A1GP India Takes Incredible Maiden Victory at Zhuhai

21 May 2013

China - A1 Team India's Narain Karthikeyan made history today when he took his and the team's first ever A1GP race win in this afternoon's incident-packed Feature race at China's Zhuhai International Circuit. Karthikeyan was joined on the podium by New Zealand's Jonny Reid, who started from 10th on the grid, and South Africa's Adrian Zaugg in third.

The 30-year-old Indian driver, who started from third on the grid, took the lead from New Zealand during the second pit stop window on lap 29 and, despite a huge amount of pressure and some excellent racing from Reid, Karthikeyan held off Black Beauty and went on the cross the line in first place and score India's first A1GP win in the history of the sport.

South Africa's Zaugg also enjoyed a strong race to take the final podium position, having started from ninth on the grid. Zaugg was under attack from Germany's Michael Ammermüller during the last 10 laps of the 45 lap race but the 21-year-old South African pushed hard to take third place ahead of the German rookie who ultimately finished fourth.

Fifth place was taken by Great Britain's Oliver Jarvis, who got away well from second on the grid and snatched the early lead from pole sitter Switzerland as Brazil, Ireland, Canada and Malaysia were all involved in an incident behind them at turn one, bringing out the safety car for four laps. Fast work in the pits during the first pit stop window allowed Switzerland to steal the lead when they rejoined the action while GBR fell back to sixth place.

Having enjoyed an early lead, the British and Swiss teams were both hampered with delays in their second pit stops due to technical issues, ultimately finishing in fifth and sixth positions respectively. Despite a disappointing finish, GBR's Jarvis was clearly pushing hard, picking up a bonus point for setting the fastest lap in the Feature race on lap 29.

France, who finished the race seventh, was hit with a drive through penalty on lap 16 due to releasing their car unsafely from its first pit stop. As he drove past the USA pit box, Loic Duval caught the hose connected to one of the airguns causing a USA mechanic to be pulled to the ground.

Tomas Enge, making his A1GP race return for the Czech Republic after an absence of 10 months, had a superb afternoon, racing from 16th on the grid to finish a solid eighth.

Home nation China's CongFu Cheng, who was running in sixth place on lap 31 after the second round of pit stops, fell down the order to 10th after taking a drive through penalty for speeding in the pit lane. The Chinese star was determined not to give up, charging past USA with five laps remaining and finally crossing the line in ninth place, picking up two valuable championship points, moving the team up one position in the overall championship standings.

Netherland's Jeroen Bleekemolen was forced out of the action on lap nine due to a puncture caused by suspected suspension failure at the final corner while 12th placed Portugal received a drive through penalty on lap five for making a false start.

Narain Karthikeyan, who made history today by scoring India's first ever A1GP win, praised his team's brilliant work in the pits:

'The team has been working really hard at pit stop practices and they've done a really good job this weekend. Both the pit stops were excellent and we got ahead but unfortunately I got stuck behind Pakistan on my out lap so I couldn't push but I came out just ahead of Jonny. There was a lot of pressure towards the end but then his tyres went off as well as mine and then we were equal - after that I just got the job done.'

Jonny Reid, who raced from 10th on the grid to finish a superb second, was delighted with New Zealand's team work this weekend:

'It was a fantastic team effort. Obviously I'm very pleased to come from P10 on the grid and having struggled in qualifying to threaten for the win in the end. It's a credit to the team. My in laps were good, my out laps were good, and there were a few mistakes from my side of the fence so overall I'm very pleased with the whole team this weekend. Fantastic effort.'

South Africa's Adrian Zaugg was pleasantly surprised by his team's podium finish today and enjoyed some competitive racing:

'I was quite surprised myself that we had the pace to finish on the podium. We were quite strong from the beginning of the race and passed quite a few people, Great Britain was one of them. He (Oliver Jarvis) made a slight mistake into the second last turn so I got a good run down the straight and passed him into the last turn. It was really good racing.'

Switzerland has extended its championship lead to 79 points, 19 ahead of second-placed France on 60, closely followed by New Zealand just one point behind in third place on 59 points.

The championship now takes a five-week break before heading to New Zealand for round five in Taupo, marking the first race of the New Year on 18-20 January 2008.

Feature race results

2007/08 A1GP World Cup of Motorsport points standings

Fastest lap: A1 Team Great Britain set the fastest lap in the Feature race, lapping Zhuhai International Circuit in 1m24.703s with a speed of 183.6 kph on lap 29 of the 45 lap race.

Next race: A1GP Taupo, New Zealand, 18-20 January 2007

A1GP Germany Wins as China Takes Home Race Podium

21 May 2013

China - Pole sitter A1 Team Germany's Michael Ammermüller raced to his first A1GP victory in this morning's inaugural Zhuhai Sprint race at round four of the 2007/08 A1GP World Cup of Motorsport season while China's CongFu Cheng put in an incredible performance on home soil, taking a fantastic home race podium.

German rookie Ammermüller dominated the race from lights to flag, holding off Neel Jani to cross the line just over half a second ahead of title leader Switzerland who finished second. The packed grandstand roared when home nation China's CongFu Cheng made a sensational move past Ireland's Adam Carroll on lap 10 to grab third place. The 23-year-old from Beijing went on to take the first podium finish of his career and China's first of the season.

Czech Republic, Great Britain and India finished fifth, sixth and seventh while France and the Netherlands crossed the line in eighth and ninth place respectively.

Canada's Robert Wickens made a brave move past Jonny Reid on lap four to snatch 10th position from New Zealand. The pair continued to battle and in the closing minutes of the 13 lap race, Reid collided with the Canadian racer to take back the final points paying position.

Five of the 22 cars on the grid were involved in a first lap collision, Australia, Brazil and South Africa tangling at turn four and Lebanon running off into the gravel, bringing out the safety car for three laps. Malaysia was forced out of the action due to a puncture sustained from running over debris caused by the incident.

All 22 nations are now preparing for the main event of the weekend at Zhuhai, a thrilling and unpredictable 70 minute Feature race, which starts at 15:00 this afternoon.

Germany's Michael Ammermüller was pleased with his first win and happy to put the challenges he experienced in Malaysia behind him:

'It was a very nice race. We did a good job yesterday in qualifying and we had a good start today. The car was very good and I didn't make any mistakes. The last race in Sepang wasn't so nice but this time the start was a lot better and I'm happy. This afternoon will be more difficult as I'm starting from fifth position but it's a longer race and lots can happen.'

Switerland's Neel Jani, who finished second in the Sprint race and is on pole for this afternoon's Feature race, said:

'My start wasn't too bad, I got very close to Michael but he defended well and I couldn't really get past him without taking any risks. In the end I just settled for second and picked up some good points, plus I got the extra point for the fastest lap. We're on pole position this afternoon which is a good starting point but we will struggle with brakes towards the end of the race, as everybody will, so it's a just a question of who gets through the race with the least amount of problems.'

China's CongFu Cheng was delighted with his first podium finish and overwhelmed by all the support from his home fans:

'It was a great race and I want to say thanks to the crowd and to A1 Team China. It feels fantastic to deliver the first podium of the season for myself and for the team. The crowd was great and big thanks to the team, I'm speechless.'

Sprint race results

Fastest lap: A1 Team Switzerland's Neel Jani set the fastest lap (1m24.418s) of the Sprint race on lap 11

A1GP Germany and Switzerland on Pole at Zhuhai

21 May 2013

China - Defending champion A1 Team Germany qualified in pole position for tomorrow morning's Sprint race at the inaugural Huatai A1GP Zhuhai, China while the Feature race will be led off the grid by current championship leader Switzerland.

Sprint race qualifying
German rookie Michael Ammermuller set the fastest lap during the second 15-minute qualifying segment to snatch pole position for tomorrow morning's Sprint race from Ireland's Adam Carroll, who was quickest around the 4.3km Chinese circuit in Q1.

Switzerland's Neel Jani will line up alongside Germany on the front row, after a superb last lap charge during Q2 demoted Ireland's Adam Carroll and China's CongFu Cheng to third and fourth place respectively. Great Britain's Oliver Jarvis and Czech Republic's Tomas Enge will line up on the third row of the grid in fifth and sixth place respectively.

Feature race qualifying
Switzerland's Neel Jani went one better in the final qualifying segment to secure pole for the Feature race ahead of GBR's Oliver Jarvis who will line up alongside him on the front row.

India's Narain Karthikeyan put in a sensational lap in Q4 to secure third position on the grid, closely followed by France's Loic Duval who will start from fourth. Germany took the fifth spot while home nation China's CongFu Cheng continued to impress the home fans by qualifying in sixth position and achieving China's best combined qualifying performance to date.

Germany's Michael Ammermüller was delighted with his first pole position in only his second A1GP appearance and is looking forward to taking on the challenging Zhuhai circuit tomorrow morning:

'We did a good job to get first place in qualifying and it's a great result for the whole team. We were struggling a bit in free practice but then we got a really good car and we were quite dominant in the first qualifying. The track got a bit worse towards the end and we weren't in the top three but still I think it's a good result. It's better to be first in the first race because it's a short race and quite difficult to overtake and in the second race it's all about strategy and anything is possible.'

Sepang double race winner Neel Jani, who has been struggling with brake problems on the Swiss car, was pleased with his team's qualifying performance:

'We had another great qualifying - second for the Sprint race and first for the Feature race - but it's very tight this time and all very close, every little mistake can put you three spots back. I'm very pleased as yesterday we had a lot of brake problems so the team did a great job to get it solved for today.'

Great Britain's Oliver Jarvis will start both the Sprint and Feature races from second on the grid. The 23-year-old said:

'The free practice and qualifying sessions have been pretty tough. Like Neel said, the track adheres to very close times so a small mistake can make a big difference. It's also very difficult to get a full lap together, there's a lot of heavy braking zones and it's very easy to make a mistake. We've struggled a little bit so far but hopefully we can have very good races and score a lot of points.'

Tomorrow's Sprint race at Zhuhai International Circuit, China will start at 11.00 local time and the 70-minute Feature race will start at 15.00.

Sprint race qualifying results - A1GP Zhuhai, China (round 4 of 10)

Feature race qualifying results - A1GP Zhuhai, China (round 4 of 10)

A1GP Ireland Sets Pace in Friday Practice at Zhuhai

21 May 2013

China - A1 Team Ireland took charge in the second of today's two free practice sessions at Zhuhai International Circuit as all 22 drivers experienced the Chinese circuit for the first time in an A1GP car, kicking off round four of the 2007/08 A1GP World Cup of Motorsport season.

Twenty-five-year-old Irish rookie Adam Carroll, who finished fifth fastest in the morning session when the top 12 nations were separated by less than one second, clocked a best lap of 1m23.279s around the 4.3km circuit this afternoon in warm and sunny weather conditions.

Carroll, who is feeling a lot more comfortable in the emerald green car after extensive work on his seat, was encouraged by his team's start to the weekend and is aiming for a strong qualifying performance tomorrow afternoon:

'Obviously it was only practice but it was a good way to start the weekend. We got a pretty good lap on new rubber but I'm sure everyone's going to catch up tomorrow. I'm hoping we can carry the pace all the way through the weekend and get up the front and stay there. I've had some major issues with my seat and we've had to make seven so far. I find it quite hard to get comfortable in the car but now I can really concentrate on driving the car rather than being in pain so it should make a lot of difference.'

Canada's Robert Wickens, who secured the team's first podium finish of the season last time out in Malaysia, finished the day second fastest, half a second off the Irish car.

Having topped the time sheets in this morning's rookie session, defending champion Germany's Michael Ammermuller set the third fastest time of the day, closely followed by the Netherlands's Jeroen Bleekemolen in fourth position overall.

When asked what the secret is to achieve a quick lap around the Zhuhai circuit, Ammermuller said:

'It's quite difficult to make a lot of time up at the high speed corners, you just need to focus on late braking and getting on the power as early as possible on the exit to make sure you get a perfect lap. There are no big secrets at any of the corners. The track was getting quite dusty and dirty in the afternoon as some of the drivers spun off so the conditions were getting worse and that's why nobody was able to improve on the earlier times.'

Home nation A1 Team China's CongFu Cheng, who last drove at Zhuhai in 2002 in a Chinese Formula Renault race, is not eligible to take part in the rookie session and finished the day a strong fifth fastest.

The 23-year-old from Beijing said:

'We were obviously at a bit of a disadvantage not being able to do any running in the rookie session this morning, but we worked through the programme this afternoon and it worked out ok. There is quite a lot of pressure as it's my home event and I haven't raced here for seven years so I'm pleased to be on the pace today, but I'm sure everybody will catch up by tomorrow.'

A1 Team France driver Loic Duval finished the day in sixth place, despite not taking part in the rookie session this morning and limited track time this afternoon due to spinning off half way through the hour.

Official Practice Session 1 - Rookie drivers and developing nations only

Official Practice session 2 (14.00 - 15.00)

2009 STARTS HERE

21 May 2013

  2009?  2009?????   I can here you ranting about me being insane from here. But yes, testing for 2009 kicked off at Jerez yesterday when F1 cars ran on slick tyres for the first time since the European Grand Prix at the same circuit in 1997.

  Bridgestone have supplied all teams with three sets of slicks to evaluate in preparation for the replacement of the grooved tyres and return to slicks in 2009.

Only three drivers used the prototype slicks on day one of testing and even this early in the development cycle they have proved to be worth at least a second a lap around Jerez.

  Nick Heidfeld in the BMW Sauber ended up with the fastest time of the day with a 1’19.042 followed by Button in the Honda in 1’19.155. Both were on the slick tyres. The fastest runner on the current grooved tyres was McLaren’s Pedro de la Rosa who set a best time of 1’19.712. Heidfeld’s performance would suggest an improvement of about a second per lap. BMW Sauber were usually about 0.7 of a second behind the McLarens and Ferraris during last season and he finished the day 0.7 seconds up on de la Rosa’s McLaren. Admittedly de la Rosa in not a Hamilton or Alonso but even so, Pedro still finished up three tenths quicker than newly crowned world champ Raikkonen in the Ferrari, so he wasn’t tooling around. The greater leap forward, giving rise to suggestions that the improvement in lap times may be far greater than Heidfeld’s time suggested, was that by Button in the Honda. Hondas were usually about two full seconds off the front running pace last year so when Button ends up half a second faster than the McLarens & Ferraris eyebrows waste no time in shooting skywards.

  Button’s time suggests that the difference may be as large as two to two and a half seconds per lap. Early logic would put the improvement somewhere in the middle of these but it will be interesting to see, over the next two days, what the improvement is when the heavy hitters, Hamilton, Raikkonen and Schumacher give the top cars a run.

  In other news of note, Nico Hulkenberg had his first run in a F1 car and immediately outpaced his Williams team-mate, newly signed race driver, Kazuki Nakajima. Both had a relatively restricted programme with Nico completing just 28 laps and Nakajima 33. Hulkenberg ended up 3/100ths faster on the day.

  Other debuts included Timo Glock, who had his first run in the Toyota setting 13th best time, and BMW Sauber rookies Marco Asmer who easily outpaced Javier Villa.

Giancarlo Fisichella also outpaced Franck Montagny in what is becoming a high powered shoot out for the second Force-India seat. Ralf Schumacher and Vitantonio Liuzzi will be joining that fray later in the test.

  In Red Bull land, Sebastien Bourdais was comfortably half a second faster than his Toro-Rosso team-mate Vettel and even pipped Red Bull man Mark Webber by 7/100ths. The Red Bull/Toro Rosso cars finished 6th, 8th and 11th, firmly towards the top of the mid-field which is where they ended the season. Bourdais was just 3/10ths behind Piquet, 5th quickest in the Renault who was a similar margin behind Raikkonen’s Ferrari.

Sam Snape

5/12/2007