03/02/2008
NEWS STORY
Brazil
As A1 Team Brasil is away from home during the country's carnival celebrations, the team brought the carnival to A1GP for round six of the A1GP World Cup of Motorsport at Eastern Creek in Australia. A traditional Brazilian band and dancers were on hand to cheer for the team on the grid for the feature race, as was 2002 FIFA World Cup winning Brazilian midfielder Juninho, who is currently playing for Sydney FC. There were definitely celebrations for the team after Sergio Jimenez brought the Brasil car home fourth in the feature race, the team's second-best result of the season. He scored points in both races and, as a result, Team Brasil move up to ninth in the championship.
In this morning's action-packed 14-lap sprint race, Sergio began from 11th on the grid. He lost positions to Ireland and the Czech Republic following the rolling start, but there was all to play for when heavy rainfall began six laps into the race. On lap eight Canada's Robbie Wickens passed Sergio, putting Team Brasil down to 14th, but Sergio was soon back up to 11th as several cars made the gamble to switch to wet tyres. On lap ten Sergio moved up to tenth after Team Ireland spun, and following another spin from Team Switzerland, Brasil was sitting in ninth. On the final lap of the race Sergio passed the Netherlands and crossed the line on slick tyres in the rain in eighth position, collecting three championship points.
Heavy rainfall began just moments before the start of the feature race, and carried on throughout the entire 45 laps, causing huge spray and limited visibility. Despite the car being on an intermediate rather than full wet set-up, Sergio made a fantastic start from ninth and, by the second corner, had moved up to fourth place behind Switzerland, GBR and South Africa. The team made their compulsory pitstops on laps 9 and 28, and remained in a strong fourth place after the final pitstop round. After a steady final stint, Sergio crossed the line in fourth, collecting eight points and recording the team's second best result of the season.
A1 Team Brasil has now moved up to ninth in the championship with 38 points. The A1GP action will continue in a fortnight's time when round seven of the championship takes place at the Durban street track in South Africa.
Sergio Jimenez: "It was a very hard feature race but we're really happy with the result. It rained a lot a couple of hours before the start but then it stopped and started to warm up. We started with wet tyres as the track was still damp, but we decided to switch to an intermediate rather than wet set-up. Then it started to rain heavily so to get fourth on a dry set-up is not bad at all. I made a very good start, moving from ninth right to fighting at the front on the first corner. The pace was good and it was a good result for us. Again, we need to work on qualifying because I'm pretty sure we could be on the podium at all races. We scored points in both races again and we need to be consistently scoring points to head for the top six or seven in championship."
Canada
A1 Team Canada celebrated its strongest showing of the 2007-08 A1GP World Cup of Motorsport season today in Round 6 with Toronto's Robert Wickens scoring a sublime third place Sprint podium having started the race down in 15th. A second points scoring finish followed with sixth place in the Feature race as a downpour down-under greeted the 22-strong field of nations at Australia's Eastern Creek International Raceway.
Taking just seven race starts to become the first Canadian driver to score three A1GP podiums, 18-year-old Wickens conquered tricky conditions to give the team a second consecutive top-three finish following his runner-up podium last time out in New Zealand. Sixth in the afternoon's Feature race also gifted Canada its first double points score at an A1GP round in over a year, the team meeting its objectives heading into the weekend scoring in both races and breaking into the top-ten of the A1GP Nations Standings – Canada now placed tenth overall, on 37 points, with four rounds remaining.
Wickens was an early candidate for ‘Driver of the Day' in the morning's 14-lap Sprint race. A mid-race downpour unleashed the Canadian entry with Robert emerging from a static dry pace, starting 15th, to one of the fastest entries in the wet. While his rivals struggled, the 2006 Formula BMW USA Champion streaked around the 3.39km Sydney circuit – the highlight a stunning sweep past Germany's Michael Ammermüller for fourth. Climbing to third at the checkered, Robert joined race-winner Loic Duval from France and New Zealand's Jonny Reid in second on the podium.
Ironically the Sprint's top-three drivers would all start the afternoon's 70-minute Feature race from either the rear of the grid or the pit-lane – Wickens' lining up 21st courtesy of a qualifying penalty awarded the day before. As if to prove the morning's mastering of the wet was no fluke, the teenage rookie subsequently blitzed the opening lap crossing the start-finish line for his second tour in an incredible tenth place, half the field passed in the process!
A solid race followed with Robert keeping the Canadian car out of trouble and a constant presence in the top-ten. At ease despite the treacherous track conditions, Wickens steered his way to sixth at the checkered with the race called on time just three laps shy of the 45 scheduled laps. South Africa's Adrian Zaugg celebrated the win followed by Switzerland's Neel Jani and Great Britain's Robbie Kerr.
"I'm ecstatic with today's performances as it shows we're getting better and better every weekend," enthused Wickens. "I was confident of our performance in the wet and I really can't thank the team enough. They gave me two great pit stops in the Feature race and together we scored two solid points finishes today which is outstanding, it was simply a great team effort!"
Mark Gallagher, whose Status Grand Prix operation runs A1 Team Canada stated; "Robert represents the very best of young talent coming into A1GP and he's a real credit to Canada to be in this series. He has established himself as a contender in every race. To get a podium in the Sprint race from where he started from was exceptional. Sixth in the Feature again underlined the fact that he's a consummate racer and the team can't praise him enough for the contribution he's making!"
Czech Republic
Tomas Enge and the Czech team had troubled race day at Eastern Creek where rain played major part and negate a solid base from the qualifying. Enge finished 18th in the Sprint and 15th in the Feature race. Australian weather prepared an unpleasant change for Sunday. The sprint race started on a dry track but dark clouds promised rain. Enge was 14th on the grid and was not that far from the top 10 after the start. However, light rain started on lap 7, initially only at few corners including the very quick first one.
The Czech car was very difficult to drive and when rain became heavier Enge decided to pit for wet tyres. The gamble did not paid off but there was nothing to lose at that time.
The feature race was the one where the team felt a good chance after 9th time in the qualifying. The position was further improved after Canada was sent back for not respecting blue flags and France and New Zealand started from the back due to technical problems, so Enge was effectively 6th on the grid.
There was a lot of water on the track although rain had eased off before the start but cars produced big spray behind anyway. Enge parked his car a bit to the left side of the grid in a hope to improve the vision in first metres. He lost few places immediately and this trend unfortunately continued in next laps while he was fighting poor traction. The stewards rubbed more salt into the wounds when ordered a drive through penalty for incorrect position on the grid.
The team used the first opportunity to do the first mandatory stop and changed tyres and the new set of wets worked better and Enge's times were immediately few seconds quicker. He was moving up from the back but the gap was too big and the last set of wets was not working that well. The Czechs are 16th in the championship standings.
Tomas Enge: "I am unhappy with both races. We had known about rain in the sprint and it came approximately in the middle of the race. Initially, it rained only in few corners but our car was difficult to drive especially at the quick corners. Rain got heavier but it was still close call between slicks and rain tyres but with big oversteering at the quick corners I decided to change tyres like did team GB and Indonesia. We needed few more laps to capitalise. We had a promising position on the feature grid but the race was a nightmare. I put the car a little bit out of the line to see something outside the spray. We got the penalty although it did not give us any advantage. It was not only problem though. The rear tyres of the first set were not working at all and I was loosing time out of the corners all the time because there was no traction. The second set was much better and suddenly my lap times were comparable with the rest. The last set was not that good again but we were too far back anyway... It is strange that the sets were so different although the pressure was the same. There was time difference four seconds per lap between the first and second set."
Antonin Charouz, Seat holder: "It is the same situation like after Taupo, the best thing is to forget out this weekend as soon as possible."
France
A1 Team France won the Sprint Race on the Eastern Creek circuit in Australia, which hosted the sixth round of the A1 GP Championship this weekend. Loïc Duval dominated his rivals despite a violent shower mid-race, and took the flag with 9 seconds in hand over the second-placed driver.
Unfortunately, a mechanical problem dashed the team's hopes in the Feature Race. Loïc was hit with a clutch failure just before the formation lap and had to start from the rear of the field. He made a thrilling comeback clawing his way up from twenty-second to eighth place in pouring rain, but his progress was stopped dead with around 10 laps to go by an electrical glitch due to the wet weather.
A1 Team France leaves Australia as joint leaders with New Zeeland in terms of points, but is still, in fact, in second place, as the Kiwis have won 2 more races.
The next A1GP Championship event will take place in Durban, South Africa, between 22nd and 24th February.
Olivier Panis, sporting director: "We almost accomplished our mission for the weekend as we're now dead-heating in terms of points with New Zealand at the top of the classification. Our retirement in the Feature Race - our first since the start of the season - is very frustrating, though. We'd be the new leaders had we crossed the finishing line. But that's racing, and we've got nothing to be ashamed of. The team did a great job over the weekend reacting in the right fashion to the changing conditions. Bravo to everybody!"
Loïc Duval: "I really wanted to leave Sydney with at least one victory. And I did! It's a good morale booster for the whole team. We've felt this result was coming for several races now, but we never managed to nail it until today. My retirement in the Feature event is a bit disappointing, but we did our very best and there's nothing to be ashamed of. This weekend, we were on the pace yet again and we didn't make any mistakes. We're on level pegging with our direct rival. Now, we've got four meetings left to get in front – and stay there!"
Germany
As the title defender, Willi Weber's A1 Team Germany remains one of the five most promising candidates in the fight for the title in the 2007/2008 A1GP World Cup of Motorsport even after the difficult sixth race weekend in Australia. At the Eastern Creek circuit near Sydney driver Michael Ammermüller improved from two mid-field grid positions in the sprint race by three, and in the main race by five positions, thus collecting twelve valuable points.
In the sprint race the squad managed a good tactical and driving performance in extremely difficult conditions. Having started from seventh place, 21-year-old Michael Ammermüller from Pocking was in no way disconcerted by the rain that set in on the eighth of 14 race laps. Whereas several rivals went off the track and some decided to change to rain tyres, Ammermüller at the wheel of the 550-hp A1GP racing car did not bow to the pressure, stuck to slicks and finished in fourth place.
In the main race the team showed its strongest performance in the rain straight from the beginning: after starting from twelfth place, Ammermüller improved as early as on the first lap to seventh position. During the mandatory pit stop on lap ten the team lost a few seconds when a power wrench was dropped and an air hose came off. A jammed wheelnut during the second stop later cost the squad a few more seconds. In the end A1 Team Germany clinched seventh place, thus retaining its chances in the championship.
Behind the three front runners in the standings, who are separated by only three points, the nation teams from South Africa and Germany on places four and five, as the vanguard chasing the top, continue to have good title chances with four race weekends to go and a potential of scoring up to 32 points per event.
Michael Ammermüller: "That was definitely not our best weekend. I'm happy that we still managed to collect quite a few points and were able to keep our position on the heels of the front runners. In the sprint race when the rain set in the team asked me by radio whether I wanted to continue running on slicks. I did, and it paid off although the conditions were pretty difficult. In the main race, which began very well for us with a nice start, we consistently used wets. Unfortunately, the team's two stops were not as efficient as usual. Our biggest mistake, no doubt, was choosing used wets instead of new tyres for the second tyre change. They were simply too slow and probably cost us some places as well. Up to fourth gear, I was struggling with spinning wheels. We'll take this as a lesson for the future."
Willi Weber: "After two victorious weekends our expectations were high. All the more unfortunate is the fact that in Australia we forfeited many opportunities for good results as early as in qualifying. With his performances in the rain, Michael contained the damage. In terms of points and places, this was still our third-best of the six race weekends this season. Nevertheless, we could have achieved a lot more, as the favourites running in front of us in the standings had to settle for modest results in at least one race in Australia. So we could have clearly reduced our gap to the top this weekend, but didn't manage to do so. At least there are still four events to go in which we'll have to improve again. The championship is full of suspense, its outcome remains completely open."
Great Britain
Robbie Kerr drives to third in the feature race for A1 Team GBR at Eastern Creek, Australia.
A1 Team GBR celebrated this afternoon after Robbie Kerr finished the feature race in third position at Eastern Creek in Australia, for round six of the 2007/08 A1GP World Cup of Motorsport. The result was a welcome return to the podium, especially following a strategy gamble from the morning sprint race which disadvantaged the team and meant Robbie only finished in 16th position.
Robbie began this morning's 14-lap sprint race from eighth on the grid and made a fantastic start, moving up to fifth after turn two by passing Germany, USA and China. He was then one second behind fourth-placed Team New Zealand, and pushed hard over the opening laps. On lap seven, by which time heavy rainfall had begun, Robbie was up to fourth after South Africa spun off track. On lap eight, A1 Team GBR made the decision to bring Robbie in to change from slick to wet tyres, and he emerged from the pits in 19th position. Unfortunately the gamble did not pay off, as just three other teams made the same choice, and the remaining drivers were able to hang on in the wet conditions on slicks. With the Czech team pitting on lap 11, Robbie gained one position and, after overtaking Mexico and Lebanon on the final lap, he crossed the line in 16th position.
Fortunes changed dramatically for the afternoon's feature race, of which the entire 45 laps were held in heavy rain, causing spray and limited visibility for the 22 drivers out on track. With pole-sitters New Zealand beginning the race from the pitlane, Robbie began from second position behind Switzerland. He briefly fell to third after the lights behind South Africa, but soon regained his position. Following his first pitstop on lap nine, he went off in hot pursuit of Switzerland. On lap 14 he ran slightly wide at turn nine, but remained on track, albeit losing some time to Switzerland. After the first round of pitstops, South Africa came out on top, followed by Switzerland with GBR in third. Robbie made his second stop on lap 28 and had a steady race from then on, passing the chequered flag in third and collecting ten points. A1 Team GBR has now moved up to sixth in the championship with 58 points.
Two further Team GBR podiums came today courtesy of rookie driver James Winslow, who has also been competing in this weekend's Australian F3 Championship rounds, which have supported A1GP. He finished in a strong second position in this morning's race, before taking third in this afternoon's event.
Robbie Kerr:
Sprint Race: "We had a great start immediately going from 8th to 5th position. We got right behind New Zealand but lost a bit of air and front grip, so couldn't get too close. But I continued to put pressure on New Zealand and there was no pressure from China behind, so we were fairly happy with where we were. When the rain came, the car felt okay and we were keeping pace with the cars in front, but a pitstop call was made which ultimately turned out to be the wrong decision as the rain wasn't heavy enough around the track to make the wets work, then by the end of the race when the track was at its wettest, our wets had completely gone away. It's a real disappointment since we had a strong chance of a podium finish."
Feature Race: "It's great to be back on the podium for GBR as it's been a long time since we were last up there in Brno last October. The feature race start was a bit mixed - it definitely looked like we could challenge for P1, but unfortunately the pace dropped off a little and we couldn't get the grip out of the car on the corner so lost time falling back to third which, after two good pitstops, we held for the rest of the race. But it's a good result and definitely one we needed. Now we just need to make sure we carry on with the momentum and stay on the podium to give us a chance in the Championship".
Katie Clements, Team Principal: "To celebrate the podium following this morning's disappointment is really fantastic. Robbie did an extremely good job in very difficult track conditions and I am pleased that after the misfortune in New Zealand a fortnight ago, we are able to leave Australia with some good points and having moved up to sixth in the championship."
Ireland
Adam Carroll finished 15th and 13th in two wet races to end a tough weekend for Belmayne A1 Team Ireland in round six of the A1GP World Cup of Motorsport in Australia.
Adam made a good start from 12th in the Sprint race, passing Brazil around the outside of turn one followed by Australia on the exit of turn two; typical of Adam's racing spirit. The rain then began to fall but as there appeared to be plenty of grip the team kept him out on slicks. This turned out to be the right call for all the front runners and Adam got himself up into fifth. On lap 11 Canada's Robert Wickens caught onto the back of him and as the pair tussled for position Adam was forced to take a tighter line through turn three, losing grip and spinning in the wet conditions. He recovered to finish 15th by the chequered flag.
After a downpour of rain just before the start of the Feature race, the weather looked like it may dry out so the team gambled on slick tyres and a dry set up. Unfortunately, as the cars headed round for the parade lap the rain continued to fall and Adam was forced to pit before the start for wet tyres. He emerged in 21st and began making his way through the pack. Adam struggled for grip but after two good pit stops and some changes before the final stint he put in some quick laps to finish 13th.
The team are now eighth in the championship after their first non points scoring weekend of the season but are looking forward to turning their fortunes around next time out in Durban, South Africa.
Adam Carroll: "I threw away some easy points in the Sprint. I was fighting hard for a position so was too tight on the inside of the corner and there was no grip there. When I put the power down there was a bit of grip but then it was gone and it just caught me out. In the Feature we made the wrong choice of tyres on the grid. We thought it would dry out so started the race on slicks but as the rain fell on the parade lap we decided the best thing to do was to come immediately and stick wets back on, which was the right thing to do. We didn't have a wet set up so we didn't have any grip though. We thought we were getting somewhere with the pace in Taupo but we've come here and the two circuits are completely different so everything we did there just didn't work here. It's another weekend of experience for us all and even bad experience is good and we'll move forward from here."
Dan Walmsley, Race Engineer: "In the Sprint race we were trying to bounce back from a disappointing qualifying session. We made a few significant changes overnight to try and give Adam the performance he needed and ultimately we took a big step towards that. We made good progress up to 5th and were looking competitive until Adam was caught out on a particularly wet bit of the track which dropped us towards the back. We were disappointed but encouraged by the performance we had shown.
"In the Feature race we felt we had a good set up for what we believed would be wet conditions. There was a big downpour before the start so we went to the grid on wet tyres but the circuit was drying very quickly and starting from 15th we took a gamble and started on slicks. Unfortunately it then started raining again, against the forecasts we had seen, so we were forced to pit at the end of the parade lap onto wets. We ultimately didn't lose too much time from that but we just struggled with the pace as the car was set up for the dry so it wasn't until the final stint where we made some changes that we could give Adam some pace to compete. It was encouraging that even with a dry set up we managed to get Adam there but unfortunately we'd lost so much time in the first two stints it just wasn't to be. Every season you have one weekend that is sent to try you and this has been it, now we've got it out the way we'll be a stronger team for Durban."
Niall Quinn: "It was my first weekend as rookie driver and I really enjoyed driving the car. The team was really good to work with and they did a great job this weekend. Even though it was a tough weekend for the team I was still really glad to be part of it and I think it will definitely get better for the rest of the season; I just hope I'm around to see it!"
Mark Gallagher, Team Principal: "The Irish team has been a model of consistency scoring points every weekend this season until this one. I think inevitably we had to have one that didn't work out for us and this has been it. The team have worked just as hard as ever and Adam has worked just as hard but it just didn't come together after the chassis problem. This is one to park up as being a tough weekend and we now look forward to getting back to our consistent points scoring success for the balance of the season and continue to look for that elusive victory."
Lebanon
A pair of 19th place finishes were the results of a challenging weekend for A1 Team Lebanon in Sydney, Australia. The sixth round of the A1GP World Cup of Motorsport took place at the Eastern Creek circuit with Australian-Lebanese driver, Chris Alajajian, racing for the nation at this event, his home track.
Friday practice day had shown early promise of a strong weekend with Alajajian posting fifth fastest time, but a qualifying session crash dashed all hopes of high grid positions for the races today. The A1 Team Lebanon crew worked long in to the night and the early hours of the morning to repair the damaged A1GP car that represents the nation in the Series. This morning the car lined up on the grid for the Sprint race and ready for the 14 lap dash to the chequered flag with Alajajian behind the wheel. A sprinkling of light rain just 15 minutes before the start added to the excitement and gave the team another element to consider in their race strategy.
The Lebanon car in 22nd place, started on dry tyres, alongside all the other A1GP cars. Alajajian used his track knowledge to good advantage in the opening lap, improving four positions to lie 18th. He maintained this until lap 7 when he moved up to 17th. The rain then appeared and as the track became wet, Lebanon moved up to 13th as others made mistakes and Alajajian overtook for position. He passed the Italian car for 12th place with three laps to go, but the slippery, greasy conditions then took their toll. Alajajian slid wide and lost a few places on the penultimate lap, spinning off track, damaging the front wing, and dropping Lebanon to 19th place by the chequered flag.
Lining up at the back for the Feature race, with rain falling steadily, it was a challenge right from the start for the young Australian-Lebanese driver. He showed his determination on the first lap, moving up five places to lie 17th. A slide off track after a few laps dropped the team to 20th, with the team pitting for their first set of new tyres on lap 11. However in the bad weather conditions, a couple of off course excursions dropped Lebanon back to 22nd. After the second round of stops the team had improved to 20th, and by the chequered flag Alajajian had moved up to 19th.
Alajajian said, "First of all I must thank the Lebanon crew for working through the night to get my car ready for today. I know they only had about three hours of sleep, yet they rebuilt the car and it ran smoothly without a hitch. I am so grateful for their dedication and commitment. I'm disappointed that I couldn't have rewarded them with better results, but it was very tough out there; I know I've learned from the experience, but I'd like to put this weekend behind me and look forwards now, with the target of better results in the future."
Luke Craft, Team Principal, A1 Team Lebanon, summed up the weekend saying, "The weekend didn't go to plan for us. Although we had a good first day, the rest of the weekend was a struggle for Chris. The treacherous weather conditions today added to the pressures on him, but he persevered to reach the end and I think he's learned from his experience here."
A1 Team Lebanon enjoyed strong support from the local Lebanese fans. A huge flag waved trackside and the supporters joined the team in the paddock after the race to meet the drivers and the team members. On the grid before the Feature race A1 Team Lebanon hosted Joe Khattar from the Australian Lebanese Chamber of Commerce, Dr Jamal Rifi, President, Lakemba Sports Club and Miss Lebanon Australia 2007, Jessica Kahawaty.
Malaysia
A1 Team Malaysia leaves the A1GP World Cup of Motorsport event in Sydney, Australia, today with mixed feelings. Although neither of the races produced a top ten finish for Fairuz Fauzy and the Malaysian team, a top ten start for the Feature race was welcomed by the team, and an improvement in pace in this long race was evidence of Fauzy building on his experience and return to A1GP racing.
The Sprint race grid formed in the morning with Fauzy lining up in 16th place. The weather was the focus for the team with a sprinkling of rain ahead of the race and black clouds looming close to the Eastern Creek circuit. In the event the rain stayed off for the start and all the teams ran with dry, slick, tyres. The racing was fast and furious as soon as the green flag flew for the rolling start and although Fauzy wasn't able to move forwards, he held position to emerge in 16th at the end of the first lap. The Sprint race was heading for a processional field of cars as the few overtaking places at this circuit limited the drivers' chances to improve. However the rain started which changed the race dramatically.
Malaysia was one of only four teams to change to wet tyres. With a grid slow towards the back and only 14 laps in which to make it into the top ten, it was a calculated risk, but ultimately a gamble that unfortunately didn't pay off. The pitstop cost the team around 25 seconds and dropped Fauzy down to 21st position. Returning to the track the Malaysian car was unable to make enough inroads into the pace of the cars which stayed with dry tyres and by the chequered flag the team had only regained one position to finish in 20th place.
A1 Team Malaysia lined up in tenth place fro the Feature race, following a penalty for Canada after qualifying. As the grid formed the New Zealand car had a problem which relegated him to the back of the grid, and the French car stalled on the formation lap, so that car also started from the back of the pack. This effectively put Fauzy in eighth place as the lights went out and the race was underway. The team had to make a late decision on the car setup, choosing a dry setup in anticipation of the track drying as the race progressed. In the run down to the first corner Malaysia lost out, dropping back to 12th, and then struggling in the conditions, falling down the order to 16th until the first round of pitstops. After these, Fauzy was lying in 19th, and after the second round of stops he improved to 18th.
Fauzy said of his return to A1GP racing, "It has taken me a while to get to grips with the A1GP car, but after these two races I feel much more comfortable in it. It wasn't an easy weekend, particularly with the changing weather. Opting for wet tyres this morning was a gamble we had to take but it was a shame that we lost out with that decision. The last time I drove in the wet in this car was in Estoril over two year ago, so I didn't have much experience that I could use today. Consequently I struggled in the wet this afternoon. The first set of wet tyres improved as the race progressed and I was able to start getting on the pack, but the second set just didn't have the same pace in them. Overall I think we made some progress this weekend, and that's encouraging."
Jack Cunningham, Chief Executive, A1 Team Malaysia, said of the weekend, "We rolled the dice in the Sprint race, but as it turned out, we didn't make the right decision on that occasion and we compromised our opportunity to move into a points finish position. In the Feature race the treacherous conditions were our biggest challenge, however, on his return to racing with A1 Team Malaysia Fairuz has settled in quickly with the team and has coped well in difficult and treacherous circumstances today."
Netherlands
Both races at Eastern Creek were, for a part thanks to the weather gods, packed with action, drama, mistakes, penalties and surprising results. After a difficult weekend A1 Team Netherlands did manage to leave Australia with five points, after finishing ninth in the Sprint race and eighth in the Feature race. These were also the first wet races of the A1GP season so far.
In the Sprint race A1 Team Netherlands starts from tenth. Already before the start there is already the threat of rain and midway through the race it actually starts raining. At that moment Jeroen Bleekemolen has already moved up one place. When a number of countries is caught out by the sudden slippery conditions and spin off, A1 Team Netherlands progresses to fifth. But Jeroen is unable to fend off a frantic Canada and when he also has to avoid Germany and goes wide through the grass after an overtaking attempt he is forced to concede a number of places again. France takes the win from pole.
The Feature race starts with adversity for both the Sprint race winner France and pole sitter New Zealand. The latter one stalls while driving to the grid and is forced to start from the pitlane. As the cars depart for the formation lap France stalls on the grid and has to start from the back of the grid. India and Ireland both come in to the pits to switch to wets, despite the rain they took the gamble of starting on slicks. This clears the path for Switzerland, France and South Africa and they are the ones that grab the first three positions. From eleventh on the grid A1 Team Netherlands moves to ninth. Bleekemolen cannot match the pace of the front runners, but is firmly running inside the top 10. After drive through penalties for China, Pakistan and the Czech Republic A1 Team Netherlands moves up one more spot. On lap 9 A1 Team Netherlands makes its first mandatory pitstop. This goes well and Bleekemolen maintains his position. Meanwhile he has settled himself into the race and is rapidly closing in on the countries directly in front of him. The retirement of USA after a collision with France, which receives a drive through for this, means another position gained for A1 Team Netherlands. For France the penalty is the start of their downfall. A spin followed by mechanical failure cause the retirement of the Championship leaders. In the meantime Jeroen, after a good second pitstop on lap 26, is hunting down Germany and is wheeling him in rapidly, even getting as close as 1 tenth of a second behind. Despite pushing hard Bleekemolen does not succeed in overtaking Ammermüller, there is too little time. After 69 minutes and 1 lap South Africa takes victory, in front of Switzerland and Great Britain.
Jeroen Bleekemolen: "We did not have the pace, it is that simple. In the Sprint race I was able to compete quite ok on a dry track, after a good start I was right behind America. When it started raining our pace still was reasonable. We gained a few places and I was right behind Germany. At the end of the straight I went next to him going into turn 1, he cut me off completely and I had to avoid him by going through the grass. That did cost me some positions. In the Feature race the car did not feel right at all in the first stint. We did not have the pace and despite a good start and some places gained I was passed left and right. There was a strange vibration in the car, it seemed to come from the steering rack. We were close to retiring, it was that bad. But after the pitstops it got better and better and I was able to close the gap quite fast. At the end of the race I was again in the same position with Germany. I put the car next to him on the same spot and again he starts moving left until there is no more room left. If I had put my foot down and stayed there we would have both gone into the wall at 260 km/h. I had to lift and let him win this one. We did report this at the stewards and they are looking into this right now. But even if something happens it does not make a huge difference for us. Seventh or eighth is certainly not good enough for us."
Jan Lammers: "This was definitely one of our most difficult races so far, around lap 18 we were looking reasonable being able to match a top 6 race-lap times, other than that this was below average and we should be pleased to still get away with 8th place. It is obvious that we have a lot of important work to do. The A1GP races are still fantastic to watch but our share in it is slipping away and we have to do something about that. This is only possible when we understand what the problem is and this can be a combination of various small factors. These are the facts that we shall have to live with for now, other teams have moved up on us and run at a higher pace, we have slipped away from a fairly constant top-6 team to a mediocre top 10. One thing our fans can be assured of and that is that we will criticize ourselves more than they will ever be able to do. We have all the people and ingredients in place to do well and there is no excuse for these poor results. We still have 8 race and 128 points to catch up"
France is now leading the Championship together with New Zealand, with 96 points. After six out of ten races A1 Team Netherlands is in seventh with 55 points. On February 24 the city of Durban again plays host for the only street race on the A1GP Calendar.
New Zealand
A second place in the opening Sprint Race provided the silver lining to a topsy turvy Round 6 for Black Beauty as New Zealand now shares the championship lead with France in the A1GP World Cup of Motorsport.
Jonny Reid's superb drive for 2nd from 4th on the grid in a Sprint Race struck by Sydney rain at Eastern Creek was followed by an ill-timed stall on the way to pole on the Feature Race grid. The mistake when doing a practice start while cruising to the grid formation forced Reid to start from pitlane after he couldn't coax the marshals into push-starting him. "It was my error," Reid said. "But it was frustrating to be hauled onto the back of a truck at the brow of a hill when I hadn't had the opportunity to re-start it. A bit more of a push and we would've been right."
The 24-year-old engineered a 9th place finish from the back of the 22-nation grid to claw back the two point lead France had established after winning the Sprint Race. His cause was helped by clutch problems which forced France out of the race.
Reid said his mood was as changeable as the Sydney weather: "On a high after qualifying on pole. Another high after the Sprint Race podium. Then this massive low as the field streaks off 200 metres in front of you. "All in all I'm very, very pleased to have gained a couple of points in such variable conditions after finding myself struggling in the deep end."
New Zealand and France are now first equal on 96 points with the Swiss just three points back after finishing second to South Africa in the Feature Race.
"We're a little bit down," said A1 Team.NZL Manager John Sears. "But we're pleased and relieved that a weekend that could've ended badly for us as a team hasn't had any major repercussions. Essentially it's an opportunity lost to extend the championship lead, but we'll still be heading to Durban in a pace-setting position."
Earlier, France turned a two-point deficit into a two-point championship lead as Loic Duval literally stormed to a win in the 14-lap Sprint Race as Reid sensationally fish-tailed his way to second in the rain struck race. On slick tyres not suited to the sudden downpour and wet track, Reid guided Black Beauty masterfully snatched 2nd from Switzerland's Neel Jani on lap nine. The Swiss driver spun off later in the race to lose valuable championship points.
Reid said he had to fight for the podium: "It was a good battle with Neel and once I got in front I gradually pulled away and started concentrating on Loic, but he was doing a good job in tricky conditions and I didn't want to take any risks and compromise the championship."
South Africa
A1 Team South Africa scored its second win of the season when 21-year-old Adrian Zaugg, in the race of his young career, scored a faultless victory in atrocious conditions in round six of the A1GP World Cup of Motorsport.
The South African made an excellent start from sixth on the standing start grid and was up to third in turn two behind Switzerland's Neel Jani and Robbie Kerr of A1 Team Great Britain. As the drivers struggled to find grip in the sodden conditions - rain fell throughout the race and all 22 runners started on wet weather tyres - Zaugg challenged Kerr for second place and took over the lead on lap eight when both Jani and Kerr made the first of the two mandatory pit stops.
A series of quickest laps of the race helped Zaugg and the distinctively liveried Vulindlela build up a healthy gap over the rest of the field and, after a slick pit stop by A1 Team South Africa, he rejoined the race on lap 29 with a 6,5-second lead over Jani. At half distance, on lap 21, he was 11 sec clear of the rest of the field. A second excellent pit stop saw him rejoin the race 13 sec ahead of Jani .
In a smooth and mature performance under the most trying of conditions when he never looked in any trouble, Zaugg drove a faultless race to take the chequered flag after 42 laps and 70-minutes of demanding driving a comfortable 19,5 sec ahead of Jani, with Great Britain's Kerr over 25 seconds in arrears in third place. Fifteen points for the team's first Feature race win and a bonus point for fastest lap of the race sees South Africa move up to 4th in the championship behind France and New Zealand (joint leaders) and Switzerland.
The timing could not have been better, with the seventh round of the A1GP World cup of Motorsport to be run in Durban, South Africa in three weeks time.
Earlier in the day, he finished seventh in the Sprint race behind race winner Luc Duval of France after starting from third on the grid. He took second place from Switzerland's Jani in turn one on lap four of the 14-lap race as rain started to fall, but then slipped off the circuit on his slick tyres and dropped to 12th. He recovered well to take seventh place at the flag.
"Brilliant! Fantastic! What a drive!" race engineer Humphrey Corbett told Zaugg over the radio as he enjoyed his slow down lap. It perfectly summed up the talented South African's performance.
"It was one of my best races," admitted an elated Zaugg in the post-race interview with co-commentator John Watson, who had earlier described the South African's performance as "A drive of absolute class under the most difficult of conditions".
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