Jonny Reid

Jonathan Ross Reid, more commonly known as Jonny Reid, (born 18 October 1983, in Auckland) is a New Zealand racing driver.

Reid started his career in karting at the age of 8.

In 1996, Reid 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, this time in the Junior Intercontinental Class.

In 1999, Reid won his first New Zealand Championship in Junior Stock which was preceded by wins in the Pro series.

In 2002, Reid won the New Zealand Formula Ford Festival for the second year in a row, the New Zealand Championship and the New Zealand Grand Prix.

In 2003, Reid was awarded Motorsport New Zealand's Steel Memorial Trophy, given annually to an under-21 New Zealand racing driver who "displays dedication, skill and a level of professionalism in their driving aiming to progress to the upper echelons of the sport".

Reid drove for Graham Watson's Ralt Australia team in the 2003 Australian Drivers' Championship.

He achieved second in the championship, amassing four pole positions, five race wins and three round victories.

Reid finished the season with pole position and wins in both races in Round 6 at Eastern Creek.

Reid made his V8 Supercars debut in the 2003 Bathurst 1000 with Alan Gurr for Robert Smith Racing.

However, he did not drive in the race itself, as Gurr was forced to retire the car after four laps due to a mechanical failure.

In the 2005-06 season, Reid was twice called up by New Zealand to race in the A1 Grand Prix.

Together with Matt Halliday, who competed in the rest of the rounds for the team, the pair won 77 points, placing the team in fourth position overall.

Reid was called up for seven of the eleven rounds in 2006–07, with Halliday once again completing the remaining rounds.

The car was dubbed 'Black Beauty' by both the team and New Zealand media.

In his first round of the season at Brno Circuit, Reid qualified on pole, A1 Team New Zealand's first pole position.

However, before the first corner of the sprint race, Reid collided with Nico Hülkenberg of Team Germany, leading to both drivers retiring from the race.

In the fourth round of the A1GP in Malaysia in Sepang International Circuit, Reid and Hülkenberg collided in the sprint race once again.

However, Reid continued racing despite a damaged suspension and came 3rd, Team New Zealand's first podium.

After doubling Team New Zealand's points in Malaysia, Reid was selected to drive in the fifth round in Indonesia.

Reid qualified on pole and won in both the sprint and feature races.

This performance led to him being selected for the following event in his home country in January 2007.

"Taupo is in the back of my mind..."

"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".

Reid finished both races in New Zealand in third place.

After three more rounds, including one victory in China, he and Halliday finished second in the championship, only behind Team Germany.

In 2007–08, Reid competed in all rounds of the A1GP season.

He won four races, and once again finished second in the championship, this time behind Team Switzerland's Neel Jani.

As a promotion for the New Zealand round, Reid raced his A1GP car against an Air New Zealand Boeing 777-200ER passenger jet at Auckland International Airport.

The first try saw the Boeing race past Reid and lift into the sky, while the second attempt saw him beat the 777 just as it was about to lift off.

The car reached its top speed of 285 km/h, while the Boeing 777, with little fuel and no passengers or cargo, reached about 280 km/h before it was forced to lift into the sky.

Reid passed his Firestone Indy Lights rookie test on 19 May 2008 at Iowa Speedway.

Four days later, he made his debut for Integra Motorsports in the 2008 Firestone Freedom 100 on 23 May at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

At Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, Reid had a career-best start of third for Race One.

He finished fourth, with the grid reversal giving him the pole for Race Two.

In wet conditions amidst many Safety Car periods, Reid led most of the race, which was run to time rather than laps due to the delays.

Reid took the white flag in second place behind Mitch Cunningham, but Cunningham then crashed at turn one, before a three-car incident further back involving points leader Richard Antinucci brought out the yellow flag.

This effectively gave Reid the race win, but, with his radio having failed earlier, he was unclear on the situation and pitted at the end of the lap.