V8 Supercar driver David Reynolds has taken his third successive victory at this weekend’s second round of the New Zealand Battery Town Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge series, leading his Triple X team to a one-two for the Ruapuna weekend.
Having not driven a Porsche race car since finishing second overall in the previous season standings, the 24-year-old Melbourne race car driver made a late return, beating his championship leading team-mate in both of today’s sprint races to second.
Driving the Hampsta/Indians Bar Porsche 997, Reynolds won the late Sunday morning ten-lap, using two new tyres in a weather strategy that put him well ahead of the 14-car field.
Second, Craig Baird in the Mad Butcher ZM car had an opposite strategy, saving his tyre allocation for the afternoon top-six reverse grid race – planning to optimise his chances for a dry track.
While the weather had improved from Saturday’s wet race, conditions changed early in the afternoon that saw a return of the rain just as the cars started the 14-lap top-six reverse-grid finale. Starting from pole position, Daniel Gaunt in the Placemakers/Hampsta Porsche 997 was overtaken by Reynolds in the run to the first turn, settling for third in the early stages. As the rain continued to fall, officials declared an early finish, rather than force teams to switch to wet-weather tyres.
“I got a fantastic start,” said Reynolds of his race. “That new carbon clutch in the car is almost like starting a V8 Supercar. The race panned out well; I went round the outside at the first corner, put my head down, pulled a gap and played it smart. Halliday, who was behind me, went off briefly and that gave me an even better gap – so I could relax and just concentrate on bringing it home.”
Starting from dead-last in the championship, Reynolds is now placed seventh having missed the first three races in the new season: “It’s unfortunate I missed the first round – but the idea is to end up on the podium before the finish, helping the Triple X Team to another championship one-two-three by winning as many races I can.”
Extending his lead overall, defending champion Craig Baird has a 102 point lead over second placed and team-mate Daniel Gaunt.
“I could only just hang on to the car out there, so concentrated on just finishing – it’s too early in the championship to take risks when I was going to extend my position,” said Baird in transition from his Porsche to the V8 he is also campaigning this season.
“We had a tyre strategy for the reverse-grid race so to see the rain was really disappointing, but it’s great to have David back and help the team again in the championship.”
Finishing eighth this morning, team principal Shane McKillen in the VnC Cocktails/Juice Bar Porsche 997 started just behind David Reynolds in the final race – finishing tenth in poor visibility.
A ninth in the morning race by Christchurch car dealer Paul Kelly, a switch to wet-weather tyres during the first lap of the afternoon race allowed him to climb from last to seventh.
Following yesterday’s crash in qualifying, Auckland’s Courtney Letica remains in Christchurch hospital, under observation for concussion and is receiving treatment for a lower-leg fracture.
Wishing the 21-year-old a speedy recovery, the team have been making repairs to his Altherm Porsche 997 to allow transport to the Auckland based workshop. Packing the remaining five cars, the Triple X Motorsport team will return to the South Island early in the New Year for two successive weekends’ of racing, starting with Teretonga near Invercargill January 15-17, and then Timaru January 22-24.
# # #
Points: Battery Town Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge – top 11 after round of two.
Pos, car, driver, home, points
1 1 Craig Baird – Triple X - Queensland 546
2 3 Daniel Gaunt – Triple X - Auckland 444
3 9 Matt Halliday USA 436
4 21 Jonny Reid Auckland 430
5 96 Anthony Pedersen Rotorua 394
6 32 Mitch Cunningham Auckland 306
7 82 David Reynolds – Triple X - Melbourne 300
8 5 Andrew Bagnall Auckland 285
9 8 Simon McLennan Wellington 242
10 26 Simon Evans Auckland 238
11 11 Shane McKillen – Triple X - Auckland 237
Sunday, November 29, 2009
Saturday, November 28, 2009
Reynolds wins Porsche race for Triple X
From pole position, Melbourne’s David Reynolds has won today’s Mad Butcher 100 kilometre Porsche race at Ruapuna Park Raceway near Christchurch, despite harrowing pressure from defending series champion and current points leader Craig Baird.
The second round of the Battery Town Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge series, Reynolds in the Hampsta/Indians Bar Porsche 997 was overtaken at the quarter-mark by Triple X Motorsport team-mate Craig Baird, in the Mad Butcher/ZM Porsche. However, a slow exit by Baird during the compulsory pit-stop returned Reynolds to the lead, while the Queensland based Kiwi fought hard to reduce the deficit to within 0.283 of a second at the chequered flag.
“I was probably pushing too hard for the amount of grip I had,” admitted Reynolds at only just snaring victory.
“Craig is very fast around here and I was lucky the way it turned out. The pit-stop was good, my in and out laps were okay and I held the gap – although one more lap I would have either speared off or Craig would have gotten past.”
Scoring his first points for the six round championship season, Reynolds places 12th following the double-points race this afternoon, while Baird extends his overall lead.
Making it a team one-two-three for the first few laps of the race, Daniel Gaunt in the Placemakers/Hampsta Porsche 997 later lost his track advantage, with a badly flat spotted tyre, finishing sixth to maintain a comfortable second in the overall standings.
“I had a good start, but got a bit ahead of myself and made an unfortunate mistake early on while staying with David and Craig. I locked the left-front wheel at turn-one on lap five, before doing it again at the same spot on the tyre that took it through to the canvas. So either I pitted early and faced two stops or stayed out and lost some track position,” said the 24-year-old.
Team principal Shane McKillen finished seventh in the VnC Cocktails/Juice Bar Porsche 997, pleased with the outcome despite being spun around by a chasing competitor and having to make two pitstops, one for a puncture and the other his compulsory stop.
Christchurch’s Paul Kelly had a nightmare start to his weekend. After spinning off on the third lap the Paul Kelly Motor Company Porsche 997 failed to restart, with a faulty battery.
Expecting improving weather for Sunday’s two races, the weekend concludes with the top-six reverse grid 14-lap race mid-afternoon.
Results: Race one – the Mad Butcher 100 Ruapuna 28 November (top-ten)
1 8 David Reynolds – Triple X 42:44.074
2 1 Craig Baird – Triple X +0.283
3 21 Matt Halliday +12.046
4 9 Jonny Reid +26.918
5 96 Ant Pedersen +27.368
6 3 Daniel Gaunt – Triple X +50.936
7 2 Shane McKillen – Triple X +1 Lap
8 26 Simon McLennan +1 Lap
9 11 Simon Evans +2 Laps
10 82 Andrew Bagnall +3 Laps
The second round of the Battery Town Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge series, Reynolds in the Hampsta/Indians Bar Porsche 997 was overtaken at the quarter-mark by Triple X Motorsport team-mate Craig Baird, in the Mad Butcher/ZM Porsche. However, a slow exit by Baird during the compulsory pit-stop returned Reynolds to the lead, while the Queensland based Kiwi fought hard to reduce the deficit to within 0.283 of a second at the chequered flag.
“I was probably pushing too hard for the amount of grip I had,” admitted Reynolds at only just snaring victory.
“Craig is very fast around here and I was lucky the way it turned out. The pit-stop was good, my in and out laps were okay and I held the gap – although one more lap I would have either speared off or Craig would have gotten past.”
Scoring his first points for the six round championship season, Reynolds places 12th following the double-points race this afternoon, while Baird extends his overall lead.
Making it a team one-two-three for the first few laps of the race, Daniel Gaunt in the Placemakers/Hampsta Porsche 997 later lost his track advantage, with a badly flat spotted tyre, finishing sixth to maintain a comfortable second in the overall standings.
“I had a good start, but got a bit ahead of myself and made an unfortunate mistake early on while staying with David and Craig. I locked the left-front wheel at turn-one on lap five, before doing it again at the same spot on the tyre that took it through to the canvas. So either I pitted early and faced two stops or stayed out and lost some track position,” said the 24-year-old.
Team principal Shane McKillen finished seventh in the VnC Cocktails/Juice Bar Porsche 997, pleased with the outcome despite being spun around by a chasing competitor and having to make two pitstops, one for a puncture and the other his compulsory stop.
Christchurch’s Paul Kelly had a nightmare start to his weekend. After spinning off on the third lap the Paul Kelly Motor Company Porsche 997 failed to restart, with a faulty battery.
Expecting improving weather for Sunday’s two races, the weekend concludes with the top-six reverse grid 14-lap race mid-afternoon.
Results: Race one – the Mad Butcher 100 Ruapuna 28 November (top-ten)
1 8 David Reynolds – Triple X 42:44.074
2 1 Craig Baird – Triple X +0.283
3 21 Matt Halliday +12.046
4 9 Jonny Reid +26.918
5 96 Ant Pedersen +27.368
6 3 Daniel Gaunt – Triple X +50.936
7 2 Shane McKillen – Triple X +1 Lap
8 26 Simon McLennan +1 Lap
9 11 Simon Evans +2 Laps
10 82 Andrew Bagnall +3 Laps
Reynolds tops Porsche qualifying
Triple X Motorsport driver David Reynolds has made a storming return to the Battery Town Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge series by setting fastest time in today’s qualifying for the second round of the championship.
Dreary wet conditions held during the late morning session at the Ruapuna Park circuit near Christchurch didn’t dampen the ability of the Melbourne based V8 Supercar driver. Reynolds, in the Hampsta/Indians Bar Porsche 997 beat current series leader and team-mate Craig Baird (Mad Butcher/ZM Porsche 997) by nearly half a second.
“It’s great; to not have driven these cars for so long and get pole is pretty awesome and good for the team. Although I really thought I was done for after giving the tyres a hard time in the morning practise,” said Reynolds.
“I was stressing a fair bit I’d damaged them and they’d be no good. So during the session I just hoped they’d clean up, not knowing what grip level they’d provide. And while edges had been taken away, the car setup wasn’t too bad for the conditions. Even though I did make some mistakes on my good lap – I was very surprised to be told I had fastest time. To be honest, I could have done better - It was just about relaxing, driving it smooth, drive it on the limit and minimise the over steer.”
Having locked out the front row of the afternoon Mad Butcher 100 kilometre race, the pair will be followed by Daniel Gaunt in the Hampsta/Placemakers Porsche 997 from the second row, for three Triple X Motorsport cars in the top-four.
Starting six cars from the pit-side paddock, the team were knocked to five when rookie driver Courtney Letica slid from the greasy track on his first full lap of the 3.33 kilometre circuit. Impacting with the embankment, Letica’s Altherm Porsche 997 gained speed on the wet grass, contacting awkwardly with the front-left corner. The 21-year-old sustained concussion from the accident, disappointed following a strong opening round at Pukekohe earlier this month.
Team principal Shane McKillen set tenth fastest time in the VnC Cocktails/Juice Bar Porsche 997 with Christchurch local Paul Kelly 11th, saying he just wanted to set a clean lap in difficult conditions.
Expecting continually improving weather conditions, the afternoon race starts at 5:30pm, with the 100 kilometres and 29-laps expected to take 40 minutes to complete.
Dreary wet conditions held during the late morning session at the Ruapuna Park circuit near Christchurch didn’t dampen the ability of the Melbourne based V8 Supercar driver. Reynolds, in the Hampsta/Indians Bar Porsche 997 beat current series leader and team-mate Craig Baird (Mad Butcher/ZM Porsche 997) by nearly half a second.
“It’s great; to not have driven these cars for so long and get pole is pretty awesome and good for the team. Although I really thought I was done for after giving the tyres a hard time in the morning practise,” said Reynolds.
“I was stressing a fair bit I’d damaged them and they’d be no good. So during the session I just hoped they’d clean up, not knowing what grip level they’d provide. And while edges had been taken away, the car setup wasn’t too bad for the conditions. Even though I did make some mistakes on my good lap – I was very surprised to be told I had fastest time. To be honest, I could have done better - It was just about relaxing, driving it smooth, drive it on the limit and minimise the over steer.”
Having locked out the front row of the afternoon Mad Butcher 100 kilometre race, the pair will be followed by Daniel Gaunt in the Hampsta/Placemakers Porsche 997 from the second row, for three Triple X Motorsport cars in the top-four.
Starting six cars from the pit-side paddock, the team were knocked to five when rookie driver Courtney Letica slid from the greasy track on his first full lap of the 3.33 kilometre circuit. Impacting with the embankment, Letica’s Altherm Porsche 997 gained speed on the wet grass, contacting awkwardly with the front-left corner. The 21-year-old sustained concussion from the accident, disappointed following a strong opening round at Pukekohe earlier this month.
Team principal Shane McKillen set tenth fastest time in the VnC Cocktails/Juice Bar Porsche 997 with Christchurch local Paul Kelly 11th, saying he just wanted to set a clean lap in difficult conditions.
Expecting continually improving weather conditions, the afternoon race starts at 5:30pm, with the 100 kilometres and 29-laps expected to take 40 minutes to complete.
Friday, November 27, 2009
Reynolds returns to Porsche race series
Melbourne based V8 Supercar driver David Reynolds has confirmed his immediate return to Triple X Motorsport to contest the remaining five rounds of the 2009/10 Battery Town Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge series.
Making a last-minute trip across the Tasman for this weekend’s second round of the championship at Ruapuna, near Christchurch, Reynolds will drive the car previously campaigned by Mad Butcher CEO Michael Morton.
Date clashes between the V8 Supercar and New Zealand based summer race series meant Reynolds couldn’t previously commit, however changes to his Australian programme allowed him to negotiate a weekend pass.
“My V8 Supercar entry is pretty uncertain at the moment; the team has known I wanted to do the New Zealand championship as well and with things up in the air believed I could try both,” said the 24-year-old as he completed seat adjustments to drive the #8 Hampsta/Indians Bar Porsche 997.
“I love the Triple X team, these Porsche cars and I have a really good time. It gives me something to do in the off season, January/February when everyone else is training and I’m out there racing. Plus it’s good to keep my mind sharp and keep focussed,” he added.
Having not raced a Porsche since finishing runner-up to Triple X Motorsport team-mate Craig Baird in last year’s championship, Reynolds says he has some catch-up to do: “I want to get used to my car this weekend. Last year I got bumped off by Craig here at Ruapuna, so I want to make amends to that – do a bit better job.”
With the Triple X Motorsport team currently first, second and third in the standings after the opening round, Reynolds says additional competition from former A1GP drivers Jonny Reid and Matt Halliday adds to his focus.
“I’ve never raced against either of them before in a Porsche. And though Craig won the first two races this season, I’ve beaten Craig previously.”
Expecting the fine warm weather to pass in the build-up to the weekend of race action at Ruapuna, Reynolds has two practise sessions today before qualifying for tomorrow’s Mad Butcher 100 kilometre race in the afternoon.
Sunday returns to the sprint format, with a ten-lap race late morning, followed by the afternoon top-six reverse grid 14-lap finale.
Making a last-minute trip across the Tasman for this weekend’s second round of the championship at Ruapuna, near Christchurch, Reynolds will drive the car previously campaigned by Mad Butcher CEO Michael Morton.
Date clashes between the V8 Supercar and New Zealand based summer race series meant Reynolds couldn’t previously commit, however changes to his Australian programme allowed him to negotiate a weekend pass.
“My V8 Supercar entry is pretty uncertain at the moment; the team has known I wanted to do the New Zealand championship as well and with things up in the air believed I could try both,” said the 24-year-old as he completed seat adjustments to drive the #8 Hampsta/Indians Bar Porsche 997.
“I love the Triple X team, these Porsche cars and I have a really good time. It gives me something to do in the off season, January/February when everyone else is training and I’m out there racing. Plus it’s good to keep my mind sharp and keep focussed,” he added.
Having not raced a Porsche since finishing runner-up to Triple X Motorsport team-mate Craig Baird in last year’s championship, Reynolds says he has some catch-up to do: “I want to get used to my car this weekend. Last year I got bumped off by Craig here at Ruapuna, so I want to make amends to that – do a bit better job.”
With the Triple X Motorsport team currently first, second and third in the standings after the opening round, Reynolds says additional competition from former A1GP drivers Jonny Reid and Matt Halliday adds to his focus.
“I’ve never raced against either of them before in a Porsche. And though Craig won the first two races this season, I’ve beaten Craig previously.”
Expecting the fine warm weather to pass in the build-up to the weekend of race action at Ruapuna, Reynolds has two practise sessions today before qualifying for tomorrow’s Mad Butcher 100 kilometre race in the afternoon.
Sunday returns to the sprint format, with a ten-lap race late morning, followed by the afternoon top-six reverse grid 14-lap finale.
Tuesday, November 24, 2009
Porsche titan team-mates to clash at Ruapuna
Porsche Championship leading Triple X Motorsport is expecting the second round at Christchurch’s Powerbuilt Tools Ruapuna Raceway to be an internal quest of dominance this coming weekend (28-29 November).
Currently first, second and third in the 2009/10 Battery Town Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge standings after the first round, the Auckland based defending title champions and five-car team have an early march on the 16-car field.
Headed by Queensland based Kiwi Craig Baird in the #1 ZM/Mad Butcher Porsche 997 on 285 points, he has a 30 point buffer over Auckland’s Daniel Gaunt, who says the technical nature of the Ruapuna circuit makes it the most challenging of the six-round series.
“It’s a very tough track to piece the perfect lap together. For instance a lot of the corners lead in to other corners, so if you’re too greedy on one you have a bit to make up on the next one. So it’s a very give-and-take circuit you have to think about to get a good lap,” said the 24-year old driver of the #3 Placemakers/Hampsta Porsche 997.
Gaunt highlights the driving style of team-mate and championship leader Craig Baird as perfectly suited to the mid-Canterbury circuit. Run clock-wise and 3.33 kilometres in length, it’s largely flat nature has a variety of left and right corners of varying styles that exercises driver skill.
“Bairdo seems to be extremely quick at Ruapuna, more so than anywhere else. It just suits his driving style and I think he will be the benchmark again this weekend. So to me the best pick is to follow that style and put my neck on the block. He is tough to beat and if there is a year I want to do it more than ever it’s this year, so I’m not content with second at all. I want to win some races and I’d like that to start with Ruapuna – even by taking a few more risks.”
Third, from his best ever race weekend in the series, Auckland 21-year-old Courtney Letica in the #5 Altherm Porsche 997, rose above internationals Jonny Reid and Matt Halliday at the season opener. Making sizable gains in performance from the data shared by team-mates Baird and Gaunt, Letica doesn’t have as much experience at Ruapuna following his first Porsche drive there ending badly.
Team principal and Auckland businessman Shane McKillen (#2 VnC Cocktails/Juice Bar Porsche 997) suffered from a first race bump at Pukekohe that bent his rear suspension. Ever since, he has been on the back-foot to catch-up the deficit from the double-points season-opening race. Trailing team entertainment manager Mike Morton (#8 Hampsta/Indians Bar Porsche 997) overall, the pair are more 170 points behind their younger front-runners.
Additionally, making for six cars, Christchurch’s Paul Kelly will run the #90 Porsche 997 from the Triple X Motorsport pit-side area, sharing in the team’s expertise for the car dealership owner.
Starting with two practise sessions on Friday, the day ends with hot-laps for promotion competition winners before Saturday morning’s qualifying session just prior to the lunch break.
The race action is headlined by the ‘Mad Butcher 100’ on Saturday afternoon. The 100 kilometre race features a compulsory pit-stop where two tyres on the car must be changed.
While the Porsche uses a single wheel nut, making the change quick, rules stipulate the wheel nut must be check torqued following its tightening by the gas-powered impact gun. With only two people allowed to do the task, they must also reinstall the wheel-nut safety clip before it is lowered from the in-board air-jacks and allowed to re-join the race. Taking approximately 20 seconds to complete, the race can be won or lost in the process with the finish margin between Baird and Gaunt at the end of the first 100 kilometre race a mere 0.377 seconds.
Sunday returns to the sprint format, with a ten-lap race late morning, followed by the afternoon top-six reverse grid 14-lap finale.
Chasing for a total of 300 points spread across the three races, it also concludes the final event for 2009, before a two-in-two weekend journey between Timaru and Invercargill in mid-January.
Weekend race programme for Porsche GT3 Cup cars – Powerbuilt Tools Raceway at Ruapuna Park, Hasketts Rd.
Friday 27 November
12:00 Porsche GT3 Cup - test session 1
15:45 Porsche GT3 Cup - test session 2
Saturday 28 November
12:05 20mins Porsche GT3 Cup – qualifying
17:30 Porsche GT3 Cup - Race 1 - 29laps
Sunday 29 November
11:40 Porsche GT3 Cup - Race 2 - 10laps
15:55 Porsche GT3 Cup- Race 3 - 14laps - Top 6 reverse
Currently first, second and third in the 2009/10 Battery Town Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge standings after the first round, the Auckland based defending title champions and five-car team have an early march on the 16-car field.
Headed by Queensland based Kiwi Craig Baird in the #1 ZM/Mad Butcher Porsche 997 on 285 points, he has a 30 point buffer over Auckland’s Daniel Gaunt, who says the technical nature of the Ruapuna circuit makes it the most challenging of the six-round series.
“It’s a very tough track to piece the perfect lap together. For instance a lot of the corners lead in to other corners, so if you’re too greedy on one you have a bit to make up on the next one. So it’s a very give-and-take circuit you have to think about to get a good lap,” said the 24-year old driver of the #3 Placemakers/Hampsta Porsche 997.
Gaunt highlights the driving style of team-mate and championship leader Craig Baird as perfectly suited to the mid-Canterbury circuit. Run clock-wise and 3.33 kilometres in length, it’s largely flat nature has a variety of left and right corners of varying styles that exercises driver skill.
“Bairdo seems to be extremely quick at Ruapuna, more so than anywhere else. It just suits his driving style and I think he will be the benchmark again this weekend. So to me the best pick is to follow that style and put my neck on the block. He is tough to beat and if there is a year I want to do it more than ever it’s this year, so I’m not content with second at all. I want to win some races and I’d like that to start with Ruapuna – even by taking a few more risks.”
Third, from his best ever race weekend in the series, Auckland 21-year-old Courtney Letica in the #5 Altherm Porsche 997, rose above internationals Jonny Reid and Matt Halliday at the season opener. Making sizable gains in performance from the data shared by team-mates Baird and Gaunt, Letica doesn’t have as much experience at Ruapuna following his first Porsche drive there ending badly.
Team principal and Auckland businessman Shane McKillen (#2 VnC Cocktails/Juice Bar Porsche 997) suffered from a first race bump at Pukekohe that bent his rear suspension. Ever since, he has been on the back-foot to catch-up the deficit from the double-points season-opening race. Trailing team entertainment manager Mike Morton (#8 Hampsta/Indians Bar Porsche 997) overall, the pair are more 170 points behind their younger front-runners.
Additionally, making for six cars, Christchurch’s Paul Kelly will run the #90 Porsche 997 from the Triple X Motorsport pit-side area, sharing in the team’s expertise for the car dealership owner.
Starting with two practise sessions on Friday, the day ends with hot-laps for promotion competition winners before Saturday morning’s qualifying session just prior to the lunch break.
The race action is headlined by the ‘Mad Butcher 100’ on Saturday afternoon. The 100 kilometre race features a compulsory pit-stop where two tyres on the car must be changed.
While the Porsche uses a single wheel nut, making the change quick, rules stipulate the wheel nut must be check torqued following its tightening by the gas-powered impact gun. With only two people allowed to do the task, they must also reinstall the wheel-nut safety clip before it is lowered from the in-board air-jacks and allowed to re-join the race. Taking approximately 20 seconds to complete, the race can be won or lost in the process with the finish margin between Baird and Gaunt at the end of the first 100 kilometre race a mere 0.377 seconds.
Sunday returns to the sprint format, with a ten-lap race late morning, followed by the afternoon top-six reverse grid 14-lap finale.
Chasing for a total of 300 points spread across the three races, it also concludes the final event for 2009, before a two-in-two weekend journey between Timaru and Invercargill in mid-January.
Weekend race programme for Porsche GT3 Cup cars – Powerbuilt Tools Raceway at Ruapuna Park, Hasketts Rd.
Friday 27 November
12:00 Porsche GT3 Cup - test session 1
15:45 Porsche GT3 Cup - test session 2
Saturday 28 November
12:05 20mins Porsche GT3 Cup – qualifying
17:30 Porsche GT3 Cup - Race 1 - 29laps
Sunday 29 November
11:40 Porsche GT3 Cup - Race 2 - 10laps
15:55 Porsche GT3 Cup- Race 3 - 14laps - Top 6 reverse
Sunday, November 8, 2009
Win and championship lead for Porsche team
Triple X Motorsport has won the opening round of the 2009/10 Battery Town Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge at Pukekohe this weekend with race winner Craig Baird leading the five car team to secure three cars in the top three spots.
Following a dramatic race win during the Mad Butcher 100 on Saturday afternoon, Baird secured a double during the Sunday morning 12-lap sprint race.
Starting from fifth position for the afternoon 16-lap top-six reverse grid race, Baird finished third behind Matt Halliday and Jonny Reid to lead his team to one-two-three in the championship standings.
“We had to look after our weekend points and series lead, to do anything else was not who we are,” said Baird after he climbed from the ZM Mad Butcher Porsche and straight in to his V8 Touring Car.
“Really as long as our top three cars came home in the top-six of the race we had the weekend and first round of the championship sewn up. We had a good buffer on everyone, but if we didn’t finish the afternoon race we’d be back with everyone else.”
Finishing behind Baird in all of the weekend races, Auckland based V8 Supercar driver Daniel Gaunt has a strong-hold on his championship placing behind the five-time defending champion Baird.
“I guess starting alongside Craig from the third row; it was always going to be a big ask to get ahead of the guys in front of us. But I think we picked off who we could and while I would have liked to get past Craig, you could see in the way I managed to detach his rear bumper, obviously not on purpose, we had a fast car for the race,” said the 24-year-old.
Third, well ahead of more internationally experienced drivers, 21-year-old business account manager Courtney Letica paid tribute to the Triple X Motorsport team and its experience in its third year of operation.
“This is exactly the reason I need to be with this team, I’m in a championship placing well ahead of my top-five plan,” he said. “With Craig and Daniel fighting for top positions I’m happy to tag along and learn while staying ahead of the opposition,” he said.
“A great start for the season; I’m very happy with the job the boys have done and couldn’t have asked for anything more. Having Jonny Reid and Matt Halliday next door has made the guys focus, lift their game and prove we are the team to beat this summer,” said team principal Shane McKillen, finishing the final race in seventh.
With three weeks until the next round of six in the season, the team have an island hopping journey to race the Big Ben 200 at Ruapuna near Christchurch (28-29 November).
Following a dramatic race win during the Mad Butcher 100 on Saturday afternoon, Baird secured a double during the Sunday morning 12-lap sprint race.
Starting from fifth position for the afternoon 16-lap top-six reverse grid race, Baird finished third behind Matt Halliday and Jonny Reid to lead his team to one-two-three in the championship standings.
“We had to look after our weekend points and series lead, to do anything else was not who we are,” said Baird after he climbed from the ZM Mad Butcher Porsche and straight in to his V8 Touring Car.
“Really as long as our top three cars came home in the top-six of the race we had the weekend and first round of the championship sewn up. We had a good buffer on everyone, but if we didn’t finish the afternoon race we’d be back with everyone else.”
Finishing behind Baird in all of the weekend races, Auckland based V8 Supercar driver Daniel Gaunt has a strong-hold on his championship placing behind the five-time defending champion Baird.
“I guess starting alongside Craig from the third row; it was always going to be a big ask to get ahead of the guys in front of us. But I think we picked off who we could and while I would have liked to get past Craig, you could see in the way I managed to detach his rear bumper, obviously not on purpose, we had a fast car for the race,” said the 24-year-old.
Third, well ahead of more internationally experienced drivers, 21-year-old business account manager Courtney Letica paid tribute to the Triple X Motorsport team and its experience in its third year of operation.
“This is exactly the reason I need to be with this team, I’m in a championship placing well ahead of my top-five plan,” he said. “With Craig and Daniel fighting for top positions I’m happy to tag along and learn while staying ahead of the opposition,” he said.
“A great start for the season; I’m very happy with the job the boys have done and couldn’t have asked for anything more. Having Jonny Reid and Matt Halliday next door has made the guys focus, lift their game and prove we are the team to beat this summer,” said team principal Shane McKillen, finishing the final race in seventh.
With three weeks until the next round of six in the season, the team have an island hopping journey to race the Big Ben 200 at Ruapuna near Christchurch (28-29 November).
Saturday, November 7, 2009
Triple X team lock-out Pukekohe podium
Today’s opening race in the 2009/10 Battery Town Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge has seen three of the five Triple X Motorsport cars lock-out the podium during the Mad Butcher 100 kilometre race at Pukekohe.
Starting from the front row, defending series champion Craig Baird (Mad Butcher/ ZM Porsche 997) battled with pole-sitter Matt Halliday for the majority of the 36-lap race, with the pit-stop the first chance for Baird to take advantage.
Instead the 39-year-old Queensland based Kiwi lost time but gained clear track, easing past a Halliday mistake and on to an emphatic race victory from team-mates Daniel Gaunt (Placemakers/Hampsta Porsche 997) with Courtney Letica (Altherm Porsche 997) third.
“If it was a sprint race I was going to try get my way and pass Matt. He was pretty adamant he wanted to keep the position as he kept trying to run me off the road, which is why he got the bad sportsmanship flag. So I thought being a long race and having practised our pit stops I could take my time a bit. But I ended up getting a dud stop which took us out of that challenging position and having to catch back up. But the car was mega fast – it was very very good and when Matt took himself out I backed off and just got it home to the end,” said Baird after Halliday drove in to the front wheel of a slower car.
For Letica, it was a result beyond his game-plan: “I was out to achieve a top consistent position and get points from the first race, anywhere from where I qualified in fifth and upwards was more than preferable,” said the 21 year-old Aucklander.
“Then I got in to a battle with Jonny Reid for a few laps before getting the better of him.”
Mad Butcher CEO Mike Morton in the Indians Bar/Hampsta Porsche 997 finished 11th while Shane McKillen (VnC Cocktails/Juice Bar Porsche 997) had a coming together in the opening laps. A knock to his rear wheel bent a rear suspension arm putting out the alignment.
Results: Mad Butcher 100 (Pukekohe 7 November 2009) – top ten
1 Craig Baird, Queensland, (Mad Butcher/ ZM Porsche 997) 36:17.936
2 Daniel Gaunt, Auckland, (Placemakers/Hampsta Porsche 997) +0.377
3 Courtney Letica, Auckland, (Altherm Porsche 997) +17.826
4 Jonny Reid +18.003
5 Anthony Pedersen +22.083
6 Mitch Cunningham +46.175
7 Matt Halliday +1 Lap
8 Andrew Bagnall +1lap 10.299
9 Hugh Gardiner +1lap 13.839
Starting from the front row, defending series champion Craig Baird (Mad Butcher/ ZM Porsche 997) battled with pole-sitter Matt Halliday for the majority of the 36-lap race, with the pit-stop the first chance for Baird to take advantage.
Instead the 39-year-old Queensland based Kiwi lost time but gained clear track, easing past a Halliday mistake and on to an emphatic race victory from team-mates Daniel Gaunt (Placemakers/Hampsta Porsche 997) with Courtney Letica (Altherm Porsche 997) third.
“If it was a sprint race I was going to try get my way and pass Matt. He was pretty adamant he wanted to keep the position as he kept trying to run me off the road, which is why he got the bad sportsmanship flag. So I thought being a long race and having practised our pit stops I could take my time a bit. But I ended up getting a dud stop which took us out of that challenging position and having to catch back up. But the car was mega fast – it was very very good and when Matt took himself out I backed off and just got it home to the end,” said Baird after Halliday drove in to the front wheel of a slower car.
For Letica, it was a result beyond his game-plan: “I was out to achieve a top consistent position and get points from the first race, anywhere from where I qualified in fifth and upwards was more than preferable,” said the 21 year-old Aucklander.
“Then I got in to a battle with Jonny Reid for a few laps before getting the better of him.”
Mad Butcher CEO Mike Morton in the Indians Bar/Hampsta Porsche 997 finished 11th while Shane McKillen (VnC Cocktails/Juice Bar Porsche 997) had a coming together in the opening laps. A knock to his rear wheel bent a rear suspension arm putting out the alignment.
Results: Mad Butcher 100 (Pukekohe 7 November 2009) – top ten
1 Craig Baird, Queensland, (Mad Butcher/ ZM Porsche 997) 36:17.936
2 Daniel Gaunt, Auckland, (Placemakers/Hampsta Porsche 997) +0.377
3 Courtney Letica, Auckland, (Altherm Porsche 997) +17.826
4 Jonny Reid +18.003
5 Anthony Pedersen +22.083
6 Mitch Cunningham +46.175
7 Matt Halliday +1 Lap
8 Andrew Bagnall +1lap 10.299
9 Hugh Gardiner +1lap 13.839
Baird on front row for Porsche race
Opening the 2009/10 Battery Town Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge season at Pukekohe this weekend, defending champion Craig Baird qualified for a front-row start in the Triple X Motorsport ZM Mad Butcher Porsche 997.
Fastest in early race weekend practise, the Queensland based Kiwi set second fastest time, a 57.251 second lap around the 2.84 kilometre Pukekohe Park Raceway south of Auckland, to be 0.129sec behind pace-setter Matt Halliday.
Fastest of the five-car Auckland based Triple X Motorsport team, 39-year-old Baird isn’t concerned about starting on the outside at the first turn.
“That’s the race line, so starting from the left of the front row is the better result”, he said.
“I would have rather been fastest, but with the short session there were so many guys trying to beat you in to turn one when they came out of the pit lane on cold tyres I never got a clear lap.”
While Baird topped the time sheets for most of the session, the progressively dropping lap times saw team drivers Daniel Gaunt (Placemakers/Hampsta Porsche 997) and Courtney Letica (Altherm Porsche 997) feature in the top tier.
Finishing fourth fastest, Gaunt echoed Baird’s start position comment, noting the late afternoon race largely negates the emphasis placed on qualifying.
Fifth fastest, Courtney Letica headed team bosses Shane McKillen (VnC Cocktails/Juice Bar Porsche 997) and Mike Morton (Indians Bar/Hampsta Porsche 997), setting eighth and 13th fastest respectively.
Today’s first race is the Mad Butcher 100, a 100 kilometre enduro that features a compulsory pit-stop where teams have to remove and place two tyres on the car using only two people and minimal gear. With double championship points offered for the race, the stakes are considerably higher for the team by introducing the pit-stop concept.
Scheduled to start at 5pm, the 36 lap race is followed by two shorter sprint races on the Sunday (8 November).
Fastest in early race weekend practise, the Queensland based Kiwi set second fastest time, a 57.251 second lap around the 2.84 kilometre Pukekohe Park Raceway south of Auckland, to be 0.129sec behind pace-setter Matt Halliday.
Fastest of the five-car Auckland based Triple X Motorsport team, 39-year-old Baird isn’t concerned about starting on the outside at the first turn.
“That’s the race line, so starting from the left of the front row is the better result”, he said.
“I would have rather been fastest, but with the short session there were so many guys trying to beat you in to turn one when they came out of the pit lane on cold tyres I never got a clear lap.”
While Baird topped the time sheets for most of the session, the progressively dropping lap times saw team drivers Daniel Gaunt (Placemakers/Hampsta Porsche 997) and Courtney Letica (Altherm Porsche 997) feature in the top tier.
Finishing fourth fastest, Gaunt echoed Baird’s start position comment, noting the late afternoon race largely negates the emphasis placed on qualifying.
Fifth fastest, Courtney Letica headed team bosses Shane McKillen (VnC Cocktails/Juice Bar Porsche 997) and Mike Morton (Indians Bar/Hampsta Porsche 997), setting eighth and 13th fastest respectively.
Today’s first race is the Mad Butcher 100, a 100 kilometre enduro that features a compulsory pit-stop where teams have to remove and place two tyres on the car using only two people and minimal gear. With double championship points offered for the race, the stakes are considerably higher for the team by introducing the pit-stop concept.
Scheduled to start at 5pm, the 36 lap race is followed by two shorter sprint races on the Sunday (8 November).
Tuesday, November 3, 2009
Porsche champions return for three-peat
Five-car Auckland based Porsche team Triple X Motorsport are eying a third successive championship title with the start of the 2009/10 seven round Battery Town Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge at Pukekohe this weekend (7-8 November).
Having secured back-to-back Porsche titles after two seasons of operation, the team will again run defending champion Craig Baird, along with resident drivers Daniel Gaunt, Mike Morton, Shane McKillen and Courtney Letica.
Baird’s five consecutive crowns in the one-make race car series has pushed the 39-year-old to 21 outright New Zealand titles – a benchmark he wants to extend.
“That’s always the plan. I still believe at the end of the day you have to have everything working for you, and that includes the people around you doing the preparation, we’ve certainly proven that in the past,” said Baird, a Queensland based Kiwi.
With a field of 14 teams entered for the opening round, Baird says it’s good to see old and new faces in the line-up, including arch rival Matt Halliday and new recruit Jonny Reid.
“I think one of the most refreshing things is having Jonny Reid in there. People rate him as one of the top New Zealand young-guns. I’ve raced Halliday in four different Porsche championships and I’ve won all of them, so he’s a known quantity. The biggest threat to me I think is Jonny Reid, as I haven’t raced against him. He did well on the international stage in the A1 Grand Prix car, so it will be interesting to see how someone like that goes in identical equipment to the rest of the field. And if you look at the records, Jonny Reid was quicker than Halliday in the A1 car,” he added.
A change to the race weekend programme features the ‘Mad Butcher 100’ kilometre race on the Saturday, including a compulsory pit-stop. That is followed by a 12-lap race on Sunday morning and the top-six reverse grid 16-lap race in the afternoon. Baird doesn’t expect that will alter the tactics of winning a championship title: “It doesn’t matter what the race format is like, you’ll generally always find the cream will rise to the top and make the best of any situation, although the team now plays a bigger role in the Saturday race than normal with the pitstop,” he said.
While Baird has been racing internationally in a variety of categories, team-mate and from third position in last season’s championship, Daniel Gaunt is one round away from completing the Fujitsu V8 Supercar series. Gaunt’s best result has been a second overall at the recent Bathurst weekend.
Auckland business moguls Shane McKillen and Mike Morton have spent time pre-season completing test sessions while last year’s rookie Courtney Letica has been evaluating data to improve on his 11th championship placing.
As they all start the weekend with clean time-sheets, qualifying on Saturday morning is the first step toward a 75-point haul on offer for a race win – with diminishing value for lesser placings.
In a season that starts at the 2.841 kilometre long, South Auckland Pukekohe Park Raceway, the seven championship rounds include three in the South Island (Ruapuna, Teretonga, Timaru), along with Manfeild and Taupo before a season finale at the Hamilton V8 Supercar weekend in mid-April.
# # #
Triple X Motorsport driver line-up:
Car number 1: Craig Baird (Mad Butcher/ ZM Porsche 997) – first overall 2008/2009 Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge
Car number 2: Shane McKillen (VnC Cocktails/Juice Bar Porsche 997)
Car number 3: Daniel Gaunt (Placemakers/Hampsta Porsche 997) – third overall 2008/2009 Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge
Car number 5: Courtney Letica (Altherm Porsche 997)
Car number 8: Mike Morton (Indians Bar/Hampsta Porsche 997)
Weekend race programme for Porsche GT3 Cup cars – Pukekohe Park Raceway, Manukau Road, Pukekohe.
Friday 6 November
12:30 - Porsche GT3 Cup - test session 1
15:50 - Porsche GT3 Cup - test session 2
Saturday 7 November
12:30 - 20mins Porsche GT3 Cup – qualifying
17:00 - Porsche GT3 Cup - Race 1 - 36laps (2.841km circuit = 102.3km)
Sunday 8 November
11:35 - Porsche GT3 Cup - Race 2 - 12laps
15:05 - Porsche GT3 Cup- Race 3 - 16laps - Top 6 reverse
Round - Date - Venue
1 6-8 November 2009 Pukekohe
2 27-29 November 2009 Ruapuna
3 15-17 January 2010 Teretonga
4 22-24 January 2010 Timaru
5 12-14 February 2010 Manfeild
6 19-21 March 2010 Taupo
7 16-18 April 2010 Hamilton 400
Endurance Event TBC May/June 2010 Hampton Downs
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