FINAL ROUND BLOW COSTLY FOR REID

When they say it came down to the wire, it really came down to the wire. Three drivers, all with a shot at the title, a change in the lead advantage Baird, with one race to go, a points draw between Gaunt and Reid, just three points covering all three. Essentially, whoever won the last race, would win the title.

Coming into the final round, Gaunt led Reid by just 25 points with Baird close behind just 13 points back. Qualifying set the scene for the pressure to come on Gaunt with Baird lining up on pole for the opening race, a 30 Lap mini-endurance race, with Reid alongside and Gaunt on the second row in P3.

The Saturday afternoon 100km/30 lap race was held in bright sunny conditions as the teams lined up for battle. Reid got an exceptional start and slipped through ahead of Baird into Turn 1 to snatch the early lead. He initially pulled away for the first few laps, but the charging Baird closed right in on Reid and started putting the pressure on, looking for a mistake. The error wasn’t to come though as Reid performed in his usual disciplined way, driving a measured race waiting for the pit window to open. Lap 15 saw Reid come in for his compulsory stop and tyre change, followed closely by Baird. The attention changed to the crews of each driver as the race for the quickest pit stop began.

International Motorsport performed a polished tyre change dropping Reid onto his wheels in just 14.9 seconds, allowing him to exit the pit lane and rejoin the race with Baird slotting in behind. The battle continued with Baird rubbing Reid’s bumper at every opportunity, until the race took a turn as a Safety Car was deployed following an unscheduled and unusual visit to the sand trap by Michael Morton.

This closed the field up, allowing Gaunt to pull back up to Baird. As the Safety Car left the track and with the race restarted, all guns were blazing for the fight for the lead. Baird closed up on Reid as he made a late brake move at the end of the back straight, over-shooting and opening up the window for Baird to slip through. With just five laps remaining, Baird held his fort crossing the finish line to take the win with Reid hot on his heels.

Sunday provided much of the same warm weather that the previous days racing was subjected to as the GT3’s lined up for the penultimate round of the season. With Baird again on pole position and Reid sharing the front row, this time it was Baird who made the flawless start and beat Reid for the run to the first corner. Reid locked onto Baird with Gaunt close in behind, but this was short lived as Gaunt quickly started to drop off the pace.

Pedersen was the first to take advantage of Gaunt’s slowing pace as he made his move on the second lap. As the race progressed, the leading trio pulled away, opening up a large gap on Gaunt while Harrison started moving in on Gaunt. While Gaunt struggled to protect his position, Reid continued to work away at Baird, however it was going to be Baird’s race and maximum points, shifting him into the lead by 3 points with one race to go.

The final showdown saw Baird in the lead, with Reid and Gaunt three points back. As a reverse grid race and due to his slower performance in Race 2, Gaunt drew P2, a helpful front row position, while Reid was in P5 on row three alongside Baird in P6. Reid performed the perfect launch and expertly guided his way through into third position, two behind Gaunt but more importantly, two ahead of Baird. He appeared to be quickly closing the gap on Gardiner in second place, when it all turned against him. A valve in the left rear tyre had been damaged in the closely fought turn 1, instantly causing the tyre to deflate and reducing him to crawling pace, Reid’s championship hopes were dashed.

Struggling to bring the car into pit lane for a tyre change, Reid dropped a full lap to the rest of the field as Baird continued to charge through the field in his chase for the win. With Reid out of the battle, Gaunt and Baird took the top two spots in the race and the championship. Reid finished the race and claimed enough points to hold onto his podium place in the series, ready to fight another day. “I did what I had to do” commented Reid. “I got the start I was after and was confident that I could fight for the win with Gaunt as I had a good gap from Craig (Baird). However, it wasn’t to be. I’d rather go out saying I did all I could than settle for my position and not have a go.”