11/12/2005
NEWS STORY
Brazil
A1 Team Brasil suffered a terrible day today at round six of the A1 Grand Prix of Nations in Dubai when Nelson Piquet Jr was forced to retire from both races with an electrical problem.
The team had a positive start to the morning, confirming the speed shown in yesterday's practice and qualifying, by finishing second fastest in this morning's warm-up session. Unfortunately, the team's hopes of a possible win from its second row grid position in the 15-lap Sprint race were short-lived after an electrical issue ended Nelson's race on the first lap.
The team's bad luck continued into the 30-lap Feature race. After a great start from Nelson, in which he moved up five places to 17th at the beginning of the first lap, he made his compulsory pitstop at the end of the lap. The team experienced another slow pitstop, but things got worse on lap five when Nelson was once again forced to retire the Team Brasil car after he suffered from the same problem which put an end to the first race.
Nelson Piquet Jr: "We had the same problem in both races. In the first race I didn't know what the problem was, all the power just suddenly went from the car and I stopped. I thought maybe I had gone over a kerb too aggressively and dislodged something but then afterwards we found it was an electrical problem. The boys worked really hard between the races and we got back to the grid for the second race but then we had the same thing happen again after just a few laps. It's disappointing but sometimes these things happen."
Austria
A1 Team Austria scored its best result of the season in today's A1 Grand Prix of Nations, Dubai Feature race, when Mathias Lauda finished the race in seventh position, scoring four championship points. It was a brilliant drive from the Austrian, who had started the race from 17th position.
In the first of this afternoon's races, the 15-lap Sprint race, Mathias began 21st on the grid, following a difficult qualifying session yesterday. He retained his position during lap one, and then climbed two further places by
lap five. On lap nine, Mathias, who had been enjoying a good battle with Salvador Duran, overtook the Team Mexico car for 17th position, and retained that place until the end.
Following his finish in the Sprint race, Mathias began the 30-lap Feature race on the ninth row of the grid. He got a good start and made his compulsory pitstop on lap two. After everyone had made their pitstops, Mathias was in a strong 7th place, which he maintained until the end.
Mathias Lauda: "I am really happy. The first race was quite good, I overtook two cars including Mexico, who had a really strong car and then I started the second race from 17th. I could actually have been 5th but the Pakistan car spun in front of me and I lost two positions. The team did a really good job. We decided to come in
early for our pitstop and that was good. Then we had the safety car, and eventually finished 7th. I was really fast today and we have made a big step forward. Now I have to work on my qualifying pace and hope it all comes together."
New Zealand
The New Zealand A1 Grand Prix team has dropped to fifth on the points table after failing to score any points at this weekend's 6th Round of the World Cup of Motorsport in Dubai.
After qualifying 17th on the grid, the team's worst effort of the season, Matt Halliday drove to 15th place in the Sprint Race and 13th place in the Feature Race.
Switzerland, capitalising on its second pole position of the season, halted France's 8-race winning streak to win the Sprint Race ahead of Italy and the Czech Republic, becoming only the third winner in A1GP history after Brazil and France.
France struck back immediately to win the Feature Race from 7th on the grid, edging out Great Britain and a jubilant South Africa, which earned its first podium finish two rounds out from its home event.
The Dubai event was notable for the number of surprise results. China scored its first ever points with 5th place in the Feature Race and Canada collected the second-highest haul for the weekend, gaining 11 points, to move into the top 10 on the points table.
France once again extended its lead on the ladder and now has 106 points, a commanding 31 point buffer over second placed Switzerland (75) while Brazil remains third (60) despite failing to add to its tally in Dubai.
An impressive 11-point haul propelled Great Britain to 49 points, relegating New Zealand to 5th place with 42 points, just three points ahead of Portugal.
A1 Team.NZL chief executive Bob McMurray says it was a frustrating weekend, but he is still proud of New Zealand's effort in the first half of the inaugural season.
"We're doing better than we thought we would," McMurray said. "We would've been happy to be in the top ten at this point and there are some serious nations behind us.
"Once again the car has finished in one piece and we're looking forward to the arrival of our new engine for the next round in Indonesia. Our will to climb back up the ladder has only been strengthened by the outcome here in Dubai."
Halliday said the team pushed hard all weekend without ever feeling truly confident.
"Sometimes you have these weekends where you just can't quite nail it," Halliday said. "We fought hard with Australia and battled away with every other team that we encountered, but there wasn't much more we could do.
"It was frustrating to lose so many positions on the straight."
France
A1 Team France took another victory in the feature race at Dubai, its ninth of the season with Nicolas Lapierre fighting his way through the field. He finished seventh in the sprint race after a spin in the closing stages.
"We had a really good car all weekend," Lapierre said. "I really wanted very much to win the sprint race as it is so important for the feature race. I started from the clean side of the track but Ireland managed to pass me and I my car had contact with Ireland's as I had no where to go and I went wide slightly off the track. This did some damage to my car which affected its handling."
Lapierre fought hard from start to finish in both races. In the sprint race he had a difficult start and then lost the car as he tried to record the fastest lap during one of the final laps. "Three laps before the end, I still had two power boosts available, and was still looking for an overtaking manoeuvre possibility. But the track was very slippery and sandy and I spun right at the end. I kept the car running, but I dropped back down to seventh and I didn't have enough time to fight back."
"In the feature race had a good first lap although I started from seventh," Lapierre added. "I chose not to come in during the first safety car period. Later on, my pit stop was perfect. The team called me in at the exact perfect time and I could push hard and could pull away from the others and close in on Robbie Kerr. With 14 laps to go, Robbie Kerr was only 1.022 ahead of me. I was determined to finish the race on the first step of the podium and raced very hard. It was an exciting end to the race and I noticed that Kerr had some trouble braking and decided to push hard to pass him. I had to be careful and wait for the right time seven laps before the end of the race. We were then side by side. I had no trouble keeping my line and I was back in the lead.
I'm delighted to add another win to our tally and it's great to finish on a high note in the last race having won from seventh position on the grid."
Jean-Paul Driot, team Principal of A1 Team France, added: "I'm really happy with Nicolas Lapierre for scoring ten points in the feature race after a hard sprint race. What a race! I really can't say a lot more except congratulate the Team."
After the sixth round of the new A1 Grand Prix Series, Team A1 France has extended its lead in the championship and has 106 points. The team has notched up nine victories. The next round will be staged at Sentul (Indonesia), where Alexandre Prémat is the nominated driver.
Germany
A1 Team Germany's upward trend at the sixth round of the A1 Grand Prix series in Dubai went unrewarded in the race. Driver Adrian Sutil, who started from the third row after his best qualifying result in the current A1 Grand Prix season, was involved in an accident together with another competitor at the first hairpin and had to retire. In the feature race the 22-year old rising star improved from his 22nd grid position to 12th position.
The upward trend started in practice for Willi Weber's A1 Team Germany after the team had changed its approach and made a positive step forward. A new set-up for the powerful 520 hp A1 Grand Prix race car significantly improved the car's overall balance. Adrian Sutil claimed sixth fastest time in the first and third free practice and also the subsequent qualifying session. During the warm-up he set the fourth fastest time around the 5.39 kilometre circuit in the United Arab Emirates.
The sprint race ended for A1 Team Germany on the first lap after the collision. Adrian Sutil returned to the pits to have his front wing replaced. However, he was unable to continue the race after damage to the suspension was discovered. In the feature race, the racing driver from Gräfelfing was penalised with a ‘drive-through' penalty as he rolled forward to early at the start. A misunderstanding during the regular pit stop meant that Sutil came in a lap early and had to visit the pits once more and finished only twelfth as a result.
Adrian Sutil: "The progress we made with the car's set-up this weekend was very positive, both races were unfortunately disappointing. In the sprint race I was forced into another car by a competitor. We couldn"t continue and had to change a damaged wishbone. In the feature race I rolled forward too early and received a penalty. Afterwards I pitted a lap early because of a misunderstanding and had to stop a third time for the new tyres."
Willi Weber: "The unfortunate events in the first race and the mistakes in the second race cost us dearly today. We saw in every practice session and the warm-up that there was a lot more potential."
Switzerland
A1 Team Switzerland won its first race of the A1 Grand Prix series today in Dubai when Neel Jani triumphed in the sprint race. Starting from pole position, Jani took a comfortable win to break A1 Team France's eight-race dominance of the top step of the podium.
Neel Jani commented: "I'm incredibly happy to have taken my first win of the season. It's a nice birthday present. We finally got the car as we wanted today and I didn't make any mistakes. We got it all together for the sprint race and towards the end, I could enjoy a bit of a cushion I had built up over my rivals. I'm really happy to with the ten points for a win and to have taken our team's total to 75 points having also recorded the
fastest lap."
"In the feature race I started from pole, but had a much tougher time. I had a good strategy and waited for the second safety car to pit. The potential and the speed were there, but we lost some valuable time with a
drive through penalty. Unfortunately we lost it there, and I wasn't able to fight back. I finished in a disappointing 17th place which does not reflect our potential. We are still second in the championship with 75
points. And this is a good result. I am really happy to have scored valuable points in the first race today!"
Max Welti, team principal, A1 Team Switzerland commented: " A strong drive for the sprint race saw Neel Jani take his first win in the series in the sprint race and score the fastest lap. I am extremely proud of Neel. He did a fantastic job. I have never been more happy in my life for a long time. Neel was unlucky in the feature race after an excellent start when it all looked good, but that's motor racing."
Ireland
A1 Team Ireland's weekend of racing at Dubai's A1 Grand Prix of Nations ended in disappointment when faulty gearbox electronics robbed A1 Team Ireland of 2nd place on the penultimate lap of the Sprint Race, meant that Ralph Firman was unable to complete the first lap of the Feature Race. Once the mechanics identified and repaired the problem A1 Team Ireland went back out on track to test the car and while doing so proved they had the pace this weekend setting the fastest lap of the race 1.46.497. Ralph Firman qualified third on the grid for the Sprint Race and Firman held second place throughout until the gearbox fault on the penultimate lap dropped him to fourth. Ireland secured a further seven championship points for the Sprint Race and a point for setting the fastest lap. A1 Team Ireland is now one place higher in seventh position in the championship.
Ralph Firman: "A very promising weekend. We were running second in the first race with two laps to go and then the gearbox played up and I couldn't change gears so I dropped back to fourth. The problem wasn't found in time for the main race which is very disappointing. Positive points are we've improved the car, set the fastest lap time of the day and secured 8 more points. Hopefully the luck of the Irish will come back to us in the New Year."
Mark Gallagher, Team Principal: "Ultimately today's result was bitterly disappointing as we qualified well, were highly competitive and would have finished 2nd in the Sprint Race and run competitively in the Feature Race had we not suffered problems with the gearshift. To suffer on the last lap of the Sprint Race was galling, but to have a repeat at the start of the Feature Race was disastrous. Once we repaired the problem we decided to go back out and set the fastest lap to salvage something fro the main race."
Andy Miller, Technical Director: "A very frustrating day for us not to have been able to complete in the second race. We had the pace all weekend and we made great progress in the Sprint Race until the gearbox fault. The way we had it panned out we could have won the Feature Race. The good news is we did fix the problem and managed to set the fastest lap of the day"
India
A1 Team India finished the half season with another two finishes in both the Sprint and the Feature race at The Dubai Autodrome. The weather at the racetrack was cloudy and cool by Dubai standards, almost ideal for an afternoon of racing.
A1 Team India started the Sprint race in 18th position on the grid. The driver, Armaan Ebrahim, made a good clean start and was settling into a good rhythm when he began to experience gearbox problems which prevented him from changing gears smoothly. These problems started from the 3rd lap of the 15 lap Sprint race. Every lap the car became worse and worse for Armaan, who just could not engage the gears while coming into the corners. The team instructed Armaan over the radio to back off the pace and just finish the race.
A1 Team India's Engineers and mechanics had an uphill task ahead of them to rectify the gearbox maladies in the very short time available to them between the Sprint and the Feature race. Despite an intense scrutiny by the engineers from Zytec Engineering, there was no obvious software or hardware problem evident in the gearbox, but for a faulty oil pump, which was not pumping enough oil into the crank-case of the engine. The team however, did a brilliant job to get the car back onto the grid in time for the Feature race.
The Feature race started at 3 o'clock in the afternoon with a standing start. Armaan had an excellent start and moved from his starting position of 20th to 16th before the first corner. He continued his excellent race pace until lap 3 when the team decided to bring him into the pits for the mandatory four tyre change pit-stop. Since he was stuck in considerable traffic, the team decided this would be an opportune moment to finish this task. It would bring A1 Team India back onto the track with some clean air in front of the car, and would allow the driver, Armaan Ebrahim to settle into a good groove on the race track and maintain a quick race pace.
Armaan drove fantastically, and slowly but surely moved up the standings to 11th place. At this point of time, which was exactly half way through the race, the gearbox problems appeared again, preventing Armaan from downshifting from 4th to 3rd gear on his approach into the corners. This resulted in a lack of traction through the corners. A couple of laps later the car started to loose engine power, which slowed the car down quite considerably. He finished the race in 14th place.
A1 Team Manager Akbar Ebrahim said, "It was a hard weekend for the team, and one that we would like to forget. Despite being quick in practice on Saturday morning, the track conditions kept changing constantly, which made it difficult for us to get an optimum balance in the car. Qualifying could have been better if Armaan had not pushed too hard in the last qualifying segment, where he out-braked himself and lost half a second. The car developed mechanical problems in the engine and gearbox which set us back quite a lot. The team is looking forward to the five week break before the next race in Indonesia. It will be an opportunity for the team to re-charge their batteries and get ready for the second half of the season with renewed enthusiasm."
Japan
A1 Team Japan and driver Hayanari Shimoda had an un-eventful first race finishing the Sprint Race in 14th position. The Feature Race saw Hayanari stall on the grid, but with quick assistance from the team he rejoined the race losing as little time as possible. Running in 16th position with ten laps to go, Hayanari picked up debris from an earlier accident which damaged the front wing and tyre and had to pit again, rejoining the race in 19th place. The young Japanese managed to finish the thirty lap Feature Race in 15th position.
Hayanari Shimoda: I feel that I could perhaps have pushed a bit harder in the two races today. I kept out of trouble in the Sprint Race, but I would have liked to have moved up the field some more. It's a steep learning curve coming from sports car endurance racing, but I feel that I have made progress this weekend and the team has certainly managed to help me find a set-up that suits my driving. I also made a mistake at the standing start in the Feature Race when I stalled which obviously lost me a great deal of time. The tyre and front wing incident on top of that did not help either. The team did a great job getting me out on track again quickly and I rejoined the race just behind the race leaders which helped me push that little bit harder. All in all I am little disappointed with today's race performances but very pleased with the progress we have made this weekend.
Malcolm Swetnam (Team Manager, A1 Japan): Hayanari kept out of trouble in the Sprint Race and although he didn't gain any places as we would have hoped, he steadily improved his pace throughout the weekend which is the important thing for us. Unfortunately Hayanari stalled on the grid in the Feature Race due to a mistake from his side which meant that his car was pushed into the pitlane where some of the boys where waiting to fire up his engine again. Hayanari then rejoined the race half a lap behind the rest of the field. From this point Hayanari raced well up to 16th position until he picked up some debris which damaged his front right tyre and that in turn went on to destroy the front wing. The team did a remarkably quick pitstop changing his front wing and tyre but Hayanari was now down to 19th position. Back on track again, Hayanari was right on the tail of the race leaders and he did well to keep up with their pace until the chequered flag.
The team are looking forward to making more progress in Indonesia and we hope we can transfer the improving practice and qualifying results into points scoring race performances.
Pakistan
With only four laps to go in the final race of the day, the Feature Race, Adam Khan was involved in a racing incident with A1 Team Austria, finishing his first opportunity to finish in the points. Pakistan had been lying in eighth position until that point having valiantly battled to improve on their overnight 20th position in qualifying on Saturday before the cars collided.
Having started near the back of the grid Team Pakistan's Adam Khan had showed great skill in passing many of the top teams involved in the race. The battles throughout the race, as nation competed against nation, saw a race full of incidents, near misses and some exceptional driving as all vied for the top positions.
A disappointed Adam Khan said: "It had been going fantastically well up to the collision with Austria. The set up of the car was great and I had consistently overtaken cars in front of me and made my way through traffic to bring Pakistan into the top ten for the first time since Brands Hatch. However, I have again proved that we can match the pace of the front runners and be at the front of the racing."
"I would also like to thank all the Pakistani supporters who were showing great encouragement throughout the race and the many who thanked me personally for my efforts for the team."
Asim Husain, Operations Director of A1 Team Pakistan added: "We thank the team for the huge effort that they gave this weekend. We should also congratulate Adam on his superb driving as he took the car into the top ten during the race. Pakistani fans were certainly delivered a thrilling race and the enjoyable sight of A1 Team Pakistan gaining ground all the time and showing the nation that we are serious contenders in this Grand Prix of Nations. We hope to improve on our pace so far and Insha Allah, the race in Indonesia in the New Year will bring us better results."
Malaysia
Alex Yoong added another point to the A1 Team Malaysia World Cup of Motorsport tally, with a tenth place finish in the Sprint race at today's A1 Grand Prix of Nations Dubai, held at the new Dubai Autodrome.
In the Feature race Yoong made a good start, but the team was forced to retire after a rival car pushed the Malaysian car into a spin on the third lap, putting Yoong off track and unable to restart his engine.
In the Sprint race, starting from his eighth place qualifying position, Yoong raced to the first corner in the front pack, but contact from the German car put the Malaysian car on to the gravel. Yoong recovered to lie 11th at the end of the first lap. Moving up a place to 10th on the next lap, the young Malaysian was chased hard by A1 Team Netherlands for the remaining 13 laps of the race, and despite a number of passing attempts by the Dutch team, Yoong maintained position and brought his nation's car home in tenth.
Yoong, who had scored points in all but one of the races that he has driven for A1 Team Malaysia, was back out on track for the Feature race, starting from his tenth place finish place. A strong start put the Malaysian up to eighth place after the first lap, but with the strong competition of the A1 Grand Prix field, Yoong pushed hard and was caught out on the dusty track, spinning into the gravel on the third lap.
Yoong said after the two races, "A disappointing weekend for us. In the first race it was good to get another point, but it should have been more. In the Feature race we got a good start and I was up to fifth or thereabouts, but Jos (A1 Team Netherlands driver) tried an opportunistic move around the outside which left me no room and forced me into a spin. The engine died and I couldn't continue. It's a bit disappointing; we really need to be racing for points every time if we're going to stay in the top ten of the overall standings. But, sometimes you have bad weekends, that's just motor racing."
Jack Cunningham, Team Principal, added, "The Sprint race was highly competitive, with the lead pack racing hard from the rolling start. Alex lost out in the rush to the first corner but recovered well and kept pushing. He defended well against the Dutch car for most of the race and it was great to have him bring home another point for us. The second race was disappointing, but we'll turn our attentions to the next race on Asian soil, with the Indonesian round of the Series early next year."
Lebanon
A1 Team Lebanon raced at the Dubai Autodrome for the first time today, representing all Arabs around the world in the inaugural season of the A1 Grand Prix series founded by Sheikh Maktoum Hasher Maktoum Al Maktoum, finishing 16th in the Feature race.
The Feature race saw Shaaban start from the pitlane and the young Lebanese driver endured a tough race at the dusty desert circuit. He maintained position in the early stages, made his way higher up the order as the race progressed and with the team opting for a late pit stop, he led the race during a safety car period. Strong teamwork gave Shaaban a quick pit stop and at the end of the 30 lap race he was able to bring the Team Lebanon car home in 16th place.
Shaaban was unable to compete in the Sprint race after spinning into the barriers and extensively damaging the car. It was stranded on the circuit during this race, only returning to the pits with less than 45 minutes for the crew to repair the damage and prepare it for the Feature race. The crew's professionalism and teamwork saw the car leave the garage with minutes to spare to take the start of the race After the Feature race Shaaban commented, "My thanks go to the Team Lebanon crew for all their hard work, they really pulled out all the stops today to get me out on track."
Tameem Auchi, A1 Team Lebanon Seat Holder, added, "Unfortunately our performance was below our expectations for our home race. However, the crew must be congratulated on their performance today. They were working against the clock to get our heavily damaged car back out on track in front of the home crowd. Our fans showed their appreciation with their cheers as we left the garage to take part in the Feature race."
Canada
A pair of top-six points scoring finishes by Sean McIntosh promoted Team Canada back into the top-ten of the A1 Grand Prix of Nations today as Round 6 of ‘The World Cup of Motorsport' played out at the Dubai Autodrome in the United Arab Emirates.
Sean followed up his fifth place effort in the opening Sprint race with sixth overall at the end of the Feature race on the 5.39km desert track. Team Canada, sitting just outside the top-ten in the A1GP points standings heading into this weekend's double-header in Dubai now depart back up in tenth with 31 points.
The weekend began with Sean getting to grips with another new track while battling a lingering head cold. Friday's practice sessions proved frustrating with Team Canada languishing uncharacteristically in the lower half of the timesheets. Saturday's qualifying runs bought a healthy dose of optimism however as Sean put together two solid laps to place ninth overall on aggregate time.
Taking the rolling start for today's 15-lap Sprint race Sean was immediately squeezed wide sprinting towards the first turn by the Czech Republic's Tomas Enge. McIntosh, finger firmly on his PowerBoost button for some extra horsepower, held his ground despite the frantic 24-car dash to the corner and ultimately gained a place to move up to eighth by the end of the first tour.
A lap later and the 20-year-old Canadian picked up another position courtesy of Team Brazil retiring from proceedings. Problems on lap six for Robbie Kerr in the Team Great Britain entry bumped Sean into the top-six for the first time this weekend, his pace in sixth now closely matching that of the race leaders just a handful of seconds ahead.
Team France's eight-race winning streak came to an abrupt end as a brief off with two laps remaining ensured Team Switzerland's pole-sitter and race leader, Neel Jani, enjoyed a clear run to the checkered flag and a maiden A1GP victory. McIntosh, a beneficiary of Team France's misfortune, crossed the finish line fifth overall for Team Canada's second highest A1GP finish and a welcome fifth place grid slot, their highest of the season, for the hour-long, 30-lap Feature race.
A quick getaway from the Feature's standing start allowed Sean to steal fourth on the first lap but he soon dropped back to sixth before the only Safety Car period of the race presented itself on lap six due to Team Indonesia's solo crash. The team's call to take McIntosh's mandatory pit-stop at this stage proved crucial as the Canadian entry had suffered rear-wing damage and a puncture thanks to contact from behind by the Czech Republic just prior to the safety car's deployment.
Having lost time getting round to pit-lane, swift action from the Team Canada pit crew got Sean back on-track sitting 12th overall as the safety car peeled off at the end of lap eight. Back up into the top-ten running order on the next lap and into a points paying position, Sean then spent the middle sector of the race chasing Team China.
With ten laps remaining Sean had climbed to seventh, sitting in a pack of cars headed by Team USA in fifth and Team China sixth. Lap 26 saw Phil Giebler's American entry retire leaving Sean to push the Chinese car for a spot in the top-five. Both cars were matched evenly for pace and with no PowerBoost left to gain an advantage from which to attack Sean had to settle for sixth place and another five points at the checkered flag.
Team France bounced back in the Feature to take win number nine of the season, Nicolas Lapierre steering the French to victory over Team Great Britain, Robbie Kerr having led for the majority of the race despite earlier damage to his front-wing.
Looking back on an eventful couple of races Sean commented: "This hasn't been our strongest circuit as a package but to come away with a fifth and sixth place finish isn't a bad result. The Sprint result was good for us in terms of setting us up for the Feature race where I made another good start. We were struggling a bit with pace in the early stages and then I was hit by Tomas Enge as the safety car warnings were coming out. I didn't know what was wrong with the car initially but it was damage to the rear and a puncture.
"We had a pretty good pit-stop and after that it was really a case of damage limitation. I'm sure we could have finished a bit higher up had the race been longer but it was good to put two points scoring runs together and strengthen our position in the standings. There's only eight points separating us from Team Portugal in sixth so things are pretty close heading into the next six events."
Britain
Sprint race
A1 Team Great Britain, with Robbie Kerr at the wheel, was again in the thick of it in the Grand Prix of Nations. Starting from fifth he gained a place at the start and then had the car and skill to overtake Nelson Piquet Jnr in the Brazilian car. Then in third, he battled to defend from eight times winners France who had suffered a spin and lost where from fourth he suffered the same fate and had a spin which dropped him to ninth. The two points narrow the gap to New Zealand to only two points making a move up the championship table to fourth position possible in the Feature Race
Robbie Kerr: "I got a reasonable start but unfortunately I got a bit crowded out and Brazil cut back on me. I got up into fourth position and then overtook Brazil. We were slightly quicker than Ralph [Firman/Ireland] at the start. We got close to him when France caught us and were pushing very hard. In the end they got by using a big tow on the back straight. Then it was a case of keeping the car on the track. Unfortunately coming into turn five the rear locked up a little bit and then again on turn six which spun us out. Disappointing."
Feature race
For A1 Team Great Britain it was the Feature Race that was by far the highlight of a weekend that had been by no means easy. Robbie Kerr made an excellent start and overtook to gain place after place over the opening laps. Having made it up to second position, behind Switzerland and Italy, a safety car was deployed and the team chose to make their mandatory pit stop. It was a good strategy choice and Robbie drove out of the pits ahead of Italy, only being behind Lebanon. It took less than a lap to get by and claim the lead on lap nine, a lead that was held for fifteen laps – effectively half of the race. It was a challenge from France that was the British team's downfall just six laps before the end of the race. The British car was struggling with tyre wear while the French managed to keep their pace. Crossing the line in second, Robbie stood on the podium representing Great Britain for the fourth time in the series to date.
Robbie Kerr: "It was a great start and the first few laps were fantastic – we were overtaking absolutely everything. The car was really good at the start – the team had made a decision to take a slight set-up risk and it worked. The team made a perfect call on the pit stop when the safety car was coming out and after overtaking Lebanon we were leading. Unfortunately the tyres as well as the first set and Nicholas [LaPierre/France] was pushing really hard. I wish I'd known he was using his push to pass button and I'd have done the same and tried to keep him behind me. It's great to be on the podium again and we're nearly there with getting a win – we just need an opportunity."
John Surtees, Team Principal: "I think what we've seen here is A1 coming of age. We are now half way through the first season of the one nation/ one car principle and it's certainly caught peoples' imaginations. Particularly when you look at the results and see South Africa on the podium for the first time and China up there in sixth. I think it's wonderful to see the new nations to Motorsport getting up there! For Great Britain I'm a little disappointed that we couldn't quite beat the French but Robbie tried his hardest – he had a tremendous go but technically we didn't have it quite right frankly. I think the French had a bit of an edge and had a bit of an easier time but Robbie drove his heart out and did everything that could be expected of him and it was a good second. I just hope we can learn from this and go forwards – and literally upwards onto the top step of the podium.
Netherlands
A1 Team Nederland has taken two points in the A1 Grand Prix of Nations in Dubai. In the two races on the Dubai Autodrome, that were packed with action, thrills and sensation, the team finished in 11th place (Sprint race) end in ninth place (Feature race). In the Feature race A1 Team Netherlands was even near a podium finish, but a stalled engine during the pitstop and a drive through penalty spoiled this opportunity.
In the Sprint race, in which A1 Team Netherlands had to start from a 19th grid position, Jos Verstappen had a good start. Already after the first corner he was in 11th, behind Team Malaysia. Despite trying hard Verstappen could not pass him during the 15 lap race and finished just outside the points.
In the feature race A1 Team Netherlands had a good start. Soon Verstappen climbed into the top six. During the pitstop, during the safety car situation after, it all went wrong. First the engine stalled, making the team lose valuable time. After that Verstappen was said to have speeded in the pitlane. While the team were driving in fourth, they got a drive through penalty with 15 laps to go. This caused Verstappen to drop down to fourteenth. In the end Verstappen was able to clinch two points. It was clear that so short after the race a very disappointed Verstappen could not find the right words and refrained from any comment.
Despite the fact that the results are not there yet, Seat Holder Jan Lammers is very pleased about the way A1 Team Netherlands is operating. Also the A1 organisation is getting appreciation from Lammers.
Jan Lammers; "Stalling the engine during the pitstop and the drive through has just ruined a very good chance on a podium finish.If the engine had not stalled we could have been in front of South Africa. As far as the team's race pace is concerned it again looked fantastic and Jos drove great races today. I'm still very happy with the way things are going. Not with the result, off course that's disappointing for me. But I'd rather finish ninth in this fantastic event, then win a race which is very low profile. The atmosphere among the guests is just great, it almost looked like the Soccer World Cup. I'm very pleased with A1 and it's developments".
Portugal
Today, the first half of A1 Grand Prix of Nations has finished in Dubai. Both races - Sprint and Feature - displayed thrilling moments, some of them played by the Portuguese driver, Álvaro Parente, which ended the second race with a brilliant fourth place.
The reining British Formula 3 Champion, Álvaro Parente, drove wisely on the Sprint Race, concluding in eighth, allowing him to recover two positions for the Feature Race starting grid.
Parente, who had to brake hard immediately after the start of the Feature Race, lost several positions and felled to tenth. "The start was reasonable but when I was approaching the first corner a car crossed on my front, forcing me to go hard on the brakes. Because of that I lost some places", explained A1 Team Portugal driver, Álvaro Parente.
On the fifth lap the safety car entered in the track due to an accident with the Indonesian car. Portugal, as several other teams, took the opportunity to make the mandatory pit stop. The Portuguese driver kept his pace with determination and eleven laps after the beginning was already running in fifth. Parente was rolling in Versttapen mirrors until eighteenth lap, when the Dutch received a drive through penalty, allowing Álvaro to come up to fourth place, position that he maintained until the chequered flag.
Álvaro Parente: "I'm pleased with the team's performance and it feels good to get back to front places! We'll keep on working for that once more we can prove our potential, right in the next round, January the fifteenth, on Indonesia".
Luis Vicente: "We had a difficult beginning over the weekend, nevertheless we kept improving the car and we were able to find the right set up. Álvaro has performed a great race and if it wasn't the long pit stop for sure that we'll be in the podium. The points achieved in this round bring us back to the sixth position in the championship standings. I wish that the team can keep working well in order to maintain good results, giving the fans good racing and joy".
South Africa
South Africa's Stephen Simpson overcame a cautious start that saw him slip three places to 16th at the end of the first lap to finish a fighting 12th at the end of the 15-lap (80,85 km) sprint race.
He picked up another two places on lap with an audacious move down the inside of the pit straight and moved into 13th place after passing Japan (Hayanari Shimoda) on lap 4. A spirited battle with the USA (Philip Giebler) for 12th place was resolved in the South African's favour on lap 8 and he went on to finish just 0,6 sec behind 11th-placed Netherlands (Jos Verstappen).
The race was won by Switzerland's Neel Jani who led from pole position and broke France's eight-race winning streak. Italy (Enrico Toccacelo) was second, ahead of the Czech Republic (Tomas Enge), Ireland (Ralph Firman), Canada (Sean McIntosh) and Indonesia (Ananda Mikola).
"I had a very fast car and could have done a lot more had I started higher up the grid," said Simpson. "I was over- cautious into the first corner and this cost me. It also motivated me to be more aggressive once the
first lap excitement was over. We were credited with the seventh-fastest lap of the race, only 0,39 sec slower than Jani's fastest lap, and we were the fastest car on the track in the final laps."
A fine drive by the 21-year-old South African saw him finish third behind France and Great Britain in the 30-lap (161,70 km) feature race to score South Africa's best result of the series to date.
After starting from 12th on the grid he was 8th on lap six when the safety car was deployed after Indonesia crashed into a wall. Many teams, including South Africa, took the opportunity to make their obligatory pit stop for four fresh tyres, and another slick pit stop by the South African team (who have shone in this department at every race meeting to date) saw Simpson jump to fourth place behind Lebanon (who had still to pit), Great
Britain and France.
He had the South Africans in the grandstands on their feet with a bold passing move on France's Nicolas Lapierre and Lebanon's Basil Shaaban, which saw him move up to second place behind Great Britain.
He held off a determined effort by the vastly more experienced Lapierre to repass him and eventually had to settle for third when the Frenchman powered past him on lap 10. In what he described after the race as his
best performance in his motor racing career, he comfortably retained his position to the end of the race to take his and South Africa's first podium finish in the inaugural A1 Grand Prix of Nations.
Simpson finished 1,3 sec ahead of Portugal's Alvare Parente, who was followed across the line by China (Tengyi Jiang) and Canada (Sean McIntosh).
"This was the best race of my life," said an excited Simpson after the race, amid congratulations from Tokyo Sexwale, chairman of A1 Grand Prix Team South Africa, Dana Cooper, CEO of Team South Africa, and a large group of South African supporters, who delighted onlookers with an impromptu rendering of Shosholoza.
"Words can't adequately describe how I feel right now. This was a team effort and my team did a brilliant job. It was great to run with France and Great Britain. We knew our car was good after this morning's warm-up
and the sprint race.
"This is a great result for South Africa, especially with our own A1GP race coming up in Durban, KwaZulu Natal on January 29. I feel very honoured and proud to achieve this success for my country."
Tokyo Sexwale: "This success is the result of a lot of hard work by our team, who have improved with every round of the A1 Grand Prix of Nations. It is their reward and also the reward for all the South African's who have supported this team since the beginning. We have shown that South Africa can compete with the best in the world in this exciting new motor racing series that pits nation against nation.
"Stephen drove very well today. We are proud of him. Now we look forward to the A1 Grand Prix of Nations, Durban, KwaZulu Natal and even greater success."
Czech Republic
Tomáš Enge scored the third position in the sprint race at Dubai Autodrome and for the second race weekend in a row tasted the feeling on the podium. The Czech driver was fighting high also in the feature race but his car was damaged with two incidents.
Dubai offered a nice weather for the whole weekend and both races provided spectacular action with a lot of fights. Enge was seventh on the grid for the sprint race and he held the position for first few laps. The experienced Czech driver was able to avoid mistakes and the team gave him reliable car and the combination allowed climbing up the order. The last lap move on the Ireland car put Enge on the podium.
The Czech car was on the clean line on the grid for the feature race but Enge's start was not the best one and he lost few positions. He managed to avoid trouble in the tight first corner but had no chance to prevent contact with the Robbie Kerr who used the Czech car as an aid for slowing at the corner. Enge continued even with damaged steering and was fighting with the Canadian car for the seventh place. Unfortunately, their fight ended with a touch that resulted in a long pitstop and that ended any chance of scoring points.
The Czechs are currently 12th in the championship standing but the performances in the last two races are highly encouraging and promising for the feature. Enge set the third fastest lap in both races today and combined with improved qualifying speed there is every chance that the Czech car will fight at the front again in the feature. Dubai was the last race of the year 2005 and the whole Czech team wish everybody Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. See you in 2006.
Tomáš Enge: "It would have been nicer to finish the second race on the podium but the points are the same in each race. The sprint was good, my car was working perfectly. Of course, we had some luck because others had problems or made mistakes but it is part of the game. I am happy that our team regularly give me reliable car in the races. The feature race did not start so well and the contact with Kerr damaged my steering. I think that he did a bit stupid move because I left a lot of room for him but he was not able to make the corner and used my car as a brake. Anyway, the car was still driveable and I was able to fight for the points. I was fighting with McIntosh and I had better exit and tried to overtake him. I thought that he knew about me because he left some room but suddenly he turned. There was contact and that was it. It is a shame that we lost opportunity to score more points but at least we have shown that we are on pace. We closed the gap in the qualifying and confirmed that we are strong in the races."
Antonín Charouz, Seat holder: "We are happy with another podium but we should have scored points also in the feature race. I have not seen the accident with the Canadian car, so I can not comment it. The positive thing is that we are quick in both qualifying and races."
Australia
A1 Team Australia's Will Davison has recorded a tenth place finish in the A1 Grand Prix of Nations, Dubai at the Dubai Autodrome, however the 23-year-old Melburnian has been left to ponder what might have been.
Davison pitted with A1 Team China in the feature race, however the problematic wheel nuts on the A1 Grand Prix cars struck Australia for the first time in the series, putting Davison well down the order. The Chinese car went on to record their first points of the series, finishing in fifth.
"It's disappointing I have to say," Davison reflected. "We came in with China and were lapping faster than what they were, so you have to wonder where we may have finished had it not been for the problem in the pitstop."
Davison had to survive some nervous moments in the outstanding racing that has become customary for A1 Grand Prix, including some strong battles with arch-rival, New Zealand, and also some challenges from India.
"It was just crazy out there," Davison laughed. "It's one of the wildest races that I've been involved in ever! Some of the moves that were being made were insane, but I had a great battle with Matt (Halliday - Team NZL) and he's great to race with, that was really enjoyable!"
The Sprint race brought with it its own disappointment. Davison was running well and moving through the closely bunched pack until an electrical gremlin inside the gearbox put pay to his run. The team were able to get him back on track to complete the race, albeit a lap behind. This necessitated he start from 21st on the grid for the feature.
"We uncovered something in the car in warm up on Sunday morning and we're now making progress. I think at the next race we'll move forward somewhat, I'm starting from the back of the grid a little too frequently at the moment," he frowned.
A1 Team Australia Seat Holder Alan Jones was pleased with the tenth place:
"We're happy to have come away with tenth placing, obviously the problem with the pitstop cost us significantly, however we can't complain, we've got a point in the bag, the car was very competitive today and I think you'll see us move forward at the next event."
A1 Team Australia now advances their points tally to 21 and sits 11th on The World Cup of Motorsport ladder.