14/11/2008
NEWS STORY
After scoring a crucial 16 points in Chengdu, China on Sunday, A1 Team Great Britain is now looking ahead to Malaysia, the third round of the A1GP World Cup of Motorsport, which will take place next weekend at the Sepang International Circuit. Danny Watts (right), who scored two fantastic podium results on his debut for the British squad, has been recalled by the team to compete in Sepang.
The result in China last weekend was a huge achievement for GBR, which was forced to sit out the season opener in Zandvoort due to build delay problems with the new A1GP Powered by Ferrari cars. It was therefore vital for the team to score well in Chengdu, the second race of the 2008/09 calendar. The team worked incredibly hard through the days and nights to get the car race ready and the work was repaid on Sunday with Danny's two podium finishes, a result that seemed almost unattainable before the weekend.
Coming away from China with 16 points and already eighth on the extremely tight championship board, GBR is now focusing fully on scoring high in Sepang. The Malaysian track has been a firm fixture on the A1GP calendar and is now making its fourth appearance in as many seasons. Designed by Hermann Tilke, and the venue for the Malaysian Formula 1 Grand Prix, Sepang is 5.54km in length and always guarantees some spectacular overtaking opportunities due to the width of the track. The heat and humidity in Sepang also proves to be a true test of car capability and driver fitness.
A1 Team Great Britain has a good record at Sepang, with Robbie Kerr taking podium finishes in the 2005 Sprint race and in the 2006 Feature race. On that occasion he led the British team to a second place finish. Robbie and Oliver Jarvis have both had further strong points finishes at the Malaysian track. Danny Watts has driven the track before in a 2005 Porsche Carrera Cup event and GBR will be hoping that this experience, twinned with Danny's success already so far in A1GP, will prove a winning combination come next weekend.
Danny Watts: "I am delighted to be representing A1 Team GBR again. We had a strong start in Chengdu last weekend and it's obviously important to continue that form in Sepang. The aim has got to be to target a couple more podiums, but we have already shown we are competitive, so race wins must be our primary goal from now on. I will do my upmost to achieve these goals for A1 Team GBR and move us higher up the Championship table"
Katie Clements, Team Principal: "I am still overwhelmed by the achievements of the team and Danny from China and we are heading to Malaysia with a very positive mindset. The aim is to score another good haul of points and take another step up the championship table."
Saturday's qualifying starts at 14:15 local time (06:15 GMT) with Sunday's 25-minute Sprint race starting at 11:00 local time (03:00 GMT) and the 70-minute Feature race beginning at 15:00 local time (07:00 GMT).
Sky Sports will broadcast all the live action from Sepang, Malaysia, from 0600 on Saturday 22 November (Sky Sports 2) and from 0530 on Sunday 23 November (Sky Sports 1).