Motorsport: Halliday swaps Lola for Ford

Both are V8s but when Aucklander Matt Halliday switches from the A1GP car he drove at Brands Hatch to an Australian V8 Supercar at Bathurst next week the difference will match the travel he has done.

Halliday earned third position for New Zealand at the inaugural open-wheel A1 Grand Prix race on the English circuit but has handed the wheel over to fellow Aucklander Jonny Reid for the next round in Germany next weekend.

Meanwhile, Halliday has flown back to Auckland before heading across the Tasman to join the Orrcon Team for the Bathurst 1000 in which he will share a Ford Falcon with former British touring car champion Alain Menu.

It is a tough schedule for the 26- year-old, who has also recently had gall bladder surgery, but he has shown his versatility by also finishing second in the New Zealand Porsche GT-3 championship.

The contrast between the nippy A1 Lola single-seater and the mighty Falcon V8 Supercar is huge. Both have V8 engines, the A1 a 3.4-litre developing 520bhp, the Ford a 5-litre developing over 600bhp.

The Supercar with a full bodyshell weighs at least 1355kg while the A1 comes in at around 820kg.

The 6.213km Mt Panorama circuit, with its long climb and series of tricky corners on the top of the mountain, is challenge enough for any driver.

Reid, who has competed in European Formula 3000, will take on the EuroSpeedway at Lausitz for the New Zealand A1 team. The A1GP cars will compete on a 4.53km track inside one of the world's biggest motorsport complexes, covering 370ha, and with seven different track configurations.

The main feature is the banked Superspeedway built to host American Champ Cars. The inaugural race for these cars was marred by the accident which cost Alex Zanardi his legs. Zanardi has recently returned to winning form in a touring car.

The 22-year-old Reid matched times with Halliday in testing and has been a winner in Formula Ford, Australian Formula 4000 and European Formula 3000. He won the New Zealand Grand Prix in a Formula Ford.