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