# 2008–09 A1 Grand Prix of Nations, New Zealand

The 2008–09 A1 Grand Prix of Nations, New Zealand was an A1 Grand Prix race held at Taupo Motorsport Park, New Zealand.

## Pre-race

The A1 Team Portugal’s sports director, Pedro Chaves has tested the A1GP car at the Autódromo Internacional do Algarve (Portugal) for promotional purposes.

## Drivers

| Team | Main Driver | Rookie Driver | Reserve Driver |
| Australia | John Martin | Ashley Walsh | |
| Brazil | Felipe Guimarães | Felipe Guimarães | |
| Canada | Did Not Participate | Did Not Participate | Did Not Participate |
| China | Congfu Cheng | Adderly Fong | Ho-Pin Tung |
| France | Loïc Duval | Nicolas Prost | |
| Germany | Did Not Participate | Did Not Participate | Did Not Participate |
| Great Britain | Dan Clarke | James Winslow | |
| India | Narain Karthikeyan | Parthiva Sureshwaren | |
| Indonesia | Satrio Hermanto | Zahir Ali | |
| Ireland | Adam Carroll | Niall Quinn | |
| Italy | Edoardo Piscopo | | |
| Korea | Did Not Participate | Did Not Participate | Did Not Participate |
| Lebanon | Daniel Morad | Daniel Morad | Jimmy Auby |
| Malaysia | Fairuz Fauzy | Aaron Lim | |
| Mexico | Salvador Duran | Juan Pablo Garcia | |
| Monaco | Clivio Piccione | Hubertus Bahlsen | |
| The Netherlands | Robert Doornbos | Dennis Retera | |
| New Zealand | Chris van der Drift | Chris van der Drift | Jonny Reid |
| Pakistan | Did Not Participate | Did Not Participate | Did Not Participate |
| Portugal | Filipe Albuquerque | António Félix da Costa | |
| South Africa | Adrian Zaugg | Cristiano Morgado | |
| Switzerland | Neel Jani | Alexandre Imperatori | |
| USA | Marco Andretti | J. R. Hildebrand | |

## Qualifying

The PowerBoost joker-style qualifying lap was not used for qualifying, with further review being made to determine its use in the following race.
It is the first time in A1GP history that the front row for both the Sprint and the Feature race has been the same since the introduction of the double qualifying sessions.
Sprint race qualifying :
| Pos | Team | Time | Gap |
| 1 | Ireland | 1:14.507 | – |
| 2 | Netherlands | 1:14.772 | + 0.265 |
| 3 | Portugal | 1:14.788 | + 0.281 |
| 4 | Switzerland | 1:15.202 | + 0.695 |
| 5 | France | 1:15.360 | + 0.853 |
| 6 | New Zealand | 1:15.457 | + 0.950 |
| 7 | Australia | 1:15.504 | + 0.997 |
| 8 | Italy | 1:15.614 | + 1.107 |
| 9 | Malaysia | 1:15.710 | + 1.203 |
| 10 | Lebanon | 1:15.839 | + 1.332 |
| 11 | South Africa | 1:15.917 | + 1.410 |
| 12 | Mexico | 1:15.972 | + 1.465 |
| 13 | Brazil | 1:16.074 | + 1.567 |
| 14 | India | 1:16.146 | + 1.639 |
| 15 | Great Britain | 1:16.347 | + 1.840 |
| 16 | Monaco | 1:16.424 | + 1.917 |
| 17 | USA | 1:16.791 | + 2.284 |
| 18 | China | 1:16.885 | + 2.378 |
| 19 | Indonesia | 1:17.266 | + 2.759 |
Feature race qualifying :
| Pos | Team | Time | Gap |
| 1 | Ireland | 1:14.411 | – |
| 2 | Netherlands | 1:14.676 | + 0.265 |
| 3 | Portugal | 1:14.843 | + 0.432 |
| 4 | Australia | 1:14.976 | + 0.565 |
| 5 | Switzerland | 1:15.043 | + 0.632 |
| 6 | Malaysia | 1:15.246 | + 0.835 |
| 7 | France | 1:15.423 | + 1.012 |
| 8 | USA | 1:15.527 | + 1.116 |
| 9 | Lebanon | 1:15.587 | + 1.176 |
| 10 | New Zealand | 1:15.622 | + 1.211 |
| 11 | India | 1:15.699 | + 1.288 |
| 12 | Brazil | 1:15.812 | + 1.401 |
| 13 | Mexico | 1:15.892 | + 1.481 |
| 14 | Great Britain | 1:15.902 | + 1.491 |
| 15 | Italy | 1:15.942 | + 1.531 |
| 16 | South Africa | 1:16.164 | + 1.753 |
| 17 | Monaco | 1:16.735 | + 2.324 |
| 18 | Indonesia | 1:16.783 | + 2.372 |
| 19 | China | 1:17.184 | + 2.773 |

## Sprint Race

For safety concerns, regarding the "S" bend near the end of the lap, the Sprint Race featured a standing start, rather than the traditional rolling start.
| Pos | Team | Driver | Laps | Time | Points |
| 1 | Ireland | Adam Carroll | 15 | 19:40.271 | 10 |
| 2 | Switzerland | Neel Jani | 15 | + 1.488 | 8+1 |
| 3 | Netherlands | Robert Doornbos | 15 | + 3.559 | 6 |
| 4 | France | Loïc Duval | 15 | + 8.594 | 5 |
| 5 | New Zealand | Chris van der Drift | 15 | + 11.666 | 4 |
| 6 | Portugal | Filipe Albuquerque | 15 | + 12.665 | 3 |
| 7 | Italy | Edoardo Piscopo | 15 | + 14.959 | 2 |
| 8 | Malaysia | Fairuz Fauzy | 15 | + 15.797 | 1 |
| 9 | India | Narain Karthikeyan | 15 | + 20.973 | |
| 10 | South Africa | Adrian Zaugg | 15 | + 22.030 | |
| 11 | USA | Marco Andretti | 15 | + 30.565 | |
| 12 | Great Britain | Dan Clarke | 15 | + 31.005 | |
| 13 | Indonesia | Satrio Hermanto | 15 | + 32.361 | |
| 14 | Brazil | Felipe Guimarães | 15 | + 33.134 | |
| 15 | Mexico | Salvador Durán | 15 | + 40.601 | |
| 16 | Monaco | Clivio Piccione | 15 | + 49.281* | |
| 17 | China | Congfu Cheng | 11 | Spin | |
| 18 | Lebanon | Daniel Morad | 8 | Accident | |
| 19 | Australia | John Martin | 5 | Suspension | |
* 25 second penalty added to time, for causing an avoidable collision

## Feature Race

| Pos | Team | Driver | Laps | Time | Points |
| 1 | Switzerland | Neel Jani | 50 | 1:06'19.574 | 15 |
| 2 | Ireland | Adam Carroll | 50 | + 1.047 | 12 |
| 3 | Portugal | Filipe Albuquerque | 50 | + 2.379 | 10+1 |
| 4 | Australia | John Martin | 50 | + 10.593 | 8 |
| 5 | Netherlands | Robert Doornbos | 50 | + 14.402 | 6 |
| 6 | France | Loïc Duval | 50 | + 17.423 | 5 |
| 7 | India | Narain Karthikeyan | 50 | + 20.215 | 4 |
| 8 | Italy | Edoardo Piscopo | 50 | + 23.156 | 3 |
| 9 | South Africa | Adrian Zaugg | 50 | + 23.347 | 2 |
| 10 | Malaysia | Fairuz Fauzy | 50 | + 26.832 | 1 |
| 11 | USA | Marco Andretti | 50 | + 45.799* | |
| 12 | Great Britain | Dan Clarke | 49 | + 1 lap | |
| 13 | New Zealand | Chris van der Drift | 49 | + 1 lap | |
| 14 | China | Congfu Cheng | 49 | + 1 lap | |
| 15 | Brazil | Felipe Guimarães | 49 | + 1 lap* | |
| 16 | Mexico | Salvador Durán | 43 | Retired | |
| 17 | Indonesia | Satrio Hermanto | 42 | Spin | |
| 18 | Monaco | Clivio Piccione | 33 | Spin | |
| 19 | Lebanon | Daniel Morad | 1 | Suspension | |
* 25 second penalty added to time – USA for passing the white line at the end of the pit lane, Brazil for causing an avoidable collision