Pitstop: Baird's car worries

Porche GT3 Cup Champion Craig Baird. Photo / Supplied

New Zealand race driver Craig Baird returns to Singapore unsure what condition his car will be in for the penultimate round of the Porsche Carrera Cup Asia this weekend. After a big crash at the last round the car was repaired, but suffered new damage en route to Singapore. Baird is second in the championship with two rounds to go.

Endurance series hit

The motoring gods have conspired to disrupt the South Island endurance series yet again. The first round was postponed because of the Christchurch earthquake and the second round in Invercargill has fallen over due to the heavy snowfalls. While Ruapuna was rescheduled to November 27, no decision has been made as yet on the running of the Teretonga round. Timaru is still on for October 2.

Swift response

Australia is following New Zealand's Suzuki Swift Sport Cup series and introducing its own version - the Australian Swift Sport Young Drivers Series - in 2011. It will be aimed at drivers under 25 and car packages will be priced around $58,000. The projected field is to be around 30 cars and one of the cars will contest the full Kiwi season.

Days of Thunder

The best riders from 32 countries are at Thunder Valley in Denver, Colorado, this weekend for the Motocross of Nations and New Zealand has a strong team. Josh Coppins, Ben Townley and Brad Groombridge will want to emulate Kiwi riders of the past who made the podium in 1998, 2001 and 2006.

Rossi still struggling

More news on multi-world MotoGP champion Valentino Rossi's shoulder, mentioned in last week's Pitstop. The Italian is experiencing increasing problems with the injury, as witnessed in his sixth-place finish in Spain. It is being mooted that he'll skip the last two rounds of the championship.

Under the hood

Disgraced former Renault boss Flavio Briatore has been spotted mooching around the Formula One paddock, fuelling rumours Bernie Ecclestone may bring him back into the fold. Ecclestone is also trying to find a woman driver, after once saying they were not physically capable of driving F1 cars. It may be boring on the track but the characters are a hoot.