Baird to extend Porsche lead for Triple X

Currently first and second overall in the 2009/2010 Battery Town Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge, Auckland’s five car Triple X Motorsport team head to the often extreme weather location of Invercargill for the second-half of the championship season this weekend (15-17 January).

The third of six rounds on the championship calendar and the first of two back to back race weekends, Teretonga, the world’s most southern race venue, has been dominated by the Triple X Motorsport squad for the last two years.

With the goal of placing three of their cars again in the top-three overall, championship leader Craig Baird says the team’s third event at Teretonga is to again focus on winning. Announced in the New Year honours list for services to motorsport, Baird, driving the #1 Mad Butcher/ZM Porsche 997, has a 102 point lead over team-mate Daniel Gaunt driving the #3 Placemakers/Hampsta Porsche 997.

“We didn’t have a great last round – with the weather opposite to the tyre strategy. But in saying that I came away with a bigger points lead in the championship – extending further from Matt Halliday.”

“The weather is probably more of a factor at Teretonga; it’s known for glorious weather, pouring rain and cold. We’ve got the team around us to make the best of any situation, but putting more wins on the board is up there,” added Baird.

His first race event since the New Year honours announcement, the 39-year-old ex-pat Kiwi says the award topped a very special year that he’d like to extend with a sixth Porsche title.

Joining Baird and Gaunt in the quest for a podium lock-out, Melbourne’s David Reynolds will again drive the ex- Mike Morton #8 Hampsta/Indians Bar Porsche 997. Returning to the team for the Ruapuna weekend, Reynolds won all three races to move from last in the standings to currently sit seventh overall.

Another making a return, Auckland 21-year-old Courtney Letica has received the necessary medical clearance following his crash in qualifying at Ruapuna.

Suffering concussion and a fracture in his left ankle, he missed the three races to drop him from third overall to 12th after the second round.

Letica, needing to replace the #5 Altherm Porsche 997 that was heavily damaged, will drive the car relinquished by team principal Shane McKillen, who has purchased a brand new 2009 model 997.

The new #2 VnC Cocktails/Juice Bar Porsche 997 will allow McKillen to continue from his 11th overall in the points standing with three races on the programme around the 2.61 kilometre race circuit.

Following the journey from Auckland to Invercargill, the team have an early start to the weekend with the addition of three Toyota Racing Series cars to the stable of five Porsches and a Suzuki Swift.

Two test sessions on the Friday precede hot-lap rides for competition winners and team business partners. With qualifying on Saturday morning, racing begins with the Mad Butcher 100 kilometre race in the late afternoon. Including a compulsory pit-stop, there is also the incentive of a doubled points offer for the winner.

With the Porsche wheel attached by a single wheel-nut, the pit-stop tyre change can be completed quickly, however rules stipulate the wheel nut must be check torqued following its tightening by the gas-powered impact gun. With only two people allowed to do the task, they must also reinstall the wheel-nut safety clip before it is lowered from the in-board air-jacks and allowed to re-join the race. Taking approximately 25 seconds to complete, the process can be the difference between a win and a placing.

Sunday returns to the sprint format, with a 12-lap race late morning, followed by the afternoon top-six reverse grid 16-lap finale.

Chasing for a total of 300 points spread across the three races, drivers need to be mindful of limited time and resources to repair/prepare before the next race at Timaru a week later (22-24 January).

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Triple X Motorsport driver line-up:

Car number 1: Craig Baird (Mad Butcher/ ZM Porsche 997) – first overall 2008/2009 Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge
Car number 2: Shane McKillen (VnC Cocktails/Juice Bar Porsche 997)
Car number 3: Daniel Gaunt (Placemakers/Hampsta Porsche 997) – third overall 2008/2009 Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge
Car number 5: Courtney Letica (Altherm Porsche 997)
Car number 8: David Reynolds (Indians Bar/Hampsta Porsche 997) – second overall 2008/2009 Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge.

Points: 2009/2010 Battery Town Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge – top 11 after round two.

Pos, car, driver, home, points
1 1 Craig Baird (Triple X) Queensland 546
2 3 Daniel Gaunt (Triple X) Auckland 444
3 9 Matt Halliday USA 436
4 21 Jonny Reid Auckland 430
5 96 Anthony Pedersen Rotorua 394
6 32 Mitch Cunningham Auckland 306
7 82 David Reynolds (Triple X) Melbourne 300
8 5 Andrew Bagnall Auckland 288
9 8 Simon McLennan Wellington 242
10 26 Simon Evans Auckland 238
11 11 Shane McKillen (Triple X) Auckland 237