2008 TRS Champion

Birth date: 30 April 1986

Home town: Christchurch

Team: Knight Motorsport

Engineer: Aaron Thornton

Sponsors: Humphries Construction, Karcher

Website: http://www.knightmotorsport.co.nz/andy.html

Andy Knight is the latest in a family with a proud racing heritage extending back three generations.

He is a former Toyota Racing Series champion and winner of both the New Zealand International Grand Prix and the NZ Motor Cup which is up for grabs this weekend at Hampton Downs.

Andy started racing in karts at the relatively late age of 12.  He won several major karting titles before stepping into a Formula Ford in 2003 and his 2004 campaign saw him frequently running in the top six.  Andy also won the New Zealand Formula Ford Festival.

He joined the Toyota Racing Series in its in augural season in 2004-2005, finishing second in the championship in the same year he finished second in Formula Ford. 

The following year Andy was back in TRS, finishing third in a hotly contested championship year and heading to the USA for off-season race experience in FF2000.

The next year, 2006-2007 he was fourth overall – and having experienced second to fourth outright, came back in 2007-2008 vowing to score the win.

A season-long battle ensured, with Knight, Ben Harford and Earl Bamber all locked in close combat for every available point.  Knight’s win of the Motor Cup at the opening round at Pukekohe gave him a decisive on-track and psychological advantage, forcing the field to chase him at each subsequent round; in the end only Bamber would stay in touch and the championship was fought out to the final corner of the final race of the season.

With the Motor Cup and Grand Prix titles secure and a TRS Championship to his credit, and Andy switched to touring cars in 2008, racing in the NZ V8s.  He also contested a round of the Fujitsu V8 series in Australia.

He says his favourite circuit is Manfeild, home of the New Zealand International Grand Prix, though the Hampton Downs circuit with its rise and fall provides him with just as much pure racing challenge.

Understandably, Andy says his most memorable moment was winning the NZIGP.  After Hampton Downs – if additional backing can be found – Andy has his sights set on another Grand Prix win next weekend at Manfeild.