Jet sprint driver delivers daughter between races

Parents Sam and Ellie with Quinn, 2, and newborn Leni. Photo/Danielle Nicholson

If jet sprint racing is not exciting enough, rushing home to deliver a baby between races is sure to get the adrenaline pumping.

It was a memorable weekend for jet sprint racer Sam Newdick, who unexpectedly found himself delivering his baby girl single-handedly on Friday night and placing second in the ENZED UIM Jetsprint world championship Group A on Saturday afternoon.

Mr Newdick, from Hamilton, delayed coming to Tauranga as his wife was due on Sunday and had been having "a few niggles" before he was supposed to leave on Friday.

Deciding they were false alarms, Mr Newdick headed for Tauranga.

He fitted in two qualifying rounds on his boat PSP alongside navigator Glenn Mason before getting the call - things had started happening at home.

Parents Sam and Ellie with Quinn, 2, and newborn Leni. Photo/Danielle Nicholson

"I ditched the boat and hopped in the ute and shot back to Hamilton.

"An hour after I got home things were starting to ramp up," he said.

When Mr Newdick and his fiance Ellie were unable to get into the car and to the birthing clinic Mr Newdick realised "it was going to happen there and then".

With only the midwife on speaker phone talking him through it, Mr Newdick delivered his baby girl, Leni, at home about 7.45pm.

"Looking back, if I had to watch someone else do it I probably would have passed out, but it was just me and my partner and I had to suck it up and get it done," he said.

"I was a little bit stressed, being a typical guy I was running around like a chicken with his head cut off, not knowing what to do."

But by the time the midwife arrived at their home, the baby had been successfully and safely delivered.

"Ellie was a little freaked out at the time but everything's all good and she's all healthy and happy," Mr Newdick said.

Newborn Leni joined her sister Quinn, 2, who was with her grandmother for the evening.

After some serious family cuddle time Mr Newdick headed back to Tauranga on Saturday afternoon to continue racing.

Mr Newdick placed second overall in Group A of the ENZED UIM Jetsprint world championship after making an error in the final - a "gutting" result for the duo as they were favoured to win.

"It's a little bit gutting but, you know, the real trophies are at home," Mr Newdick said.

Jet sprinting is a family affair for the Newdicks, as Mr Newdick and his father Mark Newdick started racing at the same time eight years ago.

Mr Newdick said he and his father had enjoyed watching the sport and one year decided to give it a go.

"We've been doing it ever since.

"We pretty much bought a boat and got right into it. We had no real practice, just a couple of spins in the boat on the lake. We showed up to a race and it all went from there," he said.