Neel Jani has scored victory in the A1GP Feature Race at Taupo for defending champions Switzerland.
However, it was also a good day for leaders Ireland as Adam Carroll finished second, having earlier won the Sprint Race.
Jani took the chequered flag in the main event 1.047 seconds ahead of Carroll with Portugal’s Filipe Albuquerque finishing where he had started, in third place.
Meanwhile, Great Britain’s Dan Clarke could only finish a disappointing 12th, one place ahead of home favourite Chris van der Drift.
Having claimed pole position, Carroll got away cleanly and led in the early stages. But the Netherlands’ Robert Doornbos suffered a poor start to drop from second on the grid to fifth.
Ireland’s points haul means it retains the championship lead with 65 points while Switzerland (52) move up to second ahead of Portugal (49).
“What a weekend in the end,” said race-winner Neel Jani. “On Monday I still felt really bad, but I just got better every day with the warm weather in New Zealand, and it looks like the clean, fresh air helped me as well, so that is good.
“The first race was already good, a great pit stop put me up to second, but here coming up from fifth to first was nothing we had ever thought of. I had a great start from fifth to second and I was already next to Adam. I settled for second, but then we had a little problem on the first pit stop as I didn’t really get off well as I had a problem with the clutch, and then the second pit stop was fantastic, very quick from the guys. I saw Adam next to me and heard his engine revving on the limiter and thought there must be a problem, and I just kept on my side then and was able to take him like that. Then I was just able to control the race.
“It was a great, great weekend and a fantastic car. This was the most points we have scored on a weekend this season and so now it is starting to come good for us, but there are still a lot of points needed to catch up Ireland.”
Commenting on the first corner tap from Portugal, Ireland’s Adam Carroll commented: “I needed just a little push to get off the line from behind, and Filipe (Albuquerque) gave me that.
“It was all a bit close and quite interesting,” he continued. “But everything was going well until the second pit stop. Basically as I left the engine just went. It didn’t stall immediately as to begin with it was okay. Actually the anti-stall system came in, then it stalled completely and I had to bump start it and go again. I don’t really know what happened. I was actually lucky not to lose more places. It was unfortunate but second place is still good.
“I pushed hard and got some decent times in. Then the guys did a fantastic job in the pits for the first stop and we were able to come out with a good gap, which I was maintaining until the second stop where it all went wrong.”
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