A1 Grand Prix
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ITALY SECURES VICTORY IN BEIJING FEATURE RACE
A1 Team Italy has secured its first-ever A1GP World Cup of Motorsport Feature race victory in an incident-filled event in Beijing, China. A1 Team Great Britain claimed second position behind ItalyÂ’s Enrico Toccacelo, with Australian Karl Reindler third after Sprint race victor Netherlands crashed out of the lead with only nine laps remaining. France was a startling fourth after starting 17th on the grid, with South Africa and the Czech Republic fifth and sixth respectively.
Polesitter NetherlandsÂ’ Jeroen Bleekemolen got away cleanly from the start behind the pace car with MexicoÂ’s Salvador Duran in touch in second, however the race was interrupted on lap two when A1 Team PakistanÂ’s Nur Ali went into the barrier at turn three, damaging his front wing and stalling the engine. With the car in a dangerous position, the safety car was deployed to allow rescue vehicles to recover the Pakistani machine. There were also problems on the same lap for Ireland, as Michael Devaney attempted to return to the pit lane to change a flat rear right tyre. The Irishman clipped the entrance of the pit lane, stalling the engine, and marshalls were forced to push him back into a run-off area.
When the safety car pulled off on lap nine, Bleekemolen and Duran resumed their battle for the lead, however the MexicanÂ’s charge was prematurely halted when he lost second gear, touched the barrier and slowed. Italy and Germany seized the opportunity to dive in front of Duran, relegating the Mexican to fourth position. Unable to turn into the tight corners, Duran retired the following lap.
Netherlands and Italy remained closely matched until the first round of pit stops on lap 20. Their early stop advantage was however negated when the safety car was deployed on their out laps to allow marshalls to recover the Swiss car of Neel Jani, who had spun close to the entrance of the pit lane.
When the safety car pulled off on lap 27, Canadian James Hinchcliffe was forced to defend his inherited lead from hard-charging Brazilian Raphael Matos. The Brazilian almost pulled off a bold move on the Canadian through the hairpin, but Hinchliffe held his line and his nerve to keep the lead. Nineteen-year-old Hinchliffe remained in front until his pit stop and looked set to extend his season points haul until a tussle with FranceÂ’s Nicolas Lapierre on the penultimate lap put the Canadian into the wall and into retirement from the race.
A1 Team Germany lost the series’ lead when Nico Hülkenberg retired in the pits on lap 53 with a gearbox problem. Hülkenberg’s misfortune was Italian Toccacelo’s gain as he was elevated into the lead of the race following the German and Dutch retirements. The Italian was delighted to hold onto the lead until the flag fall, “This is a really good result for us and I am really happy to be back here in A1GP, in Beijing and winning the race. In the first race I was third and was really pleased because I was pretty confident as the car was quite good. I have been a little bit lucky in the last laps but anyway I feel the car was good and I was the quickest in the race. It is really great and I want to say thank you to Team Ghinzani.”
Great Britain’s rising star, Oliver Jarvis, similarly benefited from Germany’s problems as he moved into second overall, a stunning result for the young Brit on his A1GP race debut. “At the start of the race the team discussed the strategy and we knew it was all going to be about being there at the end as it is a street circuit. A lot of people made mistakes and also the car struggled to get over the kerbs and the bumps. I am delighted with second for myself and the team. I think we could have had a better run in the first race but at the end of the day we have ended up on the podium and that is where we want to be.”
Karl Reindler completed the top three, the Australian having a stunning race to move up nine places over the 63 lap race, “It was quite a race. I had no idea where I was until the final safety car. The race just fell into our hands pretty much, we had a great strategy and we had a briefing before the race and decided to wait to pit and it worked out in the end. It has been a bit of a mixed up weekend and a mixed up race but it is great to be up here.”
South AfricaÂ’s Adrian Zaugg just pipped Tomas Enge to fifth place after the Capetonian made an audacious move round on the inside of the hairpin. Brazil and Singapore completed the top eight, Christian Murchison securing the Asian nation their first-ever points in the A1GP World Cup of Motorsport.
Mexico now head the series’ title race going into the next A1GP round in Sepang, Malaysia, which will be held on 24 – 26 November 2006. -
RS6 safety car? -
no singapore car this weekend
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Sentul - New Zealand’s Jonny Reid has secured a double victory at the Gudang Garam A1GP Sentul, Indonesia event. In a rain-affected and incident-filled Feature race, Reid won by just over two seconds from Germany’s Nico Hülkenberg and France’s Nicolas Lapierre.
Polesitter Reid led into the first corner and withstood heavy pressure from Mexico’s Salvador Duran and Great Britain’s Robbie Kerr for the lead. Hülkenberg, starting from third, pulled level with Duran through turns five and six, but it was Kerr who finally found a way into second, driving round the Mexican on the inside of turn seven. South Africa’s Alan van der Merwe had an outstanding start, moving from eighth to fifth by the second sector and past Duran into fourth by the end of the first lap.
Relishing the wet conditions, Hülkenberg put Reid under heavy pressure for the lead over the first lap and drew level with the New Zealander down the pit straight at the end of the lap using the PowerBoost button. Reid however kept his line and jinked to the right down the straight into turn three to defend his lead from the German. Hülkenberg tried the same move the following lap but this time made it stick and powered through into the lead of the field. Willi Weber’s protégé then went on to pull out a six second lead over the next five laps.
Hülkenberg held the lead until the first round of pit stops. As the heavy rain that had delayed the start of the race cleared and the track started to dry, it was a gamble for teams on whether to opt for wet or slick rubber. Reid was amongst the first to stop on lap 16, with Hülkenberg pulling in two laps later. The German’s stop was slightly slower at 37.8secs, but the advantage the German had built over the preceding laps was enough to put him back out ahead of Reid. Even a brief excursion into the gravel at turn two on lap 19 was not enough to delay the young German.
Over the next two laps Reid however put in a series of times over a second quicker than Hülkenberg to close the gap to just under a second by lap 24. As the track started to dry, drivers returned to the pits for a set of slick Cooper tyres; Hülkenberg stopping on lap 30. With clean air in front, Reid put the hammer down to record a quick series of laps and when he stopped on lap 33, he came out in front of the German in the lead. “It was not a straightforward race at all and the weather came in and played a big part in that race,” said Reid. “After the start of the race I was struggling quite a lot and at the pit stop we made a change and the car was much, much better as you could see in the lap times. I snatched back the lead and pushed hard to get a gap. We put a lot of push on at the end and I just got my head down.
Great BritainÂ’s Kerr was looking good for another podium spot behind the Kiwi and the German until FranceÂ’s Lapierre caught and passed him down the straight on lap 34. With strategic use of the PowerBoost, the Frenchman pulled level down the pit straight, taking the inside line through turn one. Kerr tried to fight back, but with no PowerBoosts remaining, Kerr struggled to find defend his line.
A solid fourth position for the Englishman looked assured until he ran wide at turn four on lap 39, spun and stalled. A five minute safety car period was called to recover the car and when it withdrew it was a sprint to the finish, with only three minutes remaining.
Reid made an excellent start and held onto his advantage over a charging Hülkenberg to win by 1.178secs, the Kiwis’ first A1GP Feature race victory, “Fortunately I was able to take the win today. Germany and myself have shown clear pace in qualifying for the first half of the season and I am confident we can keep that pace up. We have got a good thing going with the alliance with Germany and it is working well so I have every confidence that I can put two wins on the board at home. I am looking forward to it and I will push hard to do that.”
Hülkenberg second position retained the series lead for Germany. “I got a pretty good start and was immediately behind Jonny. I could see nothing, it was so hard to work out the braking points and that was why it took so long until I overtook Jonny or he made a mistake. I didn’t see a lot so when I overtook him I had a very good car and everything was fine. On my second set of tyres I made a mistake and I don’t know what was wrong the car was much worse. I had oversteer, understeer and it was just much, much worse than before. It was very slippery to the end and there was a lot of power oversteer because it was still not dry, but we had changed the slicks and from the beginning to the first corner I knew it was a lot better there was a lot more grip from the first corner.”
France moved up from seventh to third overall, following an excellent start and race-long battle with Malaysia. Lapierre was pleased with his result, France’s fourth podium of the year, “It was a pretty good race for us considering our starting position. The race was okay. We struggled a bit at the beginning with the first set of tyres, I don’t know why exactly. Then the second set was okay and we were able to come back fighting with Great Britain and my team made a great call to change to slick tyres. The end of the race was good and certainly we had Pakistan and Australia between me and Nico after the safety car so I could not do anything, but we need to start a little bit more in the front and we will be okay.”
Italy finished a remarkable fourth after starting 15th on the grid. The Netherlands were a strong fifth and Malaysia was a solid sixth, despite Yoong reporting tyre pressure problems on his second set of rubber. The USAÂ’s Phil Giebler had another consistent performance, running with the top three throughout the first part of the race and battling wheel-to-wheel with Kerr for third on lap 24, but his efforts were ultimately not rewarded when he lost time with a spin and stall on lap 43. Marshals got the American back on the road, but the damage was done and Giebler slipped back to 10th.
Last seasonÂ’s Feature race winner Sean McIntosh had an eventful race after he almost crashed into the South African pit garage after a routine tyre change. The team had chosen slick tyres, but McIntosh hit a puddle and slewed into the South Africans. He then failed to finish after a wheel came loose and flew off his car on lap 38.
Germany continues to lead the nations’ standings going into the sixth race of the year in Taupo, New Zealand, from 19 – 21 January 2007. The visit will be A1GP’s first trip to the track and the first visit of the season to the Southern Hemisphere. -
Race coming up this weekend in New Zealand!
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A1 Team Germany has taken its first double win of the series with driver Nico Hulkenberg leading the SuperPoints A1GP Taupo, New Zealand from start to finish. Rookie driver, Loic Duval impressed in his first A1GP race holding second place for A1 Team France despite constant pressure from Jonny Reid who piloted Black Beauty to achieve the best result for a home nation at any A1GP event.
As the cars started the second lap, A1 Team Germany led France, New Zealand, Netherlands, Switzerland and Italy ahead of South Africa and Great Britain. Unfortunately for South Africa their position at the front of the field was not to last as their drive through penalty taken at the end of lap four for a jump start saw them drop down to 17th position.
Further down the field, the Czech Republic began closing the gap with Brazil piling the pressure on throughout lap seven. The pair approached turn 12 side by side but as both drivers kept up their speed the cars left the track, cutting over the grass and returning with A1 Team Czech Republic ahead and A1 Team Brazil with a destroyed front wing.
As the mandatory pit stop window opened at the start of lap eight, race leader Germany was the first to pit, followed on the same lap by the Netherlands, Great Britain and Italy. France and New Zealand came in on the next lap and the pressure was on the pit crews to get their respective cars out ahead of each other. Both crews pulled off flawless pit stops but the French left the pit lane one second ahead.
After a driveshaft failure put A1 Team Ireland out of the Sprint race and twentieth on the Feature race grid, driver Richard Lyons began to push the bright green car up the field as the other teams pitted. By the time they pitted on lap 12, the second driver to be experiencing his first A1GP race had moved up to 11th. Despite a good pit stop and some impressive overtaking attempts, the luck of the Irish ran out as a later error saw the car clip the curb, break the rear suspension and put the team out of the race just five laps from the end.
Back at the front of the pack, Switzerland made the most of the gap created while Germany, France, New Zealand and the Netherlands pitted, so. when the red and white car made its mandatory pit stop it was able to leap frog the Dutch, into fourth and hold that position for the rest of the race.
New Zealand kept the pressure on France throughout the race making several close attempts at overtaking but near faultless performances from both on a tight and slippery track kept the positions at a stalemate.
While the success of the weekend saw both France and New Zealand move up in the championship standings, a disappointing weekend for Mexico saw them drop from third to fifth. Great Britain who started the weekend second in the standings dropped down to fourth place after an impressive Sprint race performance was dampened by a battery failure which forced the team to retire from sixth on lap 40 of the Feature race. However, there was no such disappointment in the A1 Team India garage as the team scored its first ever points for seventh place thanks to the efforts of another newcomer to the series, Narain Karthikeyan. As if this was not enough, he also managed to set the second fastest lap of the race less than two tenths of a second slower than that set by Germany.
A1 Team Germany’s Nico Hulkenberg was delighted with his first double win of the series, commenting: ‘I got into my rhythm, I was able to find my pace and I could make a little gap between us. My manager was a little bit sick this week and I think I have caught something off him but I am all right. I drank a lot, about four litres before the race and I am okay. I want to say a big thank you to the team as we had a good strategy and a great pit stop. I am so pleased to be here and to have won the race and I am really looking forward to Australia now.’
His first taste of an A1GP race weekend impressed France’s Loic Duval who like, Hulkenberg is looking forward to the next race at Eastern Creek in Sydney (2 – 4 February 2007). Duval said: At the end it was not so bad unfortunately I was not first but for my first experience in A1GP I think it was quite good. I am fine with the team and happy to be in this series so I hope the next race will be better.
‘I think the problem this weekend we were quick on the first two laps and then it was more difficult to drive the car, but anyway it was my first race and the team did a really, really good job. They did a great pit stop. At the end it was not such a bad weekend. Nico was just quicker than me, but this was my first experience with the team during a race and I think we can improve the car so now we see for the next race.’
The 80,000 plus crowd over the weekend spurred on the home nation making them the first A1 Team to set foot on the podium in front of their home crowd. Driver Jonny Reid commented: ‘It was tough out there. I was sliding around. I knew if I could get in front I could pull away gradually. There was not much between us. I think we were quicker overall but I just couldn’t put that into second place. When we had the back markers I knew that would cause some confusion so I put the pressure on but there were no mistakes made by the French team. Loic did a very good job under pressure and credit to him. That was a tough race for us all and I am happy with third place.’
Commenting on the success of his home race, Reid continued: ‘Everyone has done a fantastic job. Credit to everyone in A1 Team New Zealand, A1GP, the Government everyone who has put this event together. This is our second best overall placing at an A1GP event so we can take those points and look forward to Eastern Creek.’
With over 80,000 people attending over the race weekend, the first A1GP race in Taupo proved to be a great success. ‘New Zealanders should be incredibly proud of today’s event. In excess of 80,000 fans experienced the thrill and excitement of the A1GP World Cup of Motorsport at Taupo. The racing was incredibly close from start to finish with two podium places for the home team. Now we’re looking forward to heading across the Tasman to Sydney for round seven’ commented A1GP chief executive officer, Pete da Silva. -
1 GER 65
2 FRA 46
3 NZL 43
4 GBR 36
5 MEX 34
6 MAL 30
7 ITA 29
8 SUI 29
9 CAN 28
10 NED 26 -
The cars are using what engine? Lotus right?
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4.5L Ford V8 engines.Originally posted by sand king:The cars are using what engine? Lotus right? -
oic, thanks!Originally posted by Kuali Baba:4.5L Ford V8 engines. -
In case you haven't noticed, Team Singapore has disappeared since the South African GP. I don't blame you, the papers abandon coverage of the series long ago.
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Final Standings:
1. GER [128]
2. NZL (93)
3. GBR (92)
4. FRA (67)
5. NED (57)
6. MAL (55)
7. ITA (52)
8. SUI (50)
9. USA (42)
10. MEX (35) -
from 25 teams to around 20... no wonder the chairman step down
