08/10/2007
NEWS STORY
Belmayne A1 Team Ireland today announced that Adam Carroll will spearhead the team's challenge for the remaining rounds of the 2007/08 A1GP World Cup of Motorsport. The 24 year old from Portadown impressed the team with his pace in pre-season testing and has been drafted in following the completion of his strong season in GP2. The former Honda F1 test driver will make his debut for the team in the A1GP, Brno, Czech Republic this weekend and Irish fans can watch his debut live on TV3.
Despite his youth Adam brings to the team a wealth of experience, having started racing karts at the age of nine. The five-times GP2 race winner has driven in the Formula One feeder category since 2005, impressing this year when he won two races, supporting the British and Hungarian Grand Prix, in spite of his season starting at Round 4. Carroll's arrival in the Team Ireland squad is a further indication of the team's push for success this season, and comes after Ralph Firman scored eight championship points in the opening round of the A1GP series in Zandvoort, Holland, last Sunday.
Adam Carroll: "I'm a racing driver so my aim is simply to win races and challenge for championships. In A1GP I have the additional motivation of representing Ireland and I'll be giving it 100% to make sure we get to the top step of the podium. I've been very impressed with the team that has been put together for the season and our testing pace has shown that we should be racing at the sharp end of the field."
Mark Kershaw, Belmayne A1 Team Ireland: "We're delighted to have Adam join us this season. To attract a driver of his caliber to the team shows just how serious we are about mounting a championship challenge. I'm confident that we'll be making the step up to battle with the frontrunners this season. I'd also like to take the opportunity to thank Ralph Firman for the superb job he did for us at Zandvoort – he has been a loyal member of our driver squad. Come the end of the season we may well find out how important the points he scored for us were."