

Early in the 20-lap Saloon Car feature Jarred Fletcher was chased by Gisborne hard charger Ethan Cook but Fletcher eased away and took a clear victory ahead of Chris Cowling after Cook headed for the infield in the closing laps.

Midget Car racers Brad Mosen (10) and Travis Buckley (7) battle at the front of the BOP Midget Car Championship on Saturday night.

Former NZ champ Brad Mosen (Auckland) continued his run of Baypark Midget Car success by winning the 25-lap BOP title ahead of Baypark racers Travis Buckley and Hayden Guptill.

California’s Jonathan Allard led the early laps of the Sprint Car feature but a loose front wing resulted in a massive wheelstand and when the wing folded back against bonnet Allard headed for the infield. Kapiti racer Jamie Larsen — who was crowned BOP champ back in February — claimed another win ahead of Max Guilford and Greg Pickerill.

The racing season continues at Baypark Speedway on Saturday April 1 with the 30-lap Bay Piston Cup for Sprint Cars which pays $5000 to win and is expected to attract a field of more than 30 cars.