KEY POINTS:
A1 Team New Zealand is looking to get their A1GP campaign back on track this weekend in Sepang, Malaysia, after a disastrous outing in China.
Through no real fault of his own, Chris Van der Drift could manage only a seventh and an 11th, dropping New Zealand down to fourth on the table.
His effort wasn't helped when the car wasn't set up properly, and a computer glitch required the engine to be turned off and on again.
"We had some good pace, but the engine shutting down cost us in a big way," said Van der Drift, who was in the car for the first time this season.
After an impressive display at the first round in Zandvoort, The Netherlands, where he put Black Beauty on the podium twice, Earl Bamber is back in the hot seat.
There's nothing sinister in the driver swap, as Bamber has been racing in Asia since 2006. He's probably done more laps around the 5.5km circuit than most.
On such a long and demanding circuit, the local knowledge Bamber has will enable him to get down to some serious business straight away.
"I loved every minute of driving Black Beauty last time and I like the opportunity you get of being able to represent your country," said Bamber.
"I've got good knowledge of the track at Sepang so this should help us to be on the pace quickly."
Although his knowledge of the circuit will help, Bamber will still have his work cut out. India's Narain Karthikeyan and championship leader Fairuz Fauzy of Malaysia both have considerable Formula One experience, and Ireland's Adam Carroll has had a vast amount of time in similar cars in Europe.
And don't count out newcomer to A1, American Marco Andretti, who's had a lot of racing under his belt in the IRL in cars a lot bigger and faster than the Ferrari-powered A1GP race car. He also finished second in the 2006 Indianapolis 500.
"Some drivers have had more seat time in the A1 car than me, but I love driving at Sepang," said Bamber.
"This round is going to be harder than the first round because there are some drivers who've got a lot more experience than I have but I'm aiming to get into the top 10 and get some more points for the team. I'm lucky as I still qualify as a rookie so I'll be able to get some extra laps in the car."
Team principal and seat-holder Colin Giltrap is happy to have Bamber back in the driving seat. "Earl's driven miles and miles at Sepang and we're happy to have him back in the car this weekend. We're confident we'll be back up to speed for Malaysia after the disappointing run in China," he said.
With the changes in the rules this year, teams are allowed to drop their worst round so the small points haul from China may not count in the bigger picture after all.
* TV3 will also show the action from Sepang tomorrow, with qualifying from 2.30pm and race coverage starting at 11.55pm.
