Sunday, 13 March 2011, 12:38 pm Press Release: Triple X Motorsport
Round six: 2010/2011 NZ Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge – Battery Town 200, Taupo Motorsport Park, 11-13 March 2011.
Porsche title narrows after Baird wins Taupo race
The battle between Triple X Motorsport team mates and championship rivals Daniel Gaunt and Craig Baird has seen the chase for the 2010/2011 Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge title narrow following today’s 30-lap race near Taupo.
Starting the weekend 38 points apart after five of six championship rounds, the pair are now separated by 23 with two races left to decide the title.
Having led the series since the start in early November last year, 26-year-old Gaunt in the MPD VnC Cocktails Porsche 997 finished third in today’s race at the Taupo circuit, behind defending champion Craig Baird in the ZM Mad Butcher Porsche 997 and Jonny Reid.
Strong in the early stages of the race, Gaunt became physically drained, an illness sapping the needed edge to challenge for second position:
“The name of the game is finishing at the moment; it’d be nice to have a little less pressure, for the last two, but we’ve still got a good lead with finishing third today,” said Gaunt.
“Bairdo and Jonny were driving really well, but I didn’t feel 100% and although we were going really well, it didn’t quite match what I was giving.”
For Baird, who set fastest in this morning’s qualifying, it was a long climb to the front of the race after being swallowed at the start. Battling lap after lap with rival Reid, the defending champion was able to put enough pressure on to squeeze past in the dying laps.
“My car was stronger in some areas and Reid’s was stronger in others, so I kept driving pretty straight as I could see his style could potentially offer a window of opportunity through a type of tyre wear. We were bumper-to-bumper at the beginning of the race, we were bumper-to-bumper coming in to the pit-stop and going out – there was just nothing in it the whole race. So it was great to just have no mistakes and get past for a really hard fought race,” said the Gold Coast based Kiwi.
Fourth, Hamilton’s Ant Pedersen improved on his qualifying result in the VnC Cocktails Porsche 997, with a dramatic turn of speed to still be in touch with the front pack after the 100kilometre distance. Sixth, the Gardiner Motorsport Porsche 997 of Auckland’s Hugh Gardiner was testimony to his goal of finishing, without damage.
In tenth was Michael Morton’s Outlaws Bar Porsche 997, with the Mad Butcher Carpet One Porsche 997 of Whangarei’s Scott Harrison retired early in the race as a precaution against a suspected mechanical noise.
Concluding the series championship and battle for position, Sunday’s two races start with a ten-lapper in the morning followed by the top-six reverse grid 14-lap race starting at 3:14pm.
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Qualifying: Crown Lift Trucks Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge – Taupo, 12 March 2011.
Pos,Car,Driver,Hometown,Team,Time
1,1,Craig Baird,Gold Coast,Triple X Motorsport,48m03.7
2,2,Jonny Reid,Auckland,IMS,+1.282
3,3,Daniel Gaunt,Auckland,Triple X Motorsport,+5
4,4,Ant Pedersen,Hamilton,Triple X Motorsport,+5.17
5,32,Mitch Cunningham,Auckland,IMS,+5.554
6,15,Hugh Gardiner,Auckland,Triple X Motorsport,+12.396
Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge points after race one, round six (of six) – provisional
Pos Name Hometown Total
Pos,Car No.,Name,Car,Hometown,Total
1,3,Daniel Gaunt,Auckland,918
2,2,Jonny Reid,Auckland,900
3,1,Craig Baird,Queensland,895
4,32,Mitchell Cunningham,Auckland,733
5,5,Scott Harrison,Whangarei,677
New Zealand Porsche Cup Challenge calendar 2010/2011
Round Date Venue Inviting Club
1 5-7 November 2010 Pukekohe NZIGP Inc
2 26-28 November 2010 Ruapuna Canterbury Car Club Inc
3 14-16 January 2011 Teretonga Southland Sports Car Club Inc
4 20-23 January 2011 Timaru South Canterbury Car Club Inc
5 11-13 February 2011 Manfeild Manawatu Car Club Inc
6 11-13 March 2011 Taupo Taupo Car Club Inc
After an anxious three-race weekend for the penultimate round of the 2010/2011 Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge, defending champion Craig Baird took the weekend win with Triple X team-mate Daniel Gaunt managing to hold a lead in the overall standings.
Winning two races and finishing fourth in today’s top-six reverse grid final, Baird in the ZM Mad Butcher Porsche 997 had a clean weekend by contrast to Gaunt in the MPD VnC Cocktails car.
Taken out of Saturday’s weekend opening race, Gaunt’s car was unable to be repaired to the exacting standard required to competently complete the weekend. Shuffled in to the VnC Cocktails car of team principal Shane McKillen, Gaunt finished fifth in the morning race before taking a class win in the final to hold a narrowed 25-point lead in the standings. Baird is now 38 points adrift.
“First of all I can’t thank Shane McKillen enough for the loan of his car, as this is his thing and what he enjoys doing so for him to step out is a big deal. Michael Morton came up with the best scenario for today and his mathematical mind gave us a plan that worked out – where we could start from the front row for the final race. But it’s a step in the right direction leading in to Taupo, after the disaster of not finishing yesterday’s race,” said Gaunt.
Technical director, Todd Bickerton and team manager, Ian McNabb could not say enough about the huge effort that all the team produced when faced with four cars needing serious attention after a first lap incident in race one: “The boys pulled together and worked through Saturday night to get these cars back on the grid for race two on Sunday, we had cars and parts all over the place, so we cannot thank these guys enough for their effort, simply awesome,” said McNabb.
Starting from sixth position in the final race, Baird said he was pushing, but had in mind ensuring he kept the weekend win: “I’m racing some pretty good guys who were ahead of me, so by the time I made moves to pass a couple I was behind enough to not really have the pace to pull back the gap to the others. So while I was pushing on to get up there I still had to finish to confirm the round win.”
“Now we go to the final round at Taupo with a modest gap in the points to Daniel and it’s a place I really like driving at – we’re back in the hunt anyway,” said Baird.
One point from the weekend podium, Hugh Gardiner was modestly animated at not being able to join team-mate Baird for the champagne spoils. Finishing fourth in the morning race, his second for the weekend, he could only manage a sixth in the final.
Whangarei’s Scott Harrison took a conservative approach to the two Sunday races in the Mad Butcher Carpet One Porsche 997 after sustaining significant and race-ending damage on the Saturday. Finishing seventh in both races, he drops one position in the points’ table to now place fifth.
Of the three cars culled from Saturday’s opening race, Palmerston North’s Ant Pedersen took the Outlaws Bar Porsche 997 to third this morning and followed Gaunt across the line in the final for second spot.
With three races left to decide the title champion, the Triple X Motorsport team have five weeks before the finale at Taupo’s international race circuit on 11-13 March.
Triple X Motorsport hosts Hollywood star Michelle Rodriguez and fellow cast members from in-production movie AVATAR at Pukekohe this weekend
Michelle Rodriguez, star of LOST and various Hollywood hit movies is attending the racing at Pukekohe this weekend as a guest of Triple X Motorsport driver Matt Halliday and principal sponsor VnC Cocktails.
Rodriguez, who plays the role of the leader of the ‘tailies’ in the hit drama Lost’, is also known for her tough girl roles. She was a street-smart boxer in the movie‘Girl Fight’ and is also known for her starring role in hit movie ‘The Fast & The Furious’.
An acknowledged speed freak, Michelle is currently in New Zealand filming the James Cameron film ‘Avatar’ with co-stars Zoe Saldana (co-star of ‘Crossroads’ opposite Britney Spears), Sam Woetherington (an Australian actor) and John David Moore (‘Dodgeball’). The cast will be out to support pal Matt Halliday on Sunday and potentially get in the car for some hot laps with Halliday.
Triple X Motorsport manages and runs cars for star GT3 Porsche drivers Craig Baird and Matt Halliday. Both are at the front of the field after qualifying for the first round of the new season’s championship.
Team boss Shane McKillen, also running a new 997 Porsche, is the owner of VnC Cocktails, a new ready-to-drink super premium cocktail due for release to the market in the next few weeks. Already tasted and approved at the launch of the Porsche GT3 series, VnC Cocktails offers a completely new concept in convenience and style.
