Australia

Having an Aussie learn a Kiwi tradition or more important, a Traditional Maori Haka proved worthwhile today as John Martin delivered Team Australia third place in the official practice 2 session here in Taupo, New Zealand.

On Thursday A1's regular PR Activity day brought thirteen A1 drivers to the Wairakei Terraces in Taupo to learn the Haka and then take to the water with the Hukafalls Jet boats. Speed on the water is different to that of a race car though your body gets a shakedown the same way a driver does taking fast sharp corners or late-braking. "Our driver was good" said John Martin, "he really knew his stuff and turned the boat around in a split second, it was an awesome experience". And the Haka John how was that? "Well I couldn't get the routine perfect but had a good go at it anyway. It was different to what you see with the All Blacks but they meant every bit of it you could see and hear that for sure"

Friday's rookie session for Ash Walsh didn't go well at all, no fault of his doing with an engine failure after one lap. Rob Arnott the Chief Engineer called Ash back to the garage to find out from their investigation, it was an 'engine replacement' option only.

The Ferrari technicians delivered the fresh engine to the garage for the mechanics to remove the old and replace it with a new one. By the time the engine arrived, the Aussie crew were a third of the way to removing parts that would later need to be bolted back on to the new engine. An average timeline for this job would be twelve hours, this Australian crew, starting at 11.30 am were starting the new engine at 2.10 pm. John Martin was released to do one lap for the Ferrari technicians to check the data, with this all looking good to go, Martin was given another 5 laps, again 'thumbs up from Ferrari' so it was all his to do in the remaining 35 minutes of the second session.

The dust left on the track caused a few drivers to spin, and Martin was one of them doing it twice as he pushed hard to return a decent time after the team's dismal start to day one. After 25 laps, his times coming down and the time left shortening, John Martin set a third overall fastest time of 1:16.294, only 0.323 of a second away from Neel Jani of A1 Team Switzerland.

The buzz in the Australian team with new partners from MGL Global Communications present, after a long break from Sepang, was electric and the best we have seen for sometime. When you look back at Taupo in 2008, John Martin came here as the rookie and lead driver for his first ever full event. He carried the hopes of his country on his shoulders, did us all proud, and today has ramped up the hopes of the team that it is possible to finish on the podium sooner than later.

John Martin: "It was hard work today so many times coming up fast behind other drivers, then moving around them to try and get a quick time in. The crew are the best by far in doing what they do so well, working as a team. Rob, Ash, Adam, Lofty, Roy, Jules, Cheyne, Graham and Docko went running for bits, the MGL guys watching on wanting to help, everyone was on deck and in two and a half hours I was back in the car, it started, ran it in and made the day with a quick time. Third was great and a few more laps I believe second or third were possible for us here today. I would also like to send my thoughts out to Grumps who has been sick and hope we see him back here tomorrow"

Alan Jones: "John and the Crew were sensational today, and with Ferrari being so well managed, we had the new fresh engine delivered in its case and fired up in two and half hours. Rob is very cool on the approach to a situation like this, as is Adam in the way he oversaw the checklist to make sure nothing was missed during this time. We are very happy with the car and are all looking forward to Saturday's qualifying"

Rob Arnott: "John pushed hard once he was given the all clear by Ferrari, Ash and I. He made some great moves on the track and managed that time at the end, it was great to see. Tomorrow we are looking for an improved qualifying position if all goes well for us on track"

Brazil

A1 Team Brazil was back on track today as the fourth round of the 2008/09 A1GP World Cup of Motorsport got underway at Taupo Motor Park on New Zealand's North Island. Felipe Guimarães drove in both the morning's rookie practice sessions and the afternoon's one-hour practice as he began preparations for Sunday's races.

This morning Felipe took part in the two 30-minute rookie practice sessions, the last time he will be eligible to do so as after this weekend he will have competed in more than six A1GP races. The first objective was for Felipe to re-acclimatise to the A1GP Powered by Ferrari car after a two-month break in the calendar and to acquaint himself to the 3.32km circuit. The times were very encouraging, with the young Brazilian running in the top three for the majority of the two sessions.

Second practice was a disjointed affair with red flags shown frequently throughout the hour. This made it difficult for Felipe to get a clean lap and the times at the end of the session did not reflect the team's true performance. However, there is still a lot of work to do tonight and in tomorrow's final practice session before the team embark on the afternoon's all-important qualifying for Sunday's Sprint and Feature races.