Jonny Reid

Infobox racing driver
name = Jonny Reid

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pixels =
caption =
nationality = flagicon|New Zealand New Zealander
date of birth = Birth date and age|1983|10|18
place of birth = Auckland (New Zealand)
current series = A1 Grand Prix
first year = 2005
current team = A1 Team New Zealand
car number =
former teams =
starts = 20
wins = 3
poles = 2
fastest laps = 2
prev series = All-Japan Formula 3
Euro 3000 Series
Formula Holden
New Zealand Formula Ford
prev series years = 2005
2004
2003
2002-2003
titles = New Zealand Formula Ford
title years = 2003
awards =
award years =

Jonny (Jonathan Ross) Reid (born 18 October 1983 in Auckland) is a New Zealand racing driver. Jonny comes from a well-known New Zealand racing family. Both his grandfather and his father were known kiwi racers. His father, Clayton Reid, was a New Zealand champion in karting. Jonny presents himself as a "fine kiwi gentleman" and says that "racing is the sole love of his life".

Karting

Like so many others, Johnny started racing in karting at the very young age of 8. In 1996, Jonny won his first title, the New Zealand North Island Championship in the rookie class. In 1997, he went on to win the North Island Championship in the Junior Class. In 1998, he won the North Island Championship again. However, this time in the Junior Intercontinental Class. In 1999, Jonny won his first New Zealand Championship in Junior Stock which precedied by wins in the Pro series.

Formula Ford

In 2002, Jonny won the New Zealand Formula Ford Festival for the second year in a row, the New Zealand Championship and the New Zealand Grand Prix. With the aid of Andrew Neale and John Crawford, Johnny achieved his goal of winning the prestigious Motorsport New Zealand's Steel Trophy for his dedication, skill, an excellent level of professionalism and sportsmanlike attitude.

Formula 4000

In early 2003, Jonny tested for Graham Watson's Ralt Australia team, driving in Formula 4000. He had good season with four pole positions, six front row starts, the fastest lap in every race and wins in five races, winning four rounds altogether. Jonny finished the season with pole position and wins in both races in Round 6 at Eastern Creek.

Barthurst 1000

Reid also drove at the famous Bathurst 1000 race, gaining considerable note when, after only six laps, he had laid down a time that would have put him on the front row of the Konica race. His race did not eventuate, however, when the car suffered a terminal mechanical fault after only a few laps whilst being driven by his team mate.

A1 Grand Prix

In 2005, Reid was called up by his country to race in the A1 Grand Prix. There he partnered Matt Halliday where they racked up 77 points in total to put A1 Team New Zealand in 4th place.

In 2006, Reid was again called up to race in A1 Grand Prix. Reid drives a car which by the fans and media has been dubbed as the Black Beauty. He qualified first at Masaryk Circuit, A1 Team New Zealand's first pole position. In the sprint race Reid collided with Nico Hulkenberg, Team Germany, before the first corner, and they both ran off the track.

Jonny also raced in the fourth round of the A1GP in Malaysia in Sepang International Circuit, where, again, Nico Hulkenberg did not give him enough space on the track and both cars touched on the first corner. However, Jonny managed to continue racing even with the damaged suspension and came 3rd in the sprint race. This was the first podium finish for the Team.NZ. After doubling Team New Zealand's points in Malaysia, Jonny was unexpectedly selected to drive in the fifth round in Indonesia. In Indonesia Reid managed to get the fastest qualifying times, first place in the sprint race and first place in the feature race. The double wins means Reid will now be racing in the Taupo, New Zealand event in January, 2007.

“Taupo is in the back of my mind..." says Jonny.

“But this is a hot seat and you have to be performing the whole time if you want to keep it.I’m just looking to better my game every time I get in that car, so I’ll be pushing myself to qualify on pole and win races. That’s my focus.”

On the 08 January 2008, Jonny raced his A1 GP car 'Black Beauty' against an Air New Zealand Boeing 777-200ER passenger jet at Auckland International Airport. The first try saw the Boeing race past Jonny and lift into the sky, while the second attempt saw Black Beauty beat the 777 just as it was about to lift off. The car reached about 300kmh, while the Boeing 777, with little fuel and no passengers or cargo, reached about 280kmh before it was forced to lift into the sky. The race was publicity for the upcoming Taupo A1GP world championship.

Indy Lights

Jonny Reid passed his Firestone Indy Lights rookie test on May 19, 2008 at Iowa Speedway and made his debut for Integra Motorsports in the 2008 Firestone Freedom 100 on May 23 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. [ [http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/wire/chi-ap-car-irl-indylights-r,0,6632251.story Reid passes Indy Lights rookie test] , Associated Press, May 19, 2008] In race 2 at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course Reid took a career-best start of 3rd and finish of 4th in race 1, and the grid reversal gave him pole for race 2. In wet conditions amidst lots of Safety Car periods Reid led most of the race, which was ran to time rather than laps due to the delays. Reid took the white flag in 2nd place behind Mitch Cunningham, but Cunningham then crashed at turn 1, before a three-car incident further back involving points leader Richard Antinucci brought out the yellow flag. This effectively gave Reid the race, but (with his radio having failed earlier) he was unclear on the situation, and pitted at the end of the lap, meaning that he crossed the line in 9th place, gifting the win to James Davison. Reid left Integra Motorsports and missed the next race on the schedule. He returned one round later at Infineon Raceway driving a fourth car for Sam Schmidt Motorsports.

References

External links

* [http://www.jonnyreid.com/ Jonny Reid Homepage]
* [http://www.motorsport.com/ Official Motorsport News Portal]
* [http://www.a1gp.com/ Official A1 Grand Prix News Portal]
* [http://www.a1nzl.com/ Official A1GP Team New Zealand Page]