29/04/2007
NEWS STORY
Brazil
A1 Team Brasil's 2006/07 season came to a unfortunate end today when Bruno Junqueira crashed out on lap nine of the feature race at Brands Hatch in England. Earlier on in the day he had finished the sprint race in 12th, and was aiming for a strong points finish in this afternoon's race, but a brake issue from the start proved problematic, and in the end caused his demise from the race.
After switching to a new chassis before qualifying yesterday, Bruno had to get used to a new car with just four flying laps. He qualified in 16th position, lining up on the eighth row of the grid for this morning's 15-lap sprint race. He remained 16th after the rolling start, but was able to move up the rankings after accidents involving New Zealand, China, South Africa and Switzerland. He crossed the line in 12th, meaning a sixth row start for the feature race.
The 50-lap sprint race got off to a thrilling start with Teams GBR and Germany dicing for the top spot during the opening part of the lap. Unfortunately a safety car was deployed on lap one after a collision between South Africa and Australia. The safety car was out for a lengthy time while a tyre wall was rebuilt and when racing restarted it was just two laps later, on lap nine, when Team Brasil retired from 14th position after putting a wheel on the kerb after suffering from brake vibration, which sent Bruno backwards into the Armco barrier, ending his race.
Bruno Junqueira: "The car in the sprint race was really good, it's just difficult to make up ground in such a race and then I really don't know why we had this problem this afternoon. We put new brakes on the car and there was just so much vibration. I was unbalanced going into turn four because of the vibration, the car was really hard to drive. I went a little bit wide and the car went onto the kerb on the exit of the corner. Then I just spun and hit the barrier. It's such a shame we had the problem."
Emerson Fittipaldi: "Bruno had some problems in the race with the brakes, which is a shame, because he could have done a good race. This year has been a very difficult season for many different reasons, but now we have to look to next year and hope that we can come back like the first season."
Canada
A1 Team Canada scored a tenth place Sprint finish and 14th place Feature finish on Sunday as the 2006-07 A1GP World Cup of Motorsport concluded at the Brands Hatch Grand Prix Circuit in Great Britain. Sean McIntosh cracked the top-ten in the morning having started 14th in the Sprint following a disappointing qualifying session but a tire issue robbed the Vancouver-native of a potential top-six finish in the afternoon's 50-lap Feature.
With the team failing to score at the final round of the nation versus nation series, Canada missed out on emulating last season's feat of a top-ten finishing position in the A1GP Nations Standings. Things could have looked very different had the outcome of the Feature race been different, the Canadian team ending the sophomore season 11th overall just two points behind tenth placed Mexico (35-33).
Sunday morning's 15-lap Sprint race brought little in the way of drama and an error-free run from McIntosh produced another top-ten outing for the Canadian racer and a fifth row grid-slot for the afternoon's Feature race. Gaining a spot as the 22-strong field dashed to Paddock Hill bend at the start of the Sprint, Sean then climbed to 12th a lap later. Cracking the top-ten just after the half-way marker, the 21-year-old held on to take the checkered tenth. Great Britain's Robbie Kerr made series history from pole, his Sprint race victory the first for an A1GP nation on home soil with Germany's Nico Hülkenberg second and Italy's Enrico Toccacelo third.
Up two places by the end of the Feature's opening lap, Sean held station through to the end of lap nine when he headed to the pits behind race leader Hülkenberg. A close call exiting the pits, where he successfully avoided contact with America's Jonathan Summerton, was soon followed by a steering issue. The culprit was soon deemed to be a tire related issue and it wasn't long before the Canadian's front-right tire began to blister. Sitting seventh McIntosh was then passed in quick succession by the French, New Zealand and Malaysian cars before the tire eventually let loose forcing a second trip to the pits.
With twenty laps remaining Sean was back on-track but languishing down in 17th. A relatively lonely end to the race, albeit with a competitive car, was the result of his earlier tire problems, Sean placing 14th at the checkered and moving to 12th following the post-race exclusions of Ireland and Switzerland. Hülkenberg scored Germany's ninth win of the year, the championship winning team beating home favorite Kerr to the win after a thrilling race-long battle with Toccacelo in third.
"Well that's just racing," said McIntosh reflecting on his tire woe. "I made a good start; I gained a couple of places before coming in for my pit-stop. I managed to stay ahead of the American car exiting the pits but after that every time I tried to turn left I knew there was something wrong with the car. I guess the tire wasn't made properly as it started to delaminate."
He continued, "I managed to stay on the pace for the next five laps but I could see a black line starting to form on the tire. Eventually it just let go so I came back into the pits for the change. I managed to put in some pretty quick laps, up there with the likes of Germany and Great Britain. It's too bad as otherwise we could have been looking at a top-six finish!"
France
A season finale is always a bit different. Loic Duval scored seven more points for A1 Team France at Brands Hatch taking the tally to 67 points and fourth place in the championship. It was a day of frustration for A1 Team France. In the sprint race Duval finished fourth after losing a bit of time having run wide at turn eight and in the feature race Duval struggled to get off the line and came off worse from two safety car periods.
Speaking about his day, Loic Duval said, "In the first race, I got blocked in by Hulkenburg so I couldn't make any gain at the start and then I almost lost the car at turn eight which let Tocaccello past me. I tried to attack him but there was not much I could do. The feature race was even more frustrating when I lost four places at the start. Then the safety car came out and I even saw Canada pass me under the safety car. I would have really liked to have finished on the podium for my team and my mechanics who did such good work. But that's the way it went this time. I am ahead to next year and the start of the third season at Zandvoort. I am already planning the strategy to score points for the team. Meanwhile I'll fly back tomorrow to Japan for my next GT race in Fuji and the remainder of the season. Thanks to all in the team for their dedication."
Eric Boullier, General Manager - A1 Team France commented, "It is always emotional when a season comes to an end. We have been competitive even if we could not match our success last year. I would like to congratulate Germany and Nico Hülkenberg for their excellent season. We'll be there next year with young promising talented drivers as we did this year and ready to fight back and determined to finish the season on a much stronger note."
Germany
With team owner Willi Weber looking on from the pit garage A1 Team Germany recorded its ninth win of the season at the furious A1 GP World Cup of Motorsport finale. Nico Hülkenberg narrowly defeated close rival Great Britain in a thrilling, closely fought feature race which remained in doubt all the way to the chequered flag around the rollercoaster Brands Hatch circuit in Great Britain. The German team had already succeeded in clinching the World Cup title two weeks before at the penultimate round.
The German team started the sprint race from second place on the grid. At the start Robbie Kerr stormed from pole position in the British team car to lead the race. Nico Hülkenberg lost several metres when he ran into the rev-limiter and was unable to shift-up immediately from third gear. He followed the Briton for 15 laps and was second at the finish line in front of Italy.
In the feature race Hülkenberg overtook his British rival after the standing start. Around the 3.703 kilometre circuit south east of London, the 19-year old Rheinlander from Emmerich initially led the field behind the Safety Car and for another eight laps after the race was restarted. David Sears' race team then decided to carry out the mandatory pit stop. The chasing car of Great Britain stopped one lap later. Germany was able to retain its advantage over Great Britain owing to the team's excellent tyre change. Hülkenberg and Kerr set almost identical lap times so that the gap fluctuated constantly between a half and one second. Hülkenberg finally celebrated his ninth victory of the season by 0.619 seconds after 50 laps. It was also the team's ninth win. As a result, the statistics show that the German team recorded as many victories as the chasing teams from Great Britain, New Zealand and Malaysia together which each recorded three teams apiece.
Nicolas Hülkenberg: "That was one of the most difficult races of my career! We drove side-by-side through the first two corners after the start. I was on the outside and just thought that I should go for gold. Approaching the third corner I was then on the inside and pulled away. Robbie Kerr was glued to my gearbox right until the end and tried everything to pass. I'm delighted that we did end the season in such fine style. It was the hardest race of my life. The race just didn't seem to end when I was in the cockpit. I radioed the pits on several occasions to ask how many laps were left. The pit stop was great once again – congratulations to the team. I made a mistake before the sprint race: Because of the circuit's bumpy nature I bandaged my hands like a boxer to reduce the affect of the shocks. However, the blood flow was restricted and I got cramp in my arms, which is why Robbie Kerr was able to build up such an advantage."
Willi Weber: "A fantastic final! I'm absolutely delighted to round off the season with a win, which we owe to Nico and David Sear's team. I explained to Nico before the sprint race that he should retain his second position at the start and throughout the race. You should never take too many risks in the first race. He did exactly as that. He also followed my game plan in the feature race, attacked and won. Nonetheless, it was nail biting until the very end, since his closest rival Robbie Kerr also drove a fabulous race and waited for Nico to make a mistake. However, Nico doesn't make mistakes, even under enormous pressure. This well excellent ninth win for the team proved that Nico and the team were more than a worthy winner of the championship."
Great Britain
Great Britain's Robbie Kerr fought every inch of the way at the Brands Hatch Circuit, Kent today as he made A1GP World Cup of Motorsport history with a home win in Round 11's Sprint race before following it up with a fighting second place performance in the later Feature, World Champions Germany denying the Brit a Sunday double.
Looking to score a maximum 17 points to overhaul A1 Team New Zealand for second place in the final A1GP Nations Standings, Kerr's heroics, before an unashamedly patriotic audience, came up just short of stealing the Kiwi's thunder as Matt Halliday's eighth place in the Feature kept A1 Team Great Britain in third overall, a solitary point the difference between the two nations after a thrilling season of racing around the world (93-92).
Kerr roared past the home crowd to lead the field through the sweeping Paddock Hill bend at the start of Sunday morning's 15-lap Sprint race. Making the most of his history-making pole position, Great Britain becoming the first nation to score an A1GP pole at their home event, Robbie quickly set to work putting some daylight between himself and Germany's Nico Hülkenberg.
A dominant performance, complete with fastest lap of the day, followed with Kerr romping to his second straight Sprint victory, emulating his maiden A1GP win in China two weeks ago, and more importantly securing pole position for the afternoon's Feature event. Robbie's Sprint triumph marked the first time a nation competing in A1GP had won on home soil, Kerr gunning for the double later in the day. Hülkenberg took second for Germany with Italy's Enrico Toccacelo in third.
The afternoon's 50-lap Feature was a nail-biting affair for the Brands crowd basking under the Kent sunshine. Bogged down at the start, Kerr was helpless to stop the German entry darting into Paddock Hill to lead the first lap but the two drivers ensured a thrilling race followed as they fought hard and fair through to the checkered. An excellent pit-call from the British crew kept Kerr in the hunt for the win, the team avoiding a potentially disastrous pit-stop under yellows by ducking into the pits ahead of a safety car period for the beached Brazilian entry on lap 10.
A fault-free stop wasn't enough to edge ahead but at the second re-start, Kerr and Hülkenberg briefly swapped places, the former British F3 Champion getting a run on his German rival exiting Hawthorn only to drop back a turn later. Kerr harried and hustled behind Hülkenberg, the gap between the race-leading protagonists rarely more than a second as they left the rest of the field trailing in their wake. Despite pushing his 550bhp A1GP car to the ragged edge Robbie's race-long pressure failed to crack the German, Hülkenberg scoring his ninth win of the season. Kerr took second, just sixth hundredths of a second behind the winner with Toccacelo again third for A1 Team Italy.
"Well it was a fantastic race and a great way to end the season," stated Kerr. "To win this morning on home soil was amazing. Nico defended really well at the start of the Feature and from there I just couldn't get close enough to make a move stick, I kept losing all my front-end downforce. If I'd had the benefit of clean air then we'd have undoubtedly been quicker and gone for the double. The team did a great job all weekend and we made our own bit of history which will hopefully propel us into next season's championship and a full-on title bid!"
Reflecting on Great Britain's home outing, Team Principal John Surtees commented, "The day started off very well with Robbie's win and the Feature was all about who could control from the front! It's no disgrace to finish second to the championship winning team; Germany proved they're worthy title winners. From our point of view we've finished the season well with three wins and seven straight top-two finishes, but for a bit of luck it's a case of what might have been!"
India
A1 Team India took part in a spectacular season finale at the Brands Hatch circuit in the UK today, with former F1 racer Narain Karthikeyan behind the wheel. Karthikeyan drove a fantastic Feature race to take India from seventh to fourth place and secure his country's best ever finish in the A1GP World Cup of Motorsport. In a close battle with A1 Team Italy, just three tenths of a second separated Karthikeyan from a third place finish after 70 minutes of racing. Karthikeyan finished seventh in the earlier Sprint race.
The team qualified fifth for the 20 minute Sprint race and Karthikeyan took his place between Italy and Malaysia for the rolling start. As the 22 cars thundered down the start/finish line to start the first lap, Karthikeyan was caught out and lost two places to Malaysia and the Netherlands. With the race consisting of just 15 laps, the team had little opportunity to make up the position, despite looking considerably faster than the orange Dutch car. Karthikeyan went on to cross the line in seventh, just one place out of the points.
Taking his finishing position from the Sprint race as his starting position for the Feature race grid, Karthikeyan lined up seventh for the 70 minute race. The Indian car had a good start off the line, and was running alongside the Dutch car into the first corner with the Irish car close behind. As the cars entered the narrow right hand bend, Karthikeyan ran out of room and had to slot in behind the Netherlands and Ireland, in seventh place.
A1 Team India chose to make their mandatory pit stop early in the race, a move which paid off when several teams were caught out by a safety car period which closed up the field. When all the A1GP cars had pitted, India came out in fourth, close behind A1 Team Italy, who were under investigation for pitting after the safety car had been called.
Karthikeyan fought hard to take the last spot on the podium, putting Italy under pressure lap after lap. With little opportunity to overtake, India had to be happy with fourth, crossing the line just two tenths of a second after the Italian car.
Karthikeyan was pleased to secure seven points, but frustrated to have missed out on a podium, "We were fourth, we could have been third, we had the pace for third and it would have been great to get a podium in the last race of the season. There was some controversy as to whether Italy pitted under the safety car, which is against the regulations, but in this instance no action was taken against them, so we have to be happy with fourth. It's very difficult to pass here, apart from Druids, there really isn't enough room. When I closed up on Italy I started suffering from understeer which made it difficult to stay close. But it was a decent result today and that's good for the future."
A1 Team India seatholder Yohann Setna shared his driver's feelings, adding, "I'm pleased with the result; fourth is India's best ever finish, but I'm sad to have missed out on a podium. We believe Italy pitted after the safety car was called, but there isn't much we can do about that. We'll get a podium in five months time when the new season starts in Zandvoort. It motivates us to work hard over the summer and get things sorted, do the pre-season testing and come back next season even stronger."
A1 Team India has raced on four continents over the course of the 2006/07 season, racing in 10 countries. Three drivers have raced for the pride of their nation; Armaan Ebrahim, Parthiva Sureshwaren and Narain Karthikeyan, who made his A1GP debut at the New Zealand round in January.
The A1 Team India car will now be rigorously tested to ensure it is in the best possible condition for the third season of A1GP. The team will not be on track until the collective test on 28-29 August before the season opener on 30 September 2007 at Zandvoort Circuit Park in the Netherlands.
Ireland
In this mornings Sprint race A1 Team Ireland started from the sixth row of the grid, and gained two places at the first corner with Richard Lyons effectively negotiating his way through the traffic. Lyons produced consistently competitive times, and gained two more places when Team Switzerland and Team RSA collided resulting in an 8th place start for the feature race.
An excellent start to the feature race saw Richard take up 6th place early on, but progress was slowed when the safety car came out due to a heavy crash into the tyre wall for Team Australia. The pace was resumed with Richard attacking the front runners, just as the team were preparing for their pit stop the safety car was deployed. As many of the leading runners had already pitted prior to the safety car period, the team were left leading the race but knowing they would lose this advantage when the pit stop came. The Team Ireland mechanics did their usual fantastic job and secured equal first fastest pit stop time. This unfortunate turn of events resulted in the car re-joining the race in 16th position, with Richard finally securing 13th as he took the chequered flag. Despite disappointments, it was exciting for the teams 300 hospitality guests to see the vibrant colours of A1 Team Ireland at the front of the pack for a few laps, a sight that we hope will soon be repeated.
Richard Lyons; Qualified 12th, 2m28.899s on Aggregate; "I am very disappointed with the outcome of the race because we had so many supporters of A1 Team Ireland here with us today in Brands Hatch. The car was showing great promise from the first few laps of the race, and I felt that we could have hoped of achieving our goal for a podium finish if the pit timing had been right. Despite our difficulties today, I will look forward to racing for Team Ireland in the 07/08 season as I feel that I have unfinished business here."
Gary Anderson, Technical Director; "We are all disappointed with this result as Richard was driving well despite the car still struggling with understeer. We were unfortunate with the timing of our pit stop as the safety car came out two and a half seconds before our intended pit time. We then had to wait until it went back in again, and made the decision for Richard to push the car until the end of the pit session to try and put as much time between us and the other drivers."
Mark Gallagher, Team Principal; "The entire team did a fabulous job today and Richard drove very well to secure 8th position in the sprint race and moved straight to 6th at the start of the feature. It was the worst possible luck that the pit lane closed at precisely the time we were due to make our pit-stop and after that we had no alternative but to stay out. It was nice to see the car at the front for a few laps and that motivates us to see that again next season as we continue our battle to see Ireland win in the World Cup of Motorsport."
Lebanon
The second season of the A1GP World Cup of Motorsport was concluded today with a pair of thrilling races at the Brands Hatch circuit in Kent, England. A1 Team Lebanon raced at its 11th race weekend of the year, with driver Allam Khodair, finishing 15th in the Feature race and 19th in the Sprint race.
Starting in 19th place for the Sprint race Khodair the rolling pack of 22 nations raced up to Paddock Bend, an infamous corner on the historic race track, and with all safely through the Lebanon car was quickly on the pace and by the end of the first lap had improved one position.
With only 15 laps, there was little time for the Lebanon team to make further progress, but Khodair was able to make up a further place by the middle of the race. With just three laps to the chequered flag Khodair, struggling with his car, ran wide into the gravel and was unable to continue.
The Feature race is 70 minutes of fast and furious racing with plenty of thrills and spills to entertain the spectators and television viewers. Today lived up to expectations with great overtaking manoeuvres and wheel-to-wheel action. A1 Team Lebanon was in the thick of the action, improving from 19th starting spot to 15th place straight off the line. After 20 laps the Lebanese team were lying in 12th place and then moved up to 11th for most of the middle section of the race, eventually finishing in 15th position at the chequered flag.
Khodair summed up his races saying, "I made a mistake in the Sprint race and by running wide put myself off line which carried the car into the gravel, bedding down the car so that I was unable to get back on the track. We had a good start in the Feature race, avoiding the incidents ahead and gaining positions. I wasn't able to match the pace of the cars that were behind due to pitstop strategy, but was able to run just outside the top ten. It was a tough race, but I was pleased to reach the chequered flag for Lebanon."
Tony Snook, Team Principal, A1 Team Lebanon commented, "We compromised our starting slot for the Feature race with Allam's mistake in the Sprint, but he drove better this afternoon and was able to improve by the chequered flag, particularly as he was carrying a hand injury from the first day's accident. In the last few races we haven't realised Allam's full potential as, in getting used to the A1GP car, he's made mistakes in the practice sessions that have cost us valuable track time. I think we've seen this afternoon that we're moving closer to a top ten finish and it should be well within our reach in season three."
The second season of A1GP World Cup of Motorsport has seen over 20 nations competing in this unique motor racing championship, travelling across the globe and visiting ten countries over the winter months. The Netherlands, Czech Republic, China, Malaysia, Indonesia, New Zealand, Australia, South Africa, Mexico, and the UK were the locations for the races this season, and at each one the Lebanon team represented its nation and the Arab world.
Malaysia
A1 Team Malaysia completed the second season of A1GP World Cup of Motorsport at Brands Hatch, England, with a fifth place finish in the Sprint race and ninth position in the main Feature race for the team with driver, Alex Yoong. The team took sixth place in the final Championship standings, with three race wins, three pole positions and two fastest laps.
In the Sprint race Yoong made a good rolling start, overtaking the rival A1 Team India car as the field raced up to the first corner, the famous Paddock Bend, to take fifth place. With points all-important for the team this weekend, Yoong was able to maintain position from there until the chequered flag 15 laps later.
The Feature race start was one of the best of the season, with Yoong leapfrogging the French car to take fourth place in a superb move through Paddock Hill bend. An early safety car left the Malaysian team in this position for a few laps and on the return to green flag racing the team opted for an early tyre change stop. Unfortunately there was an issue with changing one of the rear wheels in the pits and by the time all the teams had completed their stops Yoong had dropped to 10th. A slowing Canada car enabled Yoong to pass for ninth place by mid-distance and the Malaysian car crossed the line in this position at the chequered flag.
Yoong said after the Feature race. "We were running fourth and although we didn't have the pace of the first two cars, we could have challenged Italy, so I was looking forward to the pitstop and thought if we had a good one we definitely had a chance of a podium, but we didn't, we had a difficult pitstop and dropped places. We went back to 10th place and as it's so difficult to overtake here, we really hadn't got much chance to improve on this. We managed to take one car for ninth place, but that's as far as we managed. At the end of the day, we've had a very good year, with three race wins and when we've been quick, we've been very good. We've proved we have the team that can do the business; we just need to more consistent."
Jack Cunningham, Chief Executive, A1 Team Malaysia adds, "Sometimes things just don't go your way in this sport and in the Feature race that certainly happened for us. Just one small problem with a wheel change and it's cost us a place in the Standings. Nevertheless I think we have improved our overall performance this year with teamwork and strong driving from Alex ensuring that we are one of the favourites for the title next season. There's always room for improvement and the work won't stop now; we'll start planning for the third season of racing. We would like to thank our loyal supporters in Malaysia and we look forward to challenging for more race wins next season."
Netherlands
With a sixth place in the A1GP Sprintrace and a fifth place in the Feature race at Brands Hatch A1 Team Netherlands has managed to clinch fifth place in the Championship. During the final A1GP of this season the team managed to pass Malaysia.
From an eighth grid position Jeroen Bleekemolen again had a strong start in the Sprintrace and immediately managed to gain two positions by overtaking Switzerland and India in Paddock Hill Bend. After that Bleekemolen started pushing behind Malaysia, but overtaking was not possible in the short race. India closed in at the rear and like on a string the three cars crossed the finish. The sixth place gave A1 Team Netherlands one point.
In the Feature race of this afternoon Jeroen Bleekemolen took advantage of a bad start by France and immediately moved up one position. After a long safety car situation, after a big shunt by Australia, A1 Team Netherlands managed to move further forward with a very fast pitstop. Almost straight after there was another safety car, with Italy coming in for the mandatory pitstop just as the safety car was going out on track. Italy came back on track just in front of A1 Team Netherlands. Bleekemolen immediately tried to overtake, but as he was hindered briefly by Indonesia, which wanted to come in, India managed to overtake A1 Team Netherlands, dropping the team back to fifth. Meanwhile Malaysia, the direct competition for the Championship, had dropped far behind and the fifth place in the Championship was within reach. In the end A1 Team Netherlands finished fifth and took 6 points.
Afterwards Jeroen Bleekemolen was not pleased with the race result, a podium had certainly been possible according to the A1 Team Netherlands driver; "We can be quite pleased with fifth in the Championship. That is where we do belong as far as our pace goes. But I am not completely happy, you always compete to win. Getting a seat in the car at the very last moment, I completely did not know how it was going to end up though. The latter half of the season we have been there quite a number of times, we should have certainly have finished on the podium a few times and could have won more races. Fifth is not bad at all, but you always hope for more. Fifth in the race today just was a shame, maybe we did not have the outright pace, but everything went very smooth. A very fast stop and after that there was the strange situation with Italy and the safety car. That was not fair, they should not have been driving there. Then we would have been in third, now we were fourth behind Italy. I tried to overtake Italy and was next to him but then I was cut off by Indonesia which wanted to go in. This made me lose two places, to Italy and also India. We had two possibilities to finish third and twice it did not go our way. Very bad to miss out on the podium again, we have had that quite a bit this season".
According to Jan Lammers the team was on the right strategy for a podium finish today; "We had the pace and the strategy to finish on the podium. With pace I mean whether or not others are able to overtake you, which I don't think would have been possible. That was good. There are a few matters of doubt though which might still be rectified and then we will move up one more place. These are right on the edge. I hope that they will undertake steps toward Italy, that just was not right in our opinion. When you look at the Championship this is a just and fair result with Germany, New Zealand, Great Britain and France in front of us. We have had a good and solid season".
New Zealand
New Zealand has secured second place in the A1GP World Cup of Motorsport by the barest of margins after a heart-stopping final round at Brands Hatch in England.
Kiwi driver Matt Halliday battled to 8th place in the Feature Race, earning three points for the team to finish on 93 points in the championship – 35 points behind title winner Germany, but, more importantly, one point ahead of Great Britain.
New Zealand's hopes of staving off the British challenge had looked dead and buried when a collision with Ireland in the 20-minute Sprint Race saw Black Beauty pit to repair a lost front wing, relegating the car to the back of the field after starting 9th on the grid.
GBR's Robbie Kerr won the Sprint Race, snared an additional point for setting the fastest lap of the day, and finished 2nd in the 70-minute Feature Race to earn 16 points out of a possible 17 for the weekend.
With Germany 's Feature Race win denying GBR maximum points, Halliday's 8th place, after starting from 16th on the Feature Race grid, was enough to turn a potentially disastrous weekend into a triumph.
"It's great to get second in the championship," Halliday said. "(Fellow driver) Jonny Reid's done a great job this season and it's a credit to the team, owner Colin Giltrap and our foundation sponsors that we've earned this exalted position."
Reid, who had to watch the drama from the pit garage after injuring his hand in a crash during Friday's practice session, said his heart was in his mouth constantly during the race. "Some of the driving from the other drivers with nothing to lose was erratic, but Matt drove a solid race with everything on the line and we're all just over the moon about being second in the world," Reid said. "This weekend's been challenging in all areas, but to end up in second spot is a massive achievement. We're ecstatic."
Giltrap said the team achieved what it had to and Halliday had driven well. "It's a great atmosphere here and we'll be celebrating after we get over this initial feeling of relief," Giltrap said. "Second in the world in such a competitive series is a fantastic accomplishment."
Team spokesman Bob McMurray said the final round of the series had given everyone heart palpitations. "We're not doing cartwheels because it shouldn't have been that difficult," McMurray said. "We spent the whole weekend swimming against the tide, but it turned in our favour after a slick pit stop and a timely safety car that bunched the field up and gave Matt a chance to make up some positions. Fourth overall last year, second this season. It's pretty special."
Despite the disappointment of failing to pip New Zealand, Great Britain made A1GP history by becoming the first team to win a home race in the series. Kerr also set a new circuit record on his final lap in the Sprint Race.
Pakistan
A1 Team Pakistan and Nur Ali participated in the season finale of A1GP today, at the Brands Hatch Circuit, the venue for the UK round of the season. One of the most historic and challenging circuits in the UK, Brands Hatch provided an exciting climax to the 11 round season. Nur Ali raced for the pride of Pakistan finishing 19th in the Feature race after failing to finish the morning's Sprint race.
Ali qualified 22nd for the 20 minute Sprint race and was soon moving up the running order as other nations were caught out by the difficult track. Ali passed Indonesia, Mexico and China who suffered various problems, and was running in 18th when the Karachi born driver got out of shape on lap four spinning into the gravel.
Having failed to finish the Sprint race, Ali lined up 21st on the Feature race grid. At the standing start, Ali got away well, avoiding the unfolding melee at the first corner. While many teams chose to make their mandatory pit stop early, A1 Team Pakistan followed a strategy to pit later. However, the team were caught out by a safety car on lap 11 which closed up the field, meaning the team lost time and emerged at the back of the field after pitting. After 70 minutes, Ali crossed the line in 19th place.
Commenting on the final race day of the season, Ali said, "I had a good start in the Sprint race, we were on the tail of Mexico and a few other cars, and then unfortunately I went off and hit the wall in between turn one and two. The Feature race didn't go as we wanted. I was having a few problems with oversteer, and the team thought it might have been the tyres, but when I came out of the pits with a new set of tyres it didn't feel any different. I had to move aside for the leaders in the latter stages of the race, and picked up debris on the tyres which was affecting the handling. By the end of the race I felt like I was fighting the car. I was struggling particularly in the first and last corner. It wasn't really the way we wanted to finish the season."
Bobby Issazadhe, A1 Team Pakistan team manager said, "It's been a bit of a repetition of previous races, the main problem was a lack of consistent lap times. I'm happy we got the car back in one piece. This year has been a steep learning curve for Nur, he doesn't have the experience that many of the drivers in A1GP have, and the A1 car is a very powerful and heavy car compared to one he is used to. The team have done a great job this year and worked very hard, repairing the car very quickly in some instances to ensure that Pakistan was represented on track, so I'd like to thank them for their efforts over the season."
A1 Team Pakistan Seatholder Arif Husain who attended the season finale and visited the Pakistan garage remarked, "For Pakistan, being involved in motorsport is a new adventure and I'm very glad that our team is participating in the World Cup of Motorsport and that we are able to represent Pakistan. Of course it takes a while, and it has been a bit unfortunate this year in terms of race results. I'm hopeful that the team will continue and have new opportunities to improve. We will have to see what happens next year but the good news is that we are here in A1GP and that we want to stay in A1GP next year."
A1 Team Pakistan have raced on four continents over the course of the 11 round season with the team's best result coming at the South African round in January when the Pakistan car crossed the line 10th.
South Africa
Sprint Race
South Africa's Vulindlela, driven by Adrian Zaugg, finished 13th after running in eighth place in the opening laps before being involved in an incident on lap nine with Switzerland's Sebastien Buemi. South Africa was later officially classified as finishing 15th after the stewards of the meeting penalised the team for causing the incident.
The 20-year-old had started from 10th place in the rolling start and was up to eighth by the second turn of the opening lap of the 15-lap race. Handling problems caused him to slow his pace around lap five, when he was within a second of A1 Team India (Narain Karthikeyan) and about the same time ahead of A1 Team Switzerland (Sebastien Buemi).
While India opened up the gap, Switzerland was pressuring South Africa and, as the two cars approached turn one (the fast Paddock Hill bend) at the start of lap nine, Buemi darted down the inside of Zaugg and the two cars touched halfway through the corner. They both went off on the outside of the corner and into the sand trap, with Zaugg able to steer through the obstacle and regain the track while Buemi was out with damaged suspension.
The stewards later penalised South Africa 25 seconds after they ruled that Zaugg had caused the incident, dropping him to 15th overall, behind Australia (Ian Dyk), but ahead of New Zealand (Matt Halliday).
"We're not happy with this decision and the penalty," said South Africa's team manager, Mike Carroll. "Paddock Hill bend is a high-risk corner for overtaking and it is our opinion that Switzerland had a greater responsibility to avoid an accident when they decided to try and pass us in this corner.
Zaugg said he was surprised Buemi had made his move at turn one. "I gave him as much room as I could, but there was contact as we went through the corner. I thought it was a racing incident."
Feature Race
South Africa's Feature race lasted no further than the first turn when Adrian Zaugg went off the outside of the Brands Hatch circuit at the entrance to the first turn to avoid being hit by the Australian and Czech Republic cars that had tangled behind him.
Switzerland
A1 Team Switzerland did not finish the sprint race after an accident on the eighth lap with South Africa. This in turn compromised the team's chances in the feature race.
Buemi drove a determined feature race with mixed fortunes and managed to climb back from 20th on the grid to 12th place at the finish. A1 Team Switzerland's season total stands at 50 points and 8th place in the championship.
Buemi explains: "In the morning, for the first race I was slowed down by Karthikeyan who had a poor start. This meant that behind me Holland and South Africa had the opportunity to pass. It was frustrating because I was much quicker than South Africa and there is not much opportunity to pass on this track. I managed to pass South Africa and then he closed the door causing us to touch, which ended both our races. That meant I had to start from 20th in the feature race which was a real challenge. Nevertheless I managed to overtaking six competitors at the start and eventually finish twelfth. We were on a late pit stop strategy and I was chasing Portugal when the second safety car came out and we had to change our race strategy. It was a real shame not to make it into the points after such a hard race, and my fastest lap – third quickest overall – showed we had a very strong pace today. In any case, I am looking forward to a new season and to be the driver in Zandvoort at the end of the year and the start of the third A1GP season. I would like to thank everyone in the team for their efforts and dedication around my season. Now, I am back to F3 with my team Mücke and will test this week in Magny Cours"
Max Welti, team principal, A1 Team Switzerland commented, "Buemi was a bit unlucky today. This second A1GP season is over and we scored 50 points. We have a solid foundation from where to build our third season. We're determined to fly the Swiss colours high again and start the new season on a high note."
USA
Jonathan Summerton brought A1 Team USA home in sixth place Sunday in the A1GP Feature race at Brands Hatch to close out a successful 2006-07 season.
Summerton scored five points, raising A1 Team USA's total to 42 and securing its ninth-place finish in the World Cup of Motorsports. Summerton, of Kissimmee, Fla., started ninth in the feature. As he avoided an opening-lap melee, Summerton slipped to 10th. The "We The People" car escaped unscathed as two cars collided and slid off the track.
After the safety car brought the field under control twice in the early running, the race resumed on lap six and it ws hard racing to the checkered flag. A1 Team USA elected to bring Summerton into the pits for its mandatory pit stop on lap nine. The crew made a fantastic stop, changing all four tires in just 10.9 seconds, and passed two cars in pit lane. Summerton gained two more positions on the track and ran a strong pace to finish a solid sixth.
Summerton, who celebrated his 19th birthday last week, was happy with the result: "I'm really tired," he said. "That was a hard race. There were cars going off everywhere. I want to thank my crew for giving me such a great stop. I bumped wheels with the Canadian car as we were coming out of the pits, but I ended up in front, and that'what counts."
In the Sprint race, Summerton started 11th and advanced to ninth to improve his starting position for the Feature.
"The steering was pretty heavy, but I fought hard," Summerton said. "We had a couple of good battles there. I got tapped from behind at the start, but I managed to stay out of trouble otherwise."
Summerton started the season driving in the all-rookie practices, but was promoted to race status for the final four events of the season. He scored points in two Sprints and two Features and a total of 18. Summerton finished second in the Feature at Mexico City for A1 Team's USA best result. "I've really enjoyed driving for my country in the 'We The People' car and I hope to be back next season," Summerton.said.
A1 Team USA owner Rick Weidinger and his partners entertained more than 50 guests from England and the USA in Brands Hatch this weekend. The guests were introduced to the driver and crew and the "We The People" car was able to give them a strong run at the historic racing circuit.
"We fought back from the adversity we had in qualifying to move up in the Sprint and Feature races and score points," Weidinger said. "It showed the skill and determination of our team and our driver. We've started calling Jonathan the 'Comeback Kid.' He never gives up.
"It was fun to have our own rooting section and we enjoyed giving our guests an inside look at A1 Team USA."
To check out our Brands Hatch race day gallery, click here