Play nzherald.co.nz's rugby Pick the Score competition - go to: pickthescore.nzherald.co.nz
KEY POINTS:
A promising start wasn't enough for New Zealand to snare a strong finish in the A1 grand prix feature race at the Kyalami circuit in South Africa today.
New Zealand was robbed of a top result after contact from Malaysia spun the car into a gravel trap and
out of the race.
Driver Earl Bamber said the result was disappointing, but New Zealand had noticed problems earlier in the race.
" Going into turn 12, Malaysia drilled us from behind and that was the end of our race. But our pace in the feature wasn't that great - we're scratching our heads about that a little," he said afterwards.
Earlier in the day, Bamber drove New Zealand from 12th on the grid to eighth in the 14-lap sprint race.
New Zealand made an average start from grid three for the feature race, dropping back to fifth, but an aggressive late braking move by Bamber brought his car back to third at the first corner.
The chaos on track began early, with championship leaders Ireland nudged off within the first few corners, making them the first nation to retire as a result of contact with Malaysia.
While Monaco led from pole position, New Zealand maintained third place despite some heavy pressure for many of the opening couple of laps from Malaysia.
Just four laps into the 40-lap race, Malaysia crashed into the rear of Bamber's car, before the duo had even attempted to take the corner. The contact spun the New Zealand car into a gravel trap, beaching it, and losing any chance of finishing what trackside commentators were labelling a "crazy race".
The incident was under investigation by race stewards, but Malaysia's car in the pit box just a few laps later with what appeared to be suspension damage, most likely as a result of the two early race contacts their car endured.
In the shorter sprint race, Bamber put in a strong drive, as he worked his way into the last points-scoring place to finish eighth after starting 12th.
Bamber had worked his way up to 10th by the end of the opening lap, while the Netherlands opened up a huge lead.
With nine laps to run, New Zealand was one of the earliest to head in for their compulsory pitstop. Slick work by the New Zealand crew lifted Black Beauty a further two places to her eventual eighth overall in a race won by The Netherlands.
After taking just one point away from Kyalami, New Zealand stay in sixth place in the championship standings, while Switzerland is the new championship leader after taking victory in the feature race.
The A1GP grand prix now takes a break until early April when the championship resumes over Easter weekend, 11-12 April, at the new Algarve circuit in Portugal.
- NZPA