Motorsport: Reid watches from the bench

Jonny Reid. Photo / Paul Estcourt

When the World Cup of Motorsport last visited these shores in January last year, then driver, Jonny Reid, bought Black Beauty home ahead of the pack in the sprint race and gained a fourth in the feature race.

Therefore, it must have been a bit of a bitter pill to swallow when he found himself relegated to the bench at a round where the New Zealand team had one of its best results.

Reid had been a talisman for the team. He had bagged the team's first podium finish, in Malaysia in 2006 and made the main driving role his own.

A popular figure with fans last year, Reid's affable smile grinned out of advertising billboards and from the pages of newspapers. As the A1GP series won much friendly publicity, Reid was the visible, smiling face of the Kiwi team.

He raced an Air New Zealand Boeing 777 and charmed the public.

Now he's watching the A1GP from the sidelines. Youngster Chris van der Drift has been handed the reins of the flying Kiwi car in Taupo this weekend.

"I'm not really expecting any drives in the A1 car this year but if the opportunity comes along we'll definitely talk about it," Reid said. "It is a little puzzling I'm not driving as we finished second last year and we would have been carrying a lot of momentum into this season."

Fans can rest assured Reid will not be a mere spectator over the weekend, for he is going to be racing. He's been asked to partner Jody Vincent in the endurance Porsche GT3 race on Sunday.

"I was always going to go to the A1 but it's not like they need me there. My main focus is going to be on racing the Porsche," said Reid. "It'll be my first tin-top race and I'm there mainly to get a bit of experience about those sort of cars. I'd love to win it but I'm not expecting too much."

While it may be puzzling that Reid isn't in the hot seat at a track where he has done well, the team's statement that he hasn't had any time in the new Ferrari-powered car does make some sort of sense. So what of Reid's future?

"My hopes are still the Indy Lights in America but it's trying to get the funding. If I can't get the money and backing I can't go anywhere," said Reid.

"I've been sidelined from the A1 side of things too much this year and I need to be out there proving myself in a car."

If Reid does well in the Porsches, it may open a whole new avenue for him to showcase his skills and as he said himself: "Life's a journey and I'll just have to see what happens."