08/10/2006
NEWS STORY
Team Brazil
A1 Team Brasil finished the sprint and feature races in the A1GP World Cup of Nations at Brno, the Czech Republic, in 10th and 15th places respectively.
Starting from 15th on the grid in this morning's 10-lap sprint race, Team Brasil race driver Tuka Rocha made the most of the rolling start, and moved up five places to tenth after the start. He crossed the finish line in tenth and then set about preparing for this afternoon's 35-lap feature race.
He began on the sixth row of the grid in 11th for the main race, and on lap two made a great pass on Team Germany for tenth. He took advantage of a problem for Team France on lap three, moving up to ninth, but began to struggle with understeer, and fell victim to Germany's Niko Hulkenberg. He had a fantastic battle with New Zealand's Johnny Reid on lap six, with the two dicing for position, but he eventually fell behind the Kiwi team. After the pitstop round, Tuka was back in tenth position but a spin on lap 25 pushed him down to 15th. He gained a place over the closing laps, and crossed the line in 14th position.
The A1GP World Cup of Nations will now take a four-week break. The series will return on the streets of Beijing in China from 10-12 November.
Emerson Fittipaldi: "We are very disappointed because we were looking to have a better race. Tuka complained that the car was out of balance and he had both oversteer and understeer, and just didn't have the level of performance that he needed. Next time we will have to have a better set-up. The team did a fantastic job today. We were one of the quickest, if not the quickest pitstop, and that is consistent with their performance in Zandvoort so we take that as a positive."
Tuka Rocha: "The sprint race was fun this morning. I made a good start and gained a lot of positions. I had a big problem from half way through when I lost a part from my front wing, but I battled the understeer to the end and kept in position so I was quite pleased with that. In the sprint race I was just not comfortable with the car the whole race. The team did a great job with the pitstop, we were the quickest team I think, but the car still didn't feel good after that. When I spun, I felt something go wrong on the car and I just lost it."
Team Canada
Toronto's James Hinchcliffe (19) led A1 Team Canada to a second place Sprint race podium finish and came within five laps of a stunning Feature race victory today having led the majority of the 38-lap race in Round 2 of the 2006-07 A1GP World Cup of Motorsport at the Auto Motodrom, Brno in the Czech Republic. With 23 nations battling for global supremacy in A1GP, Hinchcliffe's impressive rookie performances today opened Canada's points scoring account, the Team placing fourth in the Nations Standings after two rounds.
Sprint Race
Well versed in the art of rolling starts, based on three decorated seasons in North America's junior open-wheel ranks, Hinchcliffe fired the Canadian entry through the order from fifth to second at the start of the Sprint event as 23 nations unleashed their 550bhp, V8-powered A1GP cars on a charge to the first turn. A1 Team Malaysia snatched the lead, with ex-Formula One driver Alex Yoong driving, with Canada second and last season's inaugural World Champions, A1 Team France in third courtesy of Nicolas Lapierre. The top-three held station throughout the race, Hinchcliffe taking the checkered flag in second place just 1.6s behind the Malaysian entry to record A1 Team Canada's first podium of the season, along with top rookie honors, in just his third career A1GP start.
Feature Race
Canada's strong Sprint showing was rewarded with their first-ever A1GP front-row start, Hinchcliffe lining up alongside Alex Yoong for the Feature's standing start. Blitzing the line James led the field to the first turn and only relinquished P1 at the end of lap 10 as he headed to pit-lane for a mandatory stop. Six laps later Canada took control of the race once again as Switzerland and Lebanon, the last to pit, finally made their respective stops. What followed was a thrilling display of driving from the Canadian rookie as he kept Yoong in check in the Malaysian entry.
At the halfway point James held a two second advantage over his vastly more experienced rival, Alex then mounting a second half attack, eventually working the gap down to less than half a second with 10 to go while they held a sizeable 13 second margin over former IRL driver and home favorite Tomas Enge for the Czech Republic. Lap 33 proved to be the turning point of the race as Hinchcliffe was clipped from behind by second-placed Yoong, James surrendering the lead to the Malaysian as he spun out onto the dirt. Back on track, but on a dirty set of tires, the Canadian car quickly fell prey to the Czech Republic (Tomas Enge) and Mexico (Salvador Duran), who completed the podium behind Yoong, then Germany but James held on to take fifth at the flag.
James Hinchcliffe: "Overall a good day but a frustrating result in the Feature given the performance of the whole Team. I made a great start off the line this afternoon and worked up a decent lead. The guys did an unbelievable job in the pits today and they got me out well ahead of Alex. Ultimately he closed on us, he would gain some ground then I'd pull it out again. He wasn't alongside me enough to make the pass, he hit me and I spun out. He clearly had the faster car towards the end, we were both the class of the field, but it was the wrong place to make a move! I'm disappointed for the Team but we bagged a podium in the Sprint and some points to get on the board today."
Team France
A1 Team France leaves Brno with mixed feelings with one podium and one retirement.
French Driver Nicolas Lapierre, 22, finished in a solid third position in the Sprint Race. His podium gave A1 Team France four points heading to Round 3 at Beijing in China on November 10-12, 2006.
Starting 8th on the grid of the Sprint Race after A1 Team Great Britain's fastest qualifying time was disallowed as the car was found to be too wide according to the rules, Lapierre had a fantastic opening lap. He reached 3rd, overtaking a couple of cars and taking advantage of the contact between A1 Team Germany and Team New Zealand at the first corner. From there he maintained his third position until the chequered flag of the 10-lap race.
The Feature Race was a different story for A1 Team France. Lapierre, 4th on the grid, encountered some engine problems losing power right at the start and making him lose a few positions. Losing more and more power, he was then forced to retire from the race during the second lap.
Nicolas Lapierre commented: "The Sprint Race was not easy but I have managed to have a good start and took advantage of the collision at the first corner. After the bad qualifying session we had yesterday, we have found what the problem with the car was. Finishing third at the first race, allowed me to start 4th on the grid of the Feature Race. However, I had an unexpected problem with the engine right at the start of the second race. For some unknown reasons, I was suddenly losing more and more power until the engine stopped. It is really a pity to finish like this, especially after our good result in the Sprint Race."
Jean-Paul Driot, Team Principal, A1 Team France added: "Despite our podium at the Sprint Race, we are very disappointed as we encountered an unexpected engine problem at the start of the Race and we suddenly had no power. This was completely unpredictable and we will now investigate what happened and look forward to a more positive race weekend in Beijing."
Team Germany
The Willi Weber managed A1 Team Germany defended its championship lead at the second round of the A1 Grand Prix Series in Brno, Czech Republic. Despite retiring from the sprint race, nominated driver Nicolas Hülkenberg managed to climb from sixteenth on the grid to fourth at the finish after putting in an impressive display in the main race. A1 Team Germany remains at the head of the 23 nation field in the World Cup of Motorsport with a one-point advantage over Mexico.
After qualifying on the front row for the sprint, Nico Hülkenberg's race only lasted a few hundred metres: The A1 Team New Zealand car collided with the German A1 GP car just after the rolling start. Both the German and New Zealand cars retired. The David Sears Motorsport race team had their work cut out before the main race – the team rose to the occasion and changed various suspension components, a driveshaft and the side-pods of the heavily damaged German car to enable the car to take the grid.
Nico Hülkenberg started the main race from 16th place in the 520 hp A1 Grand Prix car. The "star of tomorrow" from Emmerich wasted no time in starting his fight back – on the opening lap he forged past seven rivals. A1 Team Germany briefly lost two positions, which it duly reclaimed before the end of the sixth lap. After the pit-stop on lap ten Hülkenberg once again made up positions and was running in fifth place from lap 16. As A1 Team Canada made a mistake four laps before the chequered flag, the 19-year old German driver used his chance and jumped up another place. Series newcomer Nico Hülkenberg not only defended his championship lead for A1 Team Germany as a result, but also continued his personal success streak: The Rhinelander has been in the top four this season every time he has seen the chequered flag.
Nicolas Hülkenberg: "A fantastic result bearing in mind how unlucky we were in the sprint race after the New Zealander Jonny Reid jinked to the left, hit my car and I ran out of road. Afterwards, the mechanics really did have a huge amount of work, which they sorted perfectly. They gave me a beautifully handling car again – thank you very much guys! I was able to attack immediately in the main race and overtook seven cars. I then lost two places to the Brazilian and New Zealand drivers, but I had overtaken them again by the completion of the sixth lap. I was able to get past the teams from Great Britain and the Netherlands in the pit lane owing to the excellent pit stop my team made. I climbed back up to fifth place after. I was also able to overtake the Canadian James Hinchcliffe after he made a mistake. I hadn't dreamt of finishing fourth before the race – it was absolutely fantastic."
Willi Weber: "Nico was impressive in both qualifying and in the race in Brno. It's a shame that he went away from the sprint empty handed after such a strong showing this weekend. I was even more impressed with the way he carved through the field. His excellent performance bode well for the future. Nominating him for our team was a good move. The weekend ended on a good note, since A1 Team Germany travels to the next race as championship leader."
Team Great Britain
A1 Team Great Britain showed the best of British to overcome two engine changes and a qualifying penalty to record a pair of top-ten finishes in Round 2 of the 2006-07 A1GP World Cup of Motorsport. Burbage's Robbie Kerr finished shy of the points with ninth in this morning's Sprint race but followed this up with a more encouraging Feature race performance where he brought the British entry home sixth to collect five more points to add to last weekend's double-score at the season-opener in Holland.
Sprint Race
Hit with the disappointment of losing his fastest lap time in Saturday's qualifying session, a technical infringement dropping A1 Team GBR from the second to the fifth row of the grid for this morning's Sprint race, Kerr's hopes of a strong start quickly evaporated as he had to back off the throttle to avoid the repercussions of some start line carnage involving A1 Team Germany. With the momentum from the rolling start effectively gone Kerr toured in ninth throughout the 10-lap Sprint, taking the flag outside the points on his return to A1GP action.
Feature Race
Under A1GP's unique points-scoring system to determine the grid for the Feature race, allocating points according to teams' finishing position, qualifying position and lap times in the Sprint race, the driver with the lowest total taking pole, Robbie Kerr took the Feature start in seventh. Held up at the start as the 23-car field funnelled towards the first of Brno's 14-turns, Kerr held his start position through to his compulsory pit-stop at the end of lap 10. When the running order filtered through following everyone else's stops the British racer had gained a spot to sixth. A relatively quiet run for Kerr saw him gain on the Czech Republic, Mexico and Germany, fighting it out for third, towards the end of the race, Robbie eventually rounding out the top six after a frustrating weekend for the team.
A1 Team GBR Team Principal, John Surtees: "I think we had more practice changing engines than tyres this weekend but Robbie did a good job to steer clear of trouble and keep A1 Team Great Britain in the points for the second straight Feature."
Robbie Kerr: "I was pushed out a little at the start of the Feature race and held seventh before the pit stops. We were strong by the end of the race, the car was handling well and our pace was pretty good. Unfortunately we had a slight issue with something which remained throughout the race which we now have to take a look at for future races but overall I'm happy to have scored points given everything that's happened to us this weekend."
Team Ireland
A1 Team Ireland finished a frustrated 13th in today's A1GP Feature Race in the Czech Republic, Michael Devaney battling hard throughout the race to finish just ahead of Brazil. Having started from 13th place on the grid Devaney dropped back slightly at the start but recovered, an early pit stop elevating him two places but the Rathfarnham driver unable to maintain the pace of the front runners through the long, sweeping corners which are such a feature of the Brno track.
Michael Devaney: "We just didn't have the pace this weekend and I am really frustrated not being able to get the speed through the corners of the other guys. I tried everything during the race including different lines and approaches, but nothing worked. I just couldn't do the things with our car that the drivers in front were able to get away with. The season really hasn't started the way we expected at all, so there's a lot of work to be done now."
Andy Miller, Technical Director: "We have tried a number of set-up changes this weekend without being able to find the speed we wanted around here and you could see in the race that Michael was struggling to stay with the front runners and also to keep quicker cars behind. We'll be looking at all the data, examining everything and working hard to find the pace we need."
Mark Gallagher, Team Principal: "To come away from the opening two races with zero points and mid-field performances isn't acceptable to anyone in the team, least of all Michael, and we are going to have to focus on the key areas which can account for such a lack of speed. We have a good engine, we have tried various set-ups which have produced a positive response from the car, but at the end of the day we have not been in the ball-park this weekend."
Team Lebanon
A1 Team Lebanon scored a pair of 12th place finishes in the Sprint and Feature races at the A1GP World Cup of Motorsport event in Brno today. Graham Rahal was driving for the Team this weekend with Team mates Khalil Beschir and Basil Shaaban alongside rookie driver, Alex Khateeb, watching from the pitwall.
Rahal lined up on the seventh row for the rolling start of the short10 lap Sprint race. The rush down to the first corner was an opportunity for Rahal to make a pass on the cars ahead and he overtook in the opening sector of the lap, to lie 11th at the end of it. He dropped to 12th a few laps later after tussling with the Netherlands car and retained this place for the remaining race distance.
In the Feature race Rahal took the standing start from 12th place on the grid, with the frenetic rush to the first corner pushing the young A1 Team Lebanon driver down to 14th. He was able to recover a place to 13th, which he maintained until the pit stop. Exiting the pits after the second-fastest stop of the day from his Lebanon crew, Rahal boldly moved alongside rivals Switzerland who were also leaving the pits after their stop, and overtook the Swiss car as he rejoined the track.
In 12th place Rahal raced on to complete the 38 laps, battling hard throughout but he was unable to improve on his position. Crossing the line in 12th place, the A1 Team Lebanon driver showed that he can race hard and be a top ten contender with further A1GP race experience.
Rahal explained after the Feature race, "In the Sprint race, I made a good start, but running three abreast with Britain and Brazil through the first few corners, I ended up dropping back. As the race went on the car went loose, which grained the front tyre and made it tough. The Feature race was also very challenging. We didn't have a good start in that one, but made up positions later, but dropping back after contact with South Africa, and without that we would have been in the top ten. We had the pace of the leaders and were able to be consistent which is encouraging. The boys gave me an awesome pit stop as well. I reckon they're the best of the field."
Tony Snook, Team Principal, A1 Team Lebanon adds, "Today Graham has shown that he can race hard and consistently, and has proved that he has the pace to run with the lead pack. We need to qualify better; it has such an impact on the rest of the weekend. Having missed Zandvoort he's two races behind the rest of the field, so he needs more time in the car to catch up, but I know that he'll be getting into the top ten before too long. We're growing as a Team, and Graham is part of this development, so I'm confident that we'll continue to progress as the season unfolds."
Team Malaysia
A1 Team Malaysia's first victory of the new A1GP season in the Sprint race at Brno, Czech Republic today was followed with a second win in the longer Feature race, a double celebration for Alex Yoong and his Malaysian crew.
Yoong's Sprint race win and fastest race lap earned him pole position for the 38 lap Feature race. The standing start saw the field of A1GP cars representing 23 nations from around the world race to the first corner, up to five abreast. In the frenetic opening section Yoong was pushed wide allowing the Canadian car to take the lead. Both countries held position until the round of pitstops, and after the window allowed for the tyre change Yoong still lay in second place.
As the race reached the closing stages he began to challenge Canada looking for a way past him. With six laps to go he had the momentum and made the move. Although there was some contact that put the Canadian car into a spin, Yoong made the pass stick and swept into the lead. By the chequered flag he had a lead of over eight seconds, a convincing second season win for the Malaysian team.
Yoong said after the two races, "It's been a fantastic weekend. After Zandvoort I knew we needed to have to score a few points here to get our championship started, and we went ahead and did it. To be honest I didn't expect it, because we did have quite a few problems in the Netherlands. We started slow on Friday, struggling a bit, but the car just got better and better, I could attack and that made a difference today.
I had a few attempts at overtaking Canada before I made it stick, but he got on the dirty stuff and I could see he was struggling. He'd done well up until then, but he ran wide and I dived up the inside. We both could have made it round the corner, but he turned in, trying to close the door, but I was already alongside and we made contact. That's motor racing, we're happy with the double win. Let's hope this success fills the stands in Sepang. We've done well on a track we don't know, wait until we get to one that we do know!"
Jack Cunningham, Chief Executive, A1 Team Malaysia, added, "It's an excellent result for us. We were delighted with one win, so to take the double is just perfect. It's the ultimate reward that we can have for all the hard work the crew, engineers and drivers put into this team throughout the days leading up to this afternoon's track action.
Our team carried out an excellent pitstop, calm and precise and which was responded to by Alex with his driving. He showed patience and cunning, stalking Canada till he knew it was time to move, securing this win for all of us.
It's been a very impressive performance by every member of the team. If we build on this we will be a force to be reckoned with at many more events in A1GP this season."
The two victories, and bonus point for fastest lap in the Sprint race, have catapulted A1 Team Malaysia to third place in the Championship standings.
Team Mexico
Mexico through its driver Salvador Duran achieved its second consecutive podium in the 2006 A1GP World Cup of Motorsport season, after starting from eighth and finishing third in the Feature race of the two-race meeting held this Sunday at the 5.41-Km. (3.36-mile) Brno circuit.
In the first race, polesitter New Zealand and second-placed Germany made contact before the first corner during the first lap and Malaysia took the lead, holding it until the chequered flag. Duran was able to climb up to seventh on the first lap and held his position until the end of the competition, despite struggling with an understeer problem.
In the Feature race, on the first lap the Mexican driver climbed from eight to third in a display of great driving and later was second, position that he enjoyed just for a couple of laps (10-11). He had a good pit stop, but he still had to regain some positions until reaching the fourth spot. Finally, he overtook Canada on Lap 34 to secure a podium, but the things were not easy for Duran, who was chasing former Formula One driver and second-placed Tomas Enge, while the Mexican was also holding off the attack from championship leader Germany, but eventually Duran prevailed over the German driver.
"The Sprint race was hard. At the start the German and the New Zealander clashed, and that helped me to regain two positions. I took two positions more at the track overtaking British and Swiss drivers. The car had some issues, it was not good enough and the team did a good job making some changes. Thus, for the second race the car was much better. That definitely helped us to obtain a good result. At the beginning of the Feature race I was able to reach the third place and later we had a good pit stop. Overall, the podium was a result of a team work," former British F3 National Class champion said.
"This podium was the best thing that could happen to us after having a difficult weekend, some parts were not the ones that we needed and the setting was not perfect for the first race, but the end of the weekend was the reflection of the my team's and sponsors' efforts. In Escuderia Telmex, they taught me to not give up and I think it mentally helped me very much for my performance," Duran said.
"Also, I want to take the opportunity to thank A1 Team Mexico and our sponsors Telmex and Mexico (Council of Tourist Promotion) for their support, I am here competing against International drivers and teams thanks to them," he added.
With these race results, Mexico continues second in the championship point standings and now it's just one point shy from leader Germany and with a two-point edge over Malaysia, the winner of the two races at Brno.
Team Netherlands
With a ninth place in the Feature race of the A1GP at Brno, A1 Team Netherlands scored two points for the World Cup of Motorsport. In the Sprint race the team finished in eleventh. After two rounds A1 Team Netherlands is in eighth place in the series, with nine points.
This morning Jeroen Bleekemolen started the Sprint race from a twelfth grid position. Straight at the start there was spectacle when Germany and New Zealand hit, Germany flipped on the side and then crashed into the barrier. Bleekemolen, who was directly behind, had to ease off and move to the right, which cost him a number of places. After that the A1 Team Netherlands driver got stuck for a long time behind Lebanon. In the end Jeroen managed to overtake Lebanon, but passing Brazil proved a bit too much.
In the Feature race this afternoon A1 Team Netherlands started in tenth. Bleekemolen immediately managed to move up some places. The team then made an early pitstop, but came back on track just behind China, Germany and Great Britain. After that Bleekemolen got stuck behind China for the remainder of the race and was not able to attack anymore.
Jeroen Bleekemolen: "In the Sprintrace the car felt fairly good. The difference with the Feature race is mainly that you drive with much more fuel on board and the car felt a lot different then. In the beginning I was suffering from understeer and during the race I lost more and more grip. Then you are behind China, who were only a bit slower. He closed the door on me in a good way, when you drive intelligently and clean on this circuit it is very difficult to overtake. New Zealand was much quicker, so they were able to overtake me," said Bleekemolen who briefly looks ahead to the China race. "There is almost no data available for that circuit, which is a street circuit. We will do everything to start there with a better basic set up and get closer to the top. This season we started with simulations and by next race we probably have been able to find out a lot. Now we were searching from Friday onwards and then you are behind straight away".
Jan Lammers: "It is all very close together. A lot of drivers and teams have improved a lot. China now has an top driver and look at Canda, who was some problems after the move of Alex Yoong and immediately drop to fifth. Our pitstop today went well, but our rear jackman, got pushed by the South African team, which caused us to lose a few seconds. Instead of passing China and going out on track just in front of Great Britain and Germany, we were now just behind them. That influenced our race, you are then stuck behind China. Also our car was very difficult to drive this weekend. Jeroen was able to close in on China, but when he tucked in behind, we were having problems. We will just have to find a better set up, so that we can end up higher in qualifying. In the race itself we are ok. We will have to work hard. The China race is an unknown for everyone. Nobody knows anything about the track, the asphalt or the track layout. The most important thing for us is going be being inside the top of the field, when you cannot do that it gets difficult immediately. We will now have to study what our problem was here and implement the right things from there for China".
Team New Zealand
New Zealand has squandered an opportunity for a big points haul in Round 2 of the A1GP World Cup of Motorsport at the Brno circuit in the Czech Republic.
An impressive performance in qualifying on pole position for the 20-minute Sprint Race was spoiled when Kiwi driver Jonny Reid locked horns with fellow front rower Germany before the first corner, sending both cars crashing out of the race.
Starting from 14th on the grid for the 70-minute Feature Race, Reid drove well to finish 7th and pick up 4 valuable championship points, but the team is gutted not to have done better.
Malaysia won both races on the 5.41km Brno circuit to move into third place in the championship standings. Germany still tops the table with 20 points, followed by Mexico one point behind and Malaysia on 17 points.
New Zealand, 12th out of the 23 nations after the opening round, drops to 14th on the points table, with 5 points.
New Zealand's Engineering Team Director David Sears, who also runs the German engineering crew, says Reid and his German counterpart Nico Hülkenberg were warned about keeping apart…but still ended up making life difficult for themselves.
"To finish first you must first finish and the track is incredibly wide here at Brno, so why New Zealand and Germany should be rubbing wheels on the very first corner is anyone's guess," Sears said.
"To recover and finish strongly was encouraging for Jonny and the car certainly has the raw speed and looks to be one of the quickest going around. That's the pleasing part amid the disappointment and we now need to refocus and prepare for the next month's round in China."
Sears uttered some prophetic words on Saturday night after Reid had completed a unique clean sweep by being fastest in all four qualifying segments. "It's important that Jonny pulls clear of the rest of the field and doesn't get tripped up on the first corner," Sears had said. "We were so much quicker than the other teams in qualifying that it would be criminal to be banging wheels when a great result is there for the taking."
Criminal though it was, charges will not be laid.
Team Pakistan
A1 Team Pakistan, today completed its second race weekend of the new season of the A1GP World Cup of Motorsport, in Brno, Czech Republic. The Team's Pakistani driver, Nur Ali, was racing with the Team and showed an improvement in pace as he progressed through the weekend.
In the Sprint race with a back of pack start Ali wisely avoided the melee of cars bunching for the first corner and by the end of the lap had improved two positions. Across the short race distance he was able to gain more race experience and by the chequered flag lay in 20th spot.
The afternoon feature race of 38 laps began with a colourful opening ceremony and drivers parade. >From a standing start the field of A1GP cars raced down to the first corner and by the end of the lap Ali had improved two positions. He took a further position on the second lap and then maintained his place in the early stages. Unfortunately a driveshaft failure on lap 10 forced the Pakistan Team to retire from the race and Ali's Brno experience prematurely ended for him.
Ali said at the end of the races, "During the Sprint race I had some issues with the gearshift, but after the race we looked at it and it seemed fine, but in the Feature race I had a broken driveshaft we finished my day for me. I wish I could have had more seat time, but we'll be back in China. My weekend may have been difficult, but it is nothing compared to what my brothers and sisters lived through, It was my first thought when I woke this morning and my heart is with all the people affected by the tragic events of a year ago today, the devastation of the earthquake in the Northern area."
Arif Husain, Chairman, A1 Team Pakistan, added, "This weekend Nur has shown improvement in his pace and the Team has continued to develop together, working hard to put out a good car and give Nur experience in the A1GP car. It's a shame that he didn't finish the Feature race, but it's a rare failure and I'm sure we'll regroup and be back with renewed confidence and looking to put on a good performance in Beijing. I echo Nur's words and my thoughts are also with all those who suffered in the terrible events of a year ago."
Team South Africa
Malaysia became the third different winner in the first three races of the new A1GP season when former Minardi Formula 1 driver Alex Yoong took the chequered flag first at the end of a dramatic Sprint race around the picturesque 5,4-km circuit here in the Moravian forests.
It was Yoong's second A1GP win after his success in the final Sprint race of the 2005/2006 season, in China in April. Second was A1GP rookie James Hinchcliffe for Team Canada, 1,6 sec behind after 54 km of racing, with Team France's Nicolas Lapierre third a further 1,0 sec in arrears. China (Congfu "Frankie" Cheng from Beijing, venue of the next round of the A1 series) was fourth in their best result to date, followed by hosts the Czech Republic (Tomas Enge), USA (Philip Giebler), Mexico (Salvador Duran), Switzerland (Sebastien Buemi) and the Netherlands (Jeroen Bleekemolen).
The talking point of the race, however, was the loss of the two fastest cars on the grid – New Zealand (Jonny Reid) on pole and Germany (Niko Hulkenberg alongside him – before the first corner of the first lap. They made contact as they raced side-by-side towards turn one, with the 19-year-old German A1 rookie (who won the Feature race in the Netherlands) being pitched into the air and bouncing across the grass into the Armco barrier.
South Africa (Stephen Simpson) retired after completing four laps when the master switch on Vulindlela failed. He had started from 14th place on the grid and was fighting with Australia (Karl Reindler) and Italy (Pier Guidi Allesandro) for 14th place when the car lost all power.
"I had a bad start and dropped a few places, getting stuck behind a gaggle of slower cars through the first few corners," said the 21-year-old from Cape Town. "When the race settled down and some space opened up, I was able to pass a couple of car on lap two. I went past Australia and was shaping up to have a go at Italy when it all went wrong.
"Unfortunately this means we now start from 18th place on the grid for the Feature race, but we've seen in the past that a lot can happen in the longer race (now extended to 70 minutes for the 2006/2007 season), so it will be a case of keeping out of trouble at the start, having a good pit stop and pushing for a points' scoring place at the finish."
Team Switzerland
A1 Swiss driver, Sebastien Buemi shows improvement as A1 Team Switzerland leaves Brno with one well-deserved point.
At the second round of the A1GP World Cup of Motorsport at Brno in the Czech Republic, A1 Team Switzerland driver, Sebastien Buemi, 17, finished the short, 10-lap Sprint Race in 8th position. Starting 9th on the grid after A1 Team Great Britain's fastest qualifying time was disallowed as the car was found to be too wide according to the rules, Buemi was blocked quite a bit at the start but managed to rise to 8th on the opening lap, taking advantage of the contact between A1 Team Germany and Team New Zealand at the first corner. >From then on, the A1 Team Switzerland's car sat behind a train of cars until the chequered flag.
The position on the grid for the Feature Race being a combination of the competitor's grid position for the Sprint Race, his final position in that race and his fastest lap meant that A1 Team Switzerland had to start the Feature Race from 9th position. Buemi had a difficult start which made him lose a few places. However, the Swiss driver pushed really hard to catch the Teams in front of him but was blocked behind Team Brazil and lost some precious time. The strategic decision of the Team for a late pit stop turned out to be the right one as Team Switzerland was even leading the race for some laps. After his mandatory pit stop, Buemi rejoined the race in 13th position. From then on, he was constantly improving his lap times and was able to overtake Lebanon, South Africa and Brazil. Buemi was then as fast as the leaders and finally finished 10th, scoring a well-deserved point.
Sebastien Buemi said: "The start of the Sprint Race was very hectic: as soon as the lights went out, I was sandwiched between two cars and could therefore neither overtake on the right nor on the left. Besides, the Team in front of me braked very hard which made me lose a position. However, I took advantage of the incident between Team Germany and New Zealand at the first corner and gained one place. The car was a bit off the pace and therefore it was not possible to overtake."
"I had a very bad start in the second race and therefore lost three places. Then I lost a considerable amount of time behind Team Brazil and I was still struggling with a recurring problem of vibrations. However, near the end, I was able to equal the times of the fastest drivers which was positive."
Max Welti, Team Principal, A1 Team Switzerland commented: "Finishing 10th is obviously not the position we were aiming for. However, I was hoping Sebastien would improve over the duration of the whole race and this happened in a considerable way. At the beginning, he was far from the pace of the fastest drivers but then he improved so much and finished nearly as quick as them. This gives us a lot of hope for the future races and credit is due to such a young and talented driver. I am actually happy as he develops in the right direction. We had our final race Team together for the first time this weekend and I would like to congratulate the guys for a very professional job over the weekend and one of the fastest pit-stops today."
Team USA
Phil Giebler scored one point by finishing sixth in the sprint race, but Sunday ended in disappointment when a mechanical failure knocked A1 Team USA out of contention for a podium to 17th place in the A1GP feature at the BRNO Automotodrom.
Giebler was running fourth in the 38-lap feature when he made the mandatory pit stop on the 10th lap. When the Lola-Zytek went up on jacks to change to fresh tires, the rear wheels continued to spin. "We came in, everything was normal-I had my foot on the clutch and my foot on the brake," Giebler explained. "I looked in my mirror and saw the wheels spinning. The clutch wasn't engaging at all. I had to shut the engine off."
A1 Team USA's pit stop took 67 seconds, including the time entering and exiting the pit lane-approximately double the normal length of time. Giebler fell to 18th place. "It basically ruined our race," Giebler said. "It was the longest and probably most frustrating race I've ever had. We lost at least eight points."
Giebler had the fastest lap of the race on the 12th lap at 1:47.820. He carved his way back to 13th on the tough-to-pass 3.36-mile, 14-turn circuit with seven laps remaining, but there weren't enough laps left to get to 10th, the final points-paying position in the feature.
A1 Team USA decided to go for the fastest lap of the day, worth one point-which had been done by Malaysia in the sprint race-and brought Giebler in for a second pit stop for fresh tires. But the track conditions had deteriorated since the sprint in the morning and it wasn't possible. It dropped Giebler four meaningless positions.
Giebler's sixth in the 10-lap sprint had been a productive start to the second race day of the A1GP season. The 26-year-old from Oxnard, Calif., almost didn't make it to the first corner after starting sixth. "I had a good run and all of the sudden, the German car (Nico Hulkenberg) goes flying in front of me," Giebler said. "I had to hit the brakes and just missed him. A couple of cars got past me."
Giebler was still sixth and stayed there for the sprint, which awards points through six positions. He was comfortably in front of Mexico's Salvador Duran and pressured the Czech Republic's Tomas Enge for fifth for most of the race. "It was an excellent result for us, my first point in a sprint race," Giebler said.
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