KEY POINTS:
As the A1 excitement builds, New Zealand A1 race driver Jonny Reid is ready to get down to business.
It will be the first round since the season opener at Zandvoort in Holland that will see the home team go into the event as a serious championship contender.
If that's putting any extra pressure on the 24-year-old, he's not showing it.
Talking before his first practice, Reid told nzherald.co.nz that he was champing at the bit to get some laps in Black Beauty and start working with the New Zealand team engineers to get the right set-up for the challenging Taupo circuit.
"I can't wait," he said, "and it's coming up fast - here we are on Friday morning, and I'm just looking forward to getting into the car this afternoon.
"I'll be getting back in gear and we'll be finding the best set-up possible. We're not rushing things, just keeping cool, calm and collected."
"Switzerland is leading the championship, and we've got to hone down on Neel Jani and the rest this weekend. It is not panic stations yet because we're only halfway through the championship, but we've got to chip away at it and try for those race wins where possible.
"The key to this weekend is qualifying well and I'll certainly be treating it just like any other race and going for the top spots."
Having walked the track yesterday with engineers and A1GP officials, Reid says the Taupo circuit looks to be in excellent condition.
"It is in really good shape - and conditions are perfect."
Using the new Cooper Avon tyres, he says the A1 sessions today will ensure a good, sticky bed of A1 rubber is laid on the circuit and that's when the lap times will start to show just how competitive Black Beauty will be for the main event on Sunday.
"Seeing all the black shirts lifts me on the day," said Reid. "Last year it was just fantastic and if there had been a way to get past France's Loic Duval last year I would have done it.
'But there have been rule changes in the series and the circuit has changed so we do have the opportunity to pass. And if I'm not on pole or I'm not leading the race then I still know that everyone is behind me to spur me on to get through the field."
Rookie Brendon Hartley, who is driving for Red Bull Racing in Europe, is having his second drive in the A1 car this weekend as New Zealand's number two.
After testing at Silverstone at the beginning of the A1GP season, he was looking forward to turning a wheel in anger around the Taupo circuit.
"I want to show everyone what I can do in the car," he said before this morning's practice session, "but I have to be careful because I don't really know the track yet. "
