Asian Motor Sports

Team New Zealand have replaced Earl Bamber with Chris van der Drift for this weekend’s second A1GP round of the year at Chengdu in China.

The Kiwis, who finished runner-up in last year’s championship, are currently third in the standings after Bamber’s sensational category debut at Zandvoort last month, where he finished both races on the podium.

But the 18-year-old will step aside in China where International Formula Master champion van der Drift will take over behind the wheel.

Van der Drift has previously taken part in two rookie sessions for the team, at Sentul in 2006/7 and at Brands Hatch last season. He tested the team’s new car during the pre-season but was unavailable for the Zandvoort races due to a clash with the Formula Master season finale.

“I’ve been looking on the internet at some videos of the Chengdu track and it looks pretty tight and twisty in places,” said van der Drift. “Driving the GP2 car has been good preparation for the weekend. The cars are similar in style: they’re both big cars.”