Baypark racers dominated the New Zealand saloon car championship at Kihikihi Speedway on Sunday afternoon.
Rescheduled due to bad weather, the championship saw 52 cars in action with qualifying on Saturday evening and finals on Sunday afternoon.
Victory was claimed by Matamata's Jeff Barron who overcame adversity after failing to
qualify on Saturday with engine problems. An overnight engine swap saw him return to win one of the Sunday afternoon repechages and continue his momentum through the three-race final to edge out defending champ Brent McClymont (Tauranga) and Paul Cressy (Matamata) by one point.
With a Baypark cleansweep of the podium already confirmed there was a four-lap run-off with McClymont needing to make an outside pass to clinch the number two spot after Cressy grabbed the initial lead.
The depth of the Baypark challenge - with over a third of the field being Baypark drivers - saw Hamilton-based Geoff Webb finish fourth and Tauranga's Chris Cowling shared fifth place with former champ Phil Towgood (Whitianga) who is contracted at Auckland's Waikaraka Park. Baypark racers Colin Dyer (Tauranga) and Chris Taylor (Tokoroa) were seventh and eight respectively.
