BNT V8 SuperTourer ace Daniel Gaunt will be racing for the BNT V8 SuperTourer Sprint title at Taupo over the weekend of August 31 and September 1 – but it will not be aboard his regular Tasman Motorsports Group Ford Falcon V8ST racer – ‘Abe’.

Gaunt will instead step into the United Videos Ford Falcon car normally raced by Craig Baird. Baird will be busy racing a Ferrari in the Sepang 12 Hour in Malaysia and the opportunity to race the Ford Falcon V8ST and fight for the Sprint Series was just too good an opportunity for Gaunt to overlook.

” I’m excited to drive Bairdo’s car, but I guess competing in the full championship is the biggest bonus for me and Tasman Motorsports come December,” explained Gaunt. “It will be odd to see ‘Abe’ out there and compete against him, but he’s in capable hands. Miles before the enduros for Andrew is a massive bonus for the team.”

Gaunt started the season expecting to do only the first two rounds of the sprint series, with Andrew Waite taking over the final two as the team focussed on giving itself the best chance of outright victories in the season’s enduro races. A great run of results for Gaunt coupled with Andrew Waite’s wrist injury preventing him from running at the last round at Pukekohe has kept Gaunt right in the hunt for the title.

The young ace currently lies fourth in the points standings behind Greg Murphy, Ant Pedersen and Shane van Gisbergen and won the second round of the 2013 series at the Powerbuilt Tools Raceway, Ruapuna.