KEY POINTS:
Swiss driver Neel Jani was fastest at Taupo today as the Ferrari-powered A1GP cars battled through the penultimate practice session before tomorrow's qualifying.
After a raft of red flag periods pushed the track time out by more than 30 minutes, the final top three standing was Jani (1:15.971), Lebanese driver Danial Morad (1:16.108) and Australia's John Martin squeaked into third as the session finished.
New Zealand driver Chris van der Drift finished the session in sixth with a respectable 1:16.561. He had a strong start to the weekend with fast times in the two-part 'rookie' practice this morning. The 22-year-old had high expectations for the afternoon session, with all teams' top drivers on track, describing Black Beauty as 'feeling really good.'
The New Zealand number two driver Earl Bamber was called up for a Germany DTM test this weekend so van der Drift, who is still classed as a rookie, was able to drive in every session.
Lebanese driver Daniel Morad was the first to dip into the 1:17 range within a couple of laps of the session beginning.
But it wasn't long until van der Drift slammed down a 1.16:866, before Swiss Neel Jani went faster again, and then Morad ran 1.16:06 around the technical Taupo track.
India's Narain Karthikeyan and French driver Loic Duval had joined the 1:16 club by time the session reached the halfway mark, followed by series leader Adam Carroll of Ireland on a low 1:17.
Jani, who last year set the current Taupo lap record, then put down a sizzling 1:15.971, despite some teams reporting dusty conditions on track.
Then the Netherlands and Portugal managed to pull more pace from their cars, pushing New Zealand back into seventh place, just 20 minutes from the end of the session, which was extended after numerous red flags stopped racing.
After some time in the pits, and with less than ten minutes of the session remaining, van der Drift shot back up the order into third with a mid-1:16 lap.
Adam Carroll quickly fought back, taking over third in the closing minutes.
A flood of quick lap times in the closing minutes saw Australia and Monaco jump into the third and fourth, pushing Ireland into fifth.
The final A1GP practice session starts tomorrow morning, with qualifying for both Sunday's sprint and feature races running late in the afternoon.
