A1 Team South Africa is in Malaysia this weekend to join the 20-plus nations contesting the third round of the 2008/09 season of the A1GP World Cup of Motorsport at the ultra-modern Sepang International Circuit 60km south of Kuala Lumpur.

Adrian Zaugg and Vulindlela are currently joint 10th with Monaco in the points standings after the first two rounds.

South Africa comes off a fifth place in the sprint race in the previous round in Chengdu, China two weeks ago and ninth in the feature race, where a piece of plastic debris attached itself to Vulindlela's front wing and affected the car's handling before it could be removed in one of the two scheduled pit stops.

"Once again, Adrian and Vulindlela proved to be one of the quickest combinations in practice, but we were unable to translate this into the kind of grid position that provides the platform for a podium result," said Mike Carroll, general manager of A1 Team South Africa.

"Sepang provides us with a new opportunity to get back to the front and the team will be using all its combined skills and knowledge to ensure that we are competitive this weekend. We need more points on the board if we are to challenge for a top-five finish to the season."

Zaugg, with three A1GP race wins under his belt, is confident ahead of this race weekend. "We have a very fast car and with a bit more luck we could have scored a lot more points in Chengdu. I really enjoy the Sepang circuit. It has fast, sweeping corners and wide straights and I think you will see the full potential of the new Ferrari-engined cars."

Sepang International Circuit is a clockwise 5.54-km circuit featuring 15 turns and eight straights and is located 60 km south of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Designed by German Herman Tilke, it is widely regarded as a benchmark for grand prix venues and its unique architecture blends modern technology with the Malaysian culture. It can accommodate some 130 000 spectators with 30 000 alone in the unique double-fronted main grandstand whose roof resembles a banana leaf. The Canopy Tower, nestling at the tip of the V-shaped double grandstand, has a roof resembling the Malaysian national flower, the hibiscus.

The weekend's activities get underway on Friday with the rookie driver and developing nations' practice sessions from 10.45am to 11.15am and again from 11.35am to 12.05pm. All teams can take part in the later practice session from 2pm to 3pm. Final practice and qualifying for the Sprint and Feature races will take place on Saturday with the two races scheduled to run on Sunday at 11am and 3pm local time respectively.

Saturday's qualifying will be broadcast live on SABC 3 from 8am to 10am and Sunday's sprint and feature races will be broadcast from 8am to 10.30am. (The recorded sprint race will be screened from 8am while the feature race will be live from 9am).

Championship points after two rounds of 10:

1 Malaysia 28;
2 Ireland and France 23;
4 New Zealand and Netherlands 20;
6 Portugal 18;
7 Switzerland 17;
8 Great Britain 16;
9 Australia 13;
10 South Africa and Monaco 9;
12 USA 6;
13 Korea 4;
14 Lebanon 3;
15 Italy and China 2;
17 India 1.