Asian Motor Sports

The New Zealand A1 Grand Prix team has vowed not to leave any gas in the tank in its quest to finish among the frontrunners in the inaugural A1GP season.

The 11-race World Cup of Motorsport finishes this weekend with the final meeting at the futuristic Shanghai International Circuit.

Although France and Switzerland have cemented first and second place in the championship and Great Britain is a near certainty for third, the jockeying for strong finishing positions in the top 10 is intense.

Black Beauty currently sits in sixth place, but could finish as high as 4th or as low as 11th depending on this weekend’s results in China.

A1 Team NZL chief executive Bob McMurray says the team has exceeded its own expectations, but is desperately keen to finish its first campaign on a high note.

“If we’re in the top 10 we will have done extremely well, but our aim is to maintain our position in the top six,” McMurray said. “We want to fend off the challenges of Portugal and Ireland and overtake Brazil and the Netherlands on the line.

“There’s 21 points up for grabs and only nine points separates fourth placed Brazil from eighth placed Ireland, so there’s definitely an opportunity to make giant strides up the table.

“Even 11th placed Mexico could edge us out if they backed up on the two wins they secured during the last round at Laguna Seca in California.”

Matt Halliday will be in the driver’s seat and is looking forward to his first ever drive in China, particularly at such a stunning circuit.

Once again he is using his portable Play Station, which has a realistic recreation of the Shanghai International Circuit in one of its driving games, to learn the track, which features an adrenalin-inducing banked corner to slingshot cars into a massive 1.175km straight.

“The balance in set-up will be crucial,” Halliday said, “because there’s still plenty of tight twists and turns. But the two impressive straights will definitely be a centre of attention and I’m sure we’ll have the horsepower to take advantage.”

Halliday swung back into race mode the weekend before last when he was second overall at the Porshe GT3 meeting in Taupo.

“I’m switched on because there’s every motivation to have a good result. Not only will we finish strongly, but it helps build momentum and keeps the morale high for next season.

“It would be nice to bookend the Series with podium finishes given we surprised everyone with the third place finish in the first ever Sprint Race for A1 at Brand’s Hatch.”

McMurray says the Shanghai International Circuit has become world famous in a short space of time. He says the facilities are nothing short of “fantastic” and while the track is becoming increasingly well known it will still provide plenty of challenges.

“Despite its profile it doesn’t get used too much and we’ll have to wait until practice to determine if it’s a high grip surface or not. We suspect it will get better as more rubber is laid down, but there could be a few slides and spins in the initial stages.”