Lapierre made that a round half dozen when he converted pole in race two into maximum points again, giving France a 19-point lead in the championship.

Robbie Kerr finally gave Great Britain a result to cheer, claiming his best result in A1GP with second place in an eventful race two.

The ex-British Formula Three champion stood on the podium for just the second time this year after a superb pass on Piquet.

Kerr, whose was fifth in race one, said: “It was a good race. From the start we got a bit of a bad start and lost a couple of places.

“The guys did a fantastic pit-stop once again but unfortunately in the second part of the race the French car had a bit more pace than us.

“Overall it’s been a great event – we’ve moved up in the championship and it’s been great fun being in Australia and getting the support from the people here.”

Yet again the second race was disrupted with safety car periods.

The Japanese team, making their return after missing the Portuguese round due to financial problems, face a race against time to be ready for the Sepang race later this month after a terrifying accident for Hayanari Shimoda.

He crashed at turn one, rolling his car before it slammed into a concrete wall, tearing it in two.

Although he was conscious, Shimoda was tended to by medics for several minutes and his condition was not immediately clear.

Ireland’s Michael Devaney suffered a second race to forget after a fine fourth place in the opening contest. He struggled to 14th place, out of the points.

Switzerland’s Neel Jani completed the podium in race two, continuing a strong run of form for the future Red Bull Formula One tester.

Ex-grand prix driver Jos Verstappen was fourth for Holland, with former Minardi team-mate Alex Yoong fifth and local hero Will Davison sixth.