A1 Grand Prix of Nations
Switzerland Wins A1GP Title as Great Britain Takes Superb Home Sprint Victory
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BRANDS HATCH, Great Britain (May 4, 2008) - A1 Team Switzerland has won the 2007/08 A1GP World Cup of Motorsport, after finishing fourth in this morning's sensational Brands Hatch Sprint race in the UK, in which Great Britain's Robbie Kerr took a fantastic home race victory ahead of USA and Ireland.

The crowd went wild as home favourite GBR's Robbie Kerr dominated the action from pole position to win the 20-minute race, moving the British team up into third place in the championship before this afternoon's final race of the season. Kerr, who took victory in the Brands Hatch Sprint race last year, has now scored three wins for his nation during his A1GP career.

Much to the delight of the home fans, Ireland's Adam Carroll finished on the podium in third place, after making a brilliant start from fourth on the grid, diving past the Swiss car going into Paddock Hill and seizing third. Twenty-five-year-old Carroll has now notched up a total of four podium finishes - including one win - for the Irish team in his debut A1GP season.

USA's Jonathan Summerton, who started second and has been on impressive form all weekend, held position throughout the race and, despite pressure from Carroll in the Celtic Tiger, went on to finish second and take his third podium for the American squad this season.

New Zealand's Jonny Reid, who had a poor qualifying session on Saturday but was still in with a chance of overhauling the Swiss team in the title fight this morning, crossed the line eighth. The Kiwis are now preparing to defend second overall in the championship during this afternoon's season finale Feature race, as third-placed GBR is set to pile on the pressure.

An emotional Max Welti, seat holder of newly crowned A1GP champion A1 Team Switzerland, said:

'It's absolutely outstanding. It's such a great feeling - you just cannot believe it! To represent Switzerland all over the globe and to actually do it is fantastic. We're writing a page in the history books. Neel came on the radio after he crossed the line to thank the team - he knows that to win the world championship is not only his achievement, but everybody in the team as well.'

Great Britain on top at Brands Hatch
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BRANDS HATCH, Great Britain( 02 May 2008) – Home nation A1 Team Great Britain topped the time sheets in the second of today’s two free practice sessions at Brands Hatch, as the final round of the 2007/08 A1GP World Cup of Motorsport got underway at the legendary Kent circuit in Great Britain in changeable weather conditions.

Despite spending some of the hour long session confined to the garage while the team worked on the car, GBR’s Robbie Kerr stamped his authority on the first day of A1GP track action on home soil, setting a fastest lap of 1m14.891s around the challenging 4.22 km / 2.62 miles Grand Prix circuit.

China’s Congfu Cheng, who knows the Brands Hatch circuit well, set the second fastest time of the day while Jonathan Summerton, who scored USA’s maiden A1GP race win last time out in Shanghai, set the third fastest lap time.

Current title leader Switzerland’s Neel Jani enjoyed a trouble-free session, finishing the afternoon in a comfortable fourth position, followed by Ireland’s Adam Carroll and India’s Narain Karthikeyan in fifth and sixth place respectively.

Championship rival A1 Team New Zealand got the weekend off to a strong start this morning, with new boy Chris van der Drift - who has only taken part in one rookie session prior to this weekend - topping the time sheets. Lead driver Jonny Reid took over this afternoon and set the eighth fastest time overall behind the Netherlands’ Jeroen Bleekemolen in seventh.

Portugal’s Filipe Albuquerque, who clocked the second fastest time this morning, finished the day ninth overall, closely followed by France’s Franck Montagny, who has never driven the Brands Hatch circuit before, in 10th.

Great Britain’s Robbie Kerr reflected on the first day of action on home soil and looked ahead to qualifying tomorrow:

‘We went out early on this afternoon and the car was reasonable but we had a couple of little issues and rather than waste time and laps trying to solve it gradually we decided to take the tyres off and go through everything properly. We took our time and made a few changes then we got the car back together and went out at the end of the session and went quicker. The car has definitely got a good balance but there are still things we can improve on. We’re fairly confident but we’re not going to predict anything. We’ve just got to go out there and keep working at it. Qualifying is key in A1GP – if you’re not there at the top on that first flying lap, you’re not going to be there at the end.’

Epic Title Race Heads to Shanghai
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SHANGHAI, China (April 4, 2008) - As the thrilling third season of A1GP draws to a close, the title battle is wide open and the competition is tighter than ever, with eight teams still mathematically in contention for the honours, as the World Cup of Motorsport returns to China for the penultimate round in Shanghai next weekend (11-13 April).

With 64 points still up for grabs at the final two rounds, eight of the 22 competing nations, including A1 Team Ireland, who secured its first ever A1GP victory when Adam Carroll won the Mexico City Feature race last month, are still mathematically in with a chance of winning the prestigious championship.

New Zealand's Jonny Reid took his third Sprint race victory of the season in Mexico, moving the Kiwis up to second place in the championship, 15 points behind Switzerland. Reid, who holds the lap record around the 4.6 km circuit, has previously performed well at Shanghai, storming to a commanding victory in the Feature race last year. Current title leader Switzerland arrives in China on 128 points ahead of New Zealand on 113 and season one champion France, who failed to pick up any points in Mexico, on 108.

Switzerland's Neel Jani has never raced at the Shanghai Circuit before but in theory his nation could leave China as series champion, if it increases its title lead to at least 33 points.

Great Britain's Robbie Kerr returns to the scene of his maiden A1GP victory, having won the Shanghai Sprint race last year, and will be aiming for a repeat performance ahead of his nation's home event, the A1GP season finale at Brands Hatch in four weeks time. Duncan Tappy, who joined the team in Mexico, returns to perform GBR rookie duties and support Kerr throughout the weekend. GBR made great strides towards third position in the championship standings, its final classification at the end of both season one and two, after achieving an impressive double-podium finish in Mexico last month with Oliver Jarvis at the wheel.

Ferrari Festival: This weekend's Shanghai event offers a glimpse into the future of the series, with a special partnership that could prove to be the first of many. As work continues behind the scenes to design and manufacture the new A1GP car for the 2008/09 season in consultation with Ferrari, A1GP is proud to welcome the Ferrari Festival to Shanghai.

A1GP has visited the ultra-modern Shanghai International Circuit for the past two seasons and it has provided four different winners. Malaysia, Czech Republic, Great Britain and New Zealand have all tasted victory at the facility, which continues to receive plaudits as one of the most well-built and modern race tracks in the world.

An alternative, 4.6 km version will be used, as in 2006/07, which misses out three corners and adds a chicane, bunching the field up for a longer period of time throughout the circuit and creating even more exciting, closer racing.

The 1 km straight at the end of the lap also provides an opportunity for frequent overtaking manoeuvres, but it is the first corner that has provided the most spectacular passes. Czech Republic's Tomas Enge and New Zealand's Jonny Reid both took their victories thanks to superb manoeuvres at this constantly tightening corner.

Pre-event PR activity: The PR activity for the Shanghai race weekend will take place on Thursday (10 April) morning at the Shanghai International Circuit. A short press conference with A1GP, A1 Team China, SIC and FASC representatives will be held in the press conference room, followed by a Sports Challenge in the paddock involving three traditional Chinese sports: shuttlecock kicking, Chinese yo-yo (similar to diabolo) and rope skipping. The drivers will take part in a training session with Congfu (Franky) Cheng and local sports coaches and students, before competing to score points in each sport. At the end of the event, the overall winner will be presented with an award and this will be followed by a media interview session.

Drivers from the following nations will be taking part in the event: Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, Czech Republic, France, GBR, India, Ireland, Italy, Lebanon, Malaysia, Netherlands, New Zealand, Portugal, Switzerland.

GBR on Top in Mexico City
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MEXICO CITY, Mexico (March 15, 2008) — A1 Team Great Britain topped the time sheets in the second of today's two free practice sessions in Mexico City, as the eighth round of the 2007/08 A1GP World Cup of Motorsport got underway at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez in warm and sunny weather conditions.

Great Britain's Oliver Jarvis, who took the British team's first A1GP victory at the Mexican circuit last year, was the man to beat this afternoon, clocking a 1m21.431s lap of the 4.08km circuit. Having set the pace early on in the hour, Jarvis improved on his lap time with 15 minutes of the session remaining, reclaiming the top spot and demoting current title leader Switzerland’s Neel Jani to second.

The Swiss car was closely followed by Ireland's Adam Carroll in third, ending a strong day for the Irish squad, rookie Niall Quinn having posted the second fastest time this morning. Jeroen Bleekemolen was fourth quickest in the Dutch car this afternoon while South Africa's Adrian Zaugg finished the day fifth overall.

GBR's position was momentarily under threat by a late charge from New Zealand's Jonny Reid; however the Kiwi's time was deleted as he cut the tight chicane leading into the Peraltada corner, moving him down the order to sixth overall. Reid was not alone, many drivers committed the same offence throughout both practice sessions, causing their lap to be ruined and their time deleted.

This afternoon's session was incredibly close, with the top 14 drivers separated by just over a second. The track is renowned for its bumpy surface and turn four seemed to cause the most problems for the drivers today, many commenting on the bumps and rough surface making handling difficult.

GBR's Oliver Jarvis was delighted with his team's performance and is targeting a repeat performance of last year's Feature race win:

'I'm very happy to be back here in Mexico, where I got my first win last year. I'm slightly disappointed that it's not the same circuit layout - I can understand the chicane being put in to slow you down but turn four is a bit of a disappointment to drive with the bad surface. It's still a very good track though and the surface will get better as the weekend goes on and more rubber gets laid down giving us more grip. I'm delighted to be at the top of the times. We're very close to Switzerland but that's to be expected, Neel Jani's having a great time at the moment - his confidence is very high and they've got the car sorted and I think it's going to be very close come qualifying tomorrow.'

Mexico's David Martinez set the fifth fastest time this morning while team-mate David Garza finished 19th overall this afternoon. Garza was disappointed but remains optimistic ahead of qualifying tomorrow:

'We struggled a lot with the car and the problems are really hurting us. It's really easy to lock the brakes and we're on the rev limiter in sixth gear the whole way down the long straight. That along with the altitude here is really a big problem for us. I hope the car for tomorrow will be better and I'll be working hard on the set up of the car tonight to try and make something work.'

A1 Team Italy led the way in the opening free practice session this morning, with A1GP new boy Davide Rigon making an instant impression, lapping the circuit nearly three tenths quicker than anyone else. Niall Quinn was second quickest for Ireland, which was his best showing in the three rookie sessions he has competed in this season. South Africa's Wesleigh Orr was third fastest ahead of French rookie Nicolas Prost.

This morning's session was the first time the A1GP drivers experienced the revised layout of the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez, with the shorter version proving about three seconds quicker than last season's layout.

In addition to adding a chicane just before the final high-speed Peraltada corner to aid overtaking and improve safety, three corners will also be missed out in the middle of the course to keep the lap time and race lengths at roughly the same distance as last year's, using one of the alternate layouts of the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez. Turn four has now become a left-hand turn instead of a right-hander and the track rejoins the original course at turn nine, making the circuit length 4.08km, instead of the 4.42km it was last season.
 

Canada Takes Sprint Race Victory in Durban
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DURBAN, South Africa (February 24, 2008) — A1 Team Canada secured its first ever Sprint race victory in this morning's action-packed race held around the streets of Durban in glorious sunshine, while Switzerland regained the title lead as France failed to score any points and New Zealand picked up one point for setting the fastest lap.

Eighteen-year-old rookie Robert Wickens, the youngest ever pole-sitter in A1GP, got a good start and despite being hit from behind by New Zealand's Jonny Reid at turn one and losing his five second lead due to a safety car period towards the end of the thrilling 15-lap race, Wickens managed to keep Great Britain and Switzerland behind him to take Canada's maiden Sprint race victory and the first win of his A1GP career.

GBR's Oliver Jarvis, who was wheel-to-wheel with Jonny Reid in Black Beauty as the pack tussled for position going into turn one, managed to gain two places and hold second position, despite sustaining damage to the distinctive red, white and blue car. Reid was forced to pit for repairs and was finally classified 21st.

Canada and GBR were joined on the podium by Switzerland's Neel Jani in third position. The 24-year-old Swiss star started the race fifth and made up two places to score crucial championship points for his nation and regain the title lead from New Zealand.

China's Congfu Cheng was on superb form, racing from 10th on the grid to finish fourth. Fifth place was taken by the Netherlands' Jeroen Bleekemolen who was taken out of the race as it approached its final lap by Germany's Michael Ammermüller.

After a safety card period for Bruno Junqueira, who hit the wall on lap nine after bouncing over the kerbs on the chicane and damaging the bodywork of the Brazilian car, the action restarted with just two laps remaining. The pressure was on and with Germany close behind the Netherlands, Ammermüller pushed to overtake, running into the back of the Dutch car taking them both out of the race and bringing it to a premature conclusion. German driver Michael Ammermüller was later excluded from the race for this manoeuvre.

A1 Team Australia's John Martin, who was hospitalised overnight with a suspected stomach bug, brought his car home in an impressive seventh position while Portugal's Filipe Albuquerque crossed the line eighth on his A1GP race debut with Mexico and Malaysia taking ninth and tenth. All the teams moved up a place as a result of Germany's exclusion.

France's Loic Duval, who arrived in South Africa on Saturday morning from a prior commitment in Japan, finished the incident-packed race 12th behind USA's Jonathan Summerton in 11th. Host nation South Africa's Adrian Zaugg, who started from 20th on the grid, worked his way through the field to cross the line in 14th position behind Pakistan's Adam Khan. Again, each team moved up one place as a result of the German exclusion, giving the USA an additional point in its championship campaign.

India started the Sprint race from the back of the grid and will start the Feature race from the same position, as the team chose to replace regular race driver Narain Karthikeyan, who injured his wrist in free practice on Friday, with rookie Parthiva Sureshwaren.

The 22 nations are now preparing for the main event of the weekend in Durban, a 70-minute Feature race with two compulsory pit stops, which starts at 15:00 this afternoon.

Robert Wickens, who is clearly enjoying racing around the streets of Durban, was delighted to give Canada its first Sprint race victory:

'It's a great experience. I knew that we had a very good chance at winning the race because we were quick in qualifying and we had a really solid race car through practice so I was basically going into the start with my whole goal just to make it into the first corner, and that was slightly hairy. I broke and I think either Jonny thought I was going to break later or maybe he over shot it, I don't know. I'm not going to jump to any conclusions but I saw him coming really quick behind me so I actually let off the break to try and give him more space, but we still made contact and damaged my car a little bit as well. I love the circuit, I've always really enjoyed street circuits my entire life and this ones no different. It's a really fast street circuit and it's probably one of the coolest street circuits I've ever raced on.'

GBR's Oliver Jarvis, who raced from fourth on the grid to finish second despite damage sustained at the start, is also a big fan of street circuits:

'It's great to come back to South Africa; they have done a fantastic job. I've had some good results on street tracks so I was looking forward to coming here. I got a great start and managed to break extremely late around the outside, I actually thought I was going to get the lead but unfortunately New Zealand tagged Robbie Wickens of Canada, which just pushed him out wide which compromised me a little bit. Then as I tried to go around the outside of the corner, New Zealand again drove into the side of me and damaged the car quite a bit. I managed to get into second but from then on I was really struggling so was never quick enough to challenge for the lead but was happy to finish on the podium. The car will be fixed and we will try to make a few changes assuming that it was the set up and not the damage that we are struggling with and hopefully we can have a repeat performance.

'I think it's great that A1GP has included street tracks in the calendar. It offers something very different as a driver. It's very technical, it's a particularly fast street track but there's just no room for error. It takes a lot of courage but also a lot of finesse to be quick round here and it's fantastic that we have returned here once again.'

This afternoon's Feature race pole-sitter Switzerland's Neel Jani, who now leads the championship by six points from New Zealand, said:

'Well I started fifth so I knew it would be already tight and at the first corner it was. Then I was quicker than Jarvis (GBR) but he was making so many mistakes I thought I'd better keep my gap and see what he does, in case he got too nervous so I could challenge him. So I guess I just went for the points because I knew the other two (New Zealand and France) were out of the points, so I've got that championship lead back now. I think we have a quick car so we should be able to fight for the win this afternoon.'

Netherlands Tops Durban Friday Practice
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DURBAN, South Africa (February 22, 2008) — A1 Team Netherlands set the pace in the second of today's two free practice sessions in South Africa as round seven of the 2007/08 A1GP World Cup of Motorsport season got underway around the streets of Durban in hot and humid weather conditions.

Jeroen Bleekemolen recorded the best lap time of the day, a 1m18.738s, around the 3.28 km circuit, just over half a second off Brazil's lap record. Germany's Michael Ammermüller, who was an impressive 1.3 seconds quicker than the rest of the field at the end of the rookie practice session this morning, clocked the second fastest time of the day.

Great Britain's Oliver Jarvis, who hasn't driven an A1GP car since December 2007, and USA's Jonathan Summerton were on good form this afternoon, setting the third and fifth fastest lap times respectively. This was particularly impressive as both nations did not have the benefit of this morning's rookie session. Switzerland's Neel Jani was sandwiched between GBR and USA in fourth.

Home nation South Africa's Adrian Zaugg pleased his local fans by setting the sixth fastest time of the day despite limited track time, closely followed by Australia's John Martin in seventh. Title leaders A1 Team New Zealand and France had a tough time around the streets of Durban, finishing the session 11th and 15th respectively.

Canada's Robert Wickens only managed 10 minutes of track time and completed four laps in this afternoon's session, as the team had to repair damage sustained to the car during this morning's rookie session, when new boy Daniel Morad, the youngest driver to sign-on this season, was behind the wheel.

With concrete walls surrounding the perimeter of the tight and twisty street circuit, some of the teams and drivers ran into trouble with session-stopping incidents. A1 Team Mexico's David Garza had a big accident this morning, hitting the wall as he exited turn six. Garza was unhurt but the car was so badly damaged that the Mexican team had to sit out the second session and spend the afternoon setting up one of A1GP's spare cars for qualifying tomorrow.

The Netherlands' Jeroen Bleekemolen set the fastest time overall today and is feeling happier with the set up of the Dutch car:

'It was a lot of fun to drive. I love street circuits so it's been going really well. I won last year in Monaco with the Porsche Supercup and I won with A1GP in Beijing so I just like racing on these tracks. We have been struggling a lot with the car the last few races and it's going much better on street circuits, as it did in the past with Jos Verstappen, so I think we have a much better set up for that and it looks like we have a good chance for this weekend. We just need to work on the normal circuit set up.'

South Africa's Adrian Zaugg, who set the sixth fastest lap this afternoon, is feeling quietly confident ahead of his home event in Durban this weekend:

'We had problems with rebalancing the tyres today so we just tried to do one lap at the end which wasn't too bad under the circumstances, so we're looking alright. It's very competitive and A1GP is getting more and more competitive with each season and I think the times will stay pretty close all weekend. I'm pretty confident - we'll see after qualifying on Saturday afternoon but I think we should be in good shape.'

France Ends Victory Drought with Fantastic Win in the Wet
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SYDNEY, Australia (February 2, 2008) - A1 Team France has taken the title lead in the thrilling 2007/08 A1GP World Cup of Motorsport season, having dominated this morning's wet Sprint race at Sydney's Eastern Creek from start to finish to take its first win in 37 races.

Loic Duval pulled out a comfortable lead at the start of the 14-lap race and was never threatened by the remaining 21-car pack, continuing to pull away from Switzerland and New Zealand as the rain got heavier. Duval finally crossed the line in first place, nine seconds ahead of Jonny Reid in Black Beauty, who masterfully snatched second position from Neel Jani on lap nine. The Swiss driver spun off later in the race and lost valuable championship points.

The win is 25-year-old Frenchman Duval's first victory in A1GP and ends season one champion France's race win drought. The team has not occupied the top step of the podium since Alexandre Premat won the Mexico Feature race in 2006.

France and New Zealand were joined on the podium by 18-year-old Canadian rookie Robert Wickens, who put in an incredible performance in the wet to race from 15th on the grid to a finish in a superb third place and pick up ten valuable championship points for his nation.

Germany's Michael Ammermüller crossed the line fourth having started from seventh on the grid, closely followed by USA's Jonathan Summerton in fifth, the team's best finish so far this season.

Host nation A1 Team Australia's John Martin gave his home fans something to cheer about, pushing hard throughout the race and improving three places from the start to cross the line in sixth position, ahead of South Africa's Adrian Zaugg and Brazil's Sergio Jimenez in seventh and eighth places respectively.

The Netherlands' Jeroen Bleekemolen finished the incident-packed race ninth while Switzerland's Neel Jani, who was running in second for much of the race, fell back to tenth after he ran wide with two laps to go.

Great Britain's Robbie Kerr, whose race engineer had struggled from his hospital bed to stand on the pit wall with his broken leg in a plaster cast, got a great start from eighth on the grid but lost time when the team decided to pit for wet tyres on lap eight, ultimately crossing the line a disappointing 16th.

The 22 nations are now preparing for the main event of the weekend at Eastern Creek, a thrilling 70-minute Feature race with two compulsory pit stops, which starts at 15:00 this afternoon.

France's Loic Duval, who took his first ever A1GP win in what he says will be his last event for the team this year, reflected on what the result means to him and the team:

'It feels great. We've been running behind for a long time so it's really good for us to win this race and the team did a great job. It was perfect and we needed it. It was important for us to win a race and this may be my last race in A1GP so I'm really happy to leave the series with a victory. It was really hard in the rain but because of our pace in the dry conditions I had a really good gap so we were not really worried about the other guys. We were just trying to stay on the track and not take any risks.'

New Zealand's Jonny Reid, who raced to a solid second place from fourth on the grid, and is starting this afternoon's Feature race from pole, said:

'We had to fight for it a little bit. It was a good battle with Neel and once I got in front I gradually pulled away and started concentrating on Loic, but he was doing a good job in tricky conditions and I didn't want to take any risks and compromise the championship. Pole for the Feature race is a good position to start from but as we've seen before a million times it's tricky. We've got a lot of competition out there and everyone's in the hunt. We can really do a good job but it's going to be interesting to see what the weather does.'

Eighteen-year-old Canada's Robert Wickens, who put in an amazing performance to race from 15th to third, commented on the wet conditions:

'It was a great drive. We were struggling a little bit with the pace in the dry and we were just running in 13th or 14th. I think I had more trust in the car early on in the race and I actually made the majority of my passes when it was at the intermediate stage. A lot of drivers were staying on the dry line and I was one of the first ones to go on the wet line. If it rains in the Feature race we can just hope for the best and try to score some more points.'
 

New Zealand Storms to Home Race Win
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TAUPO, New Zealand (January 20, 2008) - New Zealand made A1GP history today dominating the Taupo Sprint race from lights-to-flag to take its first ever A1GP win at home. It became only the second team to win a home race in the history of the thrilling series. Jonny Reid led from pole to take the chequered flag and score 15 crucial points, moving ahead of France for second in the championship.

Current title leader Switzerland's race was over on the first lap due to a turn one collision, moving the Kiwis to just five points behind the Swiss in the championship battle.

The packed grandstands were on their feet as Reid crossed the line three seconds ahead of defending champion Germany's Christian Vietoris, to secure the first win for New Zealand since taking the double victory in Brno earlier this season. Germany's Vietoris, who picked up a bonus point for clocking the fastest lap of the race on lap nine, started from fourth on the grid but quickly closed in on South Africa and France to take second by lap six.

New Zealand and Germany were joined on the podium by France's Loic Duval, who raced to a strong third place, followed by South Africa's Adrian Zaugg in fourth.

The Netherlands, Ireland and USA finished fifth, sixth and seventh respectively while Portugal recorded its best finish this season when Joao Urbano crossed the line in eighth position. Australia's John Martin and India's Narain Karthikeyan fought hard to take the final two points-paying positions while Pakistan's Adam Khan put in his best performance of the season to secure 11th behind India.

A1 Team Lebanon was on course for its first ever A1GP point when the Czech Republic's Tomas Enge hit Chris Alajajian from behind on the ninth lap, causing him to pit for repairs. The Lebanese team finally finished the race in 15th behind China.

Four cars were involved in a first lap incident, Malaysia, Switzerland, Brazil and Canada tangling into turn one, bringing out the safety car for two laps. Malaysia's Alex Yoong and championship leader Switzerland's Neel Jani were forced out of the action but Canada's Robert Wickens and Brazil's Sergio Jimenez were able to rejoin after pitting for repairs.

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

New Zealand's Jonny Reid was ecstatic with his first home win and is eager for another in this afternoon's Feature race:

'It's huge, absolutely huge. It's the greatest moment in my motorsport career. It means a lot to me and the pressure's been on all weekend. It's been all go since I got back from the Christmas break and it's really, really satisfying to get one on the board for everyone. The pole position was nice but now we've got the points and that's what matters in the championship. It's great to have all the home support and I'm just stoked to be number one in the Sprint.

'We can definitely move forward in the Feature, it's a long race and we've just got to tune the car a bit more for the conditions and we'll be right there I'm sure. We've got to control the emotions a little bit after this first victory and look for another.'

Germany's Christian Vietoris, who raced to a superb second position, said:

'The main aim was to get on the podium for the Sprint race so I'm really happy. I feel really comfortable and the car now feels fine and I'm looking forward to the Feature race. I'm starting from the first row and with a good start I hope I can do well.'

France's Loic Duval, who finished third in the Sprint race and is on pole for the Feature race, said:

'I think Adrian took a really good start and actually was in front of Jonny. Christian could pass me in the first two corners and then I managed to come back and get on the podium. I had a good chance to overtake the South African car so it wasn't too bad and the car was ok. We are going to start first for the Feature race so I'm still really confident. I have to take a good start and if I am leading from the front then I think we have a really good chance.'

France Tops Friday Practice in Taupo
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TAUPO, New Zealand (January 18, 2008) - A1 Team France topped the time sheets in the second of today's two free practice sessions at Taupo as all 22 drivers took to the track with biofuel in their tanks, making history at round five of the 2007/08 A1GP World Cup of Motorsport season.

Despite not taking part in the rookie session this morning, 25-year-old French driver Loic Duval clocked the best lap of the day, completing the 3.5km circuit in 1m15.545s in glorious sunshine.

'It was a good session for us especially without the rookie session this morning', Duval said. 'We worked with the data from last year and I think the car was great, I feel really good here. Actually it means nothing to be on the front row on Friday, it happened many times last year and I didn't get pole position, so that is my target for tomorrow.'

The magnificent Lake Taupo provides the backdrop for one of the most picturesque races of the season and Duval sites the event as one of the highlights on the A1GP calendar:

'For me this is the best country we go to, it's really good here. It feels more like a holiday. I love the track, the people, the mentality, it's just perfect to be here.'

Ireland's Adam Carroll, who was the quickest man on track in the first 25-minute practice segment this morning, set the second fastest time of the day while championship leader Switzerland's Neel Jani finished third, just over a tenth of a second off the emerald green car.

Defending champion Germany's Christian Vietoris has been on strong form all day and the 18-year-old from Gönnersdorf set the fourth fastest time of the day while USA's Jonathan Summerton took the fifth spot. A1 Team Great Britain driver Robbie Kerr finished the day in sixth place, closely followed by Canada's Robert Wickens in seventh, who was on superb form in this morning's rookie session.

Home nation A1 Team New Zealand's Jonny Reid was eighth quickest this afternoon but remains optimistic for the weekend ahead. The 24-year-old from Auckland finished the day eighth fastest overall.

'It was a very tough session,' Reid said. 'Everyone was very very tight in the times but we've got some areas where we can improve. The track conditions were changing a lot and obviously we didn't get as close as we would have liked, but there's still plenty of time over these early days. There's not too much to change overnight really. We had a small problem which we will improve but if we actually look at all my sector times I'm sure we're very close to France, so we just need to capitalise on one small area and hopefully we will be there.'

Australia's new lead driver John Martin was an impressive second fastest in both sessions this morning, finally ending the day in 12th place behind Italy's Edoardo Piscopo.

The times are just under a second slower than last year, largely due to Turn 12 being a much tighter corner, designed to increase overtaking opportunities.

India Takes Incredible Maiden Victory at Zhuhai
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ZHUHAI, China (December 16, 2007) - 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.

Netherlands’ 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.

Germany and Switzerland on Pole at Zhuhai
Photos © A1GP.com
ZHUHAI, China (December 14, 2007) - 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 are 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.
 

A1 Grand Prix of Nations
A1GP Reveals First Image of 'Powered by Ferrari' Car Ahead of UK Shakedown
Photos © A1GP.com
LONDON, Great Britain (May 12, 2008) — A1GP World Cup of Motorsport has revealed the first image of its brand new 'Powered by Ferrari' car for use in season four (2008/09). The CAD drawing was released ahead of the car's inaugural shakedown test in Southern England.

A1GP's own TV commentator and Formula One legend, John Watson, will have the honour of driving the car for the first time, powered by a V8 Ferrari engine producing in the region of 600 bhp.

The chassis is based on the design of the highly successful F2004 chassis, incorporating A1GP's core values to deliver close, exciting racing among a competitive field where overtaking is an essential part of the entertainment.

A1GP Technical Director, John Travis, is overseeing the design, development and production of the car from premises in Bognor Regis in the UK, with Rory Byrne acting as a consultant. Meanwhile the work on the manufacture and supply of the A1GP engine is being overseen by Ferrari's Jean-Jacques His.

The Powered by Ferrari project was first announced on 11 October 2007 when the most famous name in motorsport signed a six-year agreement to manufacture and supply all A1GP engines for this unique series and provide consultancy on the design of all A1GP chassis from season four onwards.

Speaking ahead of the shakedown and what will be an intensive testing programme for the new car and engine, Tony Teixeira, Chairman of A1GP, said:

'Everyone is very excited about this project and it will be fantastic to see the new A1GP powered by Ferrari car turn a wheel for the first time on Friday. We obviously still have a lot of work to do as this is just the first step in what will be an intense development and testing programme, but I am very happy with the progress made so far. We have a small, dedicated group of people in Bognor Regis and are very lucky to be able to use some well known motor racing companies for certain areas of expertise. I am pleased to say we are on schedule and we will be announcing the date of the official unveiling of the car soon.'
 

India Wins as GBR Takes Home Race Podium
Photos © A1GP.com
BRANDS HATCH, Great Britain (May 4, 2008) - A1 Team India secured its second win of the season when Narain Karthikeyan took victory in the Brands Hatch season finale Feature race this afternoon while GBR's Robbie Kerr notched up another home race podium after a beautiful drive, just losing out to India during the second pit stop.

Newly crowned A1GP champion A1 Team Switzerland's Neel Jani joined India and GBR on the podium in third position while China's Congfu Cheng finished in a superb fourth place after a great weekend at a circuit he knows so well.

Fifth was taken by Franck Montagny, helping France to fourth place in the championship, followed by the Netherlands' Jeroen Bleekemolen in a solid sixth.

New Zealand's Jonny Reid did just enough to secure second in the championship behind Switzerland, who took the prestigious title honours this morning. Reid carved his way through the pack from 17th to seventh during the course of the 48-lap race, partly due to swift work in the pits from the New Zealand crew. Portugal's Filipe Albuquerque snatched seventh from the Kiwi with just four laps remaining, demoting Reid to eighth at the chequered flag, which was enough to take second in the championship, beating GBR by just one point.

Indonesia's Satrio Hermanto crossed the line 10th to score his nation's first point this season. Hermanto put in a superb effort to hang onto the final points-paying position, after last lap pressure from the Czech Republic and South Africa.

Ireland's Adam Carroll, who was on course for another podium finish after a sterling drive to third in the Sprint race this morning, crossed the line 13th to secure sixth in the final championship standings. Carroll got a great start and ran in third for the first part of the race, before losing his car's front wing and being forced to pit for repairs outside the compulsory pit stop windows. The Northern Irish star was clearly pushing hard after rejoining in 18th on lap 20, setting the fastest lap of the race on lap 44.

Narain Karthikeyan, who took his maiden A1GP race win in Zhuhai, China in December last year, was delighted to score India's second race win:

'I think I made a good start. Robbie tried to go round the outside but I defended that move. When we came out of the first pit stop I had a coming together with Adam Carroll - I didn't see him because I had a moment and he tried to go up the inside and I hit him. But anyway, a great result for A1 Team India and after the final pit stop my car was mega. I made a mistake at Sheen but at the end it was all good!'

Robbie Kerr, who won this morning's Sprint race and finished second in the main event this afternoon, was visibly disappointed to just miss out on doing the double on home soil, 'It was a fantastic weekend for GBR, it was just a shame we couldn't pull the second win off. Narain and I were so equal and after the first pit stop we thought we had done enough. Then unfortunately the second pit stop didn't quite go our way, but it's a team sport and we all worked hard. It's just one of those things.’
 

Great Britain and India on Pole at Brands Hatch
Photos © A1GP.com
BRANDS HATCH, Great Britain (03 May 2008)- GBR's Robbie Kerr put in a sensational performance to qualify in pole position for tomorrow morning's Sprint race at the A1GP Brands Hatch, Great Britain, much to the delight of his home fans. The British racer will also start the Feature race from the front row of the grid, lining up in second place alongside Narain Karthikeyan, who has secured India's first pole position.

Sprint race qualifying
Twenty-eight-year-old Robbie Kerr set the fastest lap in the closing moments of the second 15-minute qualifying segment to snatch pole position for tomorrow morning's Sprint race from Switzerland's Neel Jani, who set the fastest lap during Q1.

USA's Jonathan Summerton, who was third fastest on Friday but struggled a little bit this morning, put in a superb lap in Q2 to qualify second and demote current title leader Switzerland to third. Ireland's Adam Carroll will line up alongside Jani on the second row in fourth position while India's Narain Karthikeyan and Portugal's Filipe Albuquerque will start from fifth and sixth place respectively.

South Africa's Adrian Zaugg and France's Franck Montagny will line up behind them in seventh and eighth place, followed by Germany's Michael Ammermüller in ninth. Title contender New Zealand's Jonny Reid endured a difficult session, qualifying Black Beauty in 10th position on the fifth row.

Feature race qualifying
Having secured the Sprint race pole, GBR's Robbie Kerr took provisional pole for the Feature race during Q3, only to be demoted to second when India's Narain Karthikeyan snatched the top spot in the closing moments of the final qualifying segment, taking his nation's first A1GP pole position.

Switzerland's Neel Jani, who only needs to finish seventh in one of the races tomorrow to win the championship, and Ireland's Adam Carroll will line up on row two in third and fourth position followed by Germany's Michael Ammermüller and France's Franck Montagny in fifth and sixth place respectively.

South Africa's Adrian Zaugg and China's Congfu Cheng qualified seventh and eighth while USA's Jonathan Summerton and the Netherlands' Jeroen Bleekemolen complete the top 10 grid positions.

New Zealand's Jonny Reid, who needs to win at least one race tomorrow to be in with a chance of overhauling Switzerland and taking the prestigious title honours, could only manage 17th on the grid.

GBR's Robbie Kerr, who won the Brands Hatch Sprint race last year and is aiming for a double victory tomorrow, said:

'We've been pushing really hard all weekend. We've got to be happy with the result but it's just a shame we're not one place higher on the Feature race grid. We got a bit caught out by waiting right till the last moment before we went out. We wait so late purely so that other cars have driven round the circuit before us - they clean it up and put some rubber down which gives us the opportunity to get that extra bit of grip and a faster lap time. Everyone does the same though so it's a hard call to get it right every time and unfortunately we didn't get it quite right for the Feature race grid. We're happy with our performance so far this weekend and we've just got to carry it on till tomorrow.'

Narain Karthikeyan, who will start the Feature race from pole in the Indian car for the first time, put his top grid position down to good team work and his previous experience at the challenging Kent circuit:

'I've always done well here at Brands Hatch and it's one of my favourite circuits. The car has been up there all weekend. We put the lap together and the team has done a great job and the set up is not too far off. I think there will be a lot of Indian fans here tomorrow so we'll see what we can do.'

Tomorrow's A1GP season finale Sprint race at Brands Hatch will start at 11.00 local time and the 70-minute Feature race will start at 14.30.
 

A1GP Driver Congfu Cheng To Carry Olympic Torch
Photos © A1GP.com
BEIJING, China (March 20, 2008) — A1 Team China driver, Congfu Cheng, is about to become part of history as he participates in the Olympic Torch Relay, a tradition that goes back to the year 766 BC, when the first recorded Olympic games were held. In an honour that is afforded to very few athletes, let alone racing drivers, he will be a Torchbearer for the Olympic Flame as it sets out on its path across Greece on Monday (24 March), its final journey before the Games of the XXIX Olympiad - Beijing 2008.

With the driver, who is usually known as 'Franky', coming from Beijing, it is obviously very special for him to be involved in the flame's final journey before it is officially handed over to Beijing:

'It is my great honour and a dream for all sports people to be nominated as one of the Torchbearers and to carry the flame in Greece. Hopefully my appearance in the Beijing Olympic Torch Relay will help promote motorsport in China, and encourage more Chinese people to get involved in this exciting sport. I will try my best to bring more honours to my country in A1GP World Cup of Motorsport. I would like to welcome all the people going to my home town for this great event.'

The games will be held from 8 - 24 August 2008, and A1 Team China driver Cheng has a double reason to celebrate as his 24th birthday is on 15 August.

Franky and the flame have a lot in common as they travel the length and the breadth of the world. A1GP World Cup of Motorsport visits five continents and so does the flame on its relay that takes 130 days and covers 137,000 kilometres. The theme is 'Journey of Harmony' and its slogan is 'Light of Passion, Share the Dream' a message the Beijing organising committee wants to share with the world. A1GP also wants to share the dream of nation versus nation competition and has already made the journey to Beijing, as in its second season it held the first ever motor race round the streets of the city.

The journey of the flame in Greece is full of ancient symbolism. On Monday  24 March, the flame will come to life in Olympia and the High Priestess will hand it over to the first of the Torchbearers. Cheng's duties will be on the first day of its 1528 km journey, in the hands of 605 Torchbearers, through 16 prefectures, 43 municipalities, 12 municipality districts, and four communities while 29 ceremonies will be held. It will arrive on 30 March in the Panathenian Stadium with the final Torchbearer and then on the eve of the handover to Beijing the flame will spend the night on the ancient Acropolis.

After his torch bearing duties, Franky will head to Shanghai for the penultimate round of the 2007/08 A1GP World Cup of Motorsport where he will compete for his country against 21 nations at the Shanghai International Circuit from 11 - 13 April 2008.
 

A1GP Title Fight Heads to Mexico City

Photos © A1GP.com
MEXICO CITY, Mexico (March 8, 2008) - With just three rounds of the 2007/08 season remaining, the prestigious A1GP title honours are still up for grabs, as the World Cup of Motorsport gears up for round eight in Mexico City next weekend (14-16 March).

Switzerland put in an impressive performance last time out in Durban to regain the series lead, now 10 points ahead of France, after a commanding Feature race win and Sprint race podium finish. France lies in second place on 108 points while New Zealand arrives in Mexico in third place on 98 points after enduring a frustrating weekend in South Africa.
A1GP's inaugural visit to Mexico City's Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez circuit in March 2007 will be remembered for A1 Team Great Britain's maiden victory. Becoming the 13th nation in history to win an A1GP race, it was the inexperienced rookie driver Oliver Jarvis who blitzed the Feature, beating Sprint race winner, and therefore Feature race pole-sitter, Alex Yoong of A1 Team Malaysia.

2007 Formula Renault UK champion, Duncan Tappy, will join GBR in Mexico this year to take on the driving duties for the British team in the rookie session on Friday morning. Twenty-three-year-old Tappy, who was named Autosport Club Driver of the Year in 2007 and has twice been a finalist for the