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The second A1 Grand Prix of New Zealand will be held in Taupo from January 18-20. NZ finished second behind Germany in the championship this year and team owner Colin Giltrap confirmed Jonny Reid would be their principal driver next season. Giltrap said German-based Brendon Hartley, 17, would join Reid in driving at A1GP's official preseason testing session in England next month. Last season, Wade Cunningham, Daniel Gaunt and Chris van der Drift drove the Kiwi car in the A1GP Rookie sessions.
V8s Back For Melbourne F1
The Australian round of the Formula One Grand Prix series has been moved to March 13-16 for 2008. This will allow the return of the V8 Supercars to the race schedule. The F1 race is also being moved to a later time slot on Sunday afternoon but there will be no night racing. The decision means the Australian Grand Prix is now the second on the F1 calendar. Moving the race date and time has ensured the Supercar V8s will return to the weekend's racing, boosting attendance figures.
Subaru to enter three cars
The Subaru World Rally team are the first of the big teams to enter next month's Rally New Zealand. Subaru are entering three cars in the 11th round of the FIA World Rally Championships being held around the Hamilton area from August 30 to September 2. Rally NZ are also expecting confirmation from the two leading teams, Ford and Citroen. The rally proper starts on August 31 in the Otorohanga and Waitomo region. Day two is in the Franklin district and north Waikato and the final day in Raglan with super special stages each day at rally headquarters and service park at Mystery Creek.
Radisich home for NZ champs
Having first won a New Zealand title in 1988, V8 supercar driver and former FIA World Touring Car champion Paul Radisich has confirmed he will contest the NZV8s championship with Tracer Motorsport for the 2007/08 season. Radisich said the decision to run with Tracer was largely performance based. He will also join the HSV/Toll racing team for the two endurance rounds of the V8 Supercar series (Sandown and Bathurst). He will then continue testing for the Tracer team before the NZV8s' season opener in early November at Pukekohe.
No brake on Dobbyn
On the eve of his departure for Europe, Hamish Dobbyn broke his arm at a club-day race near his home town of Warkworth. Luckily for Dobbyn, the break is not 90 degrees across the bone but longitudinal just above the wrist. Dobbyn is now on his way to Europe to train with Harry Everts and race in the junior world championships. "It's not all bad," said Dobbyn, "I won the Supercross with a broken wrist.
