LATEST NEWS & RESULTS

Stay tuned with Matt's latest news and results on this page...

Matt Halliday Wins Formula Renault V6 Asia Feature On Debut In Malaysia -  25th June 2006 
On his debut in the inaugural Formula Renault V6 Asia series, Matt has won the feature 50 minute race after starting from the rear of the grid. However, his weekend was initially frought with problems as a bad tyre choice in the wet qualifying saw his 42 BELOW sponsored single-seater racer sixth on the grid for Saturday's first race. After working his way up to second, a deflated rear tyre saw him forced out resulting in the low grid position for Sunday's feature race. Matt thrilled the crowd with his charge through the field and after hitting the front, pulled out a six second advantage.

Matt Guides A1TEAM.NZL To 4th Overall For Inaugural A1GP Series In China- 2nd April  2006 
The inaugural A1GP series, also known as the World Cup Of Motorsport, has concluded in Shangai, China, with Matt guiding New Zealand to a fantastic 4th overall in the series. Practice went to plan with Matt sitting in the top end of the time sheets but a rare slip-up in qualifying saw him start the Sprint Race from 13th grid position. However, he made an excellent start to finish the race 8th then backed it up with another great start to come home 4th in the Main Race.  The Kiwi team went into the final round 6th on the points table but performed superbly to jump two places up the ladder to 4th out of 22 countries. 

Matt Running Hot at Laguna Seca A1GP Round Eleven  - 13th March 2006 
After spending the weather interrupted practice sessions setting up and fine tuning the A1TEAM.NZL car, Matt set a hot pace in qualifying to start the Sprint Race from 3rd grid position. After dominating the warm up session by nearly half a second, he then went on to hit the lead before the first corner after a superb start. However, torrential rain saw a safety car deployment which led to major controversy when the Mexican entry appeared to pass Matt under the full caution. Having his good lead wiped, Matt wrestled with bad rear end traction to hold fifth place until shunted into a spin by another car, eventually finishing eighth.  The handling gremlins remained for the Main Race but after holding down seventh a quick spin saw him home 12th.

A Weekend Of Highs And Lows For Matt In Mexico A1GP Races  - 27th February 2006 
Matt started the latest Mexico round of the A1GP series by setting the fastest practice time on Friday but on Saturday had to contend with settting up difficulties to qualify 13th. With his lap times dropping through the day, the A1TEAM.NZL crew were confident of a good run in Sunday's races but in the sprint race, Matt was rammed from behind while under safety car conditions which ended his race. After repairing the car between races, he fought gallantly from the back of the grid to run as high as 6th before coming home 8th with serious handling problems caused by the earlier crash.

Difficult Weekend In Indonesia For A1TEAM.NZL But Matt Still Keeps Kiwis In 5th Place  - 12th February 2006 
To describe the latest round of the A1GP series as difficult for the Kiwi team would be an understatement but Matt has kept the team in 5th place on the points total and still within striking distance of a top three position. A difficult and rain affected qualifying saw him start the Sprint Race 10th on the grid but achieved a satisfactory 8th place which he backed up with 7th place in the Feature Race. After being shunted around by a couple of other drivers, Matt fought back from 17th to get the car home despite considerable damage and a bent steering arm.

Matt Puts On Superb Performance In Durban Round Of A1GP Series - 30th January 2006 
After qualifying in seventh grid position, Matt has finished sixth and fourth respectively in the sprint race and feature race of the A1GP series street race in Durban, South Africa. A1TEAM.NZL finished the weekend third overall on points to retain fifth place in the series, just four points behind Great Britiain and nine behind Brazil. Matt fought back from 13th to fourth passing nine cars in the process.

Matt Gets 40 laps Before Formula GP2 Test Is Rained Out - 3rd December 2005 
The Formula GP2 test undertaken by Matt was rained out at 1:00pm after a severe rain storm deluged the Paul Ricard circuit area in the South Of France. Halliday still managed 40 laps where he adapted quickly to post competetive times against the other 24 drivers. The DAMS team management were still pleased with Matt's effort, especially his technical feedback.

Matt Signs For Formula GP2 Test With Top French Team - 25th November 2005 
Matt Halliday has been signed to conduct a one day test for the 2006 Formula GP2 Series in Europe. The test is with top French Team DAMS and will take place at the Paul Ricard Circuit, in the South of France, on December 2nd. Formula GP2 is the main support series for the European rounds of the Formula One Championship and is therefore regarded as the stepping stone into Formula One. 

Matt Maintains New Zealand In 4th Place on A1GP Points Table After Round 5 In Malaysia - 20th November 2005 
Matt Halliday has maintained New Zealand's 4th place on the points table for the A1GP Series after two hard earned 6th placings in Round 5 at the Sepang circuit in Malaysia. He was well satisfied with his work over the weekend which was helped by a good pit stop in the Main Race and he was also pleased to note that the team were 3rd on cumulative points for the Malaysian round. Matt will now return to New Zealand where he will race the Placemakers/Giltrap Prestige Porsche GT3 at Powerbuilt Raceway (Ruapuna) near Christchurch this coming weekend. 

Matt Qualifies 5th For A1GP Races In Malaysia - 19th November 2005 
Matt Halliday has qualified 5th on the grid for the first "sprint" race at Round 5 of the A1GP Series in Malaysia. He will start alongside the Netherlands entry behind Switzerland, France, Ireland and Great Britiain. The team are still working with the car's set up but feel they are making progress and also gave Matt an exoerience building run during a rain downpour in the final practice session. Both races will take place late Sunday afternoon (NZ time).

Matt Completes First Day Practice Sessions For A1GP Races In Malaysia - 18th November 2005 
Matt Halliday has recorded 6th and 16th fastest lap times in the first two practice sessions for Round 5 of the A1GP Seires in Malaysia. The Kiwi team are very happy with the times as they concentrated mainly on car set up and used the same set of tyres for both sessions. An encouraging note was Matt setting 5th fastest time on his first flying lap on a circuit he has never driven around before. Saturday will see another practice run followed by official qualifying then two races on Sunday. 

Matt  In A1GP Races At Portugal - 24th October 2005 
Matt Halliday returned to Europe to the news that he would be driving the Kiwi entry in the A!GP races at Estoril in Portugal. Unfortunately the team endure a weekend to forget with bad weather in practice and qualifying coupled with an apparent engine performance problem. He  qualifies 14th and finishes the Sprint Race in 14th which led the team to change tactics for the Main Race. After getting a good start, a bad pit stop dropped him to the rear of the field although he drove well to climb back up to 16th. Matt now travels to the Australian round of the series, at Eastern Creek in a fortnight, but will not be driving at that round. 

Matt Returns To Europe To Rejoin Kiwi A1 Grand Prix Team - 13th October 2005 
Matt Halliday has return to Europe to focus his efforts on representing New Zealand in the A1 Grand Prix Series, the next round of which is scheduled for Portugal’s Estoril circuit on 21 – 23 October. The decision on who drives the Kiwi entry will be made closer to the weekend but Matt will now be attending all remaining races in the series. (Refer Press Page – 13 October 2005 for details).

Matt And Alain Menu 12th At Bathurst V8 Supercars - 13th October 2005
After finishing in 11th place in 2004, Matt Halliday returned to the Super Cheap Auto 1000 race at Bathurst to come home in 12th after a dramatic and action packed race. Orrcon Racing returned Matt to the iconic New South Wales track to partner former two times British Touring Car Champion – Alain Menu – in the potent Ford Falcon. The pair qualified 22nd bit quickly moved up to 12th in the opening stint before the dramas set in. (Refer Press Page – 9 October and 13 October 2005 for details).

Halliday And Kiwi Team Stunning At Opening Round Of A1 Grand Prix Series - 26th September 2005
The opening round of the all new A1 Grand Prix series has kicked off at Brands Hatch (UK) with New Zealand coming away in a fantastic third place in the points standings. Matt Halliday has stunned pundits by qualifying second and following up with a third and fourth placing in the two races.

Matt's performance was all the more sensational as he started the second race from the pit lane after his car stalled on the parade lap. His drive back through the field was one of the highlights of the weekend and drew praise from team members and media commentators. Refer Press Page – 26 September 2005).

Matt Tests F3000 And Kiwi A1GP Car While Also Preparing For Bathurst V8 Supercars - 24th August 2005
The life of an International racing driver is no picnic as Matt Halliday trots the globe fulfilling his racing commitments. His latest sojourn began by heading to Britain’s Silverstone circuit for the first A1 Grand Prix Series test in the Team New Zealand car, stopping off in Italy to conduct a Formula 3000 test for Team Astromega. He then returned to New Zealand but will soon head back to Europe for the next A1GP test at Paul Ricard, in France.

However, before the first round of the series, he must travel back to Australia for the Sandown V8 Supercar endurance race then return for the first A1GP races at Brands Hatch in the UK. Another trip back down-under for the Bathurst 1000km V8 Supercar classic will follow before returning to the Northern Hemisphere to focus on the A1 Grand prix series. (Refer Press Page – 24 August 2005 for details).

Halliday Signs To Return To Bathurst V8 Supercars With Orrcon racing - 10th August 2005
After finishing in 11th place in last year’s Bathurst 100km V8 Supercar classic, Matt will return to Bathurst with Mark Larkham’s Orrcon racing outfit. This year Halliday will be paired with former two times British Touring Car Champion, Alain Menu. The pair will also join forces for the preceeding Sandown 500km endurance race which usually serves as a "Bathurst preview." (Refer Press Page – 10 August 2005 for details).