A1 Team Germany came out of the blocks flying to top the rookie practice session for this weekend's A1GP event in Durban, South Africa.

Michael Ammermuller, in his last Friday morning session before he becomes ineligible, topped the timesheets showing that defending race winner Germany will be a force to be reckoned with this weekend. He was an impressive 1.3 seconds quicker than the rest of the field, topped by Switzerland returnee Marcel Fassler.

John Martin put in his customary strong performance in third for Australia, with Fairuz Fauzy fourth for Malaysia. Home nation South Africa was fifth, with Wesleigh Orr behind the wheel.

Typically, with concrete wall surrounding the perimeter of the 3.28-km circuit, some teams and drivers ran into trouble. The biggest accident of which happened to A1 Team Mexico's David Garza, who hit the wall harshly exiting Turn Six. Garza was unhurt in the incident, but the car will require some significant repair work it is to be ready for this afternoon's free practice session.

Daniel Morad and Filipe Albuquerque, new drivers for A1 Team Canada and Portugal respectively, had brushes with the walls. The Netherlands' Arie Lukeydyk Jr, and the Czech Republic's Josef Kral both damaged the nose on their respective cars.