Knight takes New Zealand Grand Prix pole

Christchurch driver Andy Knight has taken pole position for Sunday's New Zealand Grand Prix at Manfeild near Palmerston North.


He took his bio-fuelled Toyota single-seater around manfeild in1:04.489 and fought off a strong challenge from early pace-setter and Lady Wigram Trophy winner Earl Bamber, who topped the testing time sheets on Friday and the second qualifying session on Saturday.


A1 GP and Porsche GT3 racer Matt Halliday was fastest in the first qualifying session, second fastest behind Bamber in the second, and second fastest in the pole shootout.


Though Knight put in a perfectly-judged sprint lap, some racers were not as lucky, and went backward down the grid.


Pole position and the following nine placings for the race start are decided in a top ten sprint, with racers gaining a chance to improve the time they set in the two earlier qualifying sessions if they are among the ten fastest. The first two sessions decide grid positions for two shorter TRS races, one on Saturday and one on Sunday.


First to go out for a sprint lap was Australian Nathan Antunes, who made the most of a clear track to post a time that elevated him from tenth to seventh on the grid.


Series front-runner Ben Harford, currently second on points behind Knight, briefly locked a brake on the back of the circuit on his flying lap and went backward one place.


Auckland-based rookie Michael Burdett had been fourth and third fastest in the earlier sessions but was unexpectedly slow on the back of the circuit on his sprint lap. He dropped from the second row of the grid to the fifth and will start the race tenth.


Defending Toyota Racing Series champion and 2007 Grand Prix winner Daniel Gaunt qualified third fastest in the first session, fourth fastest in the second session but fell to sixth in the top ten shootout.


Knight is the Toyota Racing Series leader and will start with series rookie Matt Halliday alongside him; Lady Wigram Trophy winner Earl Bamber directly behind him and Cambridge racer Nic Jordan fourth.


"I'm happy with that, the series points are in my favour and the car's pretty good. Matt's a tough competitor so the start will be crucial," Knight said.


Bamber, Halliday and Burdett were the only drivers throughout the day to break through the “four second” barrier, setting times in the high 1:03 range in the second qualifying sessions. Hotter conditions and stronger westerly winds meant none of the top ten times were as quick.


The 2008 Toyota New Zealand Grand Prix starts today (Sunday) at 4.20 pm and is the title event on the Grand Prix weekend programme at Manfeild Autocourse.


The race will cover 35 laps of the 3.03 km Manfeild circuit.


Toyota Racing Series

Top ten positions after today’s qualifying “shootout”

1. Andy Knight Christchurch 1:04.489
2. Matt Halliday Auckland 1:04.556
3. Earl Bamber Wanganui 1:04.596
4. Nic Jordan Cambridge 1:04.633
5. Nelson Hartley Palmerston North 1:04.706
6. Daniel Gaunt Auckland 1:04.798
7. Nathan Antunes Australia 1:04.879
8. Ben Harford Lower Hutt 1:04.962
9. Dominic Storey Auckland 1:06.295
10. Michael Burdett Auckland 1:10.269



Points after two rounds (Auckland and Ruapuna)

1. Andy Knight Christchurch 380
2. Ben Harford Lower Hutt 353
3. Nic Jordan Cambridge 300
4. Earl Bamber Wanganui 250
5. Dominic Storey Auckland 232
6. Ben Crighton Auckland 213
7. Christina Orr Whakatane 208
8. Ken Smith Manurewa 194
9. Michael Burdett Auckland 190
10. Mitch Cunningham Auckland 188
11. Nelson Hartley Palmerston North 187
12. Hamish Cross Christchurch 183
13. Matt Halliday Auckland 169
14. Sam MacNeill Palmerston North 148
15. Matthew Hamilton Christchurch 127
16. Nathan Antunes Australia 120
17. Daniel Gaunt Auckland 96
18. Michael Pickens Auckland 76
19. Kristján Einar Iceland 72