After the unprecedented scenes of tragedy in Canterbury of late one of their foremost motor racing stars will take to the track in Taupo this weekend endorsing the Red Cross 2011 Canterbury Earthquake Appeal.
Andy Knight of Christchurch will contest Round 6 of the BNT V8s Championship at the Taupo Motorsport Park in what will be known for the final two rounds of the championship as the Red Cross Earthquake Appeal Falcon.
The major sponsor of the car is Century Batteries but in light of the tragedy that has befallen Christchurch the company has made a wonderful gesture in having their major signage on the car removed and replaced by Red Cross Appeal signage.
The Knight family know well the devastation the quake on 22 February has caused as their business the Latimer Hotel is adjacent to Latimer Square, scene of a triage centre set up after the disaster. In addition the hotel was damaged in the earthquake and significant rebuilding work will be necessary. Prior to the February earthquake the Knight Motorsport Team had already lost their workshop in the September earthquake that shook the city. That meant the Red Cross Earthquake Appeal Falcon has been prepared in Timaru throughout the season.
However Knight is very much a Christchurch driver and the signage on the Falcon at the final two rounds of the championship – at Taupo this weekend and then again at Hamilton next month – will support the Red Cross Earthquake Appeal with the appeal website – www.redcross.org.nz adorning the sides of the car to remind people of the scale of the disaster and what they can do to help.
Knight arrives at Taupo this weekend sitting seventh in a championship which is extremely close. The former New Zealand Grand Prix winner and Toyota Racing Series champion has become a consistent frontrunner in the championship since his series debut late in 2008.
This weekend Andy and the Red Cross Earthquake Appeal Falcon begin the round with two test sessions on Saturday – the first at 10.00am followed by another at 1.10pm. Qualifying follows at 3.40pm before the top ten qualifiers advance to the top ten shootout soon after.
Racing takes place on Sunday. The first race over 10 laps is timed to start at 9.56am with the second scheduled for 12.49pm. The final race, the traditional reverse grid contest over 20 laps,
commences at 4.12pm.
Knight Motorsport and their many sponsors support the 2011 Red Cross Earthquake Appeal www.redcross.org.nz while Andy is supported in the championship by Century Batteries, Parker Stores, Milwaukee Power Tools, John Jones Steel, Mothers High Performance Car Care and The Rock FM.