Motorsport: Halliday and Evans hit Silverstone

Matt Halliday. Photo / Matt Halliday

While there might be a few Kiwi V8 drivers thundering around the top of North Queensland this weekend, a couple of their compatriots are plying their trade in Europe as support for the Formula One Grand Prix at Silverstone, England.

First up is Matt Halliday who is contesting his second Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup race for the German-based MRS team in the same car he raced at Monaco this year. Halliday has notched up two top-10 finishes in previous visits to the track with his best a fifth in 2009.

"I am really excited to be back in the MRS Porsche Supercup car for Silverstone which is another one of my favourite European circuits," said Halliday.

Also having a run over the weekend is 17-year-old New Zealander Mitch Evans, who is racing in the GP3 series. He is part of the MW Arden Team, owned by Mark and Ann Webber (The Red Bull F1 driver), which also has interest from Red Bull F1 principal Christian Horner.

Evans tops the points table after three rounds on 26 points ahead of the far more experienced pair of Nigel Melker (22 points) and Andrea Caldarelli (20 points).

Evans' two nearest rivals have given him some breathing space this weekend. Melker has been pinged 10 grid spots for an infringement last time out in Valencia, Spain while Caldarelli looks like he has moved to GP2 for the rest of the season opening the way for Evans to extend his lead.