23/10/2005
NEWS STORY
Brazil
A1 Team Brasil finished today's sprint race in second place, scoring its fourth podium of the season, and then picked up three points in the feature race after a brilliant comeback from Nelson Piquet Jr, who stalled on the grid at the start.
After starting on pole, Nelson fell to second in the 18-lap sprint race after he was squeezed on the first corner by Team France and Team Switzerland. Team France's Alexandre Premat took the lead, and stayed at the front until the end. Nelson finished a strong second, which put the two teams on equal championship points heading into the second race.
Nelson unfortunately stalled on the grid at the start of the 36-lap feature race and had to be pushed into the pitlane to be restarted. There was a delay from the team in restarting the car and by the time Nelson rejoined the circuit, he was a lap down. Putting in a magnificent drive, by lap 18 he had made up that lap and then began to work his way through the field. By lap 27 he had worked his way up to tenth, a points scoring position, and made up two further places on lap 30. He remained in eighth place and scored three championship points. Team France won the race and also picked up the extra point for the fastest lap.
A1 Team Brasil has now fallen to second place in the championship, just eight points behind Team France. The fight will continue in a fortnight when the A1 Grand Prix series makes its next stop at the Eastern Creek Raceway in Australia.
Nelson Piquet Jr: "I'm happy I got the second place in the sprint race, although obviously I'm disappointed I couldn't win the race. It was a messy start because the pace car stayed in front of us for a long time before it suddenly went in at the last moment. Alex just came from nowhere and braked really late and I had to give him the space or I would have crashed. We improved the car between the races and I'm really unhappy that I made the bad mistake at the start when I stalled the car. Then when the marshals pushed the car into the pits it took too long to restart. I am sure we could have been in the top five if we did not lose the whole lap at the start. It was looking really good because we just kept gaining places, made up a whole lap and then got right up to 8th. We did an okay pitstop which is the first one that has worked so far, so that looks good for the next race."
Emerson Fittipaldi: "The first race we did a good job, it's a shame we lost the place at the start, but we got nine points and had a strong car, which we improved even further for the feature race. In the second race, Nelson stalled the engine and then we lost a full lap when the mechanics took a lot of time to restart the car. I think in the circumstances though we did a fantastic job to finish eighth. Nelson challenged and was aggressive and it was a great performance. He has the kind of winning spirit and fighting attitude that we need. In the championship, we have fallen to second but there is a long way to go. The key is consistency in this series, and we have that. We have been strong in every race and if we continue that until the end we will do well."
Ireland
A1 Team Ireland scored its first podium finish of the inaugural World Cup of Motorsport when Ralph Firman produced a superb performance in the Feature Race of the A1 Grand Prix of Nations in Estoril, Portugal, to claim 3rd position from 19th on the grid. The Irish car scythed its way through the field, a combination of consistently quick lap times, good race strategy and excellent pit work enabling Ralph to work his way into the top 3. The earlier Sprint Race saw the Irish car damaged in a collision with Britain's Robbie Kerr, necessitating a pit stop for a new nose section which dropped Ralph to finish 19th. In the Feature Race, however, a strong start saw Ralph take 11th place on lap 1, and then move up the field as other's made their pit stops. Once into the leading group Ralph made his pit stop during the second of three safety car periods, the pit crew ensuring a quick stop maximised his track position. Ireland are now 7th in the A1 Grand Prix of Nations with 16 points. Today's Feature race was won by Alexandre Premat for France and Neel Jani of Switzerland took the second place on the podium.
Ralph Firman: "I am delighted for the team; this was a great result at the end of a difficult weekend. The accident in the Sprint Race was just one of those things that can happen during a race as Robbie locked up and ran wide and I tried to slow down the inside of him and we touched. That put us at the back of the grid for the Feature Race, but I made a good start and deciding to stay out and not pit early was the right call. The team did a fantastic job in the pits and I made the most of the safety car restarts. The car felt good and I really hope this is the beginning of more podium results for Ireland in A1."
Andy Miller, Technical Director: "Highly delighted to get a podium today having started at the back of the grid for the Feature Race. Following a good start we used most of the other teams pitting on the first safety car by staying out and putting in some fast laps. Along with the great pit stop we were suddenly in contention for a podium. A highly pleasing result proves that we have got the pace."
Mark Gallagher, Team Principal: "Having built A1 Team Ireland from scratch in August, it's an outstanding result for us to be in the podium in our third race against some massively experienced teams. After having had qualifying ruined by gearbox problems and an accident in the Sprint Race, Ralph did all that was asked of him in the Feature Race and the team worked brilliantly with Andy Miller calling the pit stop at the right time and the pit crew executing a perfect stop. This is what A1 Grand Prix is all about, enabling a country like Ireland to compete for top honours at this level."
Mark Kershaw, Chief Executive: "We hoped to get a top result early in the season and that's been achieved in Ralph's second race, the third outing for the team. The team has worked very hard this weekend to cope with technical problems and accidents, and it's a testimony to their efforts and those of Ralph that Ireland can celebrate a podium finish today,"
Germany
A1 Team Germany leaves the third round of the A1 Grand Prix series at Estoril in disappointment, having retired from the race after an inspired drive. The team's driver, Adrian Sutil, had improved from twelfth position in race one to fourth in the second race when he was punted off the track by a competitor on lap 18. Thus the team managed by Willi Weber went home without scoring any points for the first time in the World Cup of Motorsport since the beginning of the season in September.
After A1 Team Germany had qualified for sixth row on the grid, it finished the 18-lap sprint race in twelfth place. Having used old tyres in the opening race, the team had high hopes for the subsequent feature race. A1 Team Germany called the car in for the mandatory pit stop as early as on the second lap. This move and the ultra-fast work of the mechanics paid off as Sutil used the power of the 520-hp A1 Grand Prix car in combination with the fresh tyres to attack the competitors in front of him. Halfway through the race, the team had gained as many as eight positions when A1 Team Netherland's car hit the German car, damaging the rear section severely.
Adrian Sutil: "It was a day of mixed emotions. I am really upbeat about the race which was very encouraging before we had to retire. On the other hand, I am really gutted about the accident. We made a slight change to the set-up before the feature race and it paid off. The team performed a really good stop and I was able to fight for top positions on new tyres. At Estoril, I really gelled with the car on my first full weekend as A1 Team Germany's nominated driver. That's why I'm looking forward to the next races already."
Willi Weber: "A1 Team Germany showed a strong performance and was able to challenge for a podium position, but the team was deprived of a strong result in an avoidable accident caused by a car that was lapped already. The team has done a very good job and I was impressed by Adrian's talent and his determination to fight. I hope we will be rewarded next time for the upward trend of the whole team."
Austria
A1 Team Austria picked up its first championship point today when Mathias Lauda finished the feature race in tenth place.
Mathias made a good start in the sprint race after he started 22nd on the grid. He was up to 20th on the first lap and up to 18th by lap 7. He then had a good battle with Teams India and Lebanon for and eventually finished the race in 16th, securing his eighth row grid start for the second, 36-lap feature race.
He made another great start in the second race, moving up two places by the end of lap 1. He ran as high as fourth in the pitstop period, and by lap 28 he was in ninth position. By the end of the race, he was in tenth place and secured A1 Team Austria's first championship point of the season.
Mathias Lauda: "I had a really good start in the first race and then three cars crashed and sent me onto the gravel. I kept in the race and just tried to work my way as far as possible for the position in the second race. It was a shame really because I think I could have been higher than 16th. The second race was a bit crazy really! I had another really good start, I made up a lot of positions and then we had some safety cars. I thought Nelson [Piquet] was a lap down on me so I let him past easily, if I had known he was on the same lap I would have fought more. We have our first point now, which is a good start, and now we will just continue to try to improve."
Arno Zensen, Managing Director: "It has been hard work but at last we have our first point. Mathias got a good start and fought well in the first race - to go from 22nd to 16th in a short race was not bad. He had to go through the gravel when three cars collided and of course this disturbed his tyres, which was a little bad luck. However, he was also lucky to be able to continue and not get put out of the race himself. In the second race he also had a good start and the team had a good strategy. We did the pitstop under the second pace car and that was good. Mathias was improving his times on the second set of tyres. I am happy with the first point but we still have a lot of work to do."
China
After 8 laps in the morning Warm up session, A1 Team China car was proved to be in perfect condition to compete in the Sprint race. At 13.30, 24 cars left grid and started their warm up lap, luckily they were all running well this time. After one lap, the Sprint race started. It was only one third of the first lap when the terrible accident happened. Four cars ran out of the track including Team China. Australia and Mexico stuck together and Jiang Tengyi rushed into sandy area. Jiang was lucky to get onto the track again, but he had to drive back to garage because of damages. Front wing and left radiator were damaged because of the clash. The other car was sent back to Lola for fully repair, so engineers must get hurry to make necessary amendments to get it back on the track. Team manager Sam Boyle made quick decision that Jiang will not go back for the Sprint race, instead, they were doing everything they could to ensure that the car will be ready for the Feature race.
Jiang Tengyi told us: "Two cars in front of me were competing very hard, when they turned in to corner, Mexican car suddenly braked and I did not have time to avoid him. Then what I knew was dust and severe shaking, but I managed to get back on the track. I knew this was a bad clash, my team manager told me to get back to garage as soon as possible. When they told me to get out of the car, I realized that I may miss this Sprint race."
Only 5 minutes after the Sprint race, A1 Team China car was fixed and ready for the Feature race in 20 minutes. France, Brazil and Switzerland took first three positions in the Sprint race, and Jiang Tengyi got 21st so far. The investigation of the clash was still going on.
Jiang Tengyi took 21st position on the grid. When red lights turned off, Brazil and Holland got problem with the car, Safe Car appeared on the track in the first lap. There were about 10 cars drove into pit lane to make their pit stops including China, but it took a little bit longer time for China's car to leave pit because of changing of right back tyre. Mr. Liu Yu told Jiang Tengyi before the Main race:" This is a very narrow track, so be very careful when you are on the track. We want you to be safe and sound, meanwhile when there are chances, just take it."
A1 Grand Prix is definitely more exciting than Formula one. There were enough overtaking and accidents to satisfy motorsport fans, especially in Estoril. Safety Cars showed up 3 times on the track, and Jiang Tengyi could take this chance to relax for a while. When there were 15 laps to go, Jiang Tengyi was 12th on the track, and the best position he held was 11th when there were 10 laps to go. Jiang Tengyi was trying too hard to keep British car behind him, and he missed brake point in the corner. Once again, he managed to get back on the track and finished the race in 14th position.
Mr. Liu Yu, A1 Team China Seat Holder joked:" I will take the mirror off, otherwise Jiang might keep his 12th position till the end of the race. But we are glad that he could finish the race, and the experience we got this time is very precious. Now I think we are ready to move forward to set up higher objective for A1 team China. "
Jiang Tengyi also commented:" It was so close to keep 12th position in the last few laps, I still need more experience to compete with other good drivers like Nelson Piquet Jr and Robbie Kerr. I tried to hold my position when Robbie was behind me, but I failed. Next time, I won't!"
South Africa
South Africa's entry in the A1 Grand Prix World Cup of Motorsport, Vulindlela with Tomas Scheckter at the wheel, finished a fighting 10th after starting from 16th on the grid in the 18-lap sprint race at the A1 Grand Prix of Nations in Estoril, Portugal this afternoon.
Scheckter put his experience of rolling starts gained in the US IndyCar series to good use and passed six cars in the first lap. He comfortably maintained his 10th place to the finish and was gaining on ninth-placed Indonesia (Ananda Mikola) as the chequered flag came out after 18 laps.
"The team managed to make a few more important 'tweaks' to the car after yesterday's qualifying and it was much better today," said Scheckter. "I had a good start and managed to pick up a few places on the first lap, but after that it was a case of protecting my position from the Italian car (driven by Enrico Toccacelo), who started three places ahead of me.
"I managed to close on Mikola in the Indonesian car and this was quite satisfying as he was quite a bit quicker than me yesterday, qualifying ninth compared to my 16th."
Czech Republic
The Czech team scored first points in the third round of the Wolrd Cup of Motorsport at Estoril, Tomas Enge finished fifth in the sprint and ninth in the feature race. The team is now 13th in the championship.
Sunday brought sunshine to Estoril and the changing weather from the first two days was distant memory. The tight first corner promised exciting starts but it was visible that all drivers were well aware of this challenge and all drivers went safely through in the sprint race. Enge was fifth after the first corner and held the place till the finish line although he managed to put some pressure on Jos Verstappen.
Enge got off the line very well in the feature race and gained two places. The race was interrupted by three safety car periods that were used to pitstops. Unfortunately, the Czech driver was penalized for speeding in the pitlane, which dropped him out of the top 10. Enge showed his combative spirit and was able to move forward.
Tomas Enge: "We were much faster this weekend and I believe that we can close the gap to the front in next race. The start of the sprint was tight, I was behind Piquet at the first corner and there was slight contact between him and Premat. Piquet slowed down a bit and I had to lift a bit and lost position to Verstappen. The car oversteered during the first two laps but it was okay afterwards and I was able to catch Verstappen but he was too quick to overtake. I did very good start in the main race and jumped to the third position. Unfortunately, I selected wrong gear when I was coming to the pits and that was the reason for speeding and stalling. I am sorry for the team and fans because we should have got podium today."
Antonin Charouz, seat holder: "The good thing is that we scored the first points but we definitely had potential to get better. Tomas is very experienced driver and he should not have done such mistake in the pitlane and I a bit angry. However, mistakes are part of the motorsport and we paid the price today."
USA
Coming into today's race, expectations were high for A1 Team USA. While qualifying a disappointing 15th, changes to the car set-up this morning and a fast warm-up session set the bar high for A1 Team USA.
After moving up two spots during the sprint race combined with aggressive driving by Scott Speed and taking advantage of several miscues by other drivers, A1 Team USA moved up through the field to turn its strongest performance of the season.
Driver Scott Speed on Sprint Race – "Passing was very challenging during the Sprint Race. I was able to move up a few spots but not as many as I would have liked. I had a good battle with the German team as we went back and forth for position."
Driver Scott Speed on Feature Race – "I was confident we could move up in positions, and our pit strategy worked to our advantage. The car ran great during the feature race and while we are disappointed to not make it to the podium, I am pleased with our 4th place finish. This establishes a foundation to build on and I am looking forward to Australia."
Team Owner Rick Weidinger on results – "I am very pleased with today's performance by A1 Team USA. The team worked hard this morning to improve the car and the excellent pit stop during the Feature Race moved us up several positions. We have had a strong car at every race but the difference today was trouble stayed away from us. We are beginning to have fun now."
Malaysia
A1 Team Malaysia had its best race weekend build-up of the A1 Grand Prix series so far in Portugal, running within the top ten for most of the practice sessions and qualifying in eighth place.
The team's strong performance continued in the Sprint race with a good pace throughout enabling driver Fairuz Fauzy to finish in eighth place. Fortunes were reversed in the main Feature race when a puncture resulted in severe body damage and forced Fairuz out of the race.
In the first race Fairuz started in eighth place, having run consistently well throughout the weekend. From the rolling start he got away well, but lost out to rival A1 Team Indonesia to run in ninth place. He retained this position for the majority of the race while avoiding a number of track incidents, but when A1 Team Indonesia slid wide in the closing stages Fairuz was able to retake his eighth place starting spot and kept this to the chequered flag.
In the second race, Malaysia started well, retaining the starting spot and then taking advantage of an early race incident to make a pit stop. Problems with a wheelnut on a rear wheel delayed the stop with Fairuz losing a lap to the rest of the field. The young racer was straight back on the pace and looking to progress back up through the field, but in the closing stages a puncture caused by track debris put A1 Team Malaysia out of the race.
Fairuz Fauzy, driving for the team this weekend while Alex Yoong watched from the pit wall, commented after the Feature race, "We had a good first race, managing to stay out of trouble and bring the car home in the points. Unfortunately the second race was a different story. Our strategy was to pit early, but when we changed the tyres there was a problem, so our stop was over a minute long. The car was very good in the race and I thought I would be able to finish in the top ten, but after the second safety car I had a slow puncture, which put me off in the last corner when I tried to push. It's racing, it happens, we'll be trying our best again in Australia - we'll never give up."
Jack Cunningham, Team Principal, A1 Team Malaysia adds, "It is a slightly disappointing end to an otherwise good weekend. We'd been running so well and Fairuz had got to grips with the track both in the wet and the dry. The competition is so fierce in this series and we're fighting hard too which is great for those watching the race. Sometimes results aren't always the ones you want but we are proud of our 8th position in Race 1. We'll be back out in Australia in two weeks time to try and get back in the points. The Australian race is broadcast live on TV in Malaysia so we hope to deliver a good result to our many fans"
Canada
Team Canada put in another credible performance to add points to its championship tally in the Sprint race. Sean McIntosh stayed out of trouble in the hectic start and then managed to find a space on track to cross the line in the same position as he qualified. The Feature race wasn't so successful with a slow pit stop and then retirement on lap 21 after going round a corner he was sent into a spin that ended his race.
Sean McIntosh:
Sprint race: "I got by Portugal at the start – it was quite clean – I was expecting it to be a bit more chaotic but then it was a pretty lonely race once it got going. The balance of the car changed a bit with the warmer conditions so we've got a bit of work to do but it's points in the bag and a decent start position for race two."
Feature race: "An eventful race – as we went into the first corner it was pretty hectic and I came out 7th although I could have probably made 4th or 5th if I'd picked a different way through the traffic. Then there was a safety car and a stuck wheel nut in the pit stop . Without that we'd have probably come out with clear air instead of behind Mexico and Great Britain. From there just everyone was going off and I picked passed Mexico and South Africa and Britain into the first corner. Then I don't know what happened – I got hit and that was the end of my race. It's disappointing because I could have had another high point finish."
John Village, Team Manager: "It's been another good weekend for learning – particularly for us in qualifying but also in the wet and dry. To move up in the championship is icing on the cake."
Pakistan
Team Pakistan's Adam Khan recovered from the setback of a collision in the first of today's two A1 Grand Prix races at Estoril, Portugal, to gain nine positions in the action- packed second race of the day.
The Team Pakistan car ran throughout this weekend, the third round of the World Cup of motorsport, in a new livery. Setting aside commercial considerations, the team donated the advertising space on its car to three major charities that are supporting the Asia earthquake victims (the President's Earthquake Relief Fund, the Disaster Emergency Committee and Mir Kahlil ur Rehman Foundation).
Starting from 21st on the grid for the opening 18-lap Sprint Race, Khan soon got caught- up in a racing incident.
Adam explains: "I got a pretty good start, but when you qualify towards the back of the grid, the chances of being involved in an incident are far greater as you're trying to make up as many places as possible. As I entered turn one, two cars spun in front of me. I braked and tried to avoid getting caught up, but I couldn't avoid the Mexican car and I made contact. It was game over."
With minimal time between races, the Super Nova International Racing team inspected the Team Pakistan car for damage, replaced the nose cone, installed the race set-up and lined-up on the grid for the next race in less than 30 minutes.
With the finishing order of the Sprint Race determining starting positions for the 45- minute (36-lap) Feature Race, Khan had to take the last space on the grid. Adam made a good start, and with A1 Team Brazil and A1 Team Netherlands stalling on the grid, by lap one he had already gained four places.
In a race which witnessed three safety car periods and the retirement of A1 Team Mexico, Indonesia, South Africa, Malaysia, Germany, Netherlands and Canada, A1 Team Pakistan and Adam Khan came from the back of the grid to finish 15th.
Adam said: "The team did a fantastic job to get the car repaired for the second race. Unfortunately, I struggled with oversteer due to the tyre wear, so I wasn't able to maintain consistency. The plan now is to solve the minor problems before the next race in Australia."
The Operations Director of A1 Team Pakistan, Asim Husain, said: "It was unfortunate that Adam was involved as an innocent victim in the first race, which resulted in the 24th starting position for the Feature Race. Despite this handicap, Adam recovered quite considerably and whilst a top ten finish would have been preferable he finished a respectable 15th when many teams failed to finish at all."
Team Principal, David Sears added: "With an incident and the deployment of the safety car on the opening lap of the Feature Race we decided to take advantage of the situation and pit early. Adam's tyres then had to complete 34 laps of a 36-lap race. Unfortunately, this caused the car to suffer from oversteer. I'm happy with the car's reliability and look forward to making progress in Australia."
Britain
The Sprint race wasn't quite a replay of the disastrous first corner incident that ended Robbie Kerr's race in Germany two weeks ago – but not far off. After a very tight start when the A1Team.GBR car was pushed wide Robbie was lying in 13th place. The race continued with no changes in place when an incident with A1 Team Ireland ended British hopes and again gave Robbie the challenge of a start from towards the back of the grid for the feature race.
After an excellent start and a safety car, Robbie was in 15th place having made up five places from his grid slot. Repeating the early pit strategy that worked so well in Germany, the team changed tyres after two laps but this time Robbie didn't have the clear track that he needed. On top of which more people pitted and a wheel from the car in the next garage obstructed Robbie's exit. At the quarter stage Indonesia made a big mistake and Kerr took advantage. By lap 13 of the 36 lap race all teams bar one had pitted and A1Team.GBR were lying 11th. From there Robbie picked off the opposition until he was in 7th place. Disaster struck with a gearbox problem on lap 23 which lost seven of the hard earned places before it seemingly resolved itself and enabled Robbie to make two places back to cross the line in 12th.
Robbie Kerr:
Sprint race: "At the start everyone slowed down one hell of a lot, packed right up, then foot down flat out before they stood on the brakes right in front of us. Luckily no one collided. Going down to the first corner I got quite a few of them but then got stuck on the outside and just got pushed out – one of those things. Then closing up behind Germany and coming into a corner Ralph just hit me in the back wheel and that was it."
Feature race: "I got a couple off the start – things were going well and I was keeping my head down and it was going well. There was a safety car and a lot of people came in at the same time including me. I got blocked by a wheel from the Team China pit coming out so we couldn't get out and lost a bit of time there. We carried on with the race – the safety car came out again. We found ourselves in ‘P10' and then ‘P9'. Canada went down the inside of me at the restart which is fair enough – gave them room.– I cut back They had a go at Australia and I was on the inside which put me on the grass and we unfortunately came together. I carried on and then all of a sudden the gearbox stopped working – couldn't go up or down through the gears. Cruising back in and all of a sudden it started working again having lost a lot of places so it was very frustrating."
John Surtees, Team Principal: "Not a brilliant weekend. I think a series of errors has resulted in not a particularly good event for us. It has been exasperated by the fact that in the second race here we had a gearbox selector mechanism problem. Also by our strategy not working with the course car coming out so very early. Robbie got jammed into the pits too which was unfortunate. Sometimes you get it right and sometimes you get it wrong but the fact remains that we actually didn't have the pace to compete, particularly with the French car, but we will of course try to rectify that."
Lebanon
A1 Team Lebanon brought its national flag-liveried car home in eleventh place at Estoril, Portugal today, the best finish for the team so far in this inaugural A1 Grand Prix series. It was the first A1 Grand Prix race start for driver, Basil Shaaban, while team mate Khalil Beschir supported Lebanon from the Al Jazeera commentary booth, assisting with the live broadcast to the Arab world.
In the first race Shaaban started from 23rd place and by the end of the first lap had improved to 18th .and gained two further positions to run much of the race in 16th place. As the 18 lap race reached its closing stages Shaaban came under pressure from 17th placed A1 Team Austria and in the ensuing battle Shaaban used all his skills and the PowerBoost button to keep the Austrian at bay until being pushed wide and into the gravel, losing two places and finishing 18th .
The second race for A1 Team Lebanon, with a standing start, saw numerous track incidents which brought out the safety car a number of times. Many teams opted to take early pit stops, but Lebanon stayed out on track and made positions. Shaaban steadily progressed through the field from his 18th place start to be running within the top ten at mid distance, with a highest position of fourth before the team brought its Lebanese driver in for the tyre change pitstop. Shaaban rejoined in 13th and once again drove consistently moving through the field, and finally crossed the finish line just outside the points in 11th place.
Shabaan was pleased with the Feature race result saying, "It was great that A1 Team Lebanon finished with a strong result, although it is a bittersweet placing, just outside the top ten and a points-scoring position. We had a great strategy, a slick pitstop and a consistent pace which were so important to this 11th place finish today."
Tameem Auchi, Team Owner, adds, "This weekend we have seen the potential that we have within A1 Team Lebanon. Everyone has played an important part towards achieving the result that we did in the second race. The crew, engineers, drivers and support staff have all worked together as a cohesive unit, and we put together a strategy which put us up in contention for a top ten finish. We didn't make it today, but we have had the performance boost we needed and we hope that we can continue this momentum as we move on to Australia."
The A1 Team Lebanon drivers have not only been participating in motorsport this weekend, but golf and go-karting have been enjoyed by Shaaban and Beschir. Both drivers took part in a pre-race weekend media event at the Penha Longa Golf Club near to the circuit, where they were given professional golf tuition. Beschir also participated in an invitation go-kart race with A1 GP drivers, local celebrities and media. On raceday the team was supported trackside by a group of over thirty A1 Team Lebanon guests including Iraqi, Moroccan, Algerian and Tunisian ambassadors.
Netherlands
A1 Team Netherlands has moved up to tenth in the A1 Grand Prix series after the two races at Estoril today, despite the crash of Jos Verstappen in the Feature race. After the good qualifying on Saturday, A1 Team Netherlands started with a fourth fastest time in the warm up. In the sprintrace Verstappen had a good start and passed the Czech Republic in the first corner. Unfortunately he was not able to fight for a podium, but fourth was a good basis for the feature race. With that result A1 Team Netherlands took seven points for the Championship standings.
The feature race sadly ended in disappointment for A1 Team Netherlands and Verstappen. All hopes on a podium finish seemed to disappear right at the start when Verstappen stalled his car, as did Piquet. So like in Germany the team had to start the race from the pitlane. A good strategy combined with a committed Verstappen, who set fast lap times, made the team move up the field again quickly and after a well executed pitstop the team was already back into eighth and points. With 18 laps to go it went wrong for Verstappen and A1 Team Netherlands. Being a bit too eager to pass Ralph Firman, who finished third in the end, Jos braked to late, hit Sutil of Germany and went into the gravel. A non-finish for the team but in the end there also was a positive feeling about the progress A1 Team Netherlands has shown since the last race at the EuroSpeedway.
Jos Verstappen; "Fourth in de sprintrace, that was the maximum. The fight with the Czech Republic was fun though. The fourth spot also was a good start position for the second race", says Verstappen who in the main race stalled on the grid. "When you start, you first put the car in neutral, wait for the red light when everyone is on the grid and then you put it into first gear straight away. Then you let the clutch come up just to the point where it's picking up. But I put it in first gear and the lights go out, that was so quick. Your first reaction is to let the clutch go and the car stalled, a mistake. We started the car in the pitlane and started driving as fast as possible to make up for the lost time. The safetycar came out just at the right moment, when we had to do our pitstop. Because of this we were in eighth spot. I had a really good restart and was next to Enge. Suddenly they all stopped in front of me. I braked late and was lucky to go in between without hitting anyone, so we were able to stay on the track. Two turns later I passed two guys at once in one go on the outside. Firman pushed me to the side a little bit, but we didn't hit each other. Then you have the chance to pass him on the outside, but that was a bit too optimistic and I braked much too late. Then I hit Germany. The restart was awesome though, that's one of the best things about this serie, you all have the same top speed on the straight. It's finding the gap and brake later then the others."
Jan Lammers ; "The Sprint race went completely according to plan. We even were almost third in the first round. We managed to consolidate and got the maximum out of the car. In the Sprint race you drive with one set of tyres, the Feature race off course you use two sets. In the Sprint race we drove on the set that was worst og the three and to get a fourth is just perfect. In the second race we even had the fastest lap in the first part of the race. After the problems at the start they sent out the safety car, which was great for us. We were able to make up some lost time. From then on the lap times were good. So as far as that is concerned we have made a lot of progress since the last race and we just have to keep doing that. The crash is just a crash, that's racing. But you have to look at the result of the weekend. There we made progress as a team and with the car. The things we had to improve went better, so we must continue in that direction. We climbed from twelfth to tenth in the Championship, that is the end result and a small comfort. Despite the non finish in the main race we have improved our position. The pitstop was one of the fastest of the day, that's going in the right direction and our moments of glory will surely come. This weekend we had a little signal of improvement with the fourth place and our grid position. Too bad we went out in the last race, but wat is superb is the appreciation for this Championship. The racing is nice to watch, very spectacular and that's good. Now we have to take some prizes in this Championship. For sure, that's going to happen."
New Zealand
New Zealand has dropped to 4th on the A1 Grand Prix championship table after failing to register points in Round 3 at Estoril in Portugal.
Matt Halliday drove Black Beauty to a 14th in the day's opening Sprint Race and a 16th in the Feature Race as the Kiwi team battled to break in a new engine and cope with a horror pit stop.
France earned maximum points for the second round in succession to surge to the top of the table with 50 points, pushing Brazil to second on 42 points. Switzerland is 3rd on 34 and New Zealand 4th on 29, eight points ahead of Australia.
A1 Team.NZL chief executive Bob McMurray said it was a tough day at the office and the team fought hard all weekend without catching a break.
"You have these difficult weekends every now and again and we're grateful to be putting this one behind us and moving down to more familiar tracks in Australia and Asia," McMurray said.
"We always thought the European leg would be trying for us, but we've overachieved to a large extent despite out problems here in Portugal."
McMurray believes the New Zealand team would have been among the points in today's Feature Race if the compulsory pit stop had gone to plan.
Miscommunication among the pit crew saw Halliday being given the okay to go when one rear wheel was still to be changed and the car was still jacked up. The mistake caused a mechanical problem which had to be fixed before the wheel could be swapped for Halliday to re-enter the race.
"It put Matt a lap down and effectively scuppered his chances of finishing in the points," McMurray said. "We will be looking at our pit stop execution and working hard to ensure this type of error doesn't happen again."
Of equal concern for the team was the performance of the new engine. Because New Zealand was the only team to finish the first four races in the opening two rounds, their original engine was the first to close in on its maximum number of kilometres.
"The old engine is good for one more race, but not two," McMurray said. "This round was a chance for us to break in the new engine over a weekend rather than drop it in untried and untested for one race.
"But the feedback from Matt, which our data supports, is that the new engine isn't as crisp or powerful as the original engine. We have asked the Zytek manufacturers to investigate why it seems to be down on power."
Halliday said the car balance was superb, but the engine problem was frustrating.
"The traction and balance wasn't an issue at all; it was the best the car had ever felt," Halliday said. "But there was a definite lack of horsepower on the long stretches and it wasn't pulling us down the straight like it should've.
"It was a pain that the wet weather during the practice sessions meant we didn't have the chance to really give the car a good blowout and appreciate we had a problem that needed fixing."
Halliday refused to blame his pit crew for the disastrous pit stop, saying it was the only time they hadn't operated at 100% efficiency all season.
"It was a frustrating weekend, but the main thing is that everyone worked really hard and the heads didn't drop. We didn't give up at any stage and we learnt a lot.
"We still worked on developing the car and if we can sort out the engine problem we're be in good shape for the next round in Australia."
Portugal
The Estoril Circuit has been the stage for the third round of A1 Grand Prix. Álvaro Parente, that maintained the sixth place in the grid for the Feature Race, ended in fifth, after one of the most disputed rounds in the championship. The emotions were present since the beginning, with the Portuguese driver occupying the second position until the seventh lap. A long pit stop, motivated by a temporary silence of the engine, sent Parente to the 17th place. After that, Álvaro Parente, has been the protagonist of an amazing recovering, since he climbed up twelve positions, finishing the race with a meritorious fifth place.
The sun has managed to appear and these conditions contributed for the good result of the Portuguese team. The official driver of A1 Team Portugal made a demonstration of all his skills in the track, revealing an intelligent management of the race.
"I'm quite happy since I feel that the team is starting to find the correct set up for the car, achieving good results with their work. So far, this was our best race and I'm glad that we managed to do it in my country. We didn't go to the podium because of the long pit stop, due to the stall of the engine, but now I feel that we are on the right path", said the driver of A1 Team Portugal.
Professor Carlos Queiróz, one of the seat-holders of the Portuguese team, has come to the Estoril Circuit to support Álvaro and said: "I saw with lots of emotion the Portuguese participation in these round of A1 Grand Prix. Álvaro was fantastic during all the weekend, and made the last race showing all his strength and will. That was one more example that show's the potential of young Portuguese talents".
The CEO of A1 Team Portugal, Luís Vicente, was satisfied with the evolution of the car and team in Estoril weekend. "We managed to be always in the front line and I'm pleased for that. The team evolution it's notorious and we can see that they are finding the correct set up for the car. I want to highlight the excellent race performed by Álvaro, that once more revealed that he has all the skills to be always on the top", concluded Luís Vicente.
India
Starting from 24th on the grid for the sprint race, A1 Team India's plan was to be smooth and steady, stay out of trouble and finish the race. This would give our driver Armaan Ebrahim, the youngest driver in the field at the age of 16, 18 laps of experience under race conditions. He stuck to the plan, kept his cool, and finished the race in 17th place.
The feature race started at 3 o'clock in the afternoon, one hour after the sprint race ended. A1 Team India lined up 17th on the grid on the strength of their finish in the sprint race. At the start of the warm-up lap the A1 team India car (Stalled) on the grid, and had to be pushed into the pit-lane by the marshals. The team re-started the car in the pit-lane. At the start of the race, Nelson Piquet Jr. (A1 Team Brazil) and Jos Verstappen (A1 Team Netherlands) stalled their cars on the grid, and were also pushed into the pit-lane by the marshals. Due to this, A1 Team India started the race effectively in 22nd place. The team immediately changed its pit stop strategy and pitted the very next lap when the safety car came out which proved to be very beneficial to the team. The team once again were very smooth with a time of 18.8 seconds in the pit lane. Armaan built up his race pace lap by lap and with 8 laps to go made a blinding move on Pakistan and then followed it up by whizzing past China. After 36 laps of hard racing, and a couple of safety car periods A1 Team India finished the feature race in 13th place. This is the first time that A1 Team India has finished the feature race, and also their highest place finish so far in the A1 Grand Prix Championship.
With this performance, A1 Team India is looking forward to the next round at Eastern Creek in Sydney, Australia. The team is confident that our performance levels will continue to improve as the season progresses. There are still nine rounds to go in the A1 Grand Prix Championship.
The Indian Ambassador to Portugal, The Honourable Madam Vijaya Latha Reddy was also at the circuit to show her support for A1 Team India. The team is very thankful to her for her words of encouragement.
Mr Atul Gupta, Chairman A1 Team India was present at the race, as he has been for both of the previous rounds in Brands Hatch and EuroSpeedway Laustiz. He was very happy with the performance of the entire team and commented, "Today has been a wonderful day of racing. A1 Team India is getting firmly into their stride. The teams' performances have been improving with each and every race, and I am very confident that this improvement will continue as the season progresses. I am proud of each and every member of the team today. They have shown determination and have put in a lot of hard work and dedication to achieve today's excellent results. We are looking forward to more support from all the fans in India. Hopefully, this is just the beginning."
Switzerland
A1 Team Switzerland claimed two podium finishes at Estoril today. A strong drive from Neel Jani saw him finish third in the sprint race and second in the feature race. The rain that plagued the first day of practice was nowhere to be seen as both races took place in warm and sunny conditions.
Neel Jani commented: "I was really surprised when Nelson Piquet's was going fast and slow before the rolling start for the sprint race as if he wanted to block us. After Prémat passed him I did not want to take any unnecessary risks and played it safe to get the podium. Piquet's car was very fast and potentially dangerous for us. During the feature race I started in third position, but lost one position at the start with the pace car. My pit stop was perfect and I raced hard to finish the race in second. The team did a great job with the set up we had two good starts and two good races. In the final part of the race it was quite easy to keep pace with France even if I couldn't pass Prémat. At Eastern Creek, we'll have another go and hopefully we can win our first race."
Team manager Max Welti added: "Neel Jani did an excellent job today and drove a strong and intelligent race. He really deserves his 2nd place."
Australia
Will Davison, having his first race drive for A1 Team Australia has taken sixth place in the feature race at Portugal's Estoril circuit after a challenging weekend for the Australian team in The World Cup of Motorsport.
A superb pitstop strategy employed by the team, along with conservation of his PowerBoost ‘hits' saw Davison advance from the final row of the grid to be firmly inside the top ten.
Davison was left out longer than many of his rivals to get some quick laps under his belt in clear air in an attempt to advance himself up the running order. Having survived the numerous safety car periods throughout the race, Davison was running strongly in fifth position for much of the middle part of the race.
Late in the race, struggling with tyres that had worn severely in the laps after the pitstop, he was engaged in a battle with local driver, Alvaro Parente, eventually succumbing to the Portuguese challenge with five laps remaining.
Next, Davison was under attack from A1 Team Italy's Enrico Toccacello, the Italian on a charge and sitting right on Davison's rear wing for the closing stages of the race. The young Melburnian managed to hold him out, crossing the line in sixth placing, adding five points to Australia's World Cup of Motorsport points haul, which means the Aussies remain in fifth placing and are now in striking distance of traditional rivals, New Zealand.
The Sprint Race wasn't as fruitful for Davison, the Australian challenge being snuffed out on the second corner with a multi-car pileup – Davison unable to get re-started.
Qualifying didn't reflect the true pace of the Australian car, Davison being forced to start the opening race down in 19th position, after being fourth quickest in the inclement conditions on Friday. Several electrical gremlins hampered the Australian qualifying effort, not least of which was a fire extinguisher that malfunctioned during one of his four runs, coating the 23 year old in extinguisher foam.
Attention for A1 Team Australia now turns to their home event at Sydney's Eastern Creek International Raceway across the weekend of November 4-6 and now he's had his first taste of A1 Grand Prix action – Davison can't wait to get out there in front of his home crowd.
Will Davison: "That was one of the most exciting races I've ever done. It was full on from the start and the battles with Portugal and Italy were a lot of fun. This was really the first time that I'd had the opportunity to do a heap of laps behind the wheel of an A1 Grand Prix car. Obviously, I would have liked to get a few more laps under my belt in the Sprint Race, which was disappointing for the team who've done such a great job throughout the weekend. We had a few problems in qualifying and 19th wasn't indicative of our pace. Either way, we've got some solid points in the bag and now we head back to Australia. We're looking forward to seeing plenty of green and gold to support us in Sydney. I can't wait, bring on Eastern Creek!"
Alan Jones – A1 Team Australia Team Principal: "Will has done an absolutely fantastic job after what has been a challenging weekend for the entire team. They did a sensational job in calling the pitstop when they did, that really allowed us to advance up the field. Sixth in the feature is a great result and we're now in striking distance of the top three. The feature race was an action-packed race - as has become the norm in A1 Grand Prix - and for Will to hold on with his tyres in the state they were was a top effort. Our attention now switches to Eastern Creek in two weeks time, where there will be a big crowd right behind A1 Team Australia. I'm looking forward to getting back home and preparing for what should be a massive event in Sydney."
Mexico
A1 Grand Prix Team Mexico driver Salvador Duran had a hard day after he didn't finish both two races of Round Three in the A1 GP Series held at the 4.36-Km. circuit of the Autodrome of Estoril, in Portugal, near to Lisbon.
"In the first lap of the sprint race, China Team driver (Tengyi Jiang) took me off the track and I really don't know what happened. Everything happened very quickly that I would have to watch the video. Regarding the main race, when I have already move up through the field, the Canadian driver (Sean McIntosh) hit me in a move that it was on purpose and afterwards he was penalised. Now the best thing to do is to forget all about this. We have already scored a podium in England and we have proved that we can be competitive, thus we shouldn't let this situation to affect us," Salvador Duran, said, who will do a quick journey to Mexico City this Monday.