12/04/2009
NEWS STORY
Australia
On the first lap John Martin had a slight 'off ' and returned to the track with his car in tact, all well to continue. The team continued to discuss the track position from a starting place of 12th back down to last. The first mandatory pit stop window was going to be the place where the team felt they may be able to move forward, provided the car was fast and Martin could keep up the pace right up to the last possible lap to pit.
Without a first pitstop A1 Team Australia was sitting comfortably in 5th place with 31 laps remaining. On lap 30 Martin was in 3rd though losing time with worn tyres until a shunt with A1 Teams NZ and Sth Africa brought out the safety car. At that stage Rob Arnott the team chief engineer called John Martin to pit returning to the track in 11th place.
Nine laps later A1 Teams USA, Italy and Monaco shunted from the Luizzi mistake in Team Italy resulting in another safety car. Martin was happy with his car at that time and felt like he wanted to "light up the tyres and get back some places".
On the restart there was a lapse of power in the car and Martin was passed by A1 team Ireland and A1 Team Germany, that later resulted in Germany's drive through penalty and the ongoing Ireland protest.
At this stage Martin was in 8th place and gaining on the others cars in front. Germany stopped for their penalty and Team Australia remained on track to gain an advantage before their second pit stop. Martin passed A1 Team Mexico and was closing in on Malaysia before the second stop. All went to plan and Martin was released into 5th place with an incredible pit stop by the Aussie crew.
With 8 laps to go Martin was the fastest car on track in sector two in 5th place. Moments later Martin called to Arnott on the radio with "smoke or fire", something critical was wrong. The car was still running and 30 seconds later Martin's car lost power. He was adamant to get the car back to the pits and the race was run. A guaranteed 5th was lost to a small electrical relay the size of a small matchbox.
That's life in the world of international motorsport, the team performed to perfection, their communication was inspiring and John Martin today raced like the best in his business. Congratulations to the team for a solid effort where the setup was a difficult task all weekend.
Alan Jones A1 Team Australia Seatholder: "John drove a great race, he challenged every possible option to pass a car, and his radio communication was extremely cool today. I really enjoyed the racing and our crew were the regular 'pitstop kings'. Small electrical faults happen as these cars are extremely technical and complex in that specific area. We wish Ash Edwards all the best as we lose him today"
John Martin A1 Team Australia: "Yeah I had it sorted today, the car was fast and all of the work we did from Friday paid off. I couldn't believe the electrical fault with five laps to go. The guys were awesome and Rob was a legend on the radio. I would like to take this opportunity to say a big thank you to Ash Edwards my Data Engineer who is leaving us. He's a top guy, a mate and I will miss him not being in the garage and out with us when we get time to chill. Good luck Ash and thanks mate"
Rob Arnott: "John and the lads were perfect in every way today. We had a moment on the first lap where we could have realistically won the race. John's pace was the best we have had all weekend. Electrical problems come to you from time to time, and with these new cars, they are still learning to get them built to ideal perfection with maximum reliability. The crew were fast in both stops and we had everyone involved today, the perfect team. I will miss Ash but hope to see him back sooner than later."
France
A1 Team France today raced in the sixth round of the 2008-09 World Cup of Motorsport Championship on the Algarve International Autodrome in Portugal.
After a difficult qualifying session the chances of scoring points looked dim. Nonetheless, the team tackled the 2 races with its usual determination. This approach paid off and after finishing in 13th place in the short race Nicolas Prost came home sixth in the Feature event. The French driver managed to avoid the numerous crashes and race incidents climbing back up through the field from nineteenth on the grid.
A1 Team France added an extra 5 points to its tally this week-end. With a total of 46, it is currently lying fifth in the overall classification, and hopes to add to its score in the next round at Brands Hatch (Great Britain) on 3rd May.
Olivier Panis, Sporting Director: "Yesterday evening, we thought it would be really difficult to add points to our score. Bu we also knew t hat the A1GP races are very hotly contested and that consistency pays off. By adopting a steady rhythm and avoiding all the on-track incidents Nicolas fought his way up the time sheets. The team had the right strategy and with perfectly carried out tyre changes contributed to this final result, which does a lot for our morale. Hats off to everybody!"
Nicolas Prost: "The car was a lot quicker today even if its braking wasn't perfect. In the short race, it was impossible to score points given the limited number of laps. However, in the Feature event it was possible to pass and take advantage of the opportunities that presented themselves. Five points isn't a lot but it's a small reward for the team after a difficult weekend. Things will be better at Brands Hatch!"
India
A1 Team India added 3 points to its championship tally with a 6th place finish in the Sprint race, starting from 9th place on the starting grid. For the feature race Narain started in 17th place on the grid. Unfortunately in the feature race qualifying on Saturday afternoon, Narain was blocked on his flying lap by the car of A1 Team Malaysia who was on his slowing down lap. This resulted in the poor starting position on the grid. Nevertheless, Narain was intent on climbing his way up the field, as he felt that he had a good setup for the race on Sunday.
In the run down to the first corner of the Sprint race, Narain got passed by A1 Team Malaysia, but immediately re passed at Turn 3. He then put in some very strong lap-times until the first routine pit-stop. The A1 Team India pit-crew did a superb pit-stop and Narain drove very well for the rest of the 15 lap race, finishing 6th.
The Feature race started at 3 pm local time and the weather was cool and very windy. Narain got a brilliant start and clawed his way up to 12th place from his starting place of 17th by the end of the first lap. His confidence in the car was building with every passing lap. The A1 Team India pit-crew again did 2 fantastic pit-stops and after the second round of pit-stops Narain was up to 4th place, an incredible climb up the leader-board. With 10 laps to go, he even put in the fastest lap of the race up to that point. He was closing in on 3rd place A1 Team Portugal with 5 laps remaining, when he started experiencing severe brake problems, and was also complaining that the car was beginning to become very difficult to turn right. This problem led to him losing 4th place to A1 Team Malaysia. Unfortunately with only 2 laps to go, and a sure 5th place finish in sight, the car slid off the track in the braking zone of Turn 11 and into the gravel trap. Upon inspection, it was discovered that it was a left front wheel bearing failure that put paid to Narain & A1 Team India best potential finish of the season thus far.
After the race, Narain said, "I have mixed emotions about the day today. We had two great races today. Unfortunately due to a wheel bearing failure, we did not finish the feature race, but the race pace of the A1 Team India car in both races was fantastic. We were running very strongly in the top 5 during the feature race, and the car felt fantastic to drive. My team of engineers and mechanics did a superb job all weekend long, and I really want to thank them for that. The next round of the championship is in 3 weeks in Brands Hatch in the UK, one of my favourite tracks, and where I won last year. I'm confident that the team can do the job again next time around and we will get the finish that we truly deserve."
Ireland
Team Ireland's ambitions to win the A1GP World Cup of Motorsport took a step forward today when stunning performances from Adam Carroll and the Irish pit crew saw them claim 2nd place in both races before a Stewards' enquiry led to a 25 second penalty for overtaking behind a Safety Car, dropping him to 5th in the Feature race. Ireland is now 2nd to Switzerland by only two points, with Portugal four points behind, although under the �dropped score' system Ireland is out in front.
Scoring fastest laps in both the Sprint and Feature races netted Ireland a further two valuable points on a day when Carroll's talent sparkled. Starting the Sprint Race from 3rd place on the grid the Team Ireland car jumped Team Italy's Vitantonio Liuzzi at the pit stop and finished 2nd behind race winner Robert Doornbos for Team Netherlands.
In the Feature Race Carroll started from second on the grid, but was actually the first car to lead the field away when Doornbos' car suffered a fire on the grid formation lap.
Ireland's lead, however, was soon taken away when Carroll was determined to have jumped the start and given a drive-through penalty that dropped him to 15th. Then began a remarkable comeback drive which saw the green car climb the leader board, superb pit stops helping Carroll surge through to 3rd place before he finally overtook Team Portugal to finish the race a mere 0.4s behind race winner, Switzerland's Neel Jani.
Later however, Ireland was docked 25 seconds for joining Germany in overtaking Team Australia during a particularly confusing melee at a Safety car restart.
Adam Carroll; "We had two good races and everyone saw how strong we are. The Sprint Race went according to plan, and that 2nd place was fine. In the Feature Race I knew the car had rolled a little on the grid but I definitely did not start until the lights went out. After we got the drive through penalty I just put my head down and we climbed back to 2nd � so I am very disappointed we got a 25 second penalty. What happened at the Safety Car restart was that everyone in front started to brake, slow and fan out � Australia pulled across suddenly, and slowed, and I did the safest thing which was to keep going. If we'd all hit the brakes there'd have been a motorway-style accident. Not much of a choice."
Mark Gallagher, Team Principal; "Our team did a stunning job today. Adam drove brilliantly. Possibly one of the most perfect drives anyone has seen to recover from the initial drive through penalty. The Safety Car restart was a mess, we were penalised. The Stewards have a hard job to do, so we accept their verdict even if we find the outcome extremely frustrating. We aim to win this title. If we don't I suspect we will look back at today's outcome as being pivotal. For now, though, it's history. Roll on Brands Hatch."
Lebanon
The two races of the Vodafone A1GP, Algarve event today did not live up to expectations for A1 Team Lebanon and showed just how cruel motor racing can be. A strong qualifying effort yesterday had put the team fourth on the grid for the Sprint race and 15th for the Feature race. However, it was disappointment and dismay for the team and driver, Daniel Morad at this sixth round of the A1GP series. The team were an innocent victim of an accident at the start of the Sprint race and picked up a puncture soon after the start of the Feature race, with both incidents forcing Morad into retirement.
The Sprint race start produced plenty of drama, but unfortunately Lebanon was caught up in this and unable to avoid an accident. As the cars raced through the first few corners the New Zealand car tried to pass on the outside, cutting across Morad and clipping his front wheel. With some damage Morad continued on, aiming to reach the pits for repairs, however before he was able to do this a charging German car attempted to pass around the outside. Morad's damage left him unable to move out of the way and as the German car fell off the track, the Lebanese car was taken with it.
"Disappointed is an understatement," said Morad after the Sprint race. "We should have been on the podium in that race but we weren't given the opportunity to prove ourselves. It was all over before we could get racing."
The Feature race drama started before the green flag with polesitter Netherlands suffering an electrical fire on the warm up lap. The race started without him and in the scrum of the first few corners once again Morad was caught up in the fight for positions, picking up a puncture which threw out the handling of the car, ending up with the Lebanon car skating over the gravel. Sadly he was unable to make it back to the pits for a new tyre and had to retire from the race.
Morad said after his puncture, "It was looking good yesterday, but it all turned the wrong way today. I didn't have the chance to show our sponsors and guests the pace we have and our ability to race at the front as we know we can do. We're running out of races now, so we'll need to nail it at Brands Hatch."
Tameem Auchi, Seat Holder, A1 Team Lebanon added, "We're showing good pace during the practice sessions and continue to make improvements in qualifying, yet this weekend it did not translate into results. I know that the team will keep up their strength and put this behind them, they'll stay positive and be determined to make amends at the next event."
Malaysia
A1 Team Malaysia enjoyed a strong showing in the A1GP World Cup of Motorsport sixth round which took place in Portugal this weekend. Fairuz Fauzy represented his nation and drove well to finish in fourth place in the Feature race having taken eighth in the Sprint race this morning.
The start of the sprint race produced early excitement with New Zealand and Lebanon tangling followed by Germany and Lebanon clashing. Malaysia carefully avoided these two incidents and had made up ground to seventh place. The accidents brought out the safety car.
Fauzy stayed in seventh after the restart, but after pitting for his mandatory tyres change, he emerged in ninth, with the team having lost positions due to a wheel nut problem during the pitstop. As the race headed towards the chequered flag Fauzy stayed in ninth, but with three laps remaining Brazil and South Africa clashed, causing the race to be red flagged. In the final order, with Switzerland having been given a penalty for a pitstop infringement, Malaysia finished eighth, snatching one World Cup of Motorsport point.
Fauzy said after the Sprint race, "The car was good, we had to fight hard for our final position and we had a pitstop that was a little slow. There was drama on the first corner and I managed to avoid it, but later in the race I hit a bump which upset the balance of the car, so that will be looked at before the Feature race. However we added another point and that's important."
The Feature race began with more drama after the pole sitter, Netherlands, had electrical problems on the warm up lap. The field was away cleanly as the red lights went out, with Malaysia defending hard, but losing places on the opening lap. Lying ninth Fauzy settled in to the race, moving up to 8th before the first round of pitstops. Further wheel nut problems resulted in a slow stop which dropped the team two positions, however Fauzy recovered to lie ninth, at which point a clash between South Africa and New Zealand resulted in a safety car period. With these two nations out of the race Malaysia was in seventh place for the restart.
Returning to full speed racing produced a three car accident with Monaco, USA and Italy all out of the race, promoting Malaysia to fourth place with 22 laps remaining. Losing out to a quicker India in the second round of pitstops dropped the team back to fifth place with less than ten laps of the race remaining. However Fauzy fought back on the track, taking back fourth just three laps before the finish and taking the chequered flag in this position.
"The start was quite difficult" says Fauzy. "Although Doornbos (Netherlands) wasn't in his position at the front and there was an empty space where the Brazil car should have been next to me, the cars from behind me shot forward and it was a very busy pack of cars rushing down through the first few corners. There were quite a few incidents and two safety car periods, so it was quite a hectic time out on track, especially with two pitstops as well. The car was very consistent and we were able to run at a good pace, particularly towards the end. I'm pleased we have scored more points for Malaysia".
Jack Cunningham, Chief Executive, A1 Team Malaysia summed up the Algarve weekend saying, "We've had a good weekend here, adding quite a few points and moving up to sixth place in the overall standings. Fairuz and Aaron drove well. The teamwork has been good and we're pleased with an eighth place and a fourth, especially with the competition out here. The grid included three drivers with F1 racing experience and you include F1 test drivers the total is eight, so the competition level is increasing each time we compete. We've raced with these guys and kept up with them and this is very pleasing."
Monaco
A day of mixed fortunes ended A1 Team Monaco's Portuguese charge this weekend. A solid 5th place finish in the Sprint race was over shadowed by the denial of a potential podium in the Feature event this afternoon. The results of round six of the 2008/9 A1GP World Cup of Motorsport mean that Monaco remains in 9th position in the championship, with 27 points and six Top Ten finishes.
Clivio Piccione made a great start to the 15-laps Sprint race this morning, jumping from his 10th grid position to 5th place by the end of the first lap. The safety car came out after a coming together by New Zealand and Germany, but after Monaco made its mandatory pitstop on lap five, Clivio rejoined the action retaining 5th place. Keeping extremely close to the rear wing of Vitantonio Liuzzi, Clivio engaged in an exciting battle for position with Team India. He continued to fill the rear view mirrors of pole-sitters Italy when a Red Flag raised with only 3 laps to go ended the running prematurely. Netherlands took the Sprint race victory from teams Ireland, Portugal, Italy and Team Monaco coming home in the points once again, in 5th position.
It was an eventful Feature race this afternoon starting with pole position team Netherlands retiring from the formation lap. This left championship challengers Ireland to head the start of the race whilst Clivio battled in a throng of mid-runners jostling for position throughout lap one. Clivio soon returned to 9th place and was hot on the heels of Malaysia when the first mandatory pitstop window opened. Now leading the race the team made a strategic late stop to rejoin the action ahead of Malaysia. An incident between New Zealand and South Africa took out both cars ahead of Clivio who was now running in 6th position when the deployed safety car returned to the pits. As the action reached fever pitch and produced possibly some of the closest racing of the season, team USA closed the door on Italy, spinning the car into the rear of the passing Monegasque challenger, taking Clivio out of the race when a podium finish was potentially in his sights.
The first four-wheeled race event at the Aut�³dromo Internacional do Algarve has provided a breathtaking spectacle. With points scored during the Sprint race and a marked progression in performance, Team Monaco remains hopeful of further success at Brands Hatch on 1-3 May 2009.
Clivio Piccione, Driver and Seat Holder: "We made our best start of the season in the Sprint Race this morning. We made up ground toward the first corner and I was in 5th position on the first lap. Our pitstop was the best one we have done so far, so well done to the boys. I was chasing Italy and putting pressure on Liuzzi, but unfortunately the race was called off with the Red Flag. I still had one push-to-pass left for the last lap and so despite a good result, it could have been better. We also made a good start for the second race, but at the first corner I was pushed wide. I got touched and thought the car was damaged, but when I rejoined the track the car felt pretty good and had good pace. I was held up by Malaysia, but was able to make up ground when we got passed. Our first stop was good and from there I was able to catch the group in front and make progress, running in P5 when Italy and USA connected. I was on my way past when Italy collected my rear wheel and ended our race. Overall, we are really disappointed as we believe we were on our way to a podium finish. It is a disappointing end to the Feature Race, to come away with no points and unable to show our full potential. It was not a great end to the weekend, but it shows that we had good pace in the race and quicker pitstops."
Graham Taylor, Team Principal: "We made a great start to the Sprint Race and at the end of the first lap, after the safety car, we were running in 5th position. The team did a good job to retain 5th and Clivio made a couple of good challenges on Italy before the Red Flag ended the race. We came away with a good result given our starting position. In the Feature Race, again we were making very good progress, and executed a precise pitstop, only to be taken into an accident where Clivio was collected with nowhere to go. We are obviously disappointed, but with Clivio's performance today and the team's development, the next round at Brands Hatch cannot come soon enough."
South Africa
In one of the best day's racing in the five-year history of A1GP on a brand new circuit destined to be a great one, Switzerland's Neel Jani became the winningest A1GP driver when he took his 10th victory in Sunday's Feature race at Portimao in the Portuguese Algarve on Sunday afternoon.
In the process, Jani recorded his fourth win of the season, back-to-back Feature race successes for Switzerland following the team's victory at Kyalami in South Africa in February, and put Switzerland back on top of the championship standings with four races remaining.
Ireland (Adam Carroll) finished a fighting second in the Feature race, but will have to wait for a ruling regarding a drive-through penalty handed down for overtaking behind the safety car that was deferred until after the race. Third was home favourite Filipe Albuquerque, who also finished third in Sunday morning's Sprint race.
It was the first international car race meeting at the 4,69-km Autodromo Internacional do Algarve, which saw a dominant A1 Team Netherlands (Robert Doornbos) take the Sprint race victory ahead of Ireland's Carroll and Portugal's Albuquerque.
For South Africa and 21-year-old Adrian Zaugg, it was a desperately unlucky weekend. After qualifying eighth for the Sprint race and fourth for the Feature event - the team's best qualifying result this season - Zaugg was forced to start the shorter race at the back of the 20-car grid after his engine cut out on the grid. The team managed to restart it, but only after the rest of the cars had got away.
He was then involved in two incidents, neither of which was of his making. In the first he was slowed by a puncture and had to pit to replace the flat wheel, losing two laps. Then, three laps from the end of the race, he was taken out by Brazil's Felipe Guimaraes, who crashed into him from behind.
The Feature race started promisingly, with Zaugg into third place at the end of the first lap after pole sitter Doornbos dropped out on the formation lap with an electrical probelm that caused his car to catch fire and activate the extinguisher system. After an excellent first compulsory pit stop, the South African emerged in second place ahead of New Zealand's Earl Bamber. The Kiwi, running on a set of new tyres while the South African's team had opted to save their set of new tyres for the second compulsory pit stop, pressured Zaugg until Bamber suffered a bout of red mist and ran into the back of Zaugg on lap 15.
It was a disappointing end to a weekend that had promised so much. "After our good showing in Saturday's qualifying, we were looking to add some much-needed points to our total and substantially improve our championship position. The team deserved better today, but that's motor racing. Things don't always go your way," said a philosophical Mike Carroll, general manager of A1 Team South Africa.
Zaugg was equally disappointed. "We had such a good chance to do well today, but luck was not with us at all. I was enjoying the battle with Bamber, who was quicker than me on his new tyres, and I knew if I could finish that second stint well I'd be in a good position to race for a podium in the third and final stint on new tyres."
With no points scored this weekend, South Africa remains 11th in the championship with 19 points and just two more rounds (at Brands Hatch in England on May 3 and Mexico City on May 24) remaining.
USA
The Vodafone A1GP Algarve ended early for A1 Team USA driver Marco Andretti after being spun on lap 19. Andretti's car was not able to be restarted and A1 Team USA was forced to retire from the day's Feature race.
Prior to the incident, the 22-year old Andretti was challenging A1 Team Italy for third place after starting eighth in the Feature event. Switzerland captured the Feature race victory, preceded earlier in the day by The Netherlands win in the Sprint, a race that saw A1 Team USA post a 12th place result.
Marco Andretti: "It was a really unfortunate outcome for Team USA today. The guys did a great job in the pits and we had a car challenging for a podium finish, not a 14th place finish. I've enjoyed my time racing over here so far, but unfortunately you get tangled up with drivers that don't notice anyone is driving around them. I'm looking forward to better outcomes in Brands Hatch."