Speedway: Corrin wins his first Bay title

New Zealand saloon car champion Dan Corrin won the Bay of Plenty saloon championship at Baypark Speedway at the weekend. Photo / Stuart Whitaker

Dan corrin is enjoying what seems to be a never-ending summer of success.

The Gisborne-based, Baypark registered saloon car driver has already won the New Zealand, North Island and Grand Prix titles in the class, the Waikato Championship at Huntly and the Eastland Championship and Bruce Elmers Memorial meetings, both at Gisborne. At the Bay of Plenty championship meeting at Baypark on Saturday, he added his first Bay of Plenty title to the list.

Run over three heats plus a winner takes all final, Corrin qualified on the front row alongside Whangamata's Bodie Abrahamson, both having a heat win, with Michelle Wymer (3NZ) the third heat winner.

All three were at the pointy end of the championship, with Abrahamson making the start and leading until the yellows were activated five laps in.

"I thought the pole line was going to be good from the start," said Corrin, "but once I saw Bodie fly around the outside I thought maybe I need to be up there. I stuck with him and thought I was going to have to go fishing and if the yellow hadn't come on, I was going to have to try something else. I was lucky with the yellow, Bodie sort of shut up shop a bit and I was able to get round him (on the restart).

"I knew if I didn't go in there early, it could go off later in the race."

Two of the Bay of Plenty titles on offer went to the same driver - Daniel Thomas (Hamilton) - who took the sprint car title in his own car, and, in a borrowed car, also won the Bay of Plenty six-shooter title.

"I thought there could be a possibility of winning the six-shooters - I've been very dominant in it before, but I haven't raced it all season.

"To pull off the victory was awesome, especially for (car owner) Nigel Burkhart.

In the sprint car, Thomas found the set up he had been chasing all season. Starting from pole in the sprint car feature, he was beaten to the punch by 2NZ Dean Brindle and it looked like it could be time to shut the gate. But a determined Thomas caught and passed the 2NZ car.

The Bay of Plenty stock car title is now in the hands of Huntly registered, Tauranga resident, Les Hepworth with Keegan Orr second and Luke Alderdice third. Tauranga student Todd Hemingway won one race and accumulated enough points in the other two to take the youth ministock title from cousins Luke (second) and Josh McClymont.