The Grid

The final round is at the Taupo Motorsport Park on March 20 and 21

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BATTERY TOWN PORSCHE GT3 CUP CHAMPIONSHIP

REID IS LATEST BATTERY TOWN PORSCHE GT3 CUP CHALLENGE ROUND WINNER

Aucklander Jonny Reid is the latest Battery Town Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge championship round winner after edging out David Reynolds and series points leader Craig Baird at Feilding's Manfeild motor racing circuit over the weekend.

Heading into the meeting, the fifth of sixth on the 2009/10 Battery Town calendar, defending series champion Craig Baird had a 135 point lead over long-time rival Matt Halliday with Daniel Gaunt third and Reid fourth.

After claiming the final step of the podium this weekend Baird has retained his lead in the series points standings heading into the final 2009/10 round at the Taupo Motorsport Park in a month's time. But a horror weekend for Halliday has seen the now US-based international slip to fourth in the overall rankings behind Baird, Reid and Daniel Gaunt.

With Reid, Gaunt was one of two fresh faces on the top step of the podium at this weekend's round, with David Reynold's making the most of treacherous track conditions to win the first race of the weekend on Saturday then Reid and Gaunt claiming a win apiece on Sunday.

Reid won the day's first race from Reynolds, Baird, Gaunt and Mitch Cunningham after getting the jump on pole man Reynolds at the start, then Gaunt won the reverse top six grid 16 lap final despite race-long pressure from Reynolds and eventual second place getter Reid.

Before this weekend's Battery Town series round Baird, Reynolds and Halliday had what looked like a mortgage on race wins, but Courtney Letica broke their grip with a popular win in the final race at the fourth round at Timaru last month and Reid and Gaunt followed suit today.

For Reid the win was not only his first this season, it was also - considering the competition - one of his most satisfying.

"Really, " he said afterwards, " it's fantastic. Particularly against the likes of Craig (Baird), David (Reynolds) and Matt (Halliday). You've only got to look at what they have done in GT3s, Carrera Cup, Supercup and the Battery Town series here, they are guys I hold in the highest regard and believe me, winning a race against drivers of that calibre is not easy. "

A point not lost on fellow single-seater graduate Daniel Gaunt.

Gaunt made his own move from single-seaters to the Porsche GT3 Cup-based Battery Town category two years ago, earning the Rookie of The Year title in his first year. But like Reid he has found that it is not easy competing against world-ranked Porsche specialists like Baird, Halliday and Reynolds.

"We've been close on several occasions and been there or thereabouts every other weekend but in terms of actually winning a race it certainly has been a long time between drinks, " he said.

In the Mothers 996 Cup category, for drivers of the older model GT3 Cup cars, young Wellington driver Simon McLennan won the round and retained his category lead in the series points standings, though he didn't do it easily.

In the end only two points separated him from joint round runners up Hugh Gardiner and Gene Rollinson but he remains six points ahead of Gardiner in the overall series points standings.

"It's certainly had its ups and downs, " McLennan said of the weekend, "but even if I did finish second to Hugh in the final race this is the first weekend that I've really been able to apply pressure and push him really hard on the track so from that point of view it's been worthwhile."

Apart from Reid's breakthrough run at the front of the field the final reverse grid race at Manfeild was also noteworthy for a fantastic race-long battle for sixth place involved Triple X Motorsport teammates Shane McKillen, Paul Kelly and Courtney Letica.

Team boss McKillen continued his strong run from Saturday leading Kelly and Letica until Letica finally managed to find a way past his teammates to edge away, eventually crossing the finish line in sixth place with McKillen seventh, Mitch Cunningham eighth and Kelly ninth.

Another driver to enjoy one of his strongest weekends of the 2009/10 series was Aucklander Andrew Bagnall who followed Kelly home in 10th place in the final race.

And Matt Halliday?

The LA-based international was again devastatingly quick in qualifying on Saturday morning, claiming his second pole position of the season from Reynolds and Halliday but had a horror weekend, his third place finish in the final race the only other bright spot.

In the weekend's first race his car bogged off the line, allowing Reynolds to grab an early lead, then he was hit from behind and sent spinning by Daniel Gaunt late in the race.

Incredibly, he was again sent spinning off the track in the second race, again recovering only to be forced out for good when his car's bonnet - damaged in the earlier incident - broke free from its mountings and flipped back over his car's windscreen, obscuring his vision.

That just left the final, in which he claimed the final podium after a lonely - but finally incident-free - race.

Race 2

In the weekend's second Battery Town race on Sunday morning Jonny Reid became the fifth different race winner over the five rounds so far held after getting the jump on race one winner and fellow front row starter David Reynolds at the start then driving a confident, defensive race to keep both Reynolds and a lurking Craig Baird behind.

Matt Halliday was right behind Baird as the field accelerated out of the first corner and through the infield left hander only to be hit from behind as he braked for the following hairpin.

No action was taken by officials at the time, but Courtney Letica was later given a 50 second time penalty for his involvement in the incident.

Up front Reid came under intense and persistent attack from Reynolds, the pair - and a closely-following Craig Baird - easing away from Mitch Cunningham and a hard-driving Daniel Gaunt.

Gaunt was forced to start the race from the back row of the grid after finishing a lap down - the result of a drive-through penalty and a puncture - in the first race of the weekend on Saturday afternoon. But he made quick work of the rear half of the field and had caught Cunningham by the sixth lap before making a successful pass for fourth place a lap later.

Behind him Triple X Motorsport team boss Shane McKillen was enjoying another competitive outing, having caught and passed slowing teammate Courtney Letica (who struggled with leaking radiators and a lack of front end grip after the early incident with Halliday) eventually crossing the finish line in sixth position with Letica seventh at the line (before the penalty dropped him to 13th in the results) and Paul Kelly eighth.

Once the penalty was taken into account Kelly was elevated to seventh with Hugh Gardiner back in front of the Mothers 996 Cup category runners in eighth, Gene Rollinson in ninth and Simon McLennan tenth.

McLennan was the leading Mothers 996 Cup driver early on but Gardiner was soon in front and pressure from Rollinson saw the young Wellington driver relinquish another position towards the end of the race.

Race 1

With championship points leader Craig Baird back in fifth place after the morning's qualifying session - held in cool, blustery but dry conditions - the first race of the weekend on Saturday afternoon looked set to be about who would finish second to pole man Matt Halliday.

The rain that had threatened all afternoon finally started falling as the Battery Town GT3 Cup cars lined up on the dummy grid however and when Halliday's car bogged off the line it was fellow front row starter David Reynolds who grabbed what turned out to be a lead he would never lose.

Halliday recovered his composure to tuck in behind teammate Jonny Reid and circulate in third place where he stayed until Baird eventually caught up and launched an attack on third place at the Higgins corner on the sixth lap.

Halliday returned the favour at the end of the back straight and entered the seventh lap back in third place and when Baird lost momentum out of the hairpin a lap later it looked like Halliday would join David Reynolds and Jonny Reid on the podium.

However Daniel Gaunt also had eyes on the final podium spot and clashed with Halliday exiting the first corner on lap eight. The contact spun Halliday, who was able to continue, but saw Gaunt summoned to the pits to observe a drive through penalty, then complete the last lap at much reduced pace due to a flat right fear tyre.

The result was the sixth race win of the season for Australian driver Reynolds, with Jonny Reid second and Baird third, three seconds up on Courtney Letica who in turn had an eight second buffer on the luckless Halliday.

TRS graduate Mitch Cunningham enjoyed one of his most competitive outings so far this season in sixth, after an early battle with Letica and Wellington driver Simon McLennan was again the best of the Mothers 996 Cup trophy category drivers home in ninth after running as high as seventh.

Also enjoying a good race in the Mothers 996 Cup category was young Aucklander Gene Rollinson who spent the last four laps of the race on McLennan's tail to cross the finish line in 10th place.

REYNOLDS WINS ACTION-PACKED BATTERY TOWN PORSCHE GT3 CUP OPENER AT MANFEILD

Matt Halliday might have pipped him for pole position but it was fellow front row starter David Reynolds who won the first Battery Town Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge race of the weekend at the penultimate round of the 2009/10 championship at Feilding's Manfeild motor racing circuit this afternoon.

With championship points leader Craig Baird back in fifth place after the morning's qualifying session - held in cool, blustery but dry conditions - the afternoon's 12 lap race looked set to be about who would finish second to points runner-up Halliday.

The rain that had threatened all afternoon finally started falling as the Battery Town GT3 Cup cars lined up on the dummy grid however and when Halliday's car bogged off the line Reynolds grabbed a lead he was not to lose.

The result was the sixth race win of the season for Australian driver Reynolds, the best finish so far for Matt Halliday's fellow former A1 Team.NZL teammate Jonny Reid in second and Baird's record sixth consecutive title aspirations safe with third, three seconds up on Courtney Letica who in turn had an eight second buffer on the luckless Halliday.

TRS graduate Mitch Cunningham enjoyed one of his most competitive outings so far this season in sixth, after an early battle with fellow young gun Courtney Letica and Wellington driver Simon McLennan was again the best of the Mothers 996 Cup trophy category drivers home in ninth after running as high as seventh.

Also enjoying a good race in the Mothers 996 Cup category was young Aucklander Gene Rollinson who spent the last four laps of the race on McLennan's tail to cross the finish line in 10th place.

BAIRD BACK TO HIS BEST AT TIMARU

Defending series champion Craig Baird was back to his best at an eventful fourth round of the 2009/10 Battery Town Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge championship at the Timaru International Motor Raceway over the weekend, qualifying quickest and winning two of the three races to claim round honours from series young gun Courtney Letica and Daniel Gaunt.

Having found himself playing second fiddle to Triple X Motorsport teammate David Reynolds at the second and third rounds of this season's Battery Town series, 39-year-old, 21-time New Zealand champion Baird knew that he was going to have to pull something extra out of the bag at this weekend's round.

And as it turned out that's exactly what he did, turning the tables on both Reynolds and Gaunt in the treacherous track conditions which claimed long-time series rival Matt Halliday in qualifying on Saturday morning before running away with the first race of the weekend later that afternoon.

He then fought back to catch and pass fellow front row starter and early leader Reynolds to win the weekend's second race on Sunday morning before capping off a round winning weekend off with a safe third place in the final reverse top six grid race feature race in the afternoon.

The result is that Baird has further extended the series points lead he established - in Reynold's absence - at the first round of the 2009/10 Battery Town Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge championship series at Pukekohe back in November last year, heading to the penultimate round at Feilding's Manfeild motor racing circuit in three week's time with a 145 point margin over Matt Halliday and a 168 point buffer over third placed Daniel Gaunt.

With his win this weekend Baird and Reynolds now have two round wins each but it is Matt Halliday who remains the biggest title threat thanks to the fact that Reynolds remains in catch-up mode after missing the first round.

The Australian shadowed Baird in qualifying and crossed the finish line close behind in the first two races, but lost any chance of a place on the round podium when he was forced out of the all-action reverse top six grid final with a holed radiator.

The big story of that race however was the debut series win by category young gun Courtney Letica.

After strong finishes in the first two races the 21-year-old former kart and MINI Challenge front-runner started the reverse top six grid 16-lap Battery Town final from pole then showed incredible maturity to control the race from the front, withstanding race-long pressure from established series stars Halliday and Baird to claim a popular win and with it the second spot on the round podium.

It was a deeply impressive performance and one the young Auckland driver was justifiably proud of.

"It was just an amazing race and to have kept both Matty and Bairdo, who were no doubt quicker than me in places, behind me was fantastic. But, you know, it was there and we took it and for that I really have to thank my engineer. He was on the radio the whole time just telling me to keep my head, to calm down and relax, and to be honest I can't imagine what I would have done without those words in my head. With them we just kept our lines, didn't make any mistakes and got the result."

Behind the fast-starting Letica, Halliday and Baird in that race came Halliday's International Motorsport teammate Jonny Reid, Daniel Gaunt and David Reynolds.

Initially it looked like either Halliday or Baird would eventually find a chink in Letica's armour but as the race developed, and both tried repeated probes, Letica remained resolute. In fact Reynolds was the only casualty, being spat out of what in effect was a six-car freight train after contact while he disputed fourth place with Reid.

Reid set the fastest race lap in the heat of the battle but like teammate Halliday could not find a way past the car in front.

A little further back, reigning Toyota Racing Series champion Mitch Cunningham, in his first year in the Battery Town category, enjoyed a final flourish to the weekend, getting the better of a fast-starting Paul Kelly to cross the finish line in sixth place with Triple X Motorsport team boss Shane McKillen eighth and Hugh Gardiner capping off another swash-buckling weekend as the pace-setter in the Mothers 996 Cup category (for older model 996 GT3 Cup Cars) in ninth place.

Because he failed to finish the double points The Mad Butcher 100km min-enduro race at the second round of the 2009/10 Battery Town series in Christchurch before Christmas, Gardiner still trails series newcomer Simon McLennan in the overall points standings but with another category round victory he has closed the gap to just 14 points.

Another former kart champion and more recently a front-runner in the Formula Ford class, Gardiner was clearly reveling in the slippery track conditions qualifying a series best sixth overall and claiming two eighths and a tenth in the races to finish the weekend ninth overall.

"Look, our cars are six years old so we're never going to be as good but certainly under wet conditions," he said, "we can close the gap with the 997s. Obviously their horsepower plays a big part but in these conditions our anti-lock braking system helps us close the gap a little bit, so, as you can imagine, I was praying for rain."

Race 2 (12 laps Sunday morning)

Sunday's top six reverse grid feature was definitely one of the best the large crowd got to see over the weekend. But if any of the others ran it close it was the second Battery Town series sprint race on Sunday morning.

This time it was David Reynolds who got the best start, with fast Saturday race starter Baird tucking in behind after getting a little too much wheelspin on the slipperier pole side of the track.

The order remained Reynolds, Baird, Daniel Gaunt, Jonny Reid then Matt Halliday for the first three laps with Reynolds and Baird edging away from their Triple X teammate Gaunt and Reid doing the same from Halliday.

By the fourth lap, however, Baird was on Reynold's bumper, his probing eventually producing a gap on the exit on Turn 2 and a successful pass at the end of the back straight.

Once past, Baird pulled away, his margin over Reynolds at the finish line 3.064 seconds.

Reynolds remained within striking distance, his own margin on race one pace-maker Daniel Gaunt an impressive 10.533 seconds, but there was no doubting Baird's mastery of the conditions and his car.

Behind Baird, Reynolds and Gaunt, Jonny Reid and Matt Halliday ran lonely races, a half a second separating the pair at the flag.

Impressing early on was Christchurch driver Paul Kelly who started the race from the fourth row of the grid but managed to tuck in behind Matt Halliday to claim fifth place in front of Letica and Cunningham.

Letica forced his way back past before the end of the first lap and set off after Halliday but Kelly drove a fast and intelligent race to retain seventh place to the flag.

Cunningham remained within striking distance early on only to leave the track in the slippery conditions and lose his car's front splitter. Though he was able to continue he slowly slipped back down through the field, eventually crossing the line in 11th place.

Meanwhile starting as he meant to go on, Mothers 996 Cup category pace-setter Hugh Gardiner had a strong first weekend outing, as did category series points leader Simon McLennan, the pair eventually crossing the finish line eighth and ninth respectively.

At one stage Gardiner was glued to the tail of Paul Kelly's 997 Cup Car but as the track dried Kelly's advantage eased out to just over three-and-a-half seconds at the flag.

McLennan was another 6.8 seconds behind Gardiner with Andrew Bagnall 10th, Cunningham eleventh, Shane McKillen 12th and Simon Evans third Mothers 996 Cup category finisher home in 13th.

Race 1 (12 laps Saturday afternoon)

To the first race of the weekend and after mastering the cool, damp conditions on a slick and treacherous track on Saturday morning Baird beat Reynolds and Gaunt to claim pole position.

With pole on the outside (shaded) side of the track few drivers see it as any advantage at the Timaru circuit but that didn't stop Baird outdragging Reynolds off the line and go on to claim his first race win for 2010.

Reynolds was lucky to hold on to second place after bogging his GT3 Cup car off the start, Daniel Gaunt shadowing his every move though ultimately unable to find a way past.

Finally, after a strong showing at the third Battery Town series round at Invercargill's Teretonga Park the weekend before, big things were expected of long-time Baird and Reynolds rival Matt Halliday at Timaru.

Any chance the US-based international had of repeating his round one form - pole and a race win - were severely compromised before the racing even started however when Halliday aquaplaned off the circuit early in the qualifying session.

Damage to his car was substantial though his International Motorsport crew members were able to repair it and see Halliday work his way through the field from the back row of the grid to finish sixth in the race.

Further back in the field, having split Letica and Cunningham in qualifying, Hugh Gardiner showed the potential of a well-driven 996 model Cup Car, starting the race from the third row of the grid after a round best qualifying effort saw him set the sixth quickest qualifying time.

With the drier conditions in the afternoon's race the advantage reverted to the more powerful and better braked 997 models, however, Gardiner eventually shuffled back to a still very credible 10th place by Cunningham, Christchurch car dealer Paul Kelly (making a return to the Battery Town category after missing the Teretonga round) and Shane McKillen.

Behind them, the series' two Simons, Simon McLennan and Simon Evans, engaged in an entertaining scrap for second spot on the Mothers 996 Cup podium, the nod eventually going to Wellingtonian McLennan though Aucklander Evans set a slightly quicker best lap time.

ANOTHER ROUND WIN FOR REYNOLDS BUT BAIRD CONTINUES TO LEAD BATTERY TOWN PORSCHE GT3 CUP CHAMPIONSHIP TITLE CHASE

Australian driver David Reynolds made it two round wins from two starts at a drama-packed third round of the 2009/10 Battery Town Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge championship at Invercargill's Teretonga Park over the weekend.

However third place behind Triple X teammate Reynolds and International Motorsport's Matt Halliday was enough for defending series champion Craig Baird to retain a healthy lead in the overall series points standings.

Having missed the opening round of the 2009/10 championship at Pukekohe in early November last year, former Carrera Cup Australia champion and 2009 V8 Supercar racer Reynolds was always going to be in catch up mode as far as the championship points chase was concerned.

But with pole position in qualifying then three wins from three starts at the second round of the 2009/10 series at Christchurch's Powerbuilt Tools Raceway at Ruapuna Park late in November, and pole and two wins from three starts at Teretonga Park Raceway this weekend the 24-year-old from Melbourne is certainly making his presence felt.

A point he drove home in the 16 lap reverse top six grid final Battery Town Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge championship race on Sunday afternoon.

After getting the better of poleman and early race leader Daniel Gaunt and Halliday's International Motorsport teammate Jonny Reid to win the race, Reynolds ended up with 284 points, 13 more than first race winner and second race runner-up Halliday and 37 more than Baird.

However Baird retains the overall points lead at the half way point of the 2009/10 series with 793 points, 86 more than Matt Halliday who with a win, a second and a fourth place is now second with 707 points and 127 more than Triple X teammate Gaunt who has slipped to third with 666 points.

Halliday's teammate Jonny Reid is fourth with 619 points, while a second round win has elevated David Reynolds to fifth just 35 points back.

Having claimed pole position in qualifying then followed Halliday home in the double points/$10,000 prize money 100km The Mad Butcher mini-enduro on Saturday afternoon, then won the first sprint race of the weekend on Sunday morning from Halliday and Baird, Reynolds started the weekend's reverse top six grid Battery Town final from the second row of the grid behind poleman Jonny Reid and fellow front row starter Gaunt.

Then, after slotting into third place behind a fast starting Gaunt and Reid on the first lap Reynolds took a lead he was not to lose on lap 12.

That said, the drama in that race started before the cars were even on the grid after Halliday and series young gun Courtney Letica clashed on the warm-up lap.

The contact punctured tyres on both the cars with each being pushed off the grid and back to the pits as the other cars took their places on the grid and waited for the start.

Quick work by their respective pit crews meant both drivers were able to start - and finish - the race. The handicap of having to start from pit road meant Halliday was never going to be able to challenge either Reynolds for the race - and with it possible round - victory.

As it was he was aided in his drive back through the field by a couple of other incidents, one which saw Mitch Cunningham - who started the race seventh and ran as high as fifth -being served a stop-go penalty after early race contact with Shane McKillen, and another which saw Jonny Reid pit to observe a stop-go penalty of his own for contact with early race leader Daniel Gaunt.

And Craig Baird?

Having swapped fastest lap times with Reynolds and Halliday in qualifying and got the jump on Reynolds off the line in mini-enduro on Saturday afternoon the defending series champion was leap-frogged in the pits in that race by both Halliday and Reynolds to finish third.

He also finished third in the first sprint race of the weekend on Sunday morning before following Reynolds home for second place in the final, a performance good enough both for the final place on the round podium and enough points for the former Hamilton but now Queensland-based 21-time New Zealand title holder to head to the fourth round of the 2009/10 Battery Town series next weekend at Timaru with the prospects of a record sixth Battery Town Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge championship virtually undiminished.

While all this was going on last season's 996 category title holder Hugh Gardiner continued to set the pace in the Mothers 996 Cup competition, eventually crossing the finish line in the final in eighth place ahead of fellow category regulars Simon McLennan and Simon Evans and series and category debutant Allan Dippie from Dunedin.

Like Halliday, Gardiner is on the comeback trail points-wise after a dnf in one of the double-points The Mad Butcher mini enduro races late last year and therefore expressed himself well pleased with his weekend.

"This place (Teretonga) is pretty unique as far as tracks in New Zealand are concerned in that it is very fast and very flowing and with a car like the 996 you've got enough grip and horsepower to make it really interesting. Because of the points situation (the consistent McLennan continues to lead the Mothers 996 Cup category from Gardiner, Simon Evans and Colin Caldwell) our main goal was just to gather points but after three category wins from three starts, and strong finishes against the 997 guys in each race I'm pretty happy."

As was McLennan, the 22-year-old Wellingtonian - who just two years ago was still racing karts - gaining speed and confidence with each round of the 2009/10 Battery Town Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge championship series.

"We had a good year in the MINI Challenge last year but this," he said of the Battery Town Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge, and the 996 model GT3 Cup car he is driving, " is a whole new ball game. The power is amazing, the grip from the tyres is amazing and its fantastic to have Mothers getting behind the guys in the 996 cars."

And series debutant Allan Dippie?

Entering a round of the Battery Town Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge championship was real 'jump-in-at-the-deep-end' stuff for the Dunedin businessman. But afterwards he was all smiles.

"Really, " he said, " it's just a great privilege to be able to join some of New Zealand's - in fact some of the world's - best Porsche drivers on the grid. Seeing first hand just how hard they push was a real eye-opener and I'm sure my driving got a little bit better because of it."

Race 2 (Sunday morning 16 laps)

This was also a David Reynolds benefit, the hard-charging young Australian ace making a blinder of a start from P2 on the grid to lead pole man Matt Halliday and Craig Baird into the first corner.

Any chance he had of gapping a scrapping Baird and Halliday was lost little more than a lap later however when the Safety Car was deployed while the circuit's crash crew attended to an early off by Mothers 996 Cup category competitor Colin Caldwell.

Baird attacked and got past Halliday just as the Safety Car accelerated onto the circuit but with the yellow flags already out for Caldwell's prone car Baird chose to relinquish the position as the field circulated behind the Safety Car rather than risk a penalty.

Having made such a good start first time out Reynolds was in no mood to concede any advantage when the Safety Car returned to the pits though and when it did his advantage remained, Halliday slotting into second, Baird third and Daniel Gaunt fourth.

After forcing his way past Halliday's teammate Jonny Reid, before the Safety Car came out, Courtney Letica looked set to challenge Gaunt only to fall foul of the Teretonga circuit's daunting high speed Loop corner, losing a number of positions in a wild ride across the grass until he was eventually able to re-join the circuit.

That left Reynolds Halliday and Baird line astern out front with a small gap back to Gaunt with Reid slowly closing the gap and Mitch Cunningham (who failed to finish Saturday's race after a gear selection cable broke) completing the top six.

Early in the race top Mothers 996 Cup competitor High Gardiner held got as high as eighth as he split the 997 Cup cars of Shane McKillen and Andrew Bagnall but at the line it was Bagnall in seventh place, McKillen eighth and Gardiner ninth.

Second Mothers 996 Cup competitor and category points leader Simon McLennan was tenth with usual sparring partner Simon Evans not far behind in eleventh.

Race 1 (The Mad Butcher Mini Enduro Saturday 100km 38 laps)

It was slick work in the pits which made the big difference in the weekend's first Battery Town series race on Saturday afternoon, Matt Halliday turning the tables on Craig Baird and David Reynolds in the 38-lap double-points/$10,000 prize money The Mad Butcher-sponsored curtain-raiser.

Baird got the jump on Reynolds off the line but come the race's compulsory pit stop - in which two crew members must change two tyres - the advantage swung Halliday's way.

Baird was the first of the front-running trio to take his pit stop with Reynolds and Halliday following soon after.

When they returned to the track however the order was Halliday, Reynolds and Baird, Halliday retaining the advantage until the chequered flag.

Reynolds closed what at one stage was a three second gap to less than a second in the closing laps but didn't get quite close enough to deny Halliday his second win of the 2009/10 Battery Town season.

Baird in turn circulated in third place, eventually crossing the finish line just over 18 seconds behind Reynolds but with a safe 21 second break back to the first of his other Triple X Motorsport teammates, Daniel Gaunt, who in turn had a comfortable buffer over Halliday's International Motorsport teammate Jonny Reid and Courtney Letica.

Behind Reid and Letica came Triple X Motorsport team boss Shane McKillen followed by the first of the Mothers 996 Cup runners, Hugh Gardiner.

Gardiner had the edge over fellow Mothers 996 Cup category (for older 996 model GT3 Cup cars) drivers Simon Evans, Simon McLennan, Colin Caldwell and series debutant Allan Dippie in qualifying and was again acut above them in the race, splitting 997 drivers McKillen and Andrew Bagnall in the finishing order

SLICK PIT WORK HELPS HALLIDAY WIN FIRST BATTERY TOWN PORSCHE GT CUP CHALLENGE RACE AT TERETONGA

Slick pit work by the International Motorsport team helped Matt Halliday get the better of Triple X Motorsport teammates David Reynolds and Craig Baird in the first race of the weekend at the third round of the 2009/10 Battery Town Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge championship at Invercargill's Teretonga Park this afternoon.

Young Australian driver Reynolds pipped both Baird and Halliday in qualifying, and Baird got the jump on Reynolds at the start of the double points/$10,000 prize money 38 lap/100km The Mad Butcher-sponsored mini-enduro race.

But come the race's compulsory pit stop - in which two crew members must change two tyres - the advantage swung Halliday's way.

Baird was the first of the front-running trio to take his pit stop with Reynolds and Halliday following soon after.

When they returned to the track however the order was Halliday, Reynolds and Baird, LA-based international Halliday retaining the advantage until the chequered flag.

Reid led Letica early on but in this case it was Letica who had the better pit stop and Reid spent the second half of the race trying to get back in front.

Eventually he found a way before easing away to cross the line just over half a second in front.

Behind Reid and Letica came Triple X Motorsport team boss Shane McKillen followed by the first of the Mothers 996 Cup runners, Hugh Gardiner.

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