16/03/2008
NEWS STORY
Canada
An overheating engine ultimately robbed A1 Team Canada's Robert Wickens the opportunity to convert a well-earned pole position into victory in the Feature race of Round 8 of the 2007-08 A1GP World Cup of Motorsport in Mexico City on Sunday. The 19-year-old Toronto-native battled hard despite this to capture fifth in the Feature having earlier scored a seventh place finish in the morning's Sprint event at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez.
Wickens' performances at the 4.42km track netted Canada its first double-score since Round 6 in Australia in February and with 10 points accumulated in Mexico City, Robert now becomes Canada's all-time A1GP points scorer with 62 markers earned in just 12 race starts this season. With two rounds remaining, in China and Great Britain respectively, A1 Team Canada sits ninth overall in the A1GP Nations Standings.
A sixth place qualifying slot for Sunday morning's 14-lap Sprint event kept Robert at the sharp-end of the action in what was ultimately an incident-packed race meeting. An early red-flagging of the race brought with it much frustration for the Canadian team as Robert's efforts picking up two spots were wiped in an instant. The second rolling-start saw a fierce fight to the first turn with Wickens again battling the leaders. His luck ran out early however as he found himself pushed wide on the exit of the Turn 1. Despite this Robert ensured another solid points finish with seventh at the checkered. New Zealand's Jonny Reid triumphed over Great Britain's Oliver Jarvis and Switzerland's Neel Jani.
The Canadian enjoyed a clear view of the track from pole through to lap seven of the Feature when the early indicators of an overheating engine presented themselves. Passed by Jani, Wickens ran second to his first scheduled pit-stop two laps later. As the field cycled through, Ireland, the sister car to Canada – with both teams operated by Status Grand Prix, split the Swiss and Canadian entries.
Faced with driving on the defensive for the remainder of the 47-lap race thanks to engine concerns, Robert again delivered a supreme performance. A constant force in the top-five, Wickens survived a spearing from behind by Germany on lap 34 and emerged from the second round of stops sixth. A late-race penalty for Switzerland promoted Canada back up to fifth – a position held through to the flag. Adam Carroll delivered A1 Team Ireland's maiden A1GP victory, the Irishman taking the Feature win ahead of Great Britain's Oliver Jarvis and the USA's Jonathan Summerton.
"I think we salvaged the best that we could given the circumstances today," stated Wickens. "Obviously when you have a Feature pole you hope to lead throughout but we had a lot of overheating issues. My oil temperatures were crazy and I'd always lose ground on the main straight making me a bit of a sitting duck! I want to do the best I can every weekend so it's an honour to have now scored more points than any other Canadian in A1GP but I'm a little disappointed that things just didn't really go our way today, especially in the Feature."
Mark Gallagher, Managing Director of Status Grand Prix commented; "We knew Robbie was a bit behind the eight-ball in the Feature race. As usual he was giving us top-class feedback and we recognized we would struggle a bit so in that context he did a phenomenal job. Robbie's pole yesterday ranks amongst the best in A1GP so it's disappointing not to win but good to come away with back-to-back points. Ireland and Canada are working incredibly well together and it's no surprise that Canada won last time out in South Africa and Ireland won here in Mexico this weekend!"
France
After a difficult qualifying session, A1 Team France's luck did not improve today (Sunday). Whether in the Sprint or Feature Races Jonathan Cochet was never in a position to score points despite a well-handling car.
The Sprint Race got off to a chaotic start with a collision near Jonathan's car, which led to the race being stopped. When the restart was given he moved up a place from 16th by overtaking Pakistan. He then got up to 12th despite a 3-second penalty for overtaking India under yellow flags.
In the Feature Race, Jonathan made a good start gaining 2 places, which he unfortunately lost almost immediately. The team then changed its strategy and allowed him to stay out on a clear track. This manoeuvre did not help the A1 Team France driver's progression up the time sheets, as he found himself seventeenth. With the help of various race incidents he fought his way up to thirteenth, and then lost 2 places to Indonesia and New Zealand before finally finishing thirteenth.
These results did not add any points to A1 Team France's tally. Thanks to the Sprint race Switzerland increased its lead in the overall classification and New Zealand slipped into second place. The problems met by these 2 teams in the Feature Race helped A1 Team France to limit the damage, and it left Mexico in 3rd position 20 points behind Switzerland and 5 behind New Zealand.
Olivier Panis, sporting director : "It's a pity to have finished just outside the points in both cases. Jonathan did a pretty good job in the first race, but it was really difficult for him to make up places in such a short event that was also interrupted by the safety car. We couldn't hope for better. The second race was another disappointment, as again we didn't score. We're now in third place in the championship 5 points behind the second-placed team. It's up to us to make a huge effort to fight our way back to the front."
Jonathan Cochet: "It was one tough day! I reckon that a points finish in the Feature race was on the cards, all the more so as both Switzerland and New Zealand failed to score. I'm really disappointed. I still have a fair amount of work to do, as I've got problems getting the best out of the new tyres."
Germany
Willi Weber's A1 Team Germany did not score any points at the eighth round of the A1GP World Cup of Motorsport in Mexico City. In the chaotic starting phase of the sprint race, the team's driver, Michael Ammermuller from Pocking, was one of several victims of a collision. Despite another setback – the team's race engineer was injured – the race team from David Sears Motorsport repaired the serious damage in time for the main race, which, after the unscheduled exchange of a front wing, ended in 20th place.
A bungled start at the beginning of the sprint race led to chaos in the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez: a delay in the flying start at the front of the field caused a number of rear-end collisions among the immediate rivals of the front runners. The car of A1 Team Germany became a victim in the incidents when Adam Khan was unable to evade Michael Ammermuller, who was running in front of him. The damage caused by the impact was so serious that A1 Team Germany could not participate in the subsequent re-start of the race.
While trying to pull the car backwards into the pit lane as quickly as possible for the repair, Michael Ammermuller's race engineer Rob Creswell fell. One of the rear wheels rolled over him and dislocated one of his shoulders. After his shoulder had been put back in place under full anesthesia, the Brit was standing at the pit wall again during the race. Michael Ammermuller, who had started from third place, lost several positions at the beginning. After the first mandatory pit stops of all the teams, the German squad was running in fifth place. When the cars of the German and the Canadian team on lap 34 touched during an overtaking attempt, Ammermuller lost the front wing and was forced to make an unscheduled pit stop that threw him back to 20th place.
Michael Ammermuller: "I want to express my warmest thanks to the squad from David Sears Motorsport: they performed a superhuman feat today. After the accident, the sidepods, the rear wing, the rear suspension and even the gearbox housing had to be exchanged. The boys did an excellent job at all of this, even though Rob Creswell was unable to help. Of course I'm wishing him a speedy recovery. Afterwards, the team performed two excellent pit stops. It's all the more regrettable that all of this great work went unrewarded – it's a real pity."
Willi Weber: "We're being pursued by bad luck. After the main race at Durban we've been the victims in a starting phase collision for the second time in a row. The circumstances this time were particularly disturbing, as every driver should actually know how a flying start works. And the penalties for such wrong behaviour should be clear either. So, our sprint was over before it began. Up to the main race the team worked very, very hard during the repair break, and the pit stops performed by David Sears Motorsport were very good as well. This makes it especially sad that, due to the wing change, there was no reward for all this hard labour."
Great Britain
In today's Sprint and Feature races at the Mexico City circuit for round eight of the A1GP World Cup of Motorsport, Oliver Jarvis put in a superb performance to finish second in each event for A1 Team Great Britain. Jarvis also collected the bonus point for fastest lap in the Feature race and, with GBR netting the highest points haul of all the teams and the only team to score two podiums, GBR now move up to fourth in the championship within striking distance of third-placed France.
The first start of this morning's Sprint race was aborted after a compacted grid had to brake late when pole-sitters Team South Africa appeared to slow around the final corner, causing a multi-car accident. Team GBR was a victim of this as he went into the back of the USA car, damaging the front wing. The race was re-started 24 minutes later and GBR's Oliver Jarvis, beginning from fifth, made a fantastic start, racing wheel-to-wheel with USA and moving up to third heading into the first corner. After South Africa sustained a puncture on lap three, Oliver was able to move up to second position. Following a three lap safety car period GBR came under pressure from Switzerland, but Oliver defended well and passed the chequered flag in second position, collecting 12 points.
Oliver made another very good start from fourth on the grid in the afternoon's Feature race and headed into the first corner in a three-way battle with Switzerland and Canada, eventually slotting into third position. He fended off fourth-placed New Zealand on the opening lap and then held a strong third position until he made GBR's first compulsory pitstop on lap nine. On the way into the pitstop, New Zealand hit the British car from behind but luckily there appeared to be no damage. GBR lost a position during the pitstops and emerged in fourth behind Switzerland, Ireland and Canada. On lap 16 Oliver made a very good overtaking manoeuvre on Canada's Robbie Wickens and retook third position. The team made its second pitstop on lap 34 and retained his third spot after the round of stops. On lap 42 Switzerland was hit with a drive through penalty for a pitlane infringement and Oliver moved up to second position. He had a good battle in the closing laps with USA's Jonathan Summerton but defended well, crossing the line in second and also collecting the extra point for the fastest lap of the race.
With today's results, the championship looks to be wide open once again with two rounds remaining in the 2007/08 championship. Switzerland leads on 128 points with New Zealand 15 points adrift. France is third with 108 points and, following GBR's successful day in Mexico, the British squad are just 13 points behind in fourth position. Teams will return to action in four weeks time in Shanghai, China, for the penultimate round of the series.
Oliver Jarvis:
Sprint Race: "I'm delighted to get a podium for GBR. However I'm very unhappy about the first start and Zaugg's driving standard - He accelerated then braked, which is something the leader is not meant to do as it creates a concertina effect behind as the other drivers don't see the leader brake until the last minute and you end up with a large crash. We were fortunate to get the car repaired and back out there again. There was a lot of pressure on the restart with everyone being a bit more cautious, but I had a good start and actually thought I was going to get the lead at one point as I was right up behind RSA but unfortunately ran out of road on the right and managed to hang onto third going into the first corner. From then on I kept behind NZL and I was really happy to finish second."
Feature Race: "We had a fantastic start and I really thought we could take the lead but the guys in front defended well. I managed to gain a place and was then held up by Canada so we decided to pit a lap later, but Canada and Ireland both had good pitstops so we lost a place. I made an opportunistic move on Canada going into turn 4 and fortunately managed to make it stick. After the second stop, USA closed in on me and I had to push really hard. He came back very strong towards the end and I lost time behind back-markers, it was good close racing and fortunately I managed to hold the place. Obviously I would have loved a win in Mexico again, but I'm delighted to come away with second and a strong points haul for the team ahead of the last two rounds"
Katie Clements, Team Principal: "We were the highest scoring team this weekend with two podiums and a fastest lap in the Feature race and, as a result, we have moved up to fourth in the championship and are closing in on France. Although we would have loved to have achieved another win here in Mexico, we are nonetheless very happy with the results here today."
Ireland
Adam Carroll scored Belmayne A1 Team Ireland's maiden victory from fifth on the grid in an action-packed Feature race in Mexico City.
The Feature race got underway with Adam making a good start to jump Germany but lost out to New Zealand to remain in fifth at the end of the first lap.
The top five began to break away from the pack with Canada leading from Switzerland, Great Britain and New Zealand. On Lap 10 Ireland followed Great Britain and New Zealand into the pits for the first round of stops and some exceptionally slick work from the Irish crew got Adam back out ahead of both, as well as jumping Canada who had pitted a lap earlier.
Now in P2 Adam was the second fastest man on track, with the quickest, Switzerland's Neel Jani now out in the lead. The pair began to pull away until Lap 27 when Jonny Reid hit the tyre wall in the chicane bringing out the safety car. Switzerland's six second advantage was erased and Adam was right on his rear wing at the re-start. Jani began to pull away slightly until Lap 37 when both the Swiss and Irish cars pit for their second mandatory stops. After an incredible pit-stop by the Irish team, Adam was side-by-side in the pitlane with Switzerland as they headed back out on track but with Adam in the correct lane Jani was forced to tuck in behind as Ireland took the lead.
Adam then got his head down to hold off the challenge from Jani until Lap 44 when Jani was called in for a drive-through penalty for not tucking in behind the Irish car earlier in the pitlane. With the pressure removed and a three second lead on Great Britain, Adam took an amazing maiden victory for Belmayne A1 Team Ireland; the perfect way to celebrate St. Patrick's Day!
Earlier in the day, Adam finished fourth in an action-filled Sprint race which saw a red flag due to an incident before the cars had come across the start line.
After a 20-minute delay the cars were back in their original starting spots and in formation for the re-start. As the first race of the day finally got under way, Adam made a great start from seventh keeping in tight through the first corner to emerge ahead of the USA and Canada.
South Africa's Adrian Zaugg appeared to have a puncture, going off in the lead at the first corner as New Zealand took the lead and Ireland was prompted to P4. On lap six the safety car was out on track due to the Czech Republic spinning at the chicane which bunched the pack up with only a few laps still to run. On the re-start, Adam came under pressure from the USA and Portugal but defended well and began to attack Switzerland in front for the final podium position.
Adam pushed hard to the very end but had to settle for fourth, a great points finish which together with the fantastic victory in the afternoon boosts the team to eighth in the championship with 73 points after a weekend with two incredible drives from Adam Carroll and some fantastic team- work.
Adam Carroll: "The re-start was pretty close in the Sprint and everybody was bunched together but I got a good first corner. You could see everyone was going to go in a bit deep and that's what happened so I kept in tight and then I was able to stay with Switzerland which was good. Hopefully we'll have another good result this afternoon and then we can relax after that!
"It was hard to get the car off the line as the engine struggled with the thin air but once we got going it was fine. My race pace was quite good so I could stay with the guys at the front and it came down to the pit stops really. The guys did a fantastic job and we jumped 3 cars to come out in second! Once I was in the lead it was down to me.
"It feels very good. It's such a relief because of the pain and hard work that goes into motorsport. The team is a great bunch of people Mark Kershaw, Mark Gallagher, Alan Kershaw and Dave O'Neill our team manager have all been here from the very beginning and have stuck with it. When things get hard you have to dig deep and that's what we've done and we've come away with a fantastic result this weekend."
Dan Walmsley, Race Engineer: "Adam made a great start in the Sprint; he was very committed and kept his foot in which was ultimately what got the jump on everyone at the start. He looked strong and was able to hold pace with the front pack.
"Words fail me this afternoon. It was the result of seven weekend's work. The boys pulled out not just one, but two of the most fantastic pit stops we've done all year and that enabled us to jump three cars in the first stop and Switzerland in the second. The pressure we put the Swiss under also ended with them getting a drive-through penalty. The whole team should be really proud of themselves and I hope now we've uncorked the bottle there's no stopping us now!"
Niall Quinn: "I'm really glad to be here with the team when they get their first win. From my time with them I've seen they definitely were capable of it and I'm so happy it all came together for them all this weekend."
Mark Gallagher, Team Principal: "This is a day we have waited for since we got this project started and built the team from scratch two and a half years ago. Ireland is this afternoon a world beating country in grand prix style racing, and its only been made possible by the vision and support of Alan and Mark Kershaw, of our sponsors Belmayne and LM Developments,. Manvik, BPI Telecom, OZO, Harris Hino, ORCA, OB Sport and Motorsport Ireland. The team manager Dave O'Neill has been with me since the start and has done a terrific job while Dan Walmsley our engineer is first rate. Adam Carroll is a world class driver - always has been and just needed a team which gave him unqualified support. He should be in F1 instead of some of those old tossers who take the cash from teams who fall for the 'experience' scam, but thankfully he's in A1 with us. A great day for Irish motorsport."
Lebanon
A1 Team Lebanon completed a strong weekend of racing in the Mexican capital city, at the most challenging track of the season, with Jimmy Auby driving in only his first A1GP event. Earlier this weekend the team prepared with practice and qualifying, and today he finished 15th in the Sprint race and 17th in the Feature race.
The morning Sprint race was full of opening lap drama, with the Pakistan car tripping over the Chinese car ahead which launched the Pakistan car and left it stranded in the middle of the track in a highly dangerous position. This brought out a red flag and the field of cars were brought back to the grid. On the second restart all the cars left the grid cleanly and jostled position down to the first corner, however the Lebanon car was hit in the melee and Auby was called in to the pits for the team to check damage to the nosecone. Luckily the team did not need to change the front wing assembly and the Lebanon was able to return to the track. As the race unfolded Auby kept pace with the pack and while others made mistakes and were forced to retire, the Lebanese entre was able to make up positions. Lying 17th with five laps to go a stranded Czech Republic car brought out the safety car and the field of cars were packed behind the Ferrari. Racing resumed and Lebanon was able to make up further ground, finally finishing 15th at the chequered flag.
The start of the Feature race was delayed after a starting lights problem forced it to be aborted at the first attempt. The grid reformed after a small delay, and when the green flag flew the field ran down to the first corner with Auby in the thick of the field, but dropping back to 20th in the melee of the opening lap. He improved in the early stages to lie 18th before the first round of pitstops, dropping to 20th after the racing had resumed and all the pitstops had been completed. A clean pitstop from the Lebanon crew after 36 laps gave Auby new tyres, however a drive through penalty for speeding in the pitlane put him to the back of the field. Auby served his penalty and returned to the track in 19th, finally finishing 17th by the end of the race.
The A1 Team Lebanon driver said at the end of the day, "I've started my A1GP career with the Lebanon team driving at one of the most difficult, demanding circuits on the calendar. This hasn't made it easy for me to get to grips with the A1GP car, but we've been making steady improvement as the weekend progressed and I now have completed two races which is valuable experience and have learned so much from working together with the excellent Lebanon crew."
Luke Craft, Team Principal, A1 Team Lebanon added, "Auby's first weekend of racing with us begins the learning process for both him and the team. He's working well with the team and the engineers, and now we must just continue to work hard together to improve our performance as we head to Asia for the next round."
Malaysia
The A1GP World Cup of Motorsport's eighth round was held today in Mexico City with overflowing grandstands of local fans enjoying two thrilling A1GP races. A1 Team Malaysia with Alex Yoong driving scored a ninth place finish in the Sprint race, but after a drive through penalty in the Feature race, it was a disappointing 15th place position at the chequered flag.
The weekend has been tough for the Malaysian team and everyone has worked hard over the last two days to prepare the car for today's races and develop the setup for optimal performance. With a 14th place start for the Sprint race and 11th place for the Feature race, the Malaysian team was aiming for two points scoring finishes.
The rolling start of the Sprint race produced early drama, with the Pakistan car hitting the back of the China car, flying upwards and landing in the middle of the track. With other cars caught up in the incident and the Pakistan car stranded, the race was red flagged. After a short interlude the field of A1GP cars returned to grid formation for the restart.
The Sprint restart was a drag race in to the first corner and Yoong charged down to it, passing cars as he drove hard and reached 11th place by the end of the opening lap. As the race progressed Yoong kept out of trouble and benefited from South Africa falling out of the race to lie 10th by mid-distance. With five laps to go a mistake by the Czech Republic left the car in a dangerous position on track and this brought out the Ferrari safety car. As racing resumed Yoong continued to race hard, pushing for position and with just two laps to go passed Brazil to take ninth place, which he then kept until the chequered flag.
He said after the Sprint race, "We had an excellent start and by the end of the first lap we were up to 10th. I was quite pleased with my move on Brazil to take ninth. We have finished in the points, which was the aim."
Lining up on the sixth row for the Feature Race Yoong was ready for another tense, fierce battle. After a starting lights glitch forced an aborted start, the grid formed for a second time and after the red lights went out, the pack raced down the long front straight to the first corner with Yoong quick off the mark from 11th place. He had improved to ninth place at the end of the first lap, but dropped back during the early part of the race to lie 13th at the first round of pitstops. Quick pit work from the Malaysian crew put Yoong back out on track in 11th place and he maintained position as the race reached the halfway point, chasing the China car ahead while also defending from Portugal behind. New Zealand sliding off track gifted Malaysia 10th place, but with Yoong fighting to control his car he lost two places to Portugal and Brazil. A drive through penalty for a racing regulation infringement dropped Yoong further back, with the team finishing 15th after the 47 lap race.
The Malaysian driver said after the race, "It is the story of what might have been. Our start was good and we were up to seventh but I flat spotted the tyres at the chicane and then the front tyres weren't good and I was just falling back. The boys did a cracking stop to put me back up, but I got passed because I was struggling with the balance of the car. The second stop was another superb job by the pit crew, but I had a drive through penalty for making a mistake on the exit, which put us out of contention for points. I'm hugely disappointed with that result."
Jack Cunningham, Chief Executive, A1 Team Malaysia, comments, "We drove in two highly competitive races today and we're pleased to have taken away a couple more points. It's disappointing though that the superb work of the pit crew came to nothing for us in the Feature race. It's tough when everyone in your team works so hard and with such commitment not to get the level of results that you feel is deserved, but unfortunately that's the nature of motor racing.
We'll keep our spirits high as we know we have a strong team, and there are still four more races in which to add to our points tally. We'll look forward to racing back in Asia next month."
Netherlands
After the disappointing qualifying A1 Team Netherlands has recovered well during both races today. In two eventful races, where lots happened, Jeroen Bleekemolen drove to an eighth place finish in the Sprint race and a fourth place in the Feature race.
The Sprint race this morning started off with a severe crash, even before the actual start. Up front someone accelerated and braked suddenly. This caused mayhem behind. Great Britain hit USA, Pakistan slammed into the rear of Germany, for which it meant the end, and several cars had to go through the grass. Fortunately Bleekemolen in 11th was able to avoid everything. It did mean a restart though, which went well. Bleekemolen immediately was able to take a few places and was soon running in eighth. More was, also considering the length of the race and a safety car, not possible for A1 Team Netherlands. It did however mean the first three points of the weekend.
It did also take two attempts to get the Feature race underway in the afternoon, after Brazil did not line up correctly on the grid. At the second take Jeroen Bleekemolen again had a good start from thirteenth and moved up some places straight away. After there were some teams in front of A1 Team Netherlands got penalized and a number of teams did not have a good pitstop, A1 Team Netherlands moved up into ninth. Bleekemolen continues to drive constant and strong and at no point he is under pressure. Then New Zealand spins in the chicane, causing the safety car to come out and the whole field to come together, and Germany looses part of its front wing in an attempt to overtake. Both drop all the way back. When A1 Team Netherlands has a good second pitstop, much better than the direct competition, the team takes another two places. Switzerland, which is in second, gets a drive-through penalty for almost overtaking Ireland in the pitlane. This means fourth place. For a split second the podium seems within reach, as USA and Great Britain have a battle right to the wire and it almost goes wrong. But that's not in reach. Ireland takes its first win in A1GP. After the strong race A1 Team Netherlands can add another 8 points to their total.
Jeroen Bleekemolen; "At least we have been able to turn two bad positions into a reasonable and a good result. With this we have made up quite a bit. The car also went a lot better. We weren't the fastest on track, but where we finished we also belonged. As far as that's concerned it went very well. At the start of the Sprint race it was one big mess. Cars were driving into each other because Zaug decided to brake suddenly. Everywhere around me, in front and behind me, everyone was hitting each other. During the Feature race I was able to see everything, also the move by Germany. That was good for us, I was right behind and just waiting for this to happen, because he was at it for some laps already. For the rest it was a quiet race for me. I managed to overtake some people and that was it."
New Zealand
The New Zealand A1GP team has experienced joy, frustration, disappointment and relief in equal doses after a roller coaster Round 8 of the A1GP World Cup of Motorsport in Mexico.
Jonny Reid was ecstatic after driving Black Beauty to a Sprint Race win to close the gap on championship leader Switzerland, but a personal mistake on the track coupled with a poor first pitstop saw him finish out of the points in 12th place in the Feature Race.
Only a late drive through penalty for Switzerland, which dropped the Swiss from 2nd to also-rans, stopped the title front runners from building a substantial lead with two rounds of the 10-round championship to go.
Reid says it has been a positive weekend given the team's 4th race win of the season allowed them to overtake France and move into 2nd on the points ladder. But he is still disappointed by the error rate of the team in black. "We have to focus 100%, no 200%, on the last two rounds, come together as a team and work hard because we can't afford any more errors if we're to beat Switzerland for the championship," Reid said. "This title race is going to go down to the wire at Brands Hatch and we need to replicate today's Sprint Race performance and keep our momentum going."
Reid is confident they can make up more ground on the Swiss at the next round in China. "We had a win in Shanghai last season and qualified on the front row so I'm confident we'll be strong there."
The day started in sensational fashion for Black Beauty with a third Sprint race victory of the season, surviving start line carnage to eventually hold off Great Britain and Switzerland. The 22-car field was forced to reform on the grid for a second time as eight teams were involved in collisions at the original rolling start and many sustained damage to their cars.
Once the debris was cleared, the pack jostled for position heading into turn one and Reid started to hunt down pole-sitter South Africa. By lap three Black Beauty had taken control, snatching the race lead from Adrian Zaugg when he locked up and went straight on at turn one as a result of a slow puncture sustained at the start.
Reid survived another re-start on Lap 8 and his resulting win pitched the Kiwis into second on the points ladder – now 15 points behind the Swiss. "It has been a very difficult couple of rounds especially in Durban," Reid said, "but that's motor racing and it's really good to bounce back here with a win and survive the carnage at the first start. Adrian accelerated and braked and accelerated and braked, then Neel (Jani – Switzerland) almost ran into the back of me and I think Olly (Jarvis – Great Britain) ran up the back of someone as well. So to clear the first corner I was much more relaxed and then I could start working on Adrian. I managed to be the last of the late brakers into turn one and over take him."
In the Feature Race Reid had a stellar start to move from 6th on the grid into 4th place, but confusion at the first compulsory pit stop saw him drop to 7th. He then lost rear traction under braking into the new chicane and didn't have enough track left to complete his turn. The reverse cable, which he had never used in almost three seasons of A1GP, jammed up and it took him "ten decent yanks" before he could slip the car into reverse and re-join the field under a safety car. From 20th place he eventually worked his way back up to 12th and his only saving grace was that his nearest rivals, Switzerland and France, didn't score any points either.
Pakistan
The bad luck A1 Team Pakistan endured at the last round in South Africa continued in Mexico City this weekend, with the team retiring from both the Sprint and Feature races. The promising pace shown by A1 Team Pakistan driver Adam Khan failed to deliver any points after the team were involved in an incident on the final lap of the Feature race while lying 10th.
The racing action kicked off on Sunday morning with the 20 minute Sprint race. Khan lined up 15th for the traditional rolling start, but as the pack crawled around the final corner towards the start/finish line and the start of the race, the cars bunched together and Khan was caught out by the slowing German car ahead of him. Unable to avoid a collision, the Pakistan car hit Germany and was left stranded on the pit straight. The incident stopped the race, allowing track officials to push the Pakistan car back to the pits while the remaining A1GP cars lined up for the restart.
Carrying out the necessary repairs to the car on the grid, the A1 Team Pakistan mechanics did an impressive job to get the car ready for the restart. As the cars filed round the final corner for the second Sprint race start, Khan made a good getaway and was fighting with season one champions, A1 Team France into the first corner. However, the team were hit by more bad luck when Khan was hit from behind by the Australian car, causing damage to the Pakistan car. Forced to pit with handling problems, the team ruled out a rear puncture and Khan returned to the track. However, just one lap later, the rear suspension failed, forcing the team into retirement.
Hoping for better luck in the Feature race, Khan lined up 17th in front of an enthusiastic Mexican crowd. As the 22 A1GP cars revved their engines expectantly, the race lights failed and the start was aborted. All 22 cars made it off the line when the race was restarted a few minutes later, as Khan fought with Brazil, France and Australia for position. Making up one place, the team lay 16th at the end of the first lap. Following the retirement of Italy and an early pit stop by Australia, Khan was 14th by lap three, only to lose a position a lap later as Brazil found a way past.
Emerging from the team's first pit stop in 15th place, Khan was charging to catch the cars in front of him. A safety car period on lap 26 following an incident with A1 Team New Zealand bunched up the field and elevated Khan to 14th place. Khan continued to push hard until his second pit stop, when the Pakistan crew made a quick stop allowing Khan to return to the track in 12th place. A drive through penalty for A1 Team Malaysia and Switzerland put Pakistan in 10th place. However, with just half a lap remaining, Pakistan and Switzerland were in a tough fight for the final points paying position and following contact between the two cars, the Pakistan car spun off track and was unable to finish.
Speaking about the Feature race, Khan said, "I'm really disappointed with the result today, we were on course for a point this afternoon, but contact with the Swiss car took away that opportunity. I'm not happy leaving with no points, I know I'm capable of regular point finishes, and it's extremely frustrating when a good performance from both myself and the team still leaves us empty handed."
A1 Team Pakistan team manager John Allen added, "Well I'm really disappointed for Adam and the team. Adam drove really well, we had good pit stops, his pace was excellent and his times were very competitive compared to the top ten. We were looking at a fairly certain points paying position when just a few turns from home a very competitive situation with A1 Team Switzerland resulted in retirement. The result doesn't reflect the effort and ability of the team and the driver."
South Africa
Ireland scored a popular first ever A1GP victory when Adam Carroll took the chequered flag in the 47-lap Feature race of round eight of the A1GP World Cup of Motorsport in Mexico City on Sunday.
A lucky second, 3,3 sec behind Ireland, was last year's winner Great Britain (Oliver Jarvis), who benefited from a drive-through penalty incurred by championship leader Switzerland (Neel Jani) after a pit lane infringement during the second compulsory pit stop. Switzerland led Ireland by over three seconds before the second round of pit stops and was second after the stop.
Third at the finish was the United States (Jonathan Summerton), who enjoyed their first podium result of the season. South Africa's Adrian Zaugg drove well to finish sixth behind Netherlands (Jeroen Bleekemolen) and Canada (Robert Wickens) after starting from 10th on the grid.
Earlier in the day the 21-year-old South African's hopes of a third A1GP win of the season were cruelly dashed when, starting from his fourth pole position of the season in the Sprint race, he punctured a rear tyre and was forced to abandon the race on the third lap after leading the first two laps.
The scheduled start of the Sprint race was aborted on the first lap after eight of the 22 cars were involved in collisions. Controlling the rolling re-start, Zaugg won the race to the first corner after running side by side with New Zealand's Jonny Reid down the longest pit straight in A1. But he had picked up a slow puncture in the left rear tyre caused by contact with another car at the start. As the tyre deflated he was unable to brake properly at the end of the straight on lap three, allowing New Zealand to take the lead. Zaugg went straight on down the escape road and retired.
New Zealand went on to take victory by 2,69 sec from Great Britain and 3,74 sec ahead of third-placed Switzerland.
"On the whole I don't think one sixth place this weekend did us any justice at all, said Mike Carroll, general manager of A1 Team South Africa. "We were competitive in practice and expected to qualify very well - the pole for the Sprint was great and unfortunately Adrian got caught out by the bumps in turn 4 which dropped us from what probably would have been another front row to 10th for the Feature grid.
"In the Sprint we were robbed of another win and 15 valuable championship points, which really would have given us a chance to finish top three this season - a competitor's front wing endplate tagged our left rear tyre in the draft race up to the first corner and this resulted in a slow puncture that allowed New Zealand to catch and pass Adrian just as the tyre fully deflated and he exited the race under braking for turn 1.
"The Feature was always going to be tough from 10th, but we made up some places to take sixth - small reward for a weekend we really could have dominated."
Zaugg was philosophical about the set-back: "Of course we could do nothing about the Sprint - someone gave us a puncture and that was very disappointing, especially as we lost valuable championship points. In the Feature I was stronger in the middle sector of the circuit, but of course there is nowhere to overtake there so, while I was faster than those ahead of me, I could not translate it into an even higher finishing position."
USA
A1 Team USA's Jonathan Summerton finished third in the Feature race and fifth in the Sprint in the eighth round of the A1GP World Cup of Motorsport season Sunday at Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez.
"This was a fabulous day for A1 Team USA," Summerton said. "It was a great feeling to represent America on the podium again and to accomplish our goal of two top-five finishes in the same round. The 'We the People' car was very strong and we had two solid pit stops."
Starting from seventh in the Feature, Summerton moved up to sixth during the first mandated window of pit stops from laps nine through 15 and began chasing down Germany's Michael Ammermuller and Canada's Robert Wickens.
The 19-year-old from Kissimmee, Fla., passed Ammermuller for fifth in Turn 1 halfway through the 47-lap race on the 2.53-mile circuit. With 15 laps to go, Summerton moved into fourth by overtaking Wickens in the same corner.
A1 Team USA made its second pit stop on lap 34 and remained fourth after the field had cycled through and moved up to third when A1GP penalized Switzerland's Neel Jani, running second, for a pit-lane violation.
Summerton challenged Great Britain's Oliver Jarvis for second on the final lap, getting side-by-side with him in Turn 1, but ran out of racetrack entering Turn 2.
"I was trying my best, but it didn't happen," Summerton said. "There was too much risk and not enough reward for trying for force it. It was good, clean, hard racing and I was happy to be third. It was a great run. We had an OK first stint and in the middle and last stints, we really rocketed up there."
A1 Team USA started third in the 14-lap Sprint. Pole-sitter Adrian Zaugg of South Africa was slow at the green flag. Summerton was trapped behind him and fell to sixth. He ran competitive laps and gained one spot through attrition by the checkered flag.
"It was disappointing to finish fifth considering how good the car was," Summerton said.
It was the first podium for A1 Team USA since Summerton finished second in the Feature at Mexico City last year. "We're very happy and proud of what A1 Team USA has accomplished this weekend," A1 Team USA Holdings owner Rick Weidinger said. "We were in the top-seven in practice, qualifying and the races. That's the kind of consistency that wins races. It's wonderful to stand on the podium representing the USA. Our goal each and every race this season has been to be in the top-five. We accomplished that in spades today. We need to focus on China and London now and push ourselves into the top-ten in the season championship."