KEY POINTS:
New Zealand have finished eighth at the main practice session for the third round of the A1 grand prix motor racing series in Malaysia this weekend.
In the rookie session, Earl Bamber, driving the New Zealand car for only his second weekend as lead driver, finished third.
In the main practice session, Bamber set some strong lap times early on, which placed him as high as third. As fellow nations completed more laps, Bamber was bumped back to eighth, with the top 10 nations finishing in a range of just half a second.
The New Zealand team said a red flag during the session hindered Bamber's performance when the car had a new set of tyres.
There will be a further practice session this morning, before the four 10-minute qualifying sessions.
New Zealand is fourth overall in the AI standings.
- NZPA