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A1 heads to Brands Hatch for season finale

NEWS STORY
29/04/2008

As the third season of A1GP comes to an end, just two teams – Switzerland and New Zealand - are in contention for the title , as the World Cup of Motorsport heads to the legendary Brands Hatch Grand Prix circuit in Kent for the final round this weekend (2-4 May).

In fact, for the first time in A1GP history all 22 championship positions are still to be decided, with 32 points up for grabs at the season finale.

Current title leader Switzerland, runner up in season one, simply needs Neel Jani to finish seventh in one of the races - or secure a combination of results to score four points - to win the championship while New Zealand, runner up in season two and currently trailing the Swiss team by 29 points, needs Jonny Reid to win at least one of the races and hope that Switzerland fails to collect any points.

Behind the leading duo, home nation Great Britain and season one champions France are battling for third, although GBR could still mathematically clinch the second-place spot. Behind them fifth-place South Africa is under threat from Germany, who won the 2006/07 title, and Ireland who are currently level with the Germans on 83 points.

Great Britain's Robbie Kerr holds the lap record around Brands Hatch in an A1GP car and has already made A1GP history, becoming the first ever A1GP driver to win a race on home soil when he took victory in the Brands Hatch Sprint race in 2007. Twenty-eight-year-old Kerr is determined to better that performance this year:

"I cannot wait to return to Brands Hatch and race in front of the home crowd once again," said Kerr. "My main focus is to go one better than last year and win both races. Obviously we cannot control our competitors so what happens with the Championship happens, but we'll certainly make sure our chances are good by going out there and targeting the front row in qualifying and then winning races from there."

2007 Formula Renault V6 Champion and Australian F3 racer, James Winslow, who joined Team GBR earlier in the year as rookie driver for round five and six in New Zealand and Australia, has been recalled to perform rookie duties for the British squad. 27-year-old Winslow, who was born in Witham, Essex, will be in action on track on Friday and will provide support to Kerr throughout the weekend.

James Hinchcliffe will return to race for A1 Team Canada as previous lead driver Robert Wickens is not available due to other racing commitments. Hinchcliffe has not driven at Brands Hatch before, but has been capped 18 times for Canada in the past two seasons. He also started the 2007/08 season before Wickens took over the race seat. Canada is currently in ninth place in the A1GP standings and is aiming to secure its best ever finish in the series, having finished 11th in the first two seasons. Eighteen-year-old Daniel Morad will again compete in Friday morning's rookie-only session.

David Martinez will race for A1 Team Mexico for the first time in more than two years at Brands Hatch next weekend. Mexico has chosen to recall the 26-year-old to its squad, and with his last start coming 49 races ago, Martinez will set the record for the largest number of races between caps for a driver in A1GP. Martinez was capped four times for the team in the 2005/06 season, finishing in the points in his maiden race in Germany in 2005. He last raced in Durban, South Africa in January 2006 but he recently returned as the rookie driver for the team's home event in Mexico City last month. He will drive the full race weekend, using the rookie session to learn the British circuit.

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