The 20-year-old Tauranga man seriously injured following a crash in Whakamarama late Saturday night is recovering in Waikato Hospital.

Emergency services, including Omokoroa Fire Brigade, were called to the crash on State Highway 2, near Te Karaka Drive, just after 11.30pm on Saturday.

The Tauranga driver injured in a crash in Whakamarama is recovering in Waikato Hospital. Photo: Cameron Avery.

The man suffered serious head injuries in the crash and was in a critical condition in Tauranga Hospital's Intensive Care Unit on Sunday morning.

Tauranga Hospital communications advisor James Fuller says the man was in a stable condition on Sunday afternoon before being transferred to Waikato Hospital, where a hospital spokesperson says he remains in a stable condition.

Despite initial reports the injured man was a passenger in the vehicle, Western Bay of Plenty road policing manager Senior Sergeant Ian Campion says the man was the driver.

'The passenger sustained minor injuries.”

He says provisional indications are that speed and alcohol are likely causes of the crash.