A1GP Switzerland and Ireland on Pole in Sepang

27 May 2013

Sepang, Malaysia Switzerland and Ireland took a pole position apiece for tomorrows races in Sepang, Malaysia for round three of A1GP World Cup of Motorsport. In an afternoon which resulted in two of the most diverse grids to date, Neel Jani put in a phenomenal time of 1m 47.154s to give the Swiss the Sprint race advantage. Adam Carroll went even faster in Feature race qualifying, setting a 1m 47.124s. However, the big surprise of the exciting qualifying session was Daniel Morad securing Lebanons best ever grid position with third in the Feature race.

In heat of 30 degrees Celsius with humidity of 66%, the A1GP drivers were pushed to their limits this afternoon as they took to the demanding Sepang International Circuit.

The A1 teams also had the first chance to play a PowerBoost joker in qualifying today, with a new rule aimed at adding a new strategic element to Saturdays. The functionality of the new A1GP Powered by Ferrari car allows for the PowerBoost button to be available for an entire lap of Qualifying, and teams will be allowed to use it for one of their four flying laps. The PowerBoost button gives an extra 60bhp on application, so the ability to use it throughout a lap is likely to make a significant difference to the cars capability.

The first segment of qualifying was interrupted by a red flag when Koreas Jin Woo Hwang stopped out on track. The clock continued to tick down while the car was moved, resulting in a frantic rush in the dying seconds of the session as the rest of the field attempted to get over the line to start a flying lap before the chequered flag came out.

Monaco, Mexico, Malaysia and Brazil missed the cut while France took the initial advantage with a 1m 49.173s. In the second Sprint qualifying segment, New Zealand used the PowerBoost to take provisional pole position with a strong lap from Earl Bamber of 1m 47.779s.

Switzerlands Neel Jani then put in a great lap to grab the Sprint race pole position, recording a 1m 47.154s without the help of the PowerBoost button.

Frances Loc Duval will start alongside him on the front row with New Zealands Earl Bamber taking advantage of the new qualifying PowerBoost system to post the third fastest time. Portugal will start fourth and Italy fifth, in its best qualifying performance of the season.

With about two and a half minutes of the first session of Feature qualifying remaining, all the teams piled out of the pits. Ireland took provisional pole position, ahead of France, Australia and Monaco with Switzerland down in fifth.

In the final segment, Irelands Adam Carroll put in a fantastic lap on PowerBoost to keep his place at the top while Great Britain, also on PowerBoost, went second quickest. As the rest of the field recorded their times, Ireland remained on top thanks to beating last years best time by half a second. In the final seconds Daniel Morad put in a staggering performance to take third on the grid with a 1m 47.645s; the best ever grid position for Lebanon, by some margin.

Its nice to bring Lebanon forward seeing how they have struggled in the past, said Morad, but its just another race and Im going to try to do the best I can. I know the team is going to do great and we are one of the quickest during the pit stops so I think we can actually move forward from this position. You never know whats going to happen tomorrow, it could rain, it could be dry, but Im just really excited to be so high up.

Sprint pole-sitter Jani will start 16th for the Feature race making for two completely different looking grids for tomorrows races.

Sprint race pole-sitter, Switzerlands Neel Jani said: We had some troubles in Q1 with traffic, but we did a better lap in Q2 which was enough for my sixth pole here so Im pretty happy about that.

Unfortunately, with this new rule allowing PowerBoost on one of the qualifying segments, I used it in Q2 and some used it in Q4. The ones using it in Q4 would be ahead so it was pretty clear that I wouldnt get pole for that one.

It was good for the Sprint race but not as good for the Feature race, I think Im as far back as Ive ever been in my A1GP career.

Frances Duval, also on the front row for the Sprint race and ninth for the Feature said: It was not so bad, I mean the first qualifying for the Sprint race I did quite a good lap, I just made some mistakes at the end because of the car set up, so we improved a bit and at the end it was quite good. Were not fast enough without the PowerBoost but we are still ninth for the Feature race so we still have a good chance.

Commenting on the teams decision to use PowerBoost for the Sprint race, he continued: I didnt want to take it. It was not wrong but just not lucky; I mean 80% of the guys took it for the last segment and 20% for the second one. It was quite a good qualifying, I made a mistake for the Sprint race and actually I think I did a good lap for the Feature race because I did 1m 47.9s without the PowerBoost so Im quite happy about that.

Feature race pole-sitter Adam Carroll said: That was my first pole for the Feature race and I wanted that one badly. It was quite a good lap but obviously there is the PowerBoost and thats when I chose to use it.

Its going to be hot tomorrow, so we will be even redder and sweatier. There is not much you can do in England to prepare for temperatures like this, not only is it hot but its really humid and that what makes it quite difficult.

Great Britains Danny Watts, sixth and second tomorrow, was surprised by his Feature race effort: I came straight on the radio to the team to say Im sorry as it didnt feel like a particularly good lap and I made a couple of mistakes so I was relieved, but I should have driven a lot quicker, because I was too slow for the Sprint race.

Its the big day tomorrow though so thats where it all matters, and its good that weve got the pace and well focus on that now.

Home nation, A1 Team Malaysia made up for the disappointment in Sprint qualifying by posting a 1m 47.648s to start fourth in the Feature race. Fairuz Fauzy commented: Theres mixed emotions, but overall Im happy with our performance. We went out early for the first run but were caught out by the red flag. Being the furthest in the pitlane made it difficult to get back out in time for another run and we didnt make it, so I only had one shot at the Sprint race qualifying.  On my second run we went out and tried to find a space, but ended up catching the traffic, so Im a bit disappointed for the Sprint race qualifying. For the Feature race we started over and put in a solid lap to start with, saving our PowerBoost for the final run and making a very strong recovery.

After the Sprint race qualifying I was very disappointed and frustrated in the car but I tried to keep my mind strong and think positive and was feeling very determined. I think we can target the top three for the Feature race tomorrow, with a good strategy and good weather on our side. For the Sprint race the aim will be a points finish and I think thats achievable.

With the weather also a factor in tomorrows races and with two very different looking grids, both races look set to be just as thrilling as todays qualifying sessions.

Sprint Race Qualifying Results - A1GP Sepang, Malaysia

*A1 Team Australia will move back two places on the grid for the Sprint race due to using a non-approved part on its car in practice on Friday.

Feature Race Qualifying Results - A1GP Sepang, Malaysia

A1GP Heads to Surfers Paradise in Five Year Deal

27 May 2013

London, Great Britain A1GP World Cup of Motorsport will be racing on one of the most exciting street circuits in the world when it returns to Australia for Season Five. The series has signed a five year deal with the organisers of the street circuit in Surfers Paradise and will go there in 2009 for its first race.

We wanted to go back to Australia and this is the ideal venue for our series. A lot of people have worked hard on putting this deal together, and now it has come to fruition it is very exciting. I am aware we are being given a perfect opportunity to showcase our series to the Australian fans, who have been great supporters of both the series and their own team. Australia has a rich motorsport heritage and I know our tv fans worldwide will be delighted to have this spectacular race on our calendar, said A1GP Chairman, Tony Teixeira.

The first race on the Queensland track, which has hosted 18 Indy Car races since 1991, will be on the weekend of 22-25 October. This is a very welcome addition to the track for one particular Gold Coast resident, A1 Team Australia Seat Holder, Alan Jones. The former F1 world champions comment was: It has been a big hole in the A1GP calendar this year not being in Australia. To say I am thrilled about this deal is an understatement. Having the chance to race in my own back yard is something special for me and the team. We are looking forward to it and I can warn all the other teams now I aim to make sure we have a home win in Surfers.

The deal has come about thanks to the tireless efforts of the Queensland Government and their partners in the event, IMG. Both the Government and IMG have offered us every courtesy in putting this together, and I reckon we must have set a record in doing such an important deal in such a short space of time, said Teixeira.

Im excited to announce that A1GP will now be racing on the streets of Surfers Paradise and that were able to bring the World Cup of Motorsport to the Gold Coast and Australia, said Greg Hooton, General Manager Gold Coast 300.

We view the new partnership with A1GP as a great opportunity to continue to further develop the event and a wonderful attribute for the Gold Coast.  It is critical for us to continue to produce a world class motorsport event and being able to combine the uniqueness of A1GP within Australias most popular motor racing festival gives us a great platform for future growth, commented Hooton

A1GP Ireland Take Taupo Sprint Victory

27 May 2013

Taupo, New Zealand A1 Team Irelands Adam Carroll converted pole position into victory in the Sprint race at Taupo Motorsport Park this morning, extending the teams lead at the top of the A1GP World Cup of Motorsport standings.

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Switzerlands Neel Jani finished second after a great pit stop from the team helped bump him up the order, from fourth on the grid. The Netherlands Robert Doornbos finished third, ahead of Frances Loc Duval. Home driver for A1 Team New Zealand, Chris van der Drift, brought Black Beauty home in fifth place.

Adam Carroll made a perfect getaway from the standing start to lead the pack into the first turn, and make an early break from the rest of the field. Doornbos also had a clean start from alongside him on the front row with the top five holding position as they completed the first lap. New Zealand had a slow start, much to the disappointment of the home crowd, while Great Britains Dan Clarke, Brazils Felipe Guimares, USAs Marco Andretti and Monacos Clivio Piccione all lost time on the first lap.

Ireland was the first team to dive into the pits and a slick stop from the crew helped retain the advantage. Switzerlands fantasitic work in the pits got Jani out two-seconds faster than the Irish crew, bringing him out right behind the emerald green car.

Doornbos stayed out an extra lap before pitting, but a slow getaway lost him time bringing him out in third. After making a good start, Portugal also lost out in the pit stops, dropping down to seventh from what looked to be a strong podium finish.

Australias John Martin made up a position off the start and was looking strong before Martin clipped the inside tyre barrier and damaged his front wishbone as well as the camera recording his indiscretion, leaving him to cruise back to the pit lane to retire.

With five-laps to go Jani began to slightly reduce the gap but a faultless drive from Carroll saw the Celtic Tiger take victory for the third time this season.

It was a great race obviously from pole to win, said Carroll. I am very, very happy and just have to go and try and do it all again.

Commenting on the circuit, he continued: It is a hard little circuit and easy to make mistakes. If you push hard, miss your braking or go wide it is really dirty off line. There are some interesting bumps in some quick corners that unsettle the car and you have to work hard all the time.

Switzerlands Jani said: I had to work to get to second, but I think the big job was done by my pit crew this time. That second place definitely is thanks to them.

At the pit stop I couldnt really get into the pits very well because Adam (Carroll) was sitting there, so I was not well placed, but they still managed to do a good pit stop and got me up to second.  Once I was behind Adam I could keep up with his pace but it was very hard to follow him as he was kicking up some dust and it was getting into my eyes.

I am a hundred per cent fit now, but obviously I feel the fact that I didnt do anything for the last 12 days as I was just lying in bed.

Third-placed Doornbos said: It was quite okay as for the first time I got a good start, which I was quite happy about after China. Then Adam did a great first lap and I found it very slippery. I then closed the gap and just before the pit stops I was right on his tail. The team told me he had the advantage to pit one lap earlier so I had to really push but I was going well.

When I was on the in-lap the pit limiter just dropped me down to 20 instead of 60. The pit stop went okay I think, but then as I went to pull away we had the same glitch with the software that went into anti-stall, and just would not get first gear. The seconds felt like minutes and I think I lost four or five crucial seconds. I am happy to have a podium but I am always looking for more. I like A1GP because you have two chances.

Sprint race results

Fastest lap: A1 Team Switzerland set the fastest lap (1m15.021s) of the Sprint race with a speed of 159.4 kph on lap 10.

MOTRCROSS AUSTRALIAN SUPER X SERIES

27 May 2013

8th November 2008Sydney -

The Top 10 Shootout.This gave the fastest 10 qualifiers a chance to go for one hot lap to determine the gate pick for the Open final. Bragging rights were also in play as three of the fastest riders of the night where on Lites bikes. The lites brigade of Moss, George and Dale would do more than hold there own finishing a respectable  3rd ,6th and 7th. To no-ones surprise Rockstar Suzuki's Chad Reed was the winner of the shoot out. What was a surprise though was he was behind at the spilt timing point to Dan Reardon. With the starts being critical on such a short  and technical track, CDR Rockstar riders would suffer the most with neither Boyd or Jay Marmont getting it right on the night and being relegated to the 9th and 10th gate pick.  

PosNo  Name                                    Machine                                                        

1    22   Chad REED (NSW)               Rockstar SuzukiSuzuki                          38.5571

2   122Daniel REARDON (QLD)       Woodstock Geico Power Honda          38.9311

3   10   Matt MOSS (NSW)                Shift Motul SuzukiSuzuki                       39.0401

4    905Troy CARROLL (QLD)          Coolair Troy Carroll Kawasaki Racing  39.4131

5    111Cameron TAYLOR (VIC)       Shift Motul SuzukiSuzuki                       39.8051

6    10   Luke GEORGE (NSW)           Team Kawasaki Racing                         39.9531

7    41   Ford DALE (QLD)                  Serco Yamaha                                      40.4011

8    65   Daniel McCOY (VIC)             Woodstock Honda Thor Racing            40.6111

9    2    Jay MARMONT (NSW)         CDR Rockstar Yamaha                         41.0881

10  4    Cheyne BOYD (VIC)              CDR Rockstar Yamaha                        49.9871 

Lites Survival at Parramatta  

The theme of the evening was "Survival" and that's what it turned out to be, the survival for the fittest and fastest. Sadly for some they would not make to the start line.

 The current points leader, Jake Moss, was dealt a huge blow in the lead up to the round 4 at Parramatta. Moss sustained a serious spinal injury fracturing his L5 vertebrae. The injury being serious enough for him to be air lifted to the Royal North Shore Hospital were he will spend the next 8 weeks in traction then many weeks in rehab.

  The Moss family flag still flying high after Matt flew out of the start gate to take the hole shot he also made Dean Ferris' return to the series a short one by taking him and Lewis Woods out at the first turn. Even thought both boys would remount. The damage was well and truly done.

  Matt Moss would charge out to about a 5 second lead over 2006 & 2007 Lites SX champion Ryan Marmont. The orange (KTM) train was running rampant in the early part of the race. With Costal KTM's Danny Anderson in 3rd and Ryan's Motorex KTM team mate Tye Symmonds in 4th.

  On lap 7 came the first change to the leader board. Bourke's 16yo Tye Symmonds would take over the final podium spot (3rd place?) from Danny Anderson. The lap times he was putting down were only being bettered and matched by Matt Moss. This rising star  has been consistently up the front of the field in his first year out of juniors and deserves to be sitting 5th in the championship. He would narrowly lose that podium spot on lap 13 to Factory Kawasaki’s Luke George when he got caught in a corner 

  Luke him-self is backing up his great 2008 title winning MX form with consistently hard and fast SX racing. Had Luke made a good start he would have been a lot closer than the 7 seconds he was behind by the end of the race.

 Serco Yamaha’s Ford Dale experienced almost as many ups and downs as the Super X track itself. He started out being one of the fastest guys in practice but could only manage 12th out of 17 in his heat race some 23 seconds behind the leader. Winning the Last Chance Qualifier he then fought back finishing a respectable 5th place in the final.

 With a dominate display from start to finish Matt dedicated his win to his hospitalized brother. “I wanted to win this for my brother and the rest of my family. The series is really in my sight now and I am going to go for it.”

 Pro open survival 

Race 1

 Cameron Taylor opened up with yet another great start ahead of Dan Reardon and Chad Reed. It didn’t take long for the action to start as on the first lap Reardon passed Taylor and then on the start finish Jump Reardon was over taken mid air by Chad Reed. Once in front Reed was never to be headed and cruised to an easy win. Now in this format it’s not who wins the race but who finishes in the last 5 because they are eliminated in each race. With the race done and dusted it was Factory Kawasaki rider Adam Cini heading back to the transporters for an early night after race 1. One to just make it through was CDR’s Cheyne Boyd finishing in the 14th spot  

Race 2

Chad Reed nailed the hole shot and did not look back and the usual suspects, Jay Marmont and Dan Reardon also made their way to the front of the field. The excitement in this race happened when Chad was given a 15 second penalty as Mike Gosselaar, his mechanic took his bike form the transition area to the start gate (the rider must do it him self) This relegated Reed to third after a hard charging ride. 

Race 3

The best start of the night went to Dan Reardon while Woodstock Hondas Daniel McCoy was in second and Cool Airs Troy Carroll and Jay Marmont in 3^rd and 4th. Chad Reed got stuck up in

the first corner coming out in dead last. What is a world Champion to do with only 5 laps of

racing? With one lap to spare he passes Dan Reardon for the lead to the biggest cheer of the evening. Cheyne Boyd pushed his luck once to often and was the unlucky 6th placed rider and therefore missing his place in the Final as was the hole shot king in Cam Taylor who finished in 7^th place. 

The FINAL

 With two minutes until the kick off the final there was a bit of an argument about gate choice. No-one wanted the inside gate but with 30 seconds to go Carroll, McCoy, Reardon, Marmont and Reed are ready with no-one on the inside gate. The final started out with Reardon taking his second hole shot in a row with Reed up close behind and Dan McCoy in third. On the first lap McCoy lived up to his reputation, shoving his bike up the inside of Reed just after whoops. On the following corner it was Jay Marmont’s turn to take Reed down a peg into fourth. That arrangement lasted all of one corner as Reed took the places straight back from both of them. Now firmly in second place he was after Dan Reardon and it didn’t take that long to take that top spot back either with just two laps to spare. Jay moved past McCoy and set of after Reardon as well although he would run out of time and have to settle for third.

 Reardon summed up the evening saying “I had a lot of fun out there tonight. The new format was tough and I liked it because it got the crowd so pumped. There was some close racing”   

Final Results  

1) Chad Reed               Suzuki

2) Daniel Reardon         Honda

3) Jay Marmont            Yamaha

4) Daniel McCoy          Honda

5) Troy Carroll             Kawasaki

Tony Gardner  

18/11/2008

A1GP Portugal Takes Maiden A1GP Victory

27 May 2013

Chengdu, China Filipe Albuquerque claimed A1 Team Portugals maiden win in the A1GP Chengdu, China Feature race to become the 17th different nation to take an A1GP victory. Portugal took the lead thanks to a slick first pit stop and held off the charge from A1 Team Irelands Adam Carroll in the closing stages. Great Britains Danny Watts took the final podium position after starting on pole but dropping back after his two mandatory pit stops.

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From pole position, Watts made a good start to lead the pack into the first corner. Portugal also made a great start from third to challenge Ireland for second position. Ireland, starting on the dirtier side of the track, struggled to get traction, allowing Portugal to get a good run round the outside of turn one on the racing line and       take the position. Starting eighth, Robert Doornbos A1 Team Netherlands car       stalled on the grid forcing the immediate deployment of the safety car before the     end of the first lap, while the car was pushed back to the pits. The team got the      car re-started and Doornbos made his way back out, albeit a lap down.

Great Britain led from Portugal, Ireland and Monaco as the race re-started on lap      four with Watts powering across the line with a clear gap at the front. Carroll was   right on the back of the Portuguese car, having a look around the outside through   turn one while also defending from Monacos Clivio Piccione in fourth.

Watts lead was now 1.5-seconds from Portugal as the first mandatory pit stop    window opened. Great Britain were first to dive into the pits with Monaco,    Switzerland, Australia, New Zealand and China also following suit. A lap later       Ireland pitted with a quick, clean tyre change from the Irish squad getting Carroll    back out on track in second, but when Albuquerque pitted on the next lap, a blisteringly quick stop from the team handed Portugal what would be the lead of       the race, after the field had all pitted.

As Great Britain and Ireland made their way through traffic, Albuquerque began    building up a comfortable lead when New Zealand appeared to be slowing along         the pit straight with an electrical problem. Chris van der Drift eventually managed       to get Black Beauty going with seemingly no further problem.

By the end of lap 14 Portugal had a 2.385-second lead from Great Britain and Switzerland were starting to hunt down Ireland for third. Albuquerque increased        his lead to four seconds, leaving him in a strong position in the lead.

Portugal now led from Great Britain, Ireland, Switzerland, Australia, Malaysia,       Monaco, France, USA and China.

Further down the field Lebanons Daniel Morad was having a good battle with Italy     for 14th as the second pit stop window drew closer. For the second round of mandatory pit stops it was Portugal and Great Britain who were first to come in.   Ireland took advantage of the extra time out on track, pushing hard on his in lap        to try and make up time on the pair in front. Portugal re-joined in the lead but      Watts emerged in traffic losing vital seconds. A1 Team Ireland made another          great stop and Carroll was able to take second from Watts and set his sights on a second win of the day. On new tyres, Carroll set the fastest lap of the race so far       , 1m 16.003s, his pace allowing him to close the gap on Albuquerque and       as the pair started lap 33 the Carroll was visibly closer, just 0.422-seconds adrift.

The order was now Portugal, Ireland, Great Britain, Switzerland, Australia,        Malaysia, France, Monaco, USA and India.

After going a lap down at the start Doornbos from Rotterdam in the Netherlands, showed what might have been if he had kept his eighth grid-slot as he clocked         the fastest lap of the race, a 1m 15.212s on lap 33, faster than yesterdays pole position time set by Danny Watts. 

On lap 35 the battle for fifth began to heat up as Malaysias Fairuz Fauzy        challenged John Martin for position eventually passing the Australian two laps         later with a great move around the outside of the first corner. On lap 38, Frances Nicolas Prost tried the same manoeuvre on Martin but gave him a little too much   space and spun into the gravel on the exit after getting onto the dirtier part of         the track.

The safety car was deployed for a second time on lap 40 as the French car was recovered. With the pack bunched back together, all advantages were lost and      when the race re-started five laps later the race was back on to the finish.

A1 Team USAs Marco Andretti was now running in eighth on his debut weekend         as the cars came around for the re-start. Ireland was now in prime position to challenge for victory and as racing resumed Portugal and Ireland were both on the PowerBoost button into turn one. Ireland momentarily edged alongside, but   Albuquerque held station and despite a number of exciting challenges the top        eight remained the same to the finish. South Africas Adrian Zaugg and Chinas           Ho-Pin Tung were the only nations to move forward in the closing stages, taking      9th and 12th respectively.

Despite all Carrolls efforts, Filipe Albuquerque crossed the finish line to take the     teams first ever series victory and became the 17th nation to win in A1GP.       Malaysias fifth position was enough to hold on to the championship lead, but      Irelands points haul brought them right into contention, and they now sit equal    second with France on 23 points.

Race winner Albuquerque said: The lap times were getting faster and faster. In        the second stint, I was really fast, faster than anyone else. I was pulling away  and        had four seconds and everything was under control. But then Ireland        was way too fast with the new tyres. I could not go any faster so I just had to     keep the car on the track, not make any mistakes and get the win.

After a successful day in which he claimed Sprint victory and second in the       Feature race, Irelands Carroll said: Well thats the start we really wanted at    Zandvoort. I came here determined to have the best weekend we could and at l      east try to win a race or come away with a couple of podiums.

Practice actually hadnt gone that well but I knew the circuit was extremely tricky    and put the new tyres on to try to do a good lap in qualifying as you had to start      at the front here to try and win. Its just great for the team and everybody. Its        the confidence we all need and I really think we can challenge the rest of the     season for the championship.

Third placed Great Britain driver Watts said: How quickly the ten days have gone    from getting the call, getting on a plane and arriving here to walk around the      circuit. We never would have thought wed be going away with two podiums - two        third places.

When I saw the car when we arrived here, it was still in bits with a lot to do. I       think the two podiums have to go to the mechanics. Theyve been working so        hard through the nights so its been a huge effort from everyone within the team.     For them, its been a fantastic weekend. Were just really glad to come out of our     first weekend in A1GP with a big haul of points.

Feature race results

Fastest lap: A1 Team NED set the fastest lap (1m15.212s) of the Feature        race with a speed of 159.4 kph on lap 33.

2008/09 A1GP World Cup of Motorsport points standings