New Zealand’s Triple X Motorsport to race in Porsche Carrera Cup Asia
Feb 2nd
Auckland based Triple X Motorsport have today confirmed their entry in the world’s largest one-make race car category – contesting the 2010 Porsche Carrera Cup Asia with driver Craig Baird MNZM.
Supporting both the Shanghai and Singapore Formula One Grand Prix events, the 2010 championship covers six venues across four countries (China, Singapore, Korea and Malaysia) starting in April and concluding late October.
The first time the Asia series has allowed entry from private teams, the lure of prize money and an international television audience exceeding 76 million viewers primes the New Zealand team for success on debut.
“We want to win – we think we can,” said Triple X Motorsport team principal and prominent New Zealand businessman Shane McKillen. “Craig has won the Porsche series in Australia and New Zealand several times, Asia is very strong this year and I think maybe the strongest Carrera Cup series in the world. There are lots of European drivers; Christian Menzel, Danny Watts – guys who will be a good challenge for Craig and the Triple X Motorsport team.”
With a substantial lead in New Zealand’s Battery Town Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge, Baird who has 23 New Zealand and two Australian championship titles, heads to Asia buoyed by his previous success in one-off races last year.
“There are plenty of good guys there at the top of their game: Christian Menzel that drives for the Alzen’s in Germany, Danny Watts, who was the British A1GP driver, Darryl O’Young who drives the GT2 class for the factory Porsche team so I’m really looking forward to it – it’ll be a competitive series. Plus it’s a refreshing change for me as well; I love racing in New Zealand and being involved in Triple X Motorsport, so to go to Asia with my own team is probably one of the most important things. It increases chances of achieving success – having that good group, I couldn’t wish for a better team,” said the 39-year-old Queensland based Kiwi, named in the 2010 New Year honours list.
While the series is based on identical specification Porsche 997-based 911 cars, the team will run the 2010 GT3 RS-based version backed by New Zealand produced VnC Cocktails.
“The VnC brand is very strong is Asia and I think it’s complimentary to motorsport and what we’re doing,” added McKillen. “Plus it also creates a development path for some of our young guys who can now get a chance to run in Asia and see what it’s like. Also there is an opportunity to bring some young Asian series drivers down to run New Zealand over the summer, give them a bit of testing and a few miles before they start their new championship.”
With Baird able to benefit from the summer championship race programme, he says driving one of the 24 new Porsche’s entered to the series will put everyone at the same level.
“It’s a new car – so no-one has any data on how to get the most from the car at each circuit – that makes it a good year to join the championship as it’s never going to be as even as it is now. I obviously have to learn some of the circuits – but we all have to learn the cars; it comes back to the cars more so than the driver I believe,” he added.
“The 2010 car has another 40 horsepower more and is about 150mm wider with larger tyres, so you’d expect to be 1-2 seconds quicker at most circuits – making it a very fast car. Although at the end of the day the car is still a rear-wheel-drive, rear-engined 911 race car like I’ve driven anywhere else.”
With each of the six venues running two races, the 12-round championship rewards a win with ten points plus one point for setting fastest time in qualifying.
Beginning mid-April at the Shanghai Formula One weekend, the team will partake in the official test weekend at Malaysia’s Sepang circuit mid-March.
Porsche Carrera Cup Asia calendar 2010
13 – 14 March Sepang Int. Circuit, Malaysia – PCCA Test Days
16 – 18 April Shanghai Int. Circuit, China – Formula One Support Race
21 – 23 May Beijing Goldenport Circuit, China – Porsche Weekend
18 – 20 June Zhuhai Int. Circuit, China – Pan Delta Super Racing Festival
27 – 29 August Jeonnam Int. Circuit, Korea – Asian Festival of Speed
24 – 26 Sept Marina Bay Circuit, Singapore – Formula One Support Race
22 – 24 Oct Guangdong Int. Circuit, China – Asian Festival of Speed
About Porsche Carrera Cup Asia
The Porsche Carrera Cup Asia blasted off the starting grid in 2003 and has never looked back. Joining the family of hugely successful Porsche “one make” series, it has quickly become the premier sportscar series in the region, with a massive fan and media following.
The Carrera Cup Asia field of Porsche 911 GT3 Cup cars offers extremely exciting racing across the whole Asian region and is truly international with competitors from all over Asia, as well as Europe. It represents a combination of experienced touring and race drivers in addition to ambitious and talented gentlemen drivers.
The Porsche Carrera Cup Asia runs as part of the Asian Festival of Speed and is a supporting race to two rounds of the FIA Formula One World Championship – in Shanghai and in Singapore.
http://www.porsche.com/china/en/motorsportandevents/porschecarreracupasia
VnC Cocktails Announce they will Exhibit at NRA 2010 in Chicago..
Jan 19th
Celebrating its 90th anniversary, NRA Show 2009 and the second-annual International Wine, Spirits & Beer Event provided a high-energy forum where tens of thousands of restaurant and hospitality operators from across the U.S. and around the world connected with exhibiting companies to find solutions to boost business.
VnC Cocktails announce they will exhibit here and show the rest of the world what good old New Zealand can do.
Superior Taste & All Natural Leads the way for VnC Cocktails to Dominate Global Awards
Jan 11th
The biggest winner in this year’s round of New Years tasting honors is VnC Cocktails Limited based on the results of several recent International competitions.
As New Zealand’s newest global brand, VnC has won Gold Medals and accolades in London, Chicago and Beijing for its pure, natural and innovative ready‐to‐pour cocktails. Three Gold Medals at the Drinks International category tasting in London were announced just prior to Christmas along with another three Gold Medals and a Silver Medal from the influential Beverage Testing Institute (BTI) tasting held in Chicago. To complete the year’s achievements, VNC won the Best Bar Mix and Superior Service award from the China Hotel and Restaurant Owners group in Beijing, China. All these new awards follow on from the International Wine and Spirits Competition (IWSC) in the UK, where all the brands were awarded medals with the VnC Mai Tai winning “Best in Class.”
”This makes VnC the world’s most awarded ready‐to‐pour cocktail,” according to VnC General Manager Chris Fairbairn.
Going to market in a totally new liquor category is a big call for any major international brand, but for VnC it was seen as a good challenge for Kiwi ingenuity and marketing skill and the team knew that they were backed with a great tasting, 100% pure and natural based product.
According to Fairbairn, “entering this growth market early with a high‐quality product meant the other global brand players in the ready‐to‐pour category had to play catch up, and so far, based on these results, the pure and natural theme has helped to distinguish VnC as the World’s most awarded ready‐ to‐pour cocktails. While other liquor companies might produce the base spirit to make a cocktail, when it comes to the ready‐to‐pour category, they have not been able to approach the consistent quality that VnC’s fresh and natural ingredients plays in the preparation of a true bar‐quality cocktail.”
VnC launched its products into the international markets 18 months ago. Based on the company’s extraordinary success, VnC was ahead of the curve for the development of this new and growing drink category, and 100% natural ingredients was the starting point for this innovative, pure NZ company.
Today, the ready‐to‐pour cocktail market has grown to a point where, internationally, the category was ready for critical review and assessment. Drinks International is the world’s leading cocktail magazine,
BTI is America’s most respected testing Authority, and even in China, ready‐to‐pour cocktails have established themselves to the point where there is significant national interest.
“Winning awards across these prestigious categories in such diverse markets is a strong endorsement of our approach. When we started on the development of this brand the VNC strategy was very simple and typically Kiwi. We use the best natural ingredients and real fruit from around the world, use no artificial preservatives, additives or colors and make it as good as you would expect from a top quality bar. Now, with rapidly growing market penetration, it is great to see our approach has been endorsed by so many leading authorities in the market and that our products stand out over the competition,” Fairbairn said.
VnC has been working steadily to establish a global position for its products and now boasts markets in China, Thailand, India, Hong Kong, Canada, Monaco, Russia and Scandinavia, with the list grows almost daily. Marketing for the products draws on some iconic Kiwi elements and provides a quirky insight into the pure and natural environment that so many Kiwis enjoy and take for granted.
“Based on progress to date, VnC is confident that the world will be drinking our cocktails as their drink of natural choice well into the new decade,” according to a delighted Fairbairn.
Win a Years Supply of VnC Cocktails by Entering our Beach Ball Competition.
Dec 17th
If you have been winning VnC beach balls in our Happy Hour competition OR have recieved one when you purchased a bottle of VnC at participating liquor outlets around New Zealand. Then make sure you enter this great competition, by taking the best photo possible and uploading it to our NZ fan page. The Picture with the most likes and comments wins.
VnC Cocktails Awarded 3 Gold Medals
Dec 17th
VnC Cocktails have been awarded 3 gold medals and one silver medal in the “Drinks International Pre-Mixed Drinks Challenge 2010”. The awards were run in the UK by Drinks International magazine, a global publication devoted to the global spirits, wine and beer industry and included entries from beverage giants such as Beam Global and Diageo.
The proudly New Zealand made VnC Cocktails were one of more than 50 different products to compete in the awards and took home 3 out of the 8 gold medals in the overall pre-mixed category.
Chris Fairbairn, General Manager of VnC Cocktails says, “It’s exciting to see our all natural Kiwi cocktails stacking up as leaders in an international competition. This is a testament to the quality of ingredients and the innovation of our mixologists. We’re proud to see VnC Cocktails representing New Zealand on the ready to pour cocktails world circuit,” he says
This achievement follows earlier success at the International Wines and Spirits Competition where VnC Cocktails were awarded seven medals and the VnC Pacific Mai Tai took out Best in Class.
AWARDS WON:
Drinks International Pre-Mixed Drinks Challenge
VNC Cocktails Banana Daiquiri – Gold
VNC Cocktails Feijoa & Apple – Gold
VNC Cocktails Margarita – Gold
VNC Cocktails Strawberry Daiquiri – Silver
International Wines and Spirits Competition
VnC Pacific Mai Tai – Best in Class
Photos From The VnC Christmas Party.
Dec 15th
See Photos of the VnC Christmas Party Last Thursday the 10th of December 2009 in Grafton Auckland. HQ
Christmas Eve in Beijing? Go to Zeta Bar!
Dec 15th
Grooving to sexy music spun by an acclaimed international DJ’s and inspired by the white delights Zeta Bar brings to you. Ladies who dress up in a sexy Santa costume will free VnC Cocktails all night and there will be a lucky draw for the best-dressed Sexy Santa!
RMB 200 per person for 3 hours free flow from 9pm to 12pm(excluding champagne) and fresh tapas to pass around.
All prices are subject to 15% surcharge.
Call Gloria Han at 5865 5050 or 137 1770 3253
Get Huge discounts and Fly Buys with VnC at Liquorlands Nationwide
Dec 3rd
VnC Cocktails are currently being promoted at Liquorlands nationwide. You can now receive 2 x fly buys with every bottle purchased.
On the 14, 15, 16th of December there will be triple fly buys on all purchases of VnC Cocktails in store.
VnC are also on super special between 30th November and 6th of December = 2 VnC for $34 and 10 bonus points!! Yippee
Head down to your local Liquorland.
