Motorsport: Reid team eyeing up the double

New Zealand's A1GP team, with Jonny Reid in the driving seat, hope to go one better than they did in Taupo and win both races in the championship's sixth round in Sydney this weekend.

After finishing second in both the sprint and feature races at Eastern Creek last year, Reid would like stand atop the podium this time around.

Reid and the team's primary focus will be on extending their slender two-point lead over France and Switzerland, who are both on 80 points.

Winning both races would consolidate New Zealand's lead in the championships, but driving on the edge increases the chance of either mechanical failure or driver error, and the possibility of no points.

But at the halfway stage in the series, with only 17 points covering the top four cars, discretion may not be the better part of valour as each race is worth 15 points.

"The championship is so close we've got to target race wins really," said Reid. "And that's the safest way to approach this weekend. If we go for outright victory we're more likely to come away with the championship lead. It's going to be tight for the next couple of races but we hope we can keep stretching our lead."

Reid likes the 4km Eastern Creek circuit, 40 minutes outside Sydney, as it suits his smooth but aggressive driving style. "The circuit's quite a challenge. I like it because it's fast and it flows and it's a bit more open than Taupo with slightly more passing opportunities."

A great drive in the sprint race at Taupo followed by a sterling effort to climb from 12th to fourth in the feature race saw New Zealand leap from third on the table to first.

"We were surprised to put our noses in front, but two points is nothing," said Reid. "The Swiss led by 19 going into Taupo, so we need to be a pace-setter in Sydney and strive to extend our advantage."

The euphoria of Taupo will be but a distant memory as the team zones in on qualifying and the two races. Reid has recovered from the gruelling feature race two weeks ago and looks forward to starting battle again.

"Physically, Taupo is one of the toughest races for all the drivers," said Reid. "There are just so many corners that you don't get a rest.

"It was a mega round and I'm very satisfied with what we achieved at home. But it has been and gone, I'm looking forward to this one and I'm glad it'll be a bit more laid back."

Eastern Creek was a happy hunting ground for Reid back 2003 when he had a wire-to-wire win in a Formula Holden race. But complacency is something Reid has no truck with.

"This is the third year of A1GP at Eastern Creek so the teams are well and truly up to speed with the track.

"It will be competitive, but we know our car is quick and it certainly had the pace for this circuit last season. If we improve on last year's effort I'd be ecstatic."

Last year New Zealand did not use a rookie but are this weekend Earl Bamber will be driving as Taupo's rookie driver, Brendon Hartley, is in Europe testing his Formula 3 car.

Bamber drove in the rookie sessions in Malaysia and China and is in Australia to start his Formula 3 campaign, which is one of the support races to A1GP.

"I have no issue if we have one [rookie]," said Reid. "But I'm very happy with the way we're going, and the car set up from last year was very good. Going into the weekend I'm really looking forward to it."

Qualifying starts this afternoon at 4.15pm New Zealand time. The sprint race is at 1pm New Zealand time and the feature at 5pm, both tomorrow.

Unfortunately the race will not be shown live in New Zealand but qualifying and the sprint race will be on TV3 at 4.30pm tomorrow, and the feature race can be seen from 10.25pm.