Photo: Jonny Reid
With championship points leader Craig Baird back in fifth place after the morning's qualifying session - held in cool, blustery but dry conditions - the afternoon's 12 lap race looked set to be about who would finish second to points runner-up Halliday.
The rain that had threatened all afternoon finally started falling as the Battery Town GT3 Cup cars lined up on the dummy grid however and when Halliday's car bogged off the line Reynolds grabbed a lead he was not to lose.
Halliday recovered his composure to tuck in behind teammate Jonny Reid and circulate in third place where he stayed until Baird eventually caught up and launched an attack on third place at the Higgins corner on the sixth lap.
Halliday returned the favour at the end of the back straight and entered the seventh lap back in third place and when Baird lost momentum out of the hairpin a lap later it looked like Halliday would join David Reynolds and Jonny Reid on the podium.
However Daniel Gaunt also had eyes on the final podium spot and clashed with Halliday exiting the first corner on lap eight. The contact spun Halliday, who was able to continue, but saw Gaunt summoned to the pits to observe a drive through penalty, then complete the last lap at much reduced pace due to a flat right fear tyre.
The result was the sixth race win of the season for Australian driver Reynolds, the best finish so far for Matt Halliday's fellow former A1 Team.NZL teammate Jonny Reid in second and Baird's record sixth consecutive title aspirations safe with third, three seconds up on Courtney Letica who in turn had an eight second buffer on the luckless Halliday.
TRS graduate Mitch Cunningham enjoyed one of his most competitive outings so far this season in sixth, after an early battle with fellow young gun Courtney Letica and Wellington driver Simon McLennan was again the best of the Mothers 996 Cup trophy category drivers home in ninth after running as high as seventh.
Also enjoying a good race in the Mothers 996 Cup category was young Aucklander Gene Rollinson who spent the last four laps of the race on McLennan's tail to cross the finish line in 10th place.
Qualifying
1. Matt Halliday 1.07.524
2. David Reynolds 1.07.832
3. Jonny Reid 1.07.842
4. Daniel Gaunt 1.08.058
5. Craig Baird 1.08.159
6. Mitch Cunningham 1.08.546
7. Courtney Letica 1.09.106
8. Shane McKillen 1.09.579
9. Paul Kelly 1.09.900
10. Andrew Bagnall 1.10.050
11. Simon McLennan 1.10.058
12. Hugh Gardiner 1.10.072
13. Gene Rollinson 1.10.353
14. Simon Evans 1.10.882
15. Colin Caldwell 1.15.423
Race 1 (12 laps)
1. David Reynolds 12 laps
2. Jonny Reid +7.861
3. Craig Baird +8.338
4. Courtney Letica +11.971
5. Matt Halliday +19.251
6. Mitch Cunningham +20.575
7. Shane McKillen +38.504
8. Andrew Bagnall +41.164
9. Simon McLennan +43.283
10. Gene Rollinson +44.398
11. Simon Evans +50.414
12. Paul Kelly +50.606
13. Hugh Gardiner 57.747
14. Colin Caldwell +1.13.158
15. Daniel Gaunt +1 lap
