Craig Baird

Craig Baird
Baird at Hampton Downs in 2012
Nationality	New Zealander
Born	Craig George Baird (1970-07-22) 22 July 1970 (age 55) Hamilton, New Zealand
Racing licence	FIA Gold (until 2021) FIA Silver (2022–) [1]
Supercars Championship career
Races	172
Wins	1
Podiums	1
Pole positions	1
2016 position	50th (219 points)

Craig George Baird MNZM (born 22 July 1970) is a New Zealand former racing driver who now is the driving standards observer for the Supercars Championship. He had previously raced competitively in the series from 2000 to 2016.

Baird enjoyed a prosperous career in his homeland of New Zealand and throughout the world, and is regarded as one of the countries most successful drivers. He won his first title in 1988 with the New Zealand Formula Ford Championship before moving to the Formula Pacific category the next season. Three years later, he would claim his first championship crown in the category and would win the next two seasons that followed. Throughout these three years, he also won the New Zealand Grand Prix, and shares the record for the most wins for the titular race by a single driver. Baird would then compete in the New Zealand Touring Car Championship where he won four consecutive titles from 1994 to 1997.

In 2000, Baird would sign with Stone Brothers Racing to compete in the V8 Supercars Championship Series. After immediate success in the opening round at Phillip Island, Baird struggled to retain a seat in the category. Driving with various teams for the next few years, he eventually stepped out of the category full-time in 2005. From there, he began competing in Porsche championships in Australia and New Zealand. Throughout his tenure, Baird established himself as one of the most successful drivers in the category with a five Australian Carrera Cup Championship titles and six New Zealand Porsche GT3 Championship titles. These achievements led to him being recognised by Porsche Germany as the most successful Porsche Cup driver in the world.

Following on from his fruitful racing career, Baird now assumes the role of driving standards observer for the Supercars Championship and was appointed to the Motorsport New Zealand board. ^[2]

Junior and early racing career

Karting

Baird started racing karts in 1974 at the age of four. He achieved considerable success with four New Zealand titles and was a two-time Asia-Pacific champion.

Junior formula

Baird began his foray into racing cars in 1985 in the New Zealand Formula Ford Championship. After two years of moderate success, he finally broke through for his first championship title in the 1987-88 season. The next season, Baird graduated to the New Zealand Formula Pacific Championship. After recording respectable results in his first full season, he competed on a part-time schedule for the next season where he recorded three wins from four appearances. The following year, he captured the title as well as the Motorsport New Zealand ‘Gold Star’ and won the New Zealand Grand Prix, driving a Swift DB4-Toyota. In 1992 and 1993, he dominated the championship, again attaining the New Zealand 'Gold Star' and would win the New Zealand Grand Prix twice more, thereby placing him equal-first for the most New Zealand Grand Prix victories by a single driver.

During the course of 1992, he also partook in a campaign in the British Formula Two Championship driving with Graham Lorrimer Motorsport. This proved to be less fruitful than his New Zealand exploits; finishing tenth overall and only nine points to his credit. In America, Baird made select appearances in the Formula Atlantic series in 1990 and 1993. However, his efforts were plagued by mechanical problems. He would also compete in the World Cup Formula 3000 in Buenos Aires. He retired from the event after 40 laps.

Touring car career

In 1994, Baird would step out of single seaters and begin his pursuit in the touring car category. First competing in the New Zealand Touring Car Championship driving for BMW Motorsport New Zealand. This yielded immediate success with Baird winning the championship in his debut season. He would retain his title for the next three seasons. In this time, he also competed in the 1996 South African Touring Car Championship with the BMW works team. He achieved three podiums and finished eighth overall for the season. In 1997, Baird would make select appearances in the Australian Super Touring Championship for BMW Motorsport Australia. Later that year, he would team up with Paul Morris to drive in the 1997 AMP Bathurst 1000. The pairing took pole position and Baird drove the car to provisional victory. However, the team had breached the race regulation which limited any one driver to a maximum of three hours continuous driving and thus were disqualified from the overall results.

British Touring Car Championship

Despite the disappointment of the disqualification, Baird's performance had captured the attention of race teams overseas. Multiple teams from the British Touring Car Championship were in attendance and were keen to sign the Kiwi after the event. This included West Surrey Racing owner Dick Bennetts, who he was already familiar with owing to having tested Formula 3 machinery with in the past. He would eventually sign a two-year deal with West Surrey Racing to compete in the series starting from 1998, driving a Ford Mondeo. Despite early promise in pre-season testing at Donington in the previous years' Mondeo, the newer iteration used for the season proved to be uncompetitive owing to a lack of balance in the car thanks in part to the increased engine weight. Thus Baird struggled for results the entire year and was constantly changing his driving style in a bid to find improvements. However, the cars characteristics meant that it tended to excel more in wet weather conditions. He recorded a best result of sixth in the rain at Snetterton and led at Knockhill. His campaign was also intermittently interrupted by way of being subsidised for 1992 Formula One World Champion, Nigel Mansell in select rounds. After WSR lost the Ford contract for the 1999 season, Baird would leave Europe and returned to New Zealand. ^[3]

V8 Supercars

Baird's first racing experience aboard a V8 Supercar came in the 1997 Primus 1000 Classic when he partnered Steven Johnson at Dick Johnson Racing. The pairing finished the race fourth albeit three laps down.

Baird made his championship debut in the category in the 1999 Queensland 500 as co-driver to Jason Bright at Stone Brothers Racing. The pairing placed their Ford Falcon on pole position for the event and were comfortably on course for victory on Sunday. However, mechanical issues forced them out of the race after 111 laps. They also demonstrated strong pace at the Bathurst 1000 but were once again overcome with mechanical issues. With Bright bound for the United States to compete in Indy Lights, this left a vacancy at Stone Brothers Racing. Following his performances in these events, Baird was promptly signed on a two-year deal as a full-time driver starting from the 2000 season.

The beginning of Baird's debut season showed tremendous promise. In the second race at the opening round at Phillip Island, Baird stormed from ninth on the grid to win the race by four seconds over Garth Tander. However, this ultimately proved to be the last time that Baird would finish on the podium in the category. After this event, Baird struggled for results for the remainder of the season and would be sacked mid-contract at the end of 2000. ^[4] After losing his full-time drive for 2001, Baird paired with John Faulkner at the Queensland 500. For the Bathurst 1000, he would pair with Mark Noske to drive a Budweiser-sponsored entry run by Prancing Horse Racing. The team struggled for pace and would retire 27 laps into the event after Noske incurred a collision with Craig Lowndes at Forrest's Elbow.

In 2002, Baird would return to the series full-time. Signing with Rod Nash Racing which had formed an alliance with Peter Brock and ran under the Team Brock banner. Baird would team with Brock for the Bathurst 1000. However, they lacked pace and were plagued with mechanical issues. They finished 23rd and 25 laps down. In 2003, he moved to Team Kiwi Racing in search of greener pastures. However, the teams resources were lacking and the season passed without much note. Continuing with the team onto 2004, Baird continued to struggle with the lack of pace in the car although his racecraft did help him attain a handful of top ten finishes that year. The highlight of the season was a surprise pole position at Winton, in part thanks to changing conditions throughout the session.

Ahead of the 2005 season, Baird left Team Kiwi Racing for WPS Racing, marking his return to the Ford stable. The most noteworthy event to transpire for Baird that season was an accident that occurred during the final race at Pukekohe Park Raceway. At the end of lap 31, rain started to fall upon the circuit. This caught an array of drivers out and, in the ensuing chaos, Baird was spun by Paul Dumbrell and was sent into the wooden paddock fence used as part of the horse racing track. Baird retired from the race on the sport and the significant damage inflicted resulted in an extended red flag period. Following the conclusion of the 2005 season, WPS Racing would replace both Baird and teammate David Besnard with Jason Bargwanna and Brazilian driver, Max Wilson. With no other seats available elsewhere on the grid, this marked the last season where Baird would be a full-time driver in the V8 Supercar series.

Baird would be retained however, for the 2006 endurance events by WPS Racing. Partnering Bargwanna, achieving good results in both the Sandown 500 and Bathurst 1000. At the eleventh round in Tasmania, Baird would be afforded a one-off appearance for Team Kiwi Racing when he deputised for the injured Paul Radisich. Thereafter, Baird's racing resume in V8 Supercars was precluded purely to endurance co-driving duties. Competing with the Holden Racing Team, HSV Dealer Team, Stone Brothers Racing and Erebus Motorsport. Baird's final race in the category came in the 2016 endurance events, recording a 20th place finish in the second race at Surfers Paradise alongside main series driver, David Reynolds

Return to New Zealand

The FG Falcon that Baird drove in the inaugural V8SuperTourer series

Beginning in 2008, Baird began racing in the New Zealand V8s series. Alongside his duties in the local Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge, Baird would drive full-time with Pedersen Sheehan Racing. He finished third overall for the season with four wins to his credit. He returned the next season for the same time, this time winning the title over John McIntyre. McIntyre would reclaim the title next season as Baird narrowly missed out on the title after a trouble last couple of rounds.

Baird would take part in the inaugural running of the newly-formed V8SuperTourer series with PSR Racing. He scored two sprint championship podiums at Ruapuna and a third-placing at the same venue in the endurance series. He returned to the series for the next season, achieving similar results. Having left the series after this, Baird returned the New Zealand V8s series for 2014–15 season. This time driving in the TL class with Team Kiwi Racing. He ran a limited schedule of six races, winning two and finishing seventh in the overall standings. In the 2015–16 season, he returned for select rounds with the same team, although this time driving in Class One. He recorded two wins at Taupō and Pukekohe.

Sports car career

Baird won the 2012 Australian Carrera Cup Championship in this Jet Travel Insurance entry.

Baird placed 8th in the 2013 Australian GT Championship driving Ferrari, Mercedes-Benz (pictured) & Porsche

At the end of 1997, Baird took part in the TraNZam Championship Series. The championship utilised Trans-Am cars and took place across New Zealand over the summer spanning the end of 1997 to the beginning of 1998. He would finish second overall to series champion, Shane Drake. After returning from his failed stint in the British Touring Car Championship at the end of 1998, Baird returned to the series, once again finishing second in the championship to Drake. In his third attempt at the TraNZam crown, he finally pulled through to win the 1999-2000 championship. In this time, he began making one-off appearances in various sports car championships across the world. The first came in 1998 in the United States Road Racing Championship driving for Storm Racing in the GT category. He also drove in the Trans-Am Series for Alan Ferguson Racing in 2000. In 2001, he made select appearances in the Australian Nations Cup Championship for Prancing Horse Racing, procuring an array of podiums.

Porsche Carrera Cup

Baird first exploits in Porsche Carrera Cup machinery came in the Porsche GT3 Cup Trans-Tasman held over the summer break at the end of 2003. He was a consistent front-runner and finished the championship in third place. At the end of 2004, while still competing in the V8 Supercar series, he made his debut in the Australian Carrera Cup Championship for Team VIP Petfoods.

Following the conclusion of his full-time V8 Supercar career the end of 2005, Baird signed on to compete in the Australian Carrera Cup Championship. Taking nine wins from 24 races, Baird proved to be the pacesetter and won the overall championship ahead of Alex Davison.

Honours

In the 2010 New Year Honours, Baird was appointed a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit, for services to motorsport. ^[5]

Career results

Career summary

Season	Series	Team	Races	Wins	Poles	F. Laps	Podiums	Points	Position
1985–86	New Zealand Formula Ford Championship	Caltex	?	?	?	?	?	?	N/A
1986–87	New Zealand Formula Ford Championship	Caltex	21	?	?	?	1	?	N/A
1987–88	New Zealand Formula Ford Championship	Caltex	21	?	?	?	?	?	1st
1988	Asia-Pacific Touring Car Championship	Glenn McIntyre Racing	1	0	0	0	0	0	N/A
1989	New Zealand Formula Pacific Championship	Caltex	10	0	?	?	0	?	N/A
1990	New Zealand Formula Pacific Championship	Caltex	4	3	?	?	3	?	N/A
	Australian Endurance Championship	Bryce Racing	2	0	0	0	0	0	N/A
	SCCA Toyota Atlantic Championship (West) - Pacific		4	0	0	0	0	26	16th
1991	New Zealand Formula Pacific Championship		12	6	?	?	6	?	1st
1992	New Zealand Formula Pacific Championship		12	11	?	?	11	?	1st
	British Formula Two Championship	Graham Lorrimer Motorsport	10	0	0	0	0	9	10th
	World Cup Formula 3000	Weylock Racing	1	0	0	0	0	0	N/A
1993	New Zealand Formula Pacific Championship		10	?	?	?	?	?	1st
	Toyota Atlantic Championship		1	?	?	?	?	?	N/A
1993–94	New Zealand Touring Car Championship	BMW Motorsport New Zealand	?	?	?	?	?	?	1st
1994–95	New Zealand Touring Car Championship	BMW Motorsport New Zealand	?	?	?	?	?	?	1st
1995–96	New Zealand Touring Car Championship	BMW Motorsport New Zealand	6	?	?	?	?	?	1st
1996	South African Touring Car Championship	BMW Motorsport South Africa	18	0	0	0	3	27	8th
1996–97	New Zealand Touring Car Championship	BMW Motorsport New Zealand	16	12	9	4	14	543	1st
1997	Australian Super Touring Championship	BMW Motorsport Australia	4	0	1	1	2	35	8th
1997–98	TraNZam Championship		?	?	?	?	?	?	2nd
1998	British Touring Car Championship	West Surrey Racing	17	0	0	0	0	6	20th
	United States Road Racing Championship	Storm Racing	1	0	0	0	0	0	N/A
1998–99	TraNZam Championship		20	3	0	0	4	212	2nd
1999	Shell Championship Series	Stone Brothers Racing	2	0	0	0	0	0	N/A
1999–00	TraNZam Championship		?	?	?	?	?	255	1st
2000	Shell Championship Series	Stone Brothers Racing	31	1	0	0	1	702	15th
	BFGoodrich Tires Trans-Am Series	Alan Ferguson Racing	2	0	0	0	1	33	33rd
2000–01	TraNZam Championship		3	3	1	0	3	96	10th
2001	Shell Championship Series	John Faulkner Racing Prancing Horse Racing	2	0	0	0	0	56	76th
	Australian Nations Cup Championship	Prancing Horse Racing	6	0	0	0	4	297	12th
	Australian GT Production Car Championship	Prancing Horse Racing	2	0	0	0	0	5	25th
2001–02	New Zealand Touring Car Championship		3	0	0	1	1	65	16th
2002	V8 Supercar Championship Series	Rod Nash Racing	29	0	0	0	0	380	27th
2003	V8 Supercar Championship Series	Team Kiwi Racing	22	0	0	0	0	856	30th
2003–04	Porsche GT3 Cup Trans-Tasman		7	0	0	0	6	672	3rd
2004	V8 Supercar Championship Series	Team Kiwi Racing	24	0	1	0	0	925	27th
	Australian Carrera Cup Championship	Team VIP Petfoods	9	1	0	0	4	324	13th
2004–05	Battery Town Porsche GT3 Cup		23	14	4	11	20	1444	1st
2005	V8 Supercar Championship Series	WPS Racing	30	0	0	0	0	980	23rd
	Rolex Sports Car Series - GT	Aussie Assault	1	0	0	0	0	3	190th
2005–06	Battery Town Porsche GT3 Cup	International Motorsport	20	6	1	8	19	1340	1st
2006	V8 Supercar Championship Series	WPS Racing Team Kiwi Racing	4	0	0	0	0	287	38th
	Australian Carrera Cup Championship	Team VIP Petfoods	24	9	0	2	19	1164	1st
2006–07	Battery Town Porsche GT3 Cup		17	6	3	5	15	1121	1st
2007	V8 Supercar Championship Series	HSV Dealer Team	2	0	0	0	0	45	31st
	Australian Carrera Cup Championship	Team VIP Petfoods	24	7	3	7	19	1107	3rd
	Australian GT Championship	Consolidated Chemical Company	4	0	0	0	1	76	22nd
2008	V8 Supercar Championship Series	Holden Racing Team	3	0	0	0	0	118	52nd
	Fujitsu V8 Supercar Series	A.N.T. Racing	3	0	0	0	0	200	31st
	Australian Carrera Cup Championship	Fitzgerald Racing	28	14	3	11	25	1458	1st
	Battery Town Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge	Triple X Motorsport	18	14	2	5	15	1213	1st
	FIA GT Championship - GT2	Juniper Racing	1	0	0	0	0	0.5	30th
	24H Series - A6	Team VIP Petfoods 1	1	1	0	0	1	30	1st
2008–09	Battery Town Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge		18	12	1	6	18	1295	1st
	New Zealand V8s	Pedersen Sheehan Racing	21	4	2	4	9	1048	3rd
2009	V8 Supercar Championship Series	Holden Racing Team	3	0	0	0	0	249	36th
	Australian GT Championship	John Teulan Racing	5	3	2	3	3	114	18th
	Porsche Carrera Cup Asia	Team PCS Racing	1	0	0	0	1	0	N/A
2009–10	Battery Town Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge	Triple X Motorsport	18	5	1	7	15	1415	1st
	New Zealand V8s	Pedersen Sheehan Racing	18	4	0	2	11	1041	1st
2010	V8 Supercar Championship Series	Walkinshaw Racing	2	0	0	0	0	98	62nd
	Fujitsu V8 Supercar Series	Eggleston Motorsport	2	0	0	0	0	133	35th
	Porsche Carrera Cup Asia	Team PCS Racing	10	2	0	0	6	148	3rd
2010–11	Battery Town Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge	Triple X Motorsport	18	9	3	9	12	1037	2nd
	New Zealand V8s	Pedersen Sheehan Racing	21	2	0	3	11	1075	2nd
2011	International V8 Supercars Championship	Walkinshaw Racing	3	0	0	0	0	148	62nd
	Australian Carrera Cup Championship	Dutton Insurance Racing	21	7	2	4	12	980	1st
	Porsche Carrera Cup Asia	SC Global Racing	2	0	0	1	2	0	N/A
	Porsche Carrera World Cup	Porsche AG	1	0	0	0	0	0	39th
	Australian GT Championship	Hallmarc	1	0	0	0	1	50	20th
2012	International V8 Supercars Championship	Stone Brothers Racing	3	0	0	0	0	343	39th
	Australian Carrera Cup Championship	Dutton Insurance Racing	24	10	3	4	22	1267	1st
	Porsche Carrera Cup Asia	SC Global Racing	1	1	0	1	1	0	N/A
	V8 SuperTourer Championship - Sprint	PSR Racing	12	0	0	0	2	1604	8th
	V8 SuperTourer Championship - Endurance		7	0	0	0	1	976	6th
2013	International V8 Supercars Championship	Erebus Motorsport	5	0	0	0	0	546	34th
	Australian Carrera Cup Championship	Alliance Group Racing	20	8	1	2	13	972.5	1st
	Porsche Carrera Cup Asia	Team Carrera Cup Asia	1	0	0	0	1	0	N/A
	V8 SuperTourer Championship	PSR Racing	15	0	0	0	1	1710	12th
	V8 SuperTourer Championship - Endurance		8	0	0	0	0	960	8th
	Australian GT Championship	Clearwater Racing Erebus Motorsport VIP Petfoods	6	2	2	4	6	220	9th
2014	International V8 Supercars Championship	Erebus Motorsport	5	0	0	0	0	72	52nd
	Australian Carrera Cup Championship	Porsche Centre Melbourne	22	4	0	2	7	914	3rd
	GT Asia Series - GT3	Clearwater Racing	7	0	0	0	0	43	16th
	Australian GT Championship	VIP Petfoods Racing	1	0	0	0	0	30	28th
2014–15	New Zealand V8s - TL	Team Kiwi Racing	11	2	1	5	8	587	7th
2015	Australian Carrera Cup Championship	Porsche Centre Melbourne	22	0	0	1	5	806	5th
	Porsche Carrera Cup Asia	Clearwater Racing	14	2	1	2	8	216	2nd
	GT Asia Series - GT3		2	0	0	0	0	9	42nd
	Australian GT Championship	Scott Taylor Motorsport	2	0	0	0	1	81	29th
	Australian Manufacturers' Championship	Alphera Financial Services	1	0	0	0	1	90	23rd
2015–16	NZ Touring Cars Championship - Class One	Team Kiwi Racing	5	2	0	0	2	253	13th
2016	International V8 Supercars Championship	Erebus Motorsport	7	0	0	0	0	219	50th
	Australian Endurance Championship		3	1	1	0	1	351	6th
	Australian GT Championship	Scott Taylor Motorsport	13	3	0	4	5	581	2nd
	Intercontinental GT Challenge	Keltic Racing	1	0	0	0	0	0	N/A
2017	Australian GT Championship	Scott Taylor Motorsport	3	0	0	0	0	35	32nd
	Australian Endurance Championship		2	0	0	0	0	6	37th
	Intercontinental GT Challenge	HTP Motorsport	1	0	0	0	0	0	N/A
2018	Australian GT Championship	Scott Taylor Motorsport	6	2	1	1	2	578	13th
	Intercontinental GT Challenge		1	0	0	0	0	2	24th
2019	Australian GT Championship	Scott Taylor Motorsport	2	0	0	0	0	190	19th

Supercars Championship results

(Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Supercars results
Year	Team	Car	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31	32	33	34	35	36	37	38	39	Position	Points
1999	Stone Brothers Racing	Ford Falcon (AU)	EAS R1	EAS R2	EAS R3	ADE R4	BAR R5	BAR R6	BAR R7	PHI R8	PHI R9	PHI R10	HID R11	HID R12	HID R13	SAN R14	SAN R15	SAN R16	QLD R17	QLD R18	QLD R19	CAL R20	CAL R21	CAL R22	SYM R23	SYM R24	SYM R25	WIN R26	WIN R27	WIN R28	ORA R29	ORA R30	ORA R31	QLD R32 Ret	BAT R33 Ret							N/A	0
2000	Stone Brothers Racing	Ford Falcon (AU)	PHI R1 9	PHI R2 1	BAR R3 28	BAR R4 14	BAR R5 12	ADE R6 13	ADE R7 15	EAS R8 10	EAS R9 7	EAS R10 Ret	HDV R11 14	HDV R12 8	HDV R13 6	CAN R14 Ret	CAN R15 Wth	CAN R16 Wth	QLD R17 14	QLD R18 Ret	QLD R19 15	WIN R20 16	WIN R21 13	WIN R22 5	ORA R23 20	ORA R24 10	ORA R25 25	CAL R26 23	CAL R27 22	CAL R28 19	QLD R29 10	SAN R30 14	SAN R31 11	SAN R32 10	BAT R33 7							15th	702
2001	John Faulkner Racing	Holden Commodore (VT)	PHI R1	PHI R2	ADE R3	ADE R4	EAS R5	EAS R6	HDV R7	HDV R8	HDV R9	CAN R10	CAN R11	CAN R12	BAR R13	BAR R14	BAR R15	CAL R16	CAL R17	CAL R18	ORA R19	ORA R20	QLD R21 Ret	WIN R22	WIN R23	BAT R24	PUK R25	PUK R26	PUK R27	SAN R28	SAN R29	SAN R30										76th	56
	Prancing Horse Racing	Ford Falcon (AU)	PHI R1	PHI R2	ADE R3	ADE R4	EAS R5	EAS R6	HDV R7	HDV R8	HDV R9	CAN R10	CAN R11	CAN R12	BAR R13	BAR R14	BAR R15	CAL R16	CAL R17	CAL R18	ORA R19	ORA R20	QLD R21	WIN R22	WIN R23	BAT R24 Ret	PUK R25	PUK R26	PUK R27	SAN R28	SAN R29	SAN R30
2002	Rod Nash Racing	Holden Commodore (VX)	ADE R1 12	ADE R2 Ret	PHI R3 15	PHI R4 12	EAS R5 26	EAS R6 20	EAS R7 Ret	HDV R8 26	HDV R9 15	HDV R10 22	CAN R11 15	CAN R12 11	CAN R13 13	BAR R14 25	BAR R15 19	BAR R16 Ret	ORA R17 17	ORA R18 Ret	WIN R19 21	WIN R20 14	QLD R21 Ret	BAT R22 23	SUR R23 Ret	SUR R24 12	PUK R25 18	PUK R26 Ret	PUK R27 Ret	SAN R28 21	SAN R29 Ret											27th	380
2003	Team Kiwi Racing	Holden Commodore (VX)	ADE R1 21	ADE R1 14	PHI R3 19	EAS R4 24	WIN R5 DSQ	BAR R6 25	BAR R7 24	BAR R8 22	HDV R9 22	HDV R10 19	HDV R11 27	QLD R12 18	ORA R13 22	SAN R14 Ret	BAT R15 17	SUR R16 21	SUR R17 14	PUK R18 23	PUK R19 19	PUK R20 22	EAS R21 26	EAS R22 20																		30th	856
2004	Team Kiwi Racing	Holden Commodore (VY)	ADE R1 16	ADE R2 12	EAS R3 9	PUK R4 9	PUK R5 17	PUK R6 20	HDV R7 16	HDV R8 31	HDV R9 20	BAR R10 23	BAR R11 Ret	BAR R12 DNS	QLD R13 17	WIN R14 22	ORA R15 31	ORA R16 15	SAN R17 13	BAT R18 Ret	SUR R19 Ret	SUR R20 22	SYM R21 27	SYM R22 Ret	SYM R23 DNS	EAS R24 Ret	EAS R25 16	EAS R26 17														27th	925
2005	WPS Racing	Ford Falcon (BA)	ADE R1 Ret	ADE R2 10	PUK R3 Ret	PUK R4 12	PUK R5 Ret	BAR R6 19	BAR R7 20	BAR R8 16	EAS R9 21	EAS R10 17	SHA R11 24	SHA R12 19	SHA R13 15	HDV R14 27	HDV R15 20	HDV R16 16	QLD R17 16	ORA R18 Ret	ORA R19 Ret	SAN R20 19	BAT R21 8	SUR R22 11	SUR R23 12	SUR R24 29	SYM R25 26	SYM R26 18	SYM R27 27	PHI R28 30	PHI R29 27	PHI R30 29										23rd	980
2006	WPS Racing	Ford Falcon (BA)	ADE R1	ADE R2	PUK R3	PUK R4	PUK R5	BAR R6	BAR R7	BAR R8	WIN R9	WIN R10	WIN R11	HDV R12	HDV R13	HDV R14	QLD R15	QLD R16	QLD R17	ORA R18	ORA R19	ORA R20	SAN R21 7	BAT R22 10	SUR R23	SUR R24	SUR R25	SYM R26	SYM R27	SYM R28	BHR R29	BHR R30	BHR R31	PHI R32	PHI R33	PHI R34						38th	287
	Team Kiwi Racing	Holden Commodore (VZ)	ADE R1	ADE R2	PUK R3	PUK R4	PUK R5	BAR R6	BAR R7	BAR R8	WIN R9	WIN R10	WIN R11	HDV R12	HDV R13	HDV R14	QLD R15	QLD R16	QLD R17	ORA R18	ORA R19	ORA R20	SAN R21	BAT R22	SUR R23	SUR R24	SUR R25	SYM R26 25	SYM R27 Ret	SYM R28 DNS	BHR R29	BHR R30	BHR R31	PHI R32	PHI R33	PHI R34
2007	HSV Dealer Team	Holden Commodore (VE)	ADE R1	ADE R2	BAR R3	BAR R4	BAR R5	PUK R6	PUK R7	PUK R8	WIN R9	WIN R10	WIN R11	EAS R12	EAS R13	EAS R14	HDV R15	HDV R16	HDV R17	QLD R18	QLD R19	QLD R20	ORA R21	ORA R22	ORA R23	SAN R24 4	BAT R25 Ret	SUR R26	SUR R27	SUR R28	BHR R29	BHR R30	BHR R31	SYM R32	SYM R33	SYM R34	PHI R35	PHI R36	PHI R37			31st	45
2008	Holden Racing Team	Holden Commodore (VE)	ADE R1	ADE R2	EAS R3	EAS R4	EAS R5	HAM R6	HAM R7	HAM R8	BAR R9	BAR R10	BAR R11	SAN R12	SAN R13	SAN R14	HDV R15	HDV R16	HDV R17	QLD R18	QLD R19	QLD R20	WIN R21	WIN R22	WIN R23	PHI Q 27	PHI R24 14	BAT R25 Ret	SUR R26	SUR R27	SUR R28	BHR R29	BHR R30	BHR R31	SYM R32	SYM R33	SYM R34	ORA R35	ORA R36	ORA R37		52nd	118
2009	Holden Racing Team	Holden Commodore (VE)	ADE R1	ADE R2	HAM R3	HAM R4	WIN R5	WIN R6	SYM R7	SYM R8	HDV R9	HDV R10	TOW R11	TOW R12	SAN R13	SAN R14	QLD R15	QLD R16	PHI Q 24	PHI R17 8	BAT R18 21	SUR R19	SUR R20	SUR R21	SUR R22	PHI R23	PHI R24	BAR R25	BAR R26	SYD R27	SYD R28											36th	249
2010	Walkinshaw Racing	Holden Commodore (VE)	YMC R1	YMC R2	BHR R3	BHR R4	ADE R5	ADE R6	HAM R7	HAM R8	QLD R9	QLD R10	WIN R11	WIN R12	HDV R13	HDV R14	TOW R15	TOW R16	PHI R17 19	BAT R18 Ret	SUR R19	SUR R20	SYM R21	SYM R22	SAN R23	SAN R24	SYD R25	SYD R26														62nd	98
2011	Walkinshaw Racing	Holden Commodore (VE)	YMC R1	YMC R2	ADE R3	ADE R4	HAM R5	HAM R6	BAR R7	BAR R8	BAR R9	WIN R10	WIN R11	HID R12	HID R13	TOW R14	TOW R15	QLD R16	QLD R17	QLD R18	PHI R19 10	BAT R20 Ret	SUR R21	SUR R22	SYM R23	SYM R24	SAN R25	SAN R26	SYD R27	SYD R28												62nd	148
2012	Stone Brothers Racing	Ford Falcon (FG)	ADE R1	ADE R2	SYM R3	SYM R4	HAM R5	HAM R6	BAR R7	BAR R8	BAR R9	PHI R10	PHI R11	HID R12	HID R13	TOW R14	TOW R15	QLD R16	QLD R17	SMP R18	SMP R19	SAN QR 14	SAN R20 8	BAT R21 8	SUR R22	SUR R23	YMC R24	YMC R25	YMC R26	WIN R27	WIN R28	SYD R29	SYD R30									39th	343
2013	Erebus Motorsport	Mercedes-Benz E63 AMG	ADE R1	ADE R2	SYM R3	SYM R4	SYM R5	PUK R6	PUK R7	PUK R8	PUK R9	BAR R10	BAR R11	BAR R12	COA R13	COA R14	COA R15	COA R16	HID R17	HID R18	HID R19	TOW R20	TOW R21	QLD R22	QLD R23	QLD R24	WIN R25	WIN R26	WIN R27	SAN R28 4	BAT R29 14	SUR R30 12	SUR R31 5	PHI R32	PHI R33	PHI R34	SYD R35	SYD R36				34th	546
2014	Erebus Motorsport	Mercedes-Benz E63 AMG	ADE R1	ADE R2	ADE R3	SYM R4	SYM R5	SYM R6	WIN R7	WIN R8	WIN R9	PUK R10	PUK R11	PUK R12	PUK R13	BAR R14	BAR R15	BAR R16	HID R17	HID R18	HID R19	TOW R20	TOW R21	TOW R22	QLD R23	QLD R24	QLD R25	SMP R26	SMP R27	SMP R28	SAN QR 14	SAN R29 Ret	BAT R30 Ret	SUR R31 11	SUR R32 Ret	PHI R33	PHI R34	PHI R35	SYD R36	SYD R37	SYD R38	52nd	72
2016	Erebus Motorsport	Holden Commodore (VF)	ADE R1	ADE R2	ADE R3	SYM R4	SYM R5	PHI R6	PHI R7	BAR R8	BAR R9	WIN R10	WIN R11	HID R12	HID R13	TOW R14	TOW R15	QLD R16 24	QLD R17 22	SMP R18	SMP R19	SAN QR 22	SAN R20 DSQ	BAT R21 18	SUR R22 Ret	SUR R23 20	PUK R24	PUK R25	PUK R26	PUK R27	SYD R28	SYD R29										50th	219

Australian Carrera Cup Championship results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position – 1 point awarded all races) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap) (* signifies that driver lead feature race for at least one lap – 1 point awarded)

Year	Team	Car	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	Pos	Pts
2006	Sherrin Motor Sport	Porsche 911 GT3 Cup	ADE R1	ADE R2	ADE R3	WAK R4	WAK R5	WAK R6	HID R7	HID R8	HID R9	ORA R10	ORA R11	ORA R12	SAN R13	SAN R14	SAN R15	BAT R16	BAT R17	BAT R18	SUR R19	SUR R20	SUR R21	PHI R22	PHI R23	PHI R24					6th	633
2007	Sherrin Motor Sport	Porsche 911 GT3 Cup	ADE R1	ADE R2	ADE R3	WIN R4	WIN R5	WIN R6	HID R7	HID R8	HID R9	QLD R10	QLD R11	QLD R12	ORA R13	ORA R14	ORA R15	SAN R16	SAN R17	SAN R18	BAT R19	BAT R20	BAT R21	SUR R22	SUR R23	SUR R24					8th	533
2008	Fitzgerald Racing	Porsche 911 GT3 Cup	ADE R1	ADE R2	ADE R3	ALB R4	ALB R5	ALB R6	ALB R7	WAK R8	WAK R9	WAK R10	BAR R11	BAR R12	BAR R13	SAN R14	SAN R15	SAN R16	QLD R17	QLD R18	QLD R19	PHI R20	PHI R21	PHI R22	BAT R23	BAT R24	BAT R25	SUR R26	SUR R27	SUR R28	1st	1458
2011	Dutton Insurance Racing	Porsche 911 GT3 Cup	ALB R1 2	ALB R2 1	ALB R3 1	BAR R4 4	BAR R5 2	BAR R6 6	TOW R7 4	TOW R8 3	TOW R9 4	PHI R10 2	PHI R11 1	PHI R12 11	BAT R13 4	BAT R14 4	BAT R15 1	SUR R16 1	SUR R17 1	SUR R18 1	HOM R19 2	HOM R20 6	HOM R21 Ret								1st	980
2012	Alliance Group Racing	Porsche 911 GT3 Cup	ADE R1 7	ADE R2 2	ADE R3 1	ALB R4 1	ALB R5 1	ALB R6 1	BAR R7 3	BAR R8 2	BAR R9 2	PHI R10 3	PHI R11 1	PHI R12 3	TOW R13 3	TOW R14 2	TOW R15 3	BAT R16 1	BAT R17 1	BAT R18 1	SUR R19 1	SUR R20 1	SUR R21 8	HOM R22 2	HOM R23 2	HOM R24 3					1st	1267
2013	Alliance Group Racing	Porsche 911 GT3 Cup	ADE R1	ADE R2	ADE R3	ALB R4	ALB R5	ALB R6	SYD R7	SYD R8	TOW R9	TOW R10	TOW R11	WIN R12	WIN R13	WIN R14	BAT R15	BAT R16	BAT R17	SUR R18	SUR R19	SUR R20									1st	972.5
2014	Alliance Group Racing	Porsche 911 GT3 Cup	ADE R1	ADE R2	ADE R3	ALB R4	ALB R5	ALB R6	PHI R7	PHI R8	TOW R9	TOW R10	TOW R11	SMP R12	SMP R13	SMP R14	SAN R15	SAN R16	SAN R17	BAT R18	BAT R19	BAT R20	SUR R21	SUR R22	SUR R23						3rd	914
2015	Porsche Centre Melbourne	Porsche 911 GT3 Cup	ADE R1	ADE R2	ADE R3	ALB R4	ALB R5	ALB R6	PHI R7	PHI R8	TOW R9	TOW R10	TOW R11	SMP R12	SMP R13	SMP R14	SAN R15	SAN R16	SAN R17	BAT R18	BAT R19	SUR R20	SUR R21	SUR R22							5th	806

British Touring Car Championship results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position – 1 point awarded all races) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap) (* signifies that driver lead feature race for at least one lap – 1 point awarded)

Year	Team	Car	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	Pos	Pts
1998	Ford Mondeo Racing	Ford Mondeo	THR 1 15	THR 2 14	SIL 1 Ret	SIL 2 10	DON 1 14	DON 2 13	BRH 1 15	BRH 2 Ret	OUL 1 14	OUL 2 11	DON 1	DON 2	CRO 1 14	CRO 2 13	SNE 1 11	SNE 2 6	THR 1 Ret	THR 2 DNS	KNO 1 12	KNO 2 13*	BRH 1	BRH 2	OUL 1	OUL 2	SIL 1	SIL 2	20th	6

Note: No points were awarded for leading in the feature race at Knockhill.

Bathurst 1000 results

Year	Car#	Team	Car	Co-driver	Position	Laps
1990	54	Diet Coke Racing	BMW 318i	Brett Riley	DNF	82
1994	45	Diet Coke Racing	BMW 318i	Brett Riley	11th	152
1997 *	2	BMW Motorsport Australia	BMW 320i	Paul Morris	DSQ	161
1997	18	Dick Johnson Racing	Ford EL Falcon	Steven Johnson	4th	158
1999	4	Stone Brothers Racing	Ford AU Falcon	Jason Bright	DNF	145
2000	4	Stone Brothers Racing	Ford AU Falcon	Simon Wills	7th	161
2001	888	Prancing Horse Racing	Ford AU Falcon	Mark Noske	DNF	27
2002	05	Team Brock	Holden VX Commodore	Peter Brock	23rd	136
2003	021	Team Kiwi Racing	Holden VX Commodore	Mark Porter	17th	149
2004	021	Team Kiwi Racing	Holden VY Commodore	Mark Porter	DNF	129
2005	48	WPS Racing	Ford BA Falcon	David Besnard	8th	158
2006	10	WPS Racing	Ford BA Falcon	Jason Bargwanna	10th	161
2007	16	HSV Dealer Team	Holden VE Commodore	Paul Radisich	DNF	137
2008	2	Holden Racing Team	Holden VE Commodore	Glenn Seton	DNF	146
2009	22	Holden Racing Team	Holden VE Commodore	Paul Dumbrell	21st	153
2010	24	Walkinshaw Racing	Holden VE Commodore	Fabian Coulthard	DNF	0
2011	61	Walkinshaw Racing	Holden VE Commodore	Fabian Coulthard	DNF	13
2012	4	Stone Brothers Racing	Ford FG Falcon	Lee Holdsworth	8th	161
2013	4	Erebus Motorsport	Mercedes-Benz E63 AMG	Lee Holdsworth	14th	161
2014	4	Erebus Motorsport	Mercedes-Benz E63 AMG	Lee Holdsworth	DNF	132
2016	9	Erebus Motorsport	Holden VF Commodore	David Reynolds	18th	148

* Super Touring race

Bathurst 12 Hour results

Year	Team	Co-drivers	Car	Class	Laps	Overall position	Class position
2007	Eastern Creek Karts P/L	Paul Morris Garry Holt	BMW 335i	A	257	1st	1st
2008	Eastern Creek Karts P/L	Paul Morris Garry Holt	BMW 335i	B	252	3rd	1st
2009	Wilson Brothers Racing	Lee Castle Rodney Forbes	Subaru Impreza WRX	C	65	DNF	DNF
2011	VIP Pet Foods Racing	Klark Quinn Tony Quinn	Porsche 997 GT3 Cup R	A	291	3rd	3rd
2012	Clearwater Racing	Matt Griffin Weng Sun Mok	Ferrari 458 GT3	A	268	3rd	3rd
2013	Clearwater Racing	Matt Griffin Weng Sun Mok	Ferrari 458 GT3	A	267	2nd	2nd
2014	Clearwater Racing	Matt Griffin Hiroshi Hamaguachi Weng Sun Mok	Ferrari 458 GT3	A	57	DNF	DNF
2015	M Motorsport	Justin McMillan Steven Richards	Lamborghini Gallardo LP560-4	AP	129	DNF	DNF
2016	Darrell Lea	Klark Quinn Tony Quinn	McLaren 650S GT3	AA	171	DNF	DNF
2017	Scott Taylor Motorsports	Maro Engel Shane van Gisbergen	Mercedes AMG GT3	AA	283	DNF	DNF
2018	Scott Taylor Motorsports	Tony D'Alberto Max Twigg	Mercedes AMG GT3	APA	268	12th	6th

References

1. Goodwin, Graham (10 November 2021). "Updated 2022 Provisional FIA Driver Rankings Published". Dailysportscar. Retrieved 21 February 2025.
2. "Craig Baird appointed to MotorSport New Zealand's Board". Motorsport New Zealand. 5 December 2025. Retrieved 5 December 2025.
3. "Interview with former BTCC racer – Craig Baird". 1990sBTCC.com. 3 August 2020. Retrieved 5 December 2025.
4. "HERO TO ZERO: WHAT WENT WRONG FOR BAIRD AT SBR". V8 Sleuth. 18 August 2022. Retrieved 5 December 2025.
5. "New Year honours list 2010". Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet. 31 December 2009. Retrieved 1 January 2020.

External links

• Craig Baird career summary at DriverDB.com
• Speedsport Profile
• Craig Baird driver statistics at Racing-Reference

Sporting positions
Preceded by Ken Smith	Winner of the New Zealand Grand Prix 1991, 1992, 1993	Succeeded by Greg Murphy
Preceded by Fabian Coulthard	Winner of the Australian Carrera Cup Championship 2006	Succeeded by David Reynolds
Preceded by John Bowe Dick Johnson	Winner of the Bathurst 12 Hour 2007 (with Paul Morris & Garry Holt)	Succeeded by Graham Alexander Rod Salmon Damien White
Preceded by David Reynolds	Winner of the Australian Carrera Cup Championship 2008, 2011-2013	Succeeded by Steven Richards