25/09/2005
NEWS STORY
Ireland
A strong performance from Michael Devaney in the inaugural A1 Grand Prix of Nations ended in disappointment for A1 Team Ireland when the Dubliner was pushed out on lap one of the Feature Race while in 6th position. Earlier in the day Devaney finished 10th in the Sprint Race, rising from 12th place on the grid to score A1 Team Ireland its first championship point, the team delighted with his pace and the car's performance.
Michael Devaney: "Although I scored that point in the Sprint Race I am absolutely disappointed with what happened in the Feature Race because we were confident of doing well. I made a really good start from 10th to grab sixth through Paddock bend and I knew from the first race that we had the pace to be really competitive. Unfortunately as I came down into Graham Hill bend someone ran into me from behind – Switzerland I think – and put me out of the race. I feel like we've come away with little to show that in reality we are right there in terms of performance. But at least A1 Team Ireland can go into the second round knowing it can be right there at the front."
Andy Miller, Technical Director: "It's been a very promising weekend all round and Michael did an excellent job in both the Sprint Race and the start of the Feature Race. Considering this was his first time here he did everything that was asked of him and we were right there on the pace. It's a shame that we were taken out by Switzerland but incidents happen and you just have to pick yourself up. At least we go to Germany knowing we can be on the pace and that with Michael and Ralph Firman we have a strong driver line-up for the season ahead."
Mark Gallagher, Team Principal: "The sense of disappointment in the team shows how high the expectations of A1 Team Ireland are, but in reality we should be delighted with the fact that we scored our first championship point and showed that we can be highly competitive. Michael Devaney has established his credentials here this weekend and I'd like to thank him for the job he did. At 20 years of age it's a lot of pressure to make your debut at this level and representing your country, but he took it all on his shoulders and did the professional job we expected."
Brazil
Nelson Piquet Jr put in an outstanding performance for Team Brazil this weekend in the inaugural A1 Grand Prix of Nations at Brands Hatch. He completed a perfect quad of accolades, with pole position, fastest lap and two stunning race wins. Nelson's performance for his nation gained a maximum point haul from the weekend of 21, putting Team Brazil firmly at the top of the table.
After securing pole position in a commanding display in yesterday's four-part qualifying, Nelson dominated the 18-lap sprint race, scoring a lights to flag victory for Team Brazil, and finishing some 2.440s faster than the France entry with Alexandre Premat at the wheel. It was a fantastic win for the 20-year-old Brazilian, who has been able to demonstrate his driving talent on a completely level playing field, amongst former F1 drivers and several of his closest GP2 rivals.
Using the results from the sprint race to form the grid, today's 38-lap feature race therefore began with Brazil on pole. The second race looked set to be a tough battle for the drivers, as compulsory pitstops came into play, in which teams are required to change all four wheels. Nelson got off to a fantastic start and by lap 13 was almost 11 seconds ahead of his nearest challenger, Australia. On lap 14 the safety car was deployed and Brazil chose that moment to carry out its pitstop. This proved costly as Australia and GB also pitted at that time, but a stuck wheel for Brazil meant Nelson emerged in third place. On lap 17 the GB car piloted by Robbie Kerr pulled to the side of the track and retired, leaving only Australia in front.
The two pulled away from the rest of the pack and from then on it was a fight which saw Nelson all over the Team Australia entry of Will Power. It looked set to be only a matter of time before Brazil regained the lead, and sure enough, with ten laps to go, Nelson pulled off an awesome overtaking manoeuvre at Surtees, and pulled away at the front. He built up a commanding lead, and crossed the finish line 11.330 seconds quicker than Team Australia.
Nelson Piquet Jr: "I am very very happy. The first race felt like it was my first ever win! I had some oversteer but I just concentrated on keeping the car on the track, I knew no-one would overtake me. Then between the races we changed the set-up quite a lot for the second race. The team struggled in the pitstop when the wheel got stuck and I had a few complications after the first safety car when New Zealand was ahead of me but I was a lap in front but he didn't get the blue flag, which I think lost me around ten seconds. I was a little bit lucky because Robbie Kerr fell off for Great Britain then I just started to push very hard on Australia. I was faster than him and the team said to me to keep pushing because he would make a mistake, which he did. I was very close to him, had a better exit and when he went to the inside, I knew there was nothing behind me so I took the risk, went on the outside and braked as late as I could and passed him. It was just a perfect weekend for the team and I'm so happy to be able to do this for Brazil. I think to do well on an A1 weekend, everything needs to work well within the team from qualifying. That's what happened with us this weekend so I see no reason why we can't continue when we go to Germany in two weeks time."
USA
With its distinctive red-white-and-blue colors of its "We the People" car whizzing past a sold-out crowd at Brands Hatch, A1 Team USA had its sights set high going into the first ever A1 Grand Prix, The World Cup of Motorsports. Early on team driver Scott Speed delivered, taking Team USA from near the back of the pack in 17th place up into the top five in the early stages of today's race. The success was short lived, however, when Speed was unable to avoid a collision in front of him between two other race cars.
Speed, who was unable to identify the car that hit and severely damaged the car's nose cone, was understandably frustrated at the outcome of the race.
"I was very happy with our early progress today, we were able to move up from 17th place into fifth and I was making a move to pass two cars ahead of me. Something happened where they collided and I was unable to avoid their collision," said Speed. "The damage to our nose cone was too extensive to continue. It's a real shame as I was very confident we could succeed today."
A1 Team USA owner, Rick Weidinger, was also frustrated at the end result, but was happy with the progress his team was able to make prior to Speed being forced to leave the race.
"Scott and the team did a terrific job moving from near the back earlier today and into the top five. But what happened today is what racing is all about," said Weidinger. "We've certainly learned more about our team and what we need to do to be successful, so I am happy with that. We're already concentrating on Germany and I am certain we will be more successful there."
Britain
A1 Team Great Britain came away from the first of the twelve event calendar in sixth place in the championship after a weekend of highs and lows. A steady sprint race led onto a feature race where a win was in sight until mechanical problems intervened.
The 18 lap sprint race followed the colourful launch ceremony that marked the season opening with Sheik Maktoum starting the races with the words "Gentlemen – for the pride of your nations – start your engines" to great cheers from the British crowd gathered at the Brands Hatch circuit. After a tough start Kerr managed to be up with Australia competing for fourth place. From there it was a case of staying on the pace and keeping close to the car in front looking for opportunities. Robbie crossed the line only 1.3 seconds behind Australia with a gap of over 8.5 seconds to the next car behind in sixth place.
Robbie Kerr: "I got a good start and battled for fourth place. Unfortunately I had to ease off or I'd have lost the front wing to Australia. I then battled against him for the first couple of laps and hurt the tyres a bit. Then it was just a case of keeping it steady and working with the car."
The feature race was a completely different story. Again the start wasn't easy on the downhill track but by lap two the British car was in third place. By lap three the motorsport take on the Ashes was well underway with Kerr only 0.3 seconds behind and pushing hard. Cars started to pit for their compulsory stop but the three front runners Brazil, Australia and Great Britain stayed out until the deployment of the Safety Car for an incident. All three cars pitted and the skillful work of A1 Team Great Britain meant that Robbie was first back on the track. The crowd went wild with excitement but drama was to follow when a mechanical problem caused Kerr to coast to a halt at the side of the track. Examination afterwards showed that the problem was caused by a battery failure.
Robbie Kerr: I'm gutted for the guys because they did an awesome job in the pitstop. Came out and we were in front. Sitting behind the safety car getting ready for the restart and it wouldn't change gear. Lifted off the throttle and then everything had gone. We lost places at the start – gained and lost – because the start's downhill you've got to hold the brake and I got a bit of a stutter. Got going again cleanly and got my head down and pulling up to Australia easy. Not doing anything stupid. Just biding our time, waiting for fuel loads to come down. Then the pitstops happened, got out ahead of Australia and I radioed in to find out where we were. It took them ages to reply – I don't think they wanted to tell me – but it came back ‘P 1'. Then it happened……The crowds were amazing today. Absolutely brilliant. Every time I went out I could hear the hooters round the track. They were there for us. The support was brilliant and they must be as gutted as I am. It's emotional but one of those things. Obviously I'm disappointed – not to finish is a great opportunity missed but as I've been saying all along we're making progress and we showed that here."
John Surtees, Team Principal: "Obviously the first sentiment is disappointment that we didn't get the car home and more disappointment that at the time that it stopped the car was in the lead. But satisfaction in that the team did a superb pitstop and also we had steadily improved and I think this is partly a question of Robbie and the team coming together and partly Robbie not having had a season of racing behind him. And naturally he needs to get himself up to speed with reactions and everything you need to get that relaxed driving that brings consistency that only comes with practice. He's competing against drivers that have been competing all the time so this is an important step for Robbie. He upped his performance generally. The team came together so we're looking forward to the next race."
Canada
After a disappointing qualifying session A1 Team Canada driver Sean McIntosh struggled in the sprint race with the handling of his car. Drivers took the race relatively steadily given only thirty minutes to work on the car before the main race of the day. Race two was another matter when it all seemed to come together. He kept his head while others were making mistakes and combined with gaining places by overtaking finished a credible ninth to take two valuable points and put Canada in 14th place in the World Cup of Motorsport standings.
Sean McIntosh: "In race one the start was quite good – I picked off a few people and then the car handling just progressively got worse. At the end it was quite loose at the rear. After everything settled down in the race it was just a case of defending. The second race was a long old race. There was a lot of carnage out there. The last set of tyres the balance was a lot better. At the end of the race I was quick enough – the lap times were getting better. As the race wore on we were just getting more and more into the groove. Now we need to look at the next circuit and we need to improve because you can't make it up when you start at the back. To come out of here top ten is certainly a decent result."
John Village, Team Manager: "The aim was to get a top ten place and we did it. Sean drove sensibly all weekend. In the pitstop we had a sticky right rear nut in the pit stop that we need to look at. But it was a good result for a programme that's only eleven days old."
Malaysia
A1 Team Malaysia enjoyed mixed fortunes at Brands Hatch, with the high of a fifth place finish capping an exciting weekend of motor racing. After the first two races of the new A1 Grand Prix series, the team lies seventh in the World Cup of Motorsport.
A1 Team Malaysia, with Fairuz Fauzy behind the wheel, started from ninth place on the grid for the Sprint race of this inaugural A1 Grand Prix weekend. From the rolling start, Fairuz was on the throttle and pushing hard, but as the pack raced through Paddock Hill bend the young Malaysian lost out and dropped to 13th, a position he held for the remaining 17 laps.
Fairuz summed up his race saying, "I lost out at the start, losing momentum which pushed me back. The car is good, but I had electronics problems on the dash, so I didn't know my lap times, and this made it difficult for me. On a positive note, I stayed on the track and brought the car home safely for the second race later today."
Alex Yoong, A1 Team Malaysia's team mate to Fauzy, drove the A1 racing car for the Feature race. Starting from Fauzy's finish position of 13th, Yoong was quick off the gird from the standing start format adopted for this race. He had a good start, quickly moving up the grid and lying eighth after the first lap. Over the course of the race he continued to improve his position, finally passing the chequered flag in fifth place after the 38 lap race."
A1 Team Malaysia's team principal, Jack Cunningham commented on this race, "I'm pleased with this result. We thought we were capable of a top five finish, and that's what we achieved today. Fairuz did a good job in the first race; we couldn't have done so well without the foundation that Fairuz set with the result of the first race. Alex continued that good work to put Team Malaysia in the top ten of the World Cup. Our pitstop was a bit slow and if we'd got that right we could have been on the podium, but it's the first race weekend. Overall: excellent work by Fairuz; outstanding work by Alex and a great team effort."
Lebanon
A1 Team Lebanon made its mark at Brands Hatch this weekend, initially as the first Arab team to compete representing Lebanon in international motor racing and, later in the weekend, for showing its potential running seventh quickest in the feature race, until a racing incident resulted in a spectacular barrel roll of the A1 racing car, and leaving the car and its driver, Khalil Beschir stranded in the gravel.
The Sprint race of 18 laps duration gave A1 Team Lebanon's selected driver for the race, Khalil Beschir, the first opportunity for the young Lebanese driver to compete with the new A1 racing car. Following three practice sessions, the team qualified 23rd for the race. From the rolling start Beschir was right on the pace, making up three places to lie 20th after the first lap. He remained in this position as the race settled down, but struggling with his car set up and dropped back to 22nd after five laps, retaining this slot until the chequered flag.
After the race Beschir commented, "I struggled with understeer throughout the race, so I was never able to challenge and had to concentrate on keeping the car on the track and finishing. It wasn't easy and I know we have more potential, but I wasn't able to push hard in this race."
The second race of the day, the Feature race, over 38 laps, was set to give Beschir more valuable race experience. Starting from the Sprint race finish position of 22nd, A1 Team Lebanon were preparing for a strong performance. Beschir immediately showed his potential with a lightning start which propelled him up to 12th place, but a tap from the rear sent him into a spin and pushed him back down to 16th. As the race unfolded Beschir continued to improve his position and making his way through the field, climbed to his highest position of seventh. On lap 13, Beschir was involved in a racing incident which launched his car into the air and into a barrel roll, with the car and driver finishing in the gravel upside down. The strength of the A1 racing car and its safety features protected Beschir and he was able to climb out of the cockpit unaided, waving to the crowd as he left the car. He was transferred to the circuit medical centre, but was released as he had not sustained any serious injuries in the accident.
Beschir was disappointed not to have finished the race, saying, "I am frustrated that I did not complete the race. The car was running well and I was able to improve my track position as the race progressed, but I was caught from behind by another car and the next minute I was a passenger as the car flipped and came to rest in the gravel. We'll be back for Lausitz and I am sure A1 Team Lebanon will be able to race competitively again."
Tameem Auchi, seat holder for A1 Team Lebanon, added, "I think we showed that we're capable of running well, and Khalil did well to be up to seventh place. We're very glad that Khalil was uninjured. He's definitely a fighter and showed his competitive spirit today; given a little more time and experience I think we'll see him improve more. We're now looking forward to the next race and we'll be back on track representing Lebanon in Germany."
Germany
The crowds at Brands Hatch and many nations across the globe saw the launch of the new A1GP championship today, as the 25 cars competed for their countries. The air was full of excitement as the 18-lap sprint race got off to a rolling start, with Team Germany's driver, Timo Scheider mid way on the grid in 13th position.
He drove steady, finishing 14th after Malaysia passed him at the start and found no opportunity to over take. The feature race saw Timo get off to a brilliant start, moving up to 7th before pitting early on lap six. Problems with a wheel gun unfortunately lost him a lot of places, but still he successfully managed to climb back up to 10th position to claim one championship point. Several safety cars were called for, one being when the Italian and Lebonese cars collided causing Basil Shaarbans car to flip a number of times before coming off the track.
The Brazilian team took the lead in both races, with Nelson Piquet Jnr. finishing in first place twice. France and New Zealand followed second and third in the sprint race, and Australia and Mexico being the other podium finshes in the main race.
David Sears: Unfortunately Timo Scheider, who started 13th in the sprint race lost a place on the grid at the start, and from then on it was impossible for him to over take the Malaysian car in front. However Timo pitted early in the second race, which was the correct statergy, but a wheel nut jammed and cost a lot of time.
Unluckily again too many people were present in the pits, and so the team were given a drive through penalty, which again cost more time. However Timo then drove a strong second half of the race and finished 10th claiming the last championship point.
Things must improve for the next race in order to get a pleasing result on home soil for Team Germany.
Timo Scheider: The sprint race for me was not very exciting as we just ended up following one another. However the main race I really enjoyed! I got off to a good start and passed several cars on my first lap, so I was in 7th position when we made an early pit stop. Unfortunately we had problems with a wheel gun, which held us up, and with the safety car coming out as I left the pits, it was just bad timing.
I am feeling a lot more confident in the car now though, and really enjoyed the overtaking in the feature race. I am looking forward the next round in Germany, with hopefully lots of home fans!
To check out our picture gallery, click here