11/10/2007
NEWS STORY
Khalil Beschir will return to the driving seat for A1 Team Lebanon in Brno, Czech Republic, representing his nation and the wider Arab world in the A1GP World Cup of Motorsport, the third season of this unique motor racing series.
A1GP pits nation against nation, with 22 countries competing for their country. A1 Team Lebanon has contested the Series since its inception and has achieved widespread recognition for its efforts to create global exposure for Lebanon and the Arab world on this sporting platform.
Beschir has been one of the team's drivers since the first event in Brands Hatch. On that occasion he earned notoriety for a barrel roll accident which was captured by dramatic on board television footage, beamed across the globe. Since this time he has driven the A1 Team Lebanon car in three further race weekends. His previous outing was in Malaysia nearly a year ago. Prior to the start of this season Beschir took part in three test sessions with the team and is hoping that this recent experience will help him to bring the team its first points.
"My single aim this weekend is to score the first points for Lebanon in A1GP," says Beschir. "We have so much support from our country and our fans deserve to be repaid with success. We are competing against some very good drivers and I know it's going to be very tough, but if I could win the points on determination alone, I would have them.
"I tested at the Brno circuit a few years ago and really enjoyed it, as well as putting in a strong performance. Having the car to myself for the whole weekend will be an advantage and I'll be working hard with the team to get the results we need. I've been training very hard to make sure I'm at peak fitness, I'm as prepared as I can be prior to the race weekend, now we have to get on track and prove that we have the potential to score points."
The opening round of the new season saw a new face behind the wheel of the Lebanon entry with young Australian-Lebanese driver Chris Alajajian being given a chance to pilot the A1 car. A 14th place finish in the Sprint race was a strong start for the team, but they were unable to improve on this in the Feature race after a mechanical failure resulted in retirement before the finish.
Luke Craft, Team Principal, A1 Team Lebanon, is hoping that the team can put on a good performance in Brno. He says, "There's been a raft of changes to the team during the off-season, with new team personnel and a change of driver line-up. Chris coped well with the pressures of opening the season for us, and now it's Khalil's turn to represent his country. We know just how highly competitive this championship is and the closeness of the racing, so it's difficult to predict our expectations. We go into this weekend with a positive spirit and determination to do the best job we can for Lebanon."