Germany tops rookie practice

Vietoris set the pace throughout the sessions, but he did blot his copybook when he tagged the back of the Team Ireland car in Turn 1. His subsequent spin brought out the red flags at the end of the first session.

Vietoris will now hand over to A1GP's star driver Nico Hulkenberg for the rest of the weekend. Hulkenberg is almost certain to wrap up the title for Team Germany with a round to spare, at the Chinese GP venue.

French rookie Jean Karl Vernay was second fastest, but perhaps the most impressive performance came from Oliver Turvey, making his A1GP debut for Team GB. The McLaren Autosport BRDC award winner played himself in during the first session, then went third fastest in the second.

Williams Formula 1 test driver Narain Karthikeyan, who is the only A1GP driver to have raced in a Grand Prix at Shanghai, dropped to fourth in the second session having been second to Vietoris in the first.

New Zealand Toyota Racing Series champion Daniel Gaunt was another to acquit himself well in his maiden A1GP session. He pipped USA driver Jonathan Summerton to fifth.