Peter NTERNATIONAL N STOP PRESS ackson MOTOR RAC ING SERIES Hoi Summer Racing Action Baird Versto comes open cra hrough shes our by David Thomson & Wayne Munro It was a dream come true for defending champion Craig Baird and a nightmare of the worst kind for fancied challenger Jos Verstappen in the third round of the Peter Jackson Formula Atlantic Series. Baird, languishing fifth in the series before the Lady Wigram Trophy race and its leadup heat, took the championship lead for the first time with two confident victories. Verstappen meanwhile suffered gearbox failure in the first race before crashing out of the second. "The front wheels locked, the 1 tail came out and I hit the tyres N very hard," said the 20 year old Dutchman, accepting the blame for the accident which pitched him out of the feature race while in third and severely damaged the car, throwing his Series future into doubt. "First the crown wheel and pinion broke and then this. It was one of the baddest days of my life." Baird made an excellent start in the main race - just as he had in the first - and led unchallenged from start to finish. Even so, he admitted to relaxing a little once he saw Verstappen's badly damaged Swift in the tyres. "He wasn't going to pressure me in the racing, but 1 breathed a sigh of relief as far as the championship goes," said Baird. "Really it was quite an easy win for us; I pulled out a gap at the start and then, did it again after the pace car came out while Verstappen's car was removed from the track." Baird now holds a slender three point lead in the series over top American contender Stuart Crow heading for the NZ Grand Prix meeting at Mantelid. Crow took a clear second place in the opener, but faced a far harder battle to fourth in the next. first he spun trying to pass second placed Paul Radisich, then USbased Kiwi Steve Cameron slipped by him into third with just a few laps to go. The colourful Texan accepted the blame for his spin, but slammed Radisich for his block- Thumbs up! Scott Lagasse took three straight wins at Wigram. Photo: Euan Cameron Craig Baird and Ken Smith, Photo: Linear ing tactics later in the race by saying: "I'm known as a blocker at home, but Radisich carried the art form to new heights. I just hope I can do the same for him someday." The two reportedly banged wheels on the slowdown lap before Radisich reckoned: "The guy tried to pass me around the outside - what does he expect." Radisich's second backed up a solid third in the opening race, and he now moves to third in the series, one point ahead of the luckless Verstappen. Charles Nearburg lies a further point back after consistent runs for fifth and sixth. Ken Smith's miserable series continued. After losing his nosecone in a first lap collision with Nearburg he was lapped by Baird in race one. The 51-year old then soldiered on to a steady ninth in the second. Talented youngster Greg Murphy was also far from happy afler struggling to find the right setup for the circuit all weekend. His initial outing ended with engine failure, while in the main event the clutch broke. FIRST AMERICAN TRANZAM WIN 'The American Tral ant racers tnally hit their straps or the fast airield circult with scott bagasse (Pontiac (ransam) banding out a -3-0) drubbing to the Kiwis in the action packed races. "A lantastic dlay." said bagasse. m giving op 100bhp on the top wis, but the Pontiac is really good onto the straights and we just carried that momentum down." Kayne Scott had the fastest car, but his Ford Sierra was plagued by i niggling power-steering failure. Lagasse's team mate Chri Kneifel also made it to the lead i his Porsche 944 Turbo, only t blow an oil seal and later suffer severe engine vibration. INGALL MARCHES ON Both Ashley Stichbury an Glenn Clark managed to hi the front in the Dunlop For mula Ford races, but thei joint plan to end Australial ace Russell Ingall's unbeate run failed. Ingall forced his way past then and put in two blindingly-quic laps to drop them from his slip stream and case away. "We don't do enough racing t be good enough to get away wit that kind of lap," said Clark, "bi I think Ingall could do it every la if he needed to. It's the differenc between racing as a sport an racing as a profession. REMARKABLE COMEBACK Ed Lamone staged a re markablecomeback in theser ond ball of the ztec Tourin Car Champs, after filing I finish the first - won hs supe last starter Wasee Wardeni He second The poisoned pola. i and his car damaged u race leaving bun 10 wo fourth pl