Kiwis clean up at Indonesian A1 Grand Prix

Congratulations to Jonny Reid and the NZ A1 Grand Prix team who cleaned up both the Sprint and Feature races at the Indonesian leg of the global motorsports competition. Reid managed to win the race despite the efforts of German rival Hülkenberg and his judicious use of the PowerBoost button...

Relishing the wet conditions, Hülkenberg put Reid under heavy pressure for the lead over the first lap and drew level with the New Zealander down the pit straight at the end of the lap using the PowerBoost button. Reid however kept his line and jinked to the right down the straight into turn three to defend his lead from the German.

We kid you not: a PowerBoost button. It would appear the A1GP organisers may have been playing too much PlayStation, but, whatever the case, it certainly introduces a new element to what some might describe as the monotony of top-level GP racing. From the A1GP FAQ that describes the PowerBoost...

By changing the engine's parameters, the system can give the driver an additional 30bhp over a limited time during each race. Taking the A1GP car to its maximum 550bhp, the PowerBoost will encourage overtaking and even more exciting racing. Driver activated by a button mounted on the steering wheel, the PowerBoost function will only work if the button is pressed when the throttle is above 80 per cent and the car speed is above 60kph.

Awesome. And kinda puts cricket's PowerPlay into perspective, doesn't it? A real cricket power play would entail an additional 30km/h of speed on a Shane Bond delivery. We can but dream...

Anyway, this latest result augurs well for local motor-sport fans, as the next leg sees the debut of Taupo as a venue for the A1GP, with the weekend of the 20th/21st of January being the qualifying and race days.