Irishman Adam Carroll drove to a lights to flag victory in the A1GP Sprint Race at Taupo this morning.
Kiwi Chris van der Drift finished fifth after dropping to ninth when he locked up a wheel braking for Turn 2 soon after the start.
But a slick pitstop by the Black Beauty crew got van der Drift back on track in fifth place, behind France’s Loic Duval.
He stayed there for the rest of the race, the gap between him and the Frenchman remaining in the 2.4 to 2.5-second range.
Portuguese driver Filipe Abuquerque, who lost ground during the pitstop shuffle, passed Italian Edoardo Piscopo to take the fight to van de Drift but couldn’t get close enough to challenge.
Swiss Neel Jani, who set the race’s fastest lap, finished second behind Carroll. A good pitstop had got him back on track behind Carroll.
Jani held on to second place when Holland’s Robert Doornbos lost time entering and leaving the pits when the electronic limiter software kept the car’s speed to a third of the permitted pace.
Australian John Martin retired with broken suspension after hitting a kerb.
Carroll had started from pole and will also start first on the grid in this afternoon’s Feature Race.
