Craig Baird
Encyclopedia
Craig George Baird MNZM
New Zealand Order of Merit
The New Zealand Order of Merit is an order established in 1996 "for those persons who in any field of endeavour, have rendered meritorious service to the Crown and nation or who have become distinguished by their eminence, talents, contributions or other merits."The order includes five...

(born 22 July 1970 in Hamilton, New Zealand
Hamilton, New Zealand
Hamilton is the centre of New Zealand's fourth largest urban area, and Hamilton City is the country's fourth largest territorial authority. Hamilton is in the Waikato Region of the North Island, approximately south of Auckland...

) is a race car driver
Driving
Driving is the controlled operation and movement of a land vehicle, such as a car, truck or bus.Although direct operation of a bicycle and a mounted animal are commonly referred to as riding, such operators are legally considered drivers and are required to obey the rules of the road...

. Baird is a very successful driver in his homeland, winning three consecutive New Zealand Formula Atlantic championship titles (1990–1992), and then four consecutive New Zealand Touring Car Championship
New Zealand Touring Car Championship
The New Zealand Touring Car Championship was a motor racing title which was contested in New Zealand from 1984 to 2002.-Results:...

 titles (1993–1996).

Since then Baird has raced in Australian Super Touring Championship
Australian Super Touring Championship
The Australian Super Touring Championship was a CAMS sanctioned national motor racing title for Super Touring Cars.-History:Super Touring was introduced into Australia in 1993 when CAMS replaced the existing Group 3A Touring Car category with a new two class Group 3A...

, as well as for the Ford
Ford Motor Company
Ford Motor Company is an American multinational automaker based in Dearborn, Michigan, a suburb of Detroit. The automaker was founded by Henry Ford and incorporated on June 16, 1903. In addition to the Ford and Lincoln brands, Ford also owns a small stake in Mazda in Japan and Aston Martin in the UK...

 team in the British Touring Car Championship
British Touring Car Championship
The British Touring Car Championship is a touring car racing series held each year in the United Kingdom. The Championship was established in 1958 as the British Saloon Car Championship and has run to various rules over the years – "production cars", then FIA Group 1 or 2 in the late 1960s...

 (1998). He finished first at the 1997 Bathurst 1000, but the car was disqualified as Baird exceeded the allowed number of miles in the car for a single driver. 2007 saw Baird and his 1997 co-driver Paul Morris
Paul Morris (motorsport)
Paul Morris is a V8 Supercar racecar driver.-Early career:Paul Morris started his motor racing career at the age of 19 in 1987, driving in the Queensland Gemini Series. He won Rookie of the Year in his debut season, and won the state championship the following year. He spent the next three years...

 re-united in Gary Holt's BMW 335i in winning the revived Bathurst 12 Hour
Bathurst 12 Hour
The Bathurst 12 Hour is an endurance event for production racing cars held at the Mount Panorama Circuit, near Bathurst, Australia in February annually. The event was inspired by the long running Bathurst 1000 touring car race, which began in the early 1960s as a race for cars with minimal...

.

In 2004 he raced in the Australian V8 Supercar
V8 Supercar
V8 Supercars is a touring car racing category based in Australia and run as an International Series under Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile regulations...

 Championship and the Australian Carrera Cup Championship
Australian Carrera Cup Championship
The Australian Carrera Cup Championship is a sports car racing championship open to drivers of Porsche 911 GT3 Cup cars. First held in 2003, it is administered by Porsche Cars Australia and sanctioned by CAMS as an Australian Championship...

. In 2005 he raced in the V8 Supercar Championship for WPS Racing. WPS Racing merged with Orrcon Racing and he was replaced by Brazilian Max Wilson
Max Wilson
Max Wilson, , is a racing driver of Brazilian parentage.He started his motor racing career in 1985 in go-karts...

. Not all was lost with WPS Racing, when he and David Besnard
David Besnard
David Besnard, , in Sydney, Australia is a professional race car driver. Starting in Karts in 1981, he quickly proceeded into Formula Ford in 1995. After initial success, he had a major accident at Eastern Creek Raceway and broke his leg. In 1996 he made a comeback and won the Australian title...

 were offered to drive at Sandown
Sandown 500
The Sandown 500 is an endurance motor race staged at the Sandown Raceway, near Melbourne in Victoria, Australia between 1964 and 2011. It was typically held in September, the month before Australia’s premier endurance race, the Bathurst 1000. The “500” was not run in 1966, 1967, 1999, 2000, 2008,...

 and Bathurst
Bathurst 1000
The Bathurst 1000 is a touring car race held annually at Mount Panorama Circuit in Bathurst, New South Wales, Australia...

. Baird paired up with Jason Bargwanna
Jason Bargwanna
Jason Bargwanna is an Australian racing driver who competes in the V8 Supercar Championship Series.-Career history:Bargwanna commenced his racing career in the late 1980s, initially competing in the Formula Vee category...

.

With 32 wins in the different series he has competed in 2008, he is the winningest driver of the season in the world.

He has over 20 New Zealand championship titles, two Australian championship titles, is a three-time winner of the New Zealand Grand Prix
New Zealand Grand Prix
The New Zealand Grand Prix, sometimes known as the New Zealand International Grand Prix, is an annual motor racing event held in New Zealand first run in 1950. Currently it is the signature race of the Toyota Racing Series. It is one of only two current national Grand Prix events that are not part...

. In March 2010 he won both the NZV8s and Porsche GT3 Cup categories in the 2009/10 New Zealand Summer Series and will race in the Carrera Cup Asia during the 2010 season.

Craig Baird is part of the Channel Ten/One HD commentary team for Formula One coverage and Moto GP coverage in Australia along with host Greg Rust and former 500cc motorbike rider Daryl Beattie
Daryl Beattie
Daryl Beattie is a former Grand Prix motorcycle road racer.Beattie posted several good results at the beginning of the 1992 500cc Grand Prix season then teamed up with Wayne Gardner to win the prestigious Suzuka 8 Hours endurance race in Japan...

.

Personal life

Baird lives on Australia's Gold Coast with his wife Louise and their children. Baird was awarded the New Zealand Order of Merit
New Zealand Order of Merit
The New Zealand Order of Merit is an order established in 1996 "for those persons who in any field of endeavour, have rendered meritorious service to the Crown and nation or who have become distinguished by their eminence, talents, contributions or other merits."The order includes five...

 in the New Year Honours 2010, for services to motorsport.

Career results

Season Series Position Car Team
1991 New Zealand Formula Pacific Series 1st Swift
Swift Engineering
Swift Engineering is an American engineering firm, most notable for producing racing cars for a variety of open-wheel racing series, including Champ Car World Series, Formula Atlantic, and Formula Nippon.-History:...

 – Toyota
1992 New Zealand Formula Pacific Series 1st Reynard
Reynard Motorsport
Reynard Motorsport was at one time the world's largest racing car manufacturer. Initially based at Bicester and latterly at Reynard Park, Brackley, England the company built successful cars in Formula Ford 1600, Formula Ford 2000, Formula Vauxhall Lotus, Formula Three, Formula 3000 and Indy...

 92H
1992 British Formula 2 Championship
British Formula 3000
The British Formula 3000 championship, alternatively known as the British Formula Two Championship, was a competition for Formula 3000 held in the United Kingdom, active from 1989 to 1994 and in 1996...

10th Reynard
Reynard Motorsport
Reynard Motorsport was at one time the world's largest racing car manufacturer. Initially based at Bicester and latterly at Reynard Park, Brackley, England the company built successful cars in Formula Ford 1600, Formula Ford 2000, Formula Vauxhall Lotus, Formula Three, Formula 3000 and Indy...

 90D
Graham Lorrimer Motorsport
1993 New Zealand Formula Pacific Series 1st Reynard
Reynard Motorsport
Reynard Motorsport was at one time the world's largest racing car manufacturer. Initially based at Bicester and latterly at Reynard Park, Brackley, England the company built successful cars in Formula Ford 1600, Formula Ford 2000, Formula Vauxhall Lotus, Formula Three, Formula 3000 and Indy...

 92H
1995 New Zealand Touring Car Championship
New Zealand Touring Cars
The New Zealand V8s is the leading motorsport category in New Zealand.-History:Huge grids of distinctive Ford Falcons and Holden Commodores duel in this event that journeys to various racetracks around New Zealand. This series somewhat resembles but differs in many ways from the Australian V8...

1st
1996 New Zealand Touring Car Championship 1st
1997 New Zealand Touring Car Championship 1st
1997 Australian Super Touring Championship
Australian Super Touring Championship
The Australian Super Touring Championship was a CAMS sanctioned national motor racing title for Super Touring Cars.-History:Super Touring was introduced into Australia in 1993 when CAMS replaced the existing Group 3A Touring Car category with a new two class Group 3A...

8th BMW 320i
BMW E36
The BMW E36 is the third generation of the 3 Series compact executive cars produced by BMW. It was introduced in late 1990 for Europe and in late 1991 for US and Canada. It was the successor to the E30 3 Series and was eventually replaced by the E90 3 Series in 2005, though E36 coupes were still...

Paul Morris Motorsport
1998
1998 British Touring Car Championship season
The 1998 Auto Trader RAC British Touring Car Championship was a prominent BTCC season during the 'golden era' of touring car racing in Britain. It was eventually won by Rickard Rydell in a Volvo S40 with a round to spare. The runner-up was Anthony Reid in a Nissan Primera...

British Touring Car Championship
British Touring Car Championship
The British Touring Car Championship is a touring car racing series held each year in the United Kingdom. The Championship was established in 1958 as the British Saloon Car Championship and has run to various rules over the years – "production cars", then FIA Group 1 or 2 in the late 1960s...

20th Ford Mondeo
Ford Mondeo
The Mondeo was launched on 8 January 1993, and sales began on 22 March 1993. Available as a four-door saloon, a five-door hatchback, and a five-door estate, all models for the European market were produced at Ford's plant in the Belgian city of Genk...

Ford Mondeo Racing
2000 Shell Championship Series
V8 Supercar
V8 Supercars is a touring car racing category based in Australia and run as an International Series under Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile regulations...

15th Ford AU Falcon
Ford AU Falcon
The Ford AU Falcon and Fairmont are the first of the sixth generation series of the Ford Falcon, a full-size car produced by Ford Australia...

Stone Brothers Racing
Stone Brothers Racing
Stone Brothers Racing is an Australian motor racing team competing in the International V8 Supercars Championship, formed in 1998 by experienced New Zealand-born motorsport veterans, Ross Stone and Jim Stone after buying out their partner in their previous racing team...

2001 Shell Championship Series
V8 Supercar
V8 Supercars is a touring car racing category based in Australia and run as an International Series under Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile regulations...

76th Holden VT Commodore
Holden VT Commodore
The Holden VT Commodore, Berlina, and Calais are the tenth iteration of the Holden Commodore, a full-size car built by Holden, the Australian subsidiary of General Motors...


Ford AU Falcon
Ford AU Falcon
The Ford AU Falcon and Fairmont are the first of the sixth generation series of the Ford Falcon, a full-size car produced by Ford Australia...

John Faulkner Racing
Prancing Horse Racing
2002 V8Supercar Championship Series
V8 Supercar
V8 Supercars is a touring car racing category based in Australia and run as an International Series under Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile regulations...

27th Holden VX Commodore
Holden VX Commodore
The Holden VX Commodore, Berlina and Calais range of full-size cars were the eleventh instalment of Holden Commodore, a model manufactured by Holden, the Australian subsidiary of General Motors...

Rod Nash Racing
Rod Nash Racing
Rod Nash Racing is a V8 Supercar racing entity, owned by Rod Nash. Nash continues to own a V8 Supercar Racing Entitlement Contract and his #55 runs on the flanks of the Ford Performance Racing Ford FG Falcon....

2003
2003 V8 Supercar Championship Series
The 2003 V8 Supercar Championship Series was a motor racing series for V8 Supercars. The series, which was the eighth V8 Supercar Championship Series, began on 22 March 2003 in Adelaide and ended on 30 November at Eastern Creek Raceway after 13 rounds...

V8Supercar Championship Series
V8 Supercar
V8 Supercars is a touring car racing category based in Australia and run as an International Series under Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile regulations...

30th Holden VX Commodore
Holden VX Commodore
The Holden VX Commodore, Berlina and Calais range of full-size cars were the eleventh instalment of Holden Commodore, a model manufactured by Holden, the Australian subsidiary of General Motors...

Team Kiwi Racing
Team Kiwi Racing
Team Kiwi Racing was a V8 Supercar team that competed in the Australian V8 Supercar series. The team has since returned at much reduced scale, in New Zealand running in domestic one-make series racing...

2004 Australian Carrera Cup Championship
Australian Carrera Cup Championship
The Australian Carrera Cup Championship is a sports car racing championship open to drivers of Porsche 911 GT3 Cup cars. First held in 2003, it is administered by Porsche Cars Australia and sanctioned by CAMS as an Australian Championship...

13th Porsche 996 GT3 Cup
Porsche 911 GT3
The Porsche 911 GT3 is a higher performance version of the Porsche 911 sports car. It is the latest in a line of high performance models, beginning with the 1973 911 RS...

VIP Pet Foods
2004
2004 V8 Supercar Championship Series
The 2004 V8 Supercar Championship Series featured the sixth running of the V8 Supercar Championship Series. It began on 21 March 2004 in Adelaide and ended on 5 December at Eastern Creek Raceway after 13 rounds...

V8Supercar Championship Series
V8 Supercar
V8 Supercars is a touring car racing category based in Australia and run as an International Series under Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile regulations...

27th Holden VY Commodore Team Kiwi Racing
Team Kiwi Racing
Team Kiwi Racing was a V8 Supercar team that competed in the Australian V8 Supercar series. The team has since returned at much reduced scale, in New Zealand running in domestic one-make series racing...

2005
2005 V8 Supercar Championship Series
The 2005 V8 Supercar season was the seventh running of the V8 Supercar Championship Series. It began on 18 March 2005 in Adelaide and ended on 27 November at Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit after 13 rounds.-Teams and drivers:...

V8Supercar Championship Series
V8 Supercar
V8 Supercars is a touring car racing category based in Australia and run as an International Series under Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile regulations...

23rd Ford BA Falcon
Ford BA Falcon
The Ford BA Falcon is a full-size car, produced by the Ford Motor Company of Australia between September 2002 and October 2005. The exterior styling of the BA was a substantial revision of that used for the preceding AU model. A new independent rear suspension setup was fitted to all sedan...

WPS Racing
WPS Racing
WPS Racing was a motorsport team that participated in the V8 Supercars competition in Australia sponsored by Wright Patton Shakespeare, a financial management company. The team was founded in early 2004 by Queensland-based businessman Craig Gore, who bought the embattled 00 Motorsport and...

2005 New Zealand Porsche GT3 Championship 1st Porsche 911 GT3 Cup
2006 Australian Carrera Cup Championship
Australian Carrera Cup Championship
The Australian Carrera Cup Championship is a sports car racing championship open to drivers of Porsche 911 GT3 Cup cars. First held in 2003, it is administered by Porsche Cars Australia and sanctioned by CAMS as an Australian Championship...

1st Porsche 997 GT3 Cup
Porsche 911 GT3
The Porsche 911 GT3 is a higher performance version of the Porsche 911 sports car. It is the latest in a line of high performance models, beginning with the 1973 911 RS...

V.I.P. Petfoods Racing
2006
2006 V8 Supercar Championship Series
The 2006 V8 Supercar season was the 8th running of the V8 Supercar Championship Series. It began on 25 March 2006 in Adelaide and ended on 10 December at Phillip Island after 13 rounds.-Race Calendar:...

V8Supercar Championship Series
V8 Supercar
V8 Supercars is a touring car racing category based in Australia and run as an International Series under Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile regulations...

38th Ford BA Falcon WPS Racing
2006 New Zealand Porsche GT3 Championship 1st Porsche 996 GT3 Cup
2007
2007 Australian Carrera Cup Championship
The 2007 Australian Carrera Cup Championship was a CAMS sanctioned national motor racing championship open to Porsche 911 GT3 Cup Cars...

Australian Carrera Cup Championship
Australian Carrera Cup Championship
The Australian Carrera Cup Championship is a sports car racing championship open to drivers of Porsche 911 GT3 Cup cars. First held in 2003, it is administered by Porsche Cars Australia and sanctioned by CAMS as an Australian Championship...

3rd Porsche 997 GT3 Cup V.I.P. Petfoods Racing
2007
2007 V8 Supercar Championship Series
The 2007 V8 Supercar season featured the ninth V8 Supercar Championship Series which began on 1 March and finished on 2 December. This championship consisted of 14 rounds covering all states and the Northern Territory of Australia as well as rounds in New Zealand and Bahrain...

V8Supercar Championship Series
V8 Supercar
V8 Supercars is a touring car racing category based in Australia and run as an International Series under Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile regulations...

31st Holden VE Commodore Toll HSV Dealer Team
2007
2007 Australian GT Championship season
The 2007 Australian GT Championship was a CAMS sanctioned national motor racing championship open to closed production based sports cars as approved for FIA GT3 competition and to similar cars as approved by CAMS. The championship began on 3 February 2007 at Eastern Creek Raceway and ended on 9...

Australian GT Championship
Australian GT Championship
The Australian GT Championship is a CAMS-sanctioned national title for drivers of GT cars, held annually from 1960 to 1963, from 1982 to 1985 and from 2005. Each championship up to and including the 1963 title was contested over a single race and those after that year over a series of races...

28th Ferrari
Ferrari
Ferrari S.p.A. is an Italian sports car manufacturer based in Maranello, Italy. Founded by Enzo Ferrari in 1929, as Scuderia Ferrari, the company sponsored drivers and manufactured race cars before moving into production of street-legal vehicles as Ferrari S.p.A. in 1947...

 360 GT
Ferrari 360
The Ferrari 360 is a mid-engine midsize two-seater sports car produced from late 1999 until 2005. The 360 replaced the Ferrari F355 and was itself replaced by the fairly similar Ferrari F430...

Consolidated Chemical Company
2007 New Zealand Porsche GT3 Championship 1st Porsche 996 GT3 Cup
2008 V8Supercar Championship Series 52nd Holden VE Commodore Holden Racing Team
Holden Racing Team
The Holden Racing Team is a Melbourne based motor racing team. HRT is the most successful V8 Supercar racing team in the history of the category, having won the drivers championship six times, and the series signature race the Bathurst 1000 seven times...

2008 New Zealand Porsche GT3 Championship 1st Porsche 996 GT3 Cup
2008
2008 Australian Carrera Cup Championship
The 2008 Australian Carrera Cup Championship was a CAMS sanctioned motor racing title for drivers of Porsche 911 GT3 Cup Cars. The championship, which was contested over nine rounds across five different states, began on 21 February 2008 at the Clipsal 500 and finished on 26 October at the Gold...

Australian Carrera Cup Championship
Australian Carrera Cup Championship
The Australian Carrera Cup Championship is a sports car racing championship open to drivers of Porsche 911 GT3 Cup cars. First held in 2003, it is administered by Porsche Cars Australia and sanctioned by CAMS as an Australian Championship...

1st Porsche 997 GT3 Cup Fitzgerald Racing
2008
2008 Fujitsu V8 Supercar Series
The 2008 Fujitsu V8 Supercars season was the ninth running of the Fujitsu V8 Supercars Series, the second-tier V8 Supercar series. It began on February 21 at the Clipsal 500 and ended on December 7 at Oran Park Raceway after seven rounds.-Race calendar:...

Fujitsu V8 Supercar Series 31st Ford BA Falcon
Ford BA Falcon
The Ford BA Falcon is a full-size car, produced by the Ford Motor Company of Australia between September 2002 and October 2005. The exterior styling of the BA was a substantial revision of that used for the preceding AU model. A new independent rear suspension setup was fitted to all sedan...

WPS Racing
2008
2008 FIA GT Championship season
The 2008 FIA GT Championship season was the twelfth season of the FIA GT Championship. It featured a series for Grand Touring style cars broken into two classes based on power and manufacturer involvement, called GT1 and GT2. Invitational G2 and G3 classes were also allowed to participate but...

FIA GT Championship – (GT2)
FIA GT Championship
The FIA GT Championship was a sports car racing series organized by the Stéphane Ratel Organisation at the behest of the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile . The championship was mostly concentrated in Europe, but throughout the years has visited other continents including Asia and South...

48th Porsche 997 GT3-RSR Juniper Racing
2008–09 New Zealand V8s 3rd Ford BA Falcon
Ford BA Falcon
The Ford BA Falcon is a full-size car, produced by the Ford Motor Company of Australia between September 2002 and October 2005. The exterior styling of the BA was a substantial revision of that used for the preceding AU model. A new independent rear suspension setup was fitted to all sedan...

United Video Racing
2008–09 New Zealand Porsche GT3 Championship 1st Porsche 997 GT3 Cup
Porsche 911 GT3
The Porsche 911 GT3 is a higher performance version of the Porsche 911 sports car. It is the latest in a line of high performance models, beginning with the 1973 911 RS...

XXX Motorsport
2009
2009 V8 Supercar Championship Series
The 2009 V8 Supercar Championship Series was the eleventh V8 Supercar Championship Series and the thirteenth series in which V8 Supercars have contested the premier Australian touring car title...

V8Supercar Championship Series 37th Holden VE Commodore Holden Racing Team
Holden Racing Team
The Holden Racing Team is a Melbourne based motor racing team. HRT is the most successful V8 Supercar racing team in the history of the category, having won the drivers championship six times, and the series signature race the Bathurst 1000 seven times...

2009–10
2009–10 New Zealand V8 season
The 2009–10 New Zealand V8 season was the eleventh season of the series, under the NZV8 guise. The season began at Pukekohe on 8 November 2009 and finished at the Hamilton Street Circuit on 18 April 2010 after six championship meetings, and a season-ending non-championship event.-Teams and...

New Zealand V8s 1st Ford BA Falcon
Ford BA Falcon
The Ford BA Falcon is a full-size car, produced by the Ford Motor Company of Australia between September 2002 and October 2005. The exterior styling of the BA was a substantial revision of that used for the preceding AU model. A new independent rear suspension setup was fitted to all sedan...

United Video Racing
2009–10 New Zealand Porsche GT3 Championship 1st Porsche 997 GT3 Cup
Porsche 911 GT3
The Porsche 911 GT3 is a higher performance version of the Porsche 911 sports car. It is the latest in a line of high performance models, beginning with the 1973 911 RS...

XXX Motorsport
2010
2010 Fujitsu V8 Supercar Series
The 2010 Fujitsu V8 Supercars season was the eleventh running of the V8 Supercar Development series. It supported the 2010 V8 Supercar Championship Series, beginning on 11 March at the Clipsal 500 and ending on 5 December at the Sydney 500 after seven rounds....

Fujitsu V8 Supercar Series 35th Holden VE Commodore Walkinshaw Performance
Walkinshaw Performance
Walkinshaw Performance, is an automotive company, involved in motor racing and the production of high performance sporting cars for regular road use...


Eggleston Motorsport
2010
2010 V8 Supercar Championship Series
The 2010 V8 Supercar Championship Series was an FIA sanctioned international motor racing series for V8 Supercars. It was the twelfth V8 Supercar Championship Series and the fourteenth series in which V8 Supercars have contested the premier Australian touring car title...

V8Supercar Championship Series 62nd Holden VE Commodore Walkinshaw Racing
Walkinshaw Racing
Walkinshaw Racing, known commercially as Bundaberg Racing Team, is one of two Australian motor racing teams operated by British owned Walkinshaw Performance...

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