John McIntyre (racing driver)
In-game article clicks load inline without leaving the challenge.
John Donald McIntyre (born 10 March 1977) is a New Zealand racing driver from Hastings, New Zealand.
McIntyre competed predominantly in the New Zealand V8 touring car championship, in which he won three championship titles, the most of any driver in the series' history. He also won the inaugural V8SuperTourer sprint series championship in 2012.
Outside of New Zealand, McIntyre competed in the V8 Supercar category in Australia, largely in an endurance driver role. He also established his own racing team in 2006 which he continues to run both in a driving and in a managerial capacity.
Early career
McIntyre begun his motor racing career in 1990, becoming the first minor to race on a permanent racing track in New Zealand at the age of 13. In 1992, McIntyre won the Shell Ultra Challenge Scholarship run by Richard Lester. In 1993, McIntyre won the New Zealand Motor Sports Person of the Year in the Junior Male category.
Touring car career
In 1994, McIntyre begun competing in the Nissan Sentra GT Cup series. He won his first race at the Wellington Street Circuit thus making him the youngest winner in the categories history at the age of 17. In 1996, McIntyre won the Nissan Sentra GT Cup Championship and in doing so became the series' final champion. In 1997, McIntyre shifted to the TraNZam Lights Championship. Despite contesting little over half of the races that season, McIntyre claimed six pole positions, two wins and four second-placed finishes to place seventh in the drivers standings.
By the beginning of the 2000s, McIntyre began competing in the New Zealand V8 Touring Car Championship for Team Kiwi Racing. In his first season, McIntyre had won one race, secured two fastest laps and seven top-five finishes to place fifth in the drivers standings. In 2001, his appearances were more sporadic although he secured two wins at Manfeild and won the round overall. He would also win the Liquor King 500 Endurance Race at Ruapuna.
By 2002, McIntyre moved to Auckland to become more involved with the Team Kiwi Racing outfit. Along with New Zealand touring car duties, McIntyre would also make his V8 Supercar debut in 2002 with the team at the Queensland 500 after winning an evaluation against Angus Fogg at Winton. Co-driving with Jason Richards, the pairing endured a difficult weekend as they finished the race in 22nd and six laps down.
In 2003, McIntyre persisted with the New Zealand V8 Touring Car Championship with Team Kiwi Racing. That year, he claimed three wins along with a further five podiums to finish third overall in the standings and 32 points adrift of that years' champion, Mark Pedersen. In an attempt to arouse attention from V8 Supercar teams, McIntyre made select appearances in the Australian Sports Sedan Championship with Hire Knight Motorsport at Phillip Island and Winton. These proved successful with McIntyre winning both races with which he competed as well as securing pole position at Winton. He also won the Manfeild 4 Hour Endurance Race driving a Ford Sierra RS Cosworth.
In 2004, McIntyre left Team Kiwi Racing and had secured an endurance driver role at the newly-formed WPS Racing in the V8 Supercar series. In the Sandown 500, he would be paired with former Formula One driver, Alex Yoong. The campaign proved disastorous with both team cars encountering multiple spin throughout the day, losing an array of laps as they became bogged down in the treacherously muddy runoff. For the Bathurst 1000, McIntyre would be paired with regular series driver, David Besnard. The car lacked pace throughout the weekend and ultimately retired from the race after 99 laps due to an engine failure whilst inside the top ten. Despite the disappointing results, McIntyre was given his solo-driving V8 Supercar debut on the streets of the Gold Coast, deputising for Besnard who would be making his Champ Car debut that same weekend. He wouldn't qualify well but finished within the top 20 for both races. That year, he also finished fifth overall in the standings for the Porsche GT3 Cup Trans-Tasman.
Over the next two seasons, McIntyre continued to compete in the New Zealand V8 series. Now with Tracer Motorsport, McIntyre proved himself to be one of the pace-setters of the championship. Regularly amassing wins and came close to winning the championship in 2006, had not for a disastorous round at Teretonga. He also made a one-off appearance in the V8 Ute Racing Series in Australia at Winton where he competed strongly. He would also win the 24 Hours of Nürburgring in the N2 class driving a Honda Civic Type R.
In 2007, McIntyre would finally break through for his first New Zealand V8 championship title, winning by nine points over nearest rival, Kayne Scott after a dramatic final race. He also won the Jim Clark Trophy, was the recipient of the Ernie Sprague Memorial Trophy at Timaru, and was part of the closest race win in the series' history (0.024 seconds). Throughout the year, McIntyre would make two appearances in the Fujitsu V8 Supercar Development Series. The first came at Queensland with Prodigy Motorsport and the second at Oran Park with MW Motorsport. After these appearances, he was approached by Ross Stone to compete alongside Shane van Gisbergen at Team Kiwi Racing for the V8 Supercar endurance events. That year, he was also awarded the Presidents Scholarship for session with neuroscientist Kerry Spackman.
The next season, McIntyre retained the New Zealand V8 touring car championship with a largely dominant campaign that also saw him win the New Zealand Gold Star. He also made a one-off appearance in the V8 Supercar series, co-driving with Fabian Coulthard at Phillip Island with Paul Cruickshank Racing. The performances throughout the weekend incentivised Stone Brothers Racing to re-sign him for their endurance plans from 2009 where he would co-drive with Daniel Gaunt. McIntyre narrowly lost out on the New Zealand V8 championship in 2009. In 2010, he once again would have to settle for runner-up position. He would also make a one-off appearance in the Toyota Racing Series open-wheeler series at Taupō.
In 2010, McIntyre would reunite with Van Gisbergen for the V8 Supercar endurance events at Stone Brothers Racing. McIntyre would make a one-off appearance at the Adelaide Street Circuit in the Fujitsu V8 Supercar Series for Stone Brothers Racing as a replacement for Scott McLaughlin who was unable to acquire the necessary licence in time. McIntyre competed strongly throughout the weekend, securing a podium in the first race. The second race came to a premature end when he crashed heavily at the notorious turn eight corner. Despite a strong showing at Phillip Island, the team struggled for pace at Bathurst and the pairing finished 21st on the day. At the Gold Coast 600, the pairing enjoyed strong pace throughout the weekend. McIntyre secured his first podium in the category in the first race of the weekend when they finished third. In the second race of the weekend, the pairing came close to victory as Van Gisbergen hunted down Jamie Whincup in the dying laps of the race. In somewhat controversial circumstances, McIntyre and Van Gisbergen would have to settle for second on the day. In 2011, McIntyre and Van Gisbergen finished fifth at Phillip Island before picking up his best finishing position in The Great Race when they placed sixth. Back in New Zealand, McIntyre would win his third New Zealand V8 championship in typically dominant fashion. He would also secure his third New Zealand Gold Star accolade.
In 2012, McIntyre joined the breakaway V8SuperTourer series. Through a consistent campaign that included a win at Ruapuna, McIntyre became the inaugural V8SuperTourer sprint series champion. In the V8 Supercar series, McIntyre would sign with Ford Performance Racing to drive alongside Will Davison in the endurance events. Despite showing strong pace, the race results proved underwhelming with the pairing encountering problems in both events. The following year, McIntyre would shift over to Charlie Schwerkolt Racing to pair with Alex Davison. These races would ultimately prove to be McIntyre's last in the V8 Supercar championship.
By 2013, McIntyre had begun to wind down his racing commitments. He made a one-off appearance in the New Zealand V8 series in the TL class at Pukekohe where he dominated the weekend. He also competed with success in the South Island Endurance Series. However, in the V8SuperTourer series, results had floundered. After only scoring two podiums throughout the year, McIntyre would relinquish full-time driving duties to Mark Gibson for 2014.
Over the next few years, McIntyre continued to drove sporadically throughout an array of endurance events, achieving success in both the North Island and South Island Endurance Championships.
Career results
Career summary
Supercars Championship results
(Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)