The New Zealand A1 Grand Prix team is treating Round 4 of the World Cup of Motorsport in Australia on Sunday as practically a home meeting.

Jonny Reid, who takes over driving duties from Matt Halliday this weekend, says the Kiwis' familiarity with the circuit is second only to the Aussies and he expects a wealth of support.

"The European teams had the fans behind them during the first three rounds," Reid said. "We're looking forward to having a good turn-out of fans in black."

The 22-year-old won't lack for personal encouragement with more than 20 family members making the trek across the ditch to watch him in action.

"Mum and Dad, brothers, sisters, aunties and uncles…even my Grandma, Maureen, is going to be there. It will be a buzz to know she's trackside seeing her grandson follow in her husband's tyre tracks.

"My grandfather Ross Reid was the King of the Springs in the 1960s. He passed away in 1985, but this is a good chance for me to re-establish the family name in motorsport."

This weekend will be the fourth time Reid has driven the 3.9km Eastern Creek track. He competed at the Formula Holden Championships in 2003, had a free practice day there at the start of this year and was again in a Formula Holden to clock up some valuable laps last weekend.

"It was a mish-mash of single seaters all thrown on the track together and coming across a few of the slower cars at pace upset my rhythm a bit, but I went pretty well and it was important to refresh my memory of the circuit.

"A lot of other A1 drivers were there on the weekend as well, so that negates a bit of the advantage we have. But I've done more laps than most at Eastern Creek and I'm looking for a strong result."

New Zealand had a tough Round 3 at Portugal a fortnight ago where a horror pit stop and an ongoing struggle to get the most out of a new engine saw the team finish out of the points for the first time this season, dropping from 2nd equal to fourth on the Series' points ladder.

A1 Team.NZL chief executive Bob McMurray says the team is revved up to make amends Down Under.

"We're changing the process of pit stop management," McMurray said. "We'll test out our new method in practice because nailing your pit stop is such an important part of the Feature Race. You strive to shave hundredths of a second off your lap time, but can blow all that good work with one pit stop misunderstanding."

New Zealand was one of the first countries to switch to its second engine of the season in Portugal and McMurray hopes they can get more horsepower out of the new machine.

"Maybe it just needed more time to be broken in, but our data supports Matt's assertion that the engine was down on power in the straights. We'll use tomorrow's first practice session to run the new engine, then we'll put in the old engine for the second session so we can compare data."

Reid says each car will need to maximise its horsepower given the lengthy straights at Eastern Creek.

"You have to exploit the main straight, and make the most of your power boost opportunities, because that's where you can pick off cars in front," Reid said. "But there are a couple of other passing areas and if drivers make mistakes at the hairpins they're in danger of dropping a place or two."

Tomorrow's two practice sessions are followed by a final practice on Saturday morning before the afternoon Qualifying Session determines grid positions for the first of Sunday's two races.

France currently tops the championship table on 50 points, with Brazil second on 42 points and Switzerland third with 34 points. New Zealand is fourth on 29 points, eight clear of Australia.

"The Tri-Nations battle between Australia, New Zealand and South Africa will be a fascinating battle within a battle this weekend," McMurray said.