REID WON’T SETTLE FOR SECOND PLACE IN PORSCHE SERIES

One of three of New Zealand’s top race car drivers will take the series title in this weekend’s final battle of the 2010/11 Crown Lift Trucks Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge Championship at Taupo Motorsport Park. 

Adding to the excitement of the fight for the crown is the slim 38 point margin separating the three drivers - Daniel Gaunt who holds the trump card, Jonny Reid just 25 points back followed closely by defending champion Craig Baird 13 points shy of Reid.

International Motorsport driver and 2010 Rookie of the Year winner Jonny Reid says he’s “primed for this weekend’s racing”. When asked of his approach to the final round, he responds no different to that of the championship, “To win! That’s what we’ve got to do.” said Reid. “We’ve always performed well at Taupo. We won here last year, qualified on Pole for the first A1GP round here, we won the first A1GP race and our win here last year boosted us to second in the championship. This year, we’re only a handful of points off Daniel (Gaunt) and my aim is to get those and take the win.”

“I’m looking forward to the whole weekend, but the 30 lap/100km mini-enduro will be where things will change. We’ve got a strong team in the pits, and I have a good background in endurance racing. The pressure is on Daniel, but I’m conscious too that Craig Baird will be putting to practice all he knows about winning championships.

Fellow team mate Mitchell Cunningham is currently in fourth place in the series, but is very aware of rookie Scott Harrison who is close behind and fighting for a higher spot. “My focus for the weekend is do well in qualifying and then build on the weekend from there.” Said Cunningham. “I’m pretty happy with my season, we’ve had some really good pace at times and have lead races, but we still don’t have the car exactly right for my driving style.”

Rounding out the line up of GT3’s in the International Motorsport camp is Auckland driver Simon Evans. Although he cannot win the 996 drivers title, he is looking for a clean weekend of racing to ensure he comes home in runner-up spot for the series.

Porsche GT3 Qualifying and the 100km mini-endurance is Saturday, with two sprint races to mark the championship finale on Sunday.