25/02/2009
NEWS STORY
A1 Team Malaysia has issued the following in response to comments made by Team Ireland driver Adam Carroll and team boss Mark Gallagher following Sunday's Feature Race:
A1 Team Malaysia was surprised and disappointed to read the comments of Adam Carroll and A1 Team Ireland management after Sunday's A1GP, Kyalami, South Africa. Both the driver and Team Principal of one of Malaysia's rival nations in the A1GP World Cup of Motorsport claimed that the team were to blame for the loss of their championship lead following contact between Malaysia's Fairuz Fauzy and Ireland's Carroll.
The incident was clearly a racing incident. Video footage only showed that a collision took place, but given the manoeuvre that the Team Ireland driver carried out in attempting to overtake the A1 Team Malaysia car, there was a high risk of a collision unless Fairuz Fauzy pulled over and did not try and defend his position. A steward's inquiry after the race deemed that the evidence available led them to conclude that it was a racing incident.
Jack Cunningham, Chief Executive, A1 Team Malaysia, "It's understandable that A1 Team Ireland was feeling emotional and frustrated after this incident, considering also that they lost the lead in the A1GP World Cup of Motorsport. However, to blame Fairuz for the incident is unfair and we think the Irish team should stick to trying to win races rather than blaming others for their misfortune. A1 Team Ireland is a highly respected team, but on this occasion their comments are ill-judged."