New Zealand A1 Grand Prix driver Matt Halliday feels like he'll hit top gear quickly at this weekend's 9th Round of the World Cup of Motorsport in Monterrey, Mexico.

The circuit, which snakes its way through the spectacular scenery of a former steel works at Fundidora Park, has hosted a round of Champ Car annually since it opened in 2001 and Halliday's Champ Car connections have given him plenty of information on the track.

"Eric Bachelart, who co-owns the Conquest Racing team, has been really helpful in supplying information," Halliday said. "I also think we'll benefit from the current set-up of the car and the team itself is confident following our good performances in the New Year."

Halliday had his now-traditional run around the circuit today and, once he took his eyes off the magnificent mountain range in the background, quickly got a handle on the track's nuances.

"It's a very technical circuit with short straights and tight little chicanes," Halliday said. "But the first thing you notice is that it is very low grip, which is typical of any type of street circuit that doesn't get used much.

"It'll be one of those weekends where you'll struggle to get traction early on, but it will get better as the feature races loom. The current car set-up following on from South Africa and Indonesia is low-grip, so we're starting our weekend in good shape."

Halliday arrived in Mexico early in the week direct from his win at the Manfeild round of the Porsche GT3 Challenge Cup.

"I felt a bit knackered after a hard weekend of racing, but I've re-charged the batteries and can't wait for the weekend.

"There's a good vibe in this New Zealand team and we now have such a good base knowledge of the car that it is becoming easier to trial different ways of maximising speed and handling."

Halliday is keen to see Black Beauty back to its best after two on-track scuffles during the last round in Indonesia left the car banged up.

Despite the bumps, the New Zealand team strengthened its hold on 5th place in the championship.

With just three of the 11 rounds remaining, France (132 points) and Switzerland (104) enjoy clear air at the top of the championship standings. Back in the pack Brazil (70) is just two points ahead of Great Britain (68) in the race for third, with the Kiwis (61) nipping at their heels.

Four teams should benefit from their drivers having raced Champ Cars at Fundidora Park circuit.

Patrick Carpentier, who is taking over the A1 Team Canada seat from Sean McIntosh - winner last time out in Indonesia - has raced on this northern Mexican circuit three times. Christian Fittipaldi, who joined A1 Team Brazil in place of Nelson Piquet Jr last time out at Sentul, finished third in 2002.

Another new face to A1 Grand Prix at the most recent round, Marcus Marshall of A1 Team Australia, had his first taste of Fundidora Park last year. While the driver who stood one step higher than him on the podium for the feature race at Sentul, A1 Team Malaysia's Alex Yoong, raced there in his one-off season of Champ Car.