KEY POINTS:
The good oil at the A1GP is that Britisher Roger Leworthy is the bloke to see about burning rubber.
He is certainly a man to trust. The drivers have faith in him and it is their lives that are at are at stake.
Hundreds of A1GP wheels - boasting fat, black tyres - block the entrance to his garage as seven crew members check and balance the rubber before tomorrow's practice session at Taupo's $12 million motorsport circuit.
More than $500,000 worth of high-quality rubber is piled outside the workshop, occupying the prime spot in pit lane.
Mr Leworthy said yesterday that all teams, 23 in total, would use tyres supplied by Cooper's, the eighth largest tyre company in the world.
Drivers and their teams will be allowed to hand pick seven sets of four tyres.
Just in case, two sets of wets will be chosen too - but forecasters have advised teams they are in for a dry track this weekend.
The rear tyres are 37cm wide, more than twice the width of a normal sedan's tyres.
"At the moment, their settings are being checked and they'll be fitted and balanced. They can reach temperatures of up to 110C out there," Mr Leworthy said.
He has been around racing circuits for more than 40 years and this is the first time he has been back to New Zealand since the heady days of Kiwi motorsport in the late 1960s and early 1970s.
He even has old magazines and photographs at his side, illustrating the days when he mixed with the likes of motorsport legends Bruce McLaren, Denny Hulme and Chris Amon.
"Chris is coming along this weekend. Motor racing is one big family."
In those 40 years, Mr Leworthy has been at the side of motorsport tracks all around the world, including Formula One.
"I'm the only man in the world to have attended all 206 Formula 3000 races," he says.
"This A1GP is all very new but no less exciting. It's a bit special really, it's not an open category, it's all controlled."
By this he means all cars must adhere to strict engineering specifications. In theory, the cars begin races with exactly the same performance criteria, leaving the winning of the race up to driver, skill and pit-lane teamwork.
* Transit New Zealand said yesterday motorists travelling in and around Taupo this weekend should allow extra time for possible delays due to heavy traffic.
Transit area engineer Alan Burkett said the large number of visitors expected for the racing were likely to cause delays north and south of Taupo on State Highway 1 and, possibly, on State Highway 5.
"We urge motorists to allow extra time for their journey and to be aware of the extra traffic."
