Ireland Sets Pace in Friday Practice at Zhuhai A1GP, formule, F1, formule 1, construct | Constructors F1

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Ireland Sets Pace in Friday Practice at Zhuhai A1GP, formule, F1, formule 1, construct | Constructors F1 Constructors F1

Ireland Sets Pace in Friday Practice at Zhuhai

Miroslav Sanytrák | 23.12.07 | A1GP

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
POS A1 TEAM DRIVER TIME S1 LAP S1 TIME S2 LAP S2 TIME GAP FIRST
1 GERMANY Michael AMMERMÜLLER 01:24.132 14 01:24.135 9 01:24.132 -
2 CANADA Robert WICKENS 01:25.045 6 01:24.205 3 01:24.205 +0.073
3 BRAZIL Sergio JIMENEZ 01:24.216 7 01:24.436 6 01:24.216 +0.084
4 GREAT BRITAIN Danny WATTS 01:24.217 12 01:24.450 5 01:24.217 +0.085
5 SWITZERLAND Alexandre IMPERATORI 01:24.400 14 01:24.641 13 01:24.400 +0.268
6 AUSTRALIA John MARTIN 01:24.471 13 01:24.782 4 01:24.471 +0.339
7 IRELAND Adam CARROLL 01:24.485 8 01:24.548 4 01:24.485 +0.353
8 CZECH REPUBLIC Erik JANIS 01:24.521 14 01:24.703 12 01:24.521 +0.389
9 USA Charlie KIMBALL 01:24.716 15 01:24.878 15 01:24.716 +0.584
10 INDONESIA Satrio HERMANTO 01:25.375 15 01:24.839 13 01:24.839 +0.707
11 ITALY Edoardo PISCOPO 01:24.907 13 01:25.016 7 01:24.907 +0.775
12 NEW ZEALAND Earl BAMBER 01:25.494 13 01:25.068 13 01:25.068 +0.936
13 MEXICO David GARZA 01:25.608 13 01:25.372 14 01:25.372 +1.240
14 SOUTH AFRICA Wesleigh ORR 01:25.550 5 01:25.495 15 01:25.495 +1.363
15 NETHERLANDS Arie LUYENDYK 01:25.960 11 01:25.727 7 01:25.727 +1.595
16 INDIA Parthiva SURESHWAREN 01:26.692 11 01:26.149 13 01:26.149 +2.017
17 PORTUGAL Gonçalo ARAUJO 01:27.299 12 01:27.218 10 01:27.218 +3.086
18 LEBANON Khalil BESCHIR 0 - - - -
19 MALAYSIA Aaron LIM 0 - - - -

Official Practice session 2 (14.00 - 15.00)
POS DRIVER A1 TEAM TIME GAP FIRST LAPS
1 Adam CARROLL IRELAND 01:23.279 - 26
2 Robert WICKENS CANADA 01:23.771 +0.492 10
3 Michael AMMERMÜLLER GERMANY 01:23.848 +0.569 16
4 Jeroen BLEEKEMOLEN NETHERLANDS 01:23.891 +0.612 20
5 Congfu CHENG CHINA 01:23.940 +0.661 25
6 Loic DUVAL FRANCE 01:23.949 +0.670 13
7 Narain KARTHIKEYAN INDIA 01:24.111 +0.832 20
8 Satrio HERMANTO INDONESIA 01:24.119 +0.840 31
9 Sergio JIMENEZ BRAZIL 01:24.248 +0.969 17
10 Jonny REID NEW ZEALAND 01:24.265 +0.986 27
11 Neel JANI SWITZERLAND 01:24.309 +1.030 16
12 Tomas ENGE CZECH REPUBLIC 01:24.484 +1.205 25
13 Oliver JARVIS GREAT BRITAIN 01:24.563 +1.284 19
14 Edoardo PISCOPO ITALY 01:24.593 +1.314 22
15 Alex YOONG MALAYSIA 01:24.754 +1.475 19
16 David GARZA MEXICO 01:24.973 +1.694 23
17 Jonathan SUMMERTON USA 01:24.976 +1.697 24
18 Ian DYK AUSTRALIA 01:24.991 +1.712 23
19 Adrian ZAUGG SOUTH AFRICA 01:25.030 +1.751 24
20 Joao URBANO PORTUGAL 01:25.360 +2.081 24
21 Khalil BESCHIR LEBANON 01:25.458 +2.179 25
22 Adam KHAN PAKISTAN 01:25.947 +2.668 25

A1GP Zhuhai, China
Drivers Nominated for Qualifying

China - A1 Team France stormed to the top of the time sheets in the third and final official practice session at Zhuhai International Circuit this morning in cool and breezy weather conditions, ahead of what promises to be a thrilling and incredibly close qualifying session in China this afternoon.

Loic Duval, who had limited track time yesterday due to spinning off in the afternoon and not being eligible to participate in the rookie session, knocked Canada off the top spot half way though the hour long session with a best lap of 1m24.315s around the 4.3km circuit.

The French racer was closely followed by USA"s Jonathan Summerton who put in a stunning late charge to clock the second fastest time, ahead of China"s CongFu Cheng who ended the morning third quickest, much to the delight of the local fans.

Having dominated the first half of the session, Canada"s Robert Wickens finished fourth fastest while championship leader Switzerland"s Neel Jani and German rookie Michael Ammermüller set the fifth and sixth fastest times respectively.

Great Britain"s Oliver Jarvis was classified seventh while Jeroen Bleekemolen set the eighth quickest lap time of the morning in the Dutch car. New Zealand"s Jonny Reid and Brazil"s Sergio Jimenez ended the morning ninth and 10th quickest respectively. It was an incredibly close session with just 1.8 seconds separating the entire field.

All 22 teams now have to decide on their set ups before qualifying for the Sprint and Feature races starts at 14.15 this afternoon. Qualifying consists of four 15 minute sessions with a five minute break between each one. The fastest lap time set by each team"s nominated driver in the first two qualifying segments will determine the grid for the rolling start Sprint race, while the fastest times set in the final two segments will determine how the 22 cars will line up on the grid for the standing start Feature race. Each driver is limited to one "flying lap" per 15 minute session.

Official Practice Session 3 
POS DRIVER A1 TEAM TIME GAP FIRST LAPS
1 Loic DUVAL FRANCE 01:24.315 - 27
2 Jonathan SUMMERTON USA 01:24.342 0.027 25
3 Congfu CHENG CHINA 01:24.418 0.103 27
4 Robert WICKENS CANADA 01:24.476 0.161 22
5 Neel JANI SWITZERLAND 01:24.583 0.268 22
6 Michael AMMERMÜLLER GERMANY 01:24.586 0.271 23
7 Oliver JARVIS GREAT BRITAIN 01:24.644 0.329 30
8 Jeroen BLEEKEMOLEN NETHERLANDS 01:24.800 0.485 23
9 Jonny REID NEW ZEALAND 01:24.806 0.491 24
10 Sergio JIMENEZ BRAZIL 01:24.930 0.615 17
11 Narain KARTHIKEYAN INDIA 01:25.130 0.815 25
12 Alex YOONG MALAYSIA 01:25.180 0.865 22
13 Ian DYK AUSTRALIA 01:25.263 0.948 30
14 Edoardo PISCOPO ITALY 01:25.380 1.065 30
15 Tomas ENGE CZECH REPUBLIC 01:25.437 1.122 25
16 Adam CARROLL IRELAND 01:25.442 1.127 20
17 Adrian ZAUGG SOUTH AFRICA 01:25.545 1.23 16
18 Chris ALAJAJIAN LEBANON 01:25.718 1.403 29
19 David GARZA MEXICO 01:25.742 1.427 26
20 Satrio HERMANTO INDONESIA 01:25.742 1.427 24
21 Joao URBANO PORTUGAL 01:26.047 1.732 23
22 Adam KHAN PAKISTAN 01:26.162 1.847 24

Nominated drivers for Qualifying - A1GP Zhuhai, China (round 4 of 10)
A1 TEAM DRIVER
Australia Ian Dyk
Brazil Sergio Jimenez
Canada Robert Wickens
China CongFu Cheng
Czech Republic Tomas Enge
France Loic Duval
Germany Michael Ammermüller
Great Britain Oliver Jarvis
India Narain Karthikeyan
Indonesia Satrio Hermanto
Ireland Adam Carroll
Italy Edoardo Piscopo
Lebanon Chris Alajajian
Malaysia Alex Yoong
Mexico David Garza
Netherlands Jeroen Bleekemolen
New Zealand Jonny Reid
Pakistan Adam Khan
Portugal Joao Urbano
South Africa Adrian Zaugg
Switzerland Neel Jani
USA Jonathan Summerton

Germany and Switzerland on Pole at Zhuhai

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)
POS A1 TEAM DRIVER TIME S1 TIME S2 TIME GAP FIRST
1 GERMANY Michael AMMERMÜLLER 01:23.790 01:23.203 01:23.203 -
2 SWITZERLAND Neel JANI 01:24.127 01:23.425 01:23.425 0.222
3 IRELAND Adam CARROLL 01:23.675 01:24.265 01:23.675 0.472
4 CHINA Congfu CHENG 01:23.811 01:23.784 01:23.784 0.581
5 GREAT BRITAIN Oliver JARVIS 01:24.490 01:23.850 01:23.850 0.647
6 CZECH REPUBLIC Tomas ENGE 01:24.410 01:23.921 01:23.921 0.718
7 FRANCE Loic DUVAL 01:24.159 01:23.928 01:23.928 0.725
8 NETHERLANDS Jeroen BLEEKEMOLEN 01:24.235 01:23.965 01:23.965 0.762
9 INDIA Narain KARTHIKEYAN 01:24.570 01:23.972 01:23.972 0.769
10 CANADA Robert WICKENS 01:24.029 01:24.286 01:24.029 0.826
11 USA Jonathan SUMMERTON 01:26.073 01:24.104 01:24.104 0.901
12 BRAZIL Sergio JIMENEZ 01:24.141 01:24.212 01:24.141 0.938
13 NEW ZEALAND Jonny REID 01:24.141 01:24.252 01:24.141 0.938
14 SOUTH AFRICA Adrian ZAUGG 01:24.576 01:24.207 01:24.207 1.004
15 PORTUGAL Joao URBANO 01:24.685 01:24.263 01:24.263 1.06
16 ITALY Edoardo PISCOPO 01:24.307 01:24.675 01:24.307 1.104
17 MALAYSIA Alex YOONG 01:25.083 01:24.391 01:24.391 1.188
18 AUSTRALIA Ian DYK 01:24.770 01:24.850 01:24.770 1.567
19 INDONESIA Satrio HERMANTO 01:25.875 01:24.893 01:24.893 1.69
20 LEBANON Chris ALAJAJIAN 01:25.793 01:24.915 01:24.915 1.712
21 PAKISTAN Adam KHAN 01:24.958 01:26.041 01:24.958 1.755
22 MEXICO David GARZA 01:25.246 01:25.829 01:25.246 2.043

Feature race qualifying results - A1GP Zhuhai, China (round 4 of 10)
POS A1 TEAM A1 DRIVER TIME S1 TIME S2 TIME GAP FIRST
1 SWITZERLAND Neel JANI 01:24.170 01:23.465 01:23.465 -
2 GREAT BRITAIN Oliver JARVIS 01:24.100 01:23.650 01:23.650 0.185
3 INDIA Narain KARTHIKEYAN 01:24.436 01:23.767 01:23.767 0.302
4 FRANCE Loic DUVAL 01:24.355 01:23.784 01:23.784 0.319
5 GERMANY Michael AMMERMÜLLER 01:24.093 01:23.890 01:23.890 0.425
6 CHINA Congfu CHENG 01:24.331 01:23.930 01:23.930 0.465
7 USA Jonathan SUMMERTON 01:24.459 01:23.992 01:23.992 0.527
8 MALAYSIA Alex YOONG 01:25.116 01:24.036 01:24.036 0.571
9 SOUTH AFRICA Adrian ZAUGG 01:24.435 01:24.100 01:24.100 0.635
10 NEW ZEALAND Jonny REID 01:24.613 01:24.114 01:24.114 0.649
11 CANADA Robert WICKENS 01:24.933 01:24.149 01:24.149 0.684
12 PORTUGAL Joao URBANO 01:25.126 01:24.250 01:24.250 0.785
13 IRELAND Adam CARROLL 01:24.519 01:24.294 01:24.294 0.829
14 BRAZIL Sergio JIMENEZ 01:24.599 01:24.328 01:24.328 0.863
15 LEBANON Chris ALAJAJIAN 01:25.343 01:24.328 01:24.328 0.863
16 CZECH REPUBLIC Tomas ENGE 01:24.554 01:24.350 01:24.350 0.885
17 PAKISTAN Adam KHAN 01:24.378 01:25.250 01:24.378 0.913
18 NETHERLANDS Jeroen BLEEKEMOLEN 01:24.897 01:24.460 01:24.460 0.995
19 AUSTRALIA Ian DYK 01:24.802 01:24.538 01:24.538 1.073
20 INDONESIA Satrio HERMANTO 01:24.667 01:25.052 01:24.667 1.202
21 ITALY Edoardo PISCOPO 01:25.221 01:24.810 01:24.810 1.345
22 MEXICO David GARZA 01:25.265 01:24.886 01:24.886 1.421

India Takes Incredible Maiden Victory at Zhuhai

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
Pos Driver A1 Team Laps Time Gap First
1 Narain KARTHIKEYAN INDIA 45 1:08:30.759 -
2 Jonny REID NEW ZEALAND 45 1:08:31.261 0.502
3 Adrian ZAUGG SOUTH AFRICA 45 1:08:34.887 4.128
4 Michael AMMERMULLER GERMANY 45 1:08:35.666 4.907
5 Oliver JARVIS GREAT BRITAIN 45 1:08:36.026 5.267
6 Neel JANI SWITZERLAND 45 1:08:45.275 14.516
7 Loic DUVAL FRANCE 45 1:08:49.331 18.572
8 Tomas ENGE CZECH REPUBLIC 45 1:08:57.899 27.14
9 Congfu CHENG CHINA 45 1:08:58.338 27.579
10 Jonathan SUMMERTON USA 45 1:09:04.147 33.388
11 David GARZA MEXICO 45 1:09:20.112 49.353
12 Joao URBANO PORTUGAL 45 1:09:34.590 +1:03.831
13 Chris ALAJAJIAN LEBANON 44 1:09:01.358 1 Lap
14 Adam KHAN PAKISTAN 44 1:09:11.681 1 Lap
15 Ian DYK AUSTRALIA 42 1:09:35.597 3 Laps
16 Adam CARROLL IRELAND 27 1:03:01.695 18 Laps
17 Satrio HERMANTO INDONESIA 19 0:31:17.476 26 Laps
18 Jeroen BLEEKEMOLEN NETHERLANDS 9 0:16:08.328 36 Laps
19 Robert WICKENS CANADA 3 0:06:41.803 42 Laps
20 Edoardo PISCOPO ITALY 1 0:01:53.984 44 Laps
21 Sergio JIMENEZ BRAZIL 1 0:02:37.624 44 Laps
22 Alex YOONG MALAYSIA 0 - 45 Laps

2007/08 A1GP World Cup of Motorsport points standings
Pos A1 Team Points
1 Switzerland 79
2 France 60
3 New Zealand 59
4 Great Britain 48
5 South Africa 47
6 Netherlands 41
7 Ireland 39
8 Germany 37
9 China 28
10 India 27
11 Brazil 22
12 Mexico 17
13 Canada 10
14 Czech Republic 10
15 Italy 4
16 Portugal 2
17 Australia 2
18 Malaysia 2
19 USA 2

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

Germany Wins as China Takes Home Race Podium

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
Pos Driver A1 Team Time Gap First
1 Michael AMMERMÜLLER GERMANY 20:31.432 -
2 Neel JANI SWITZERLAND 20:32.033 +0.601
3 Congfu CHENG CHINA 20:36.064 +4.632
4 Adam CARROLL IRELAND 20:38.139 +6.707
5 Tomas ENGE CZECH REPUBLIC 20:38.818 +7.386
6 Oliver JARVIS GREAT BRITAIN 20:39.297 +7.865
7 Narain KARTHIKEYAN INDIA 20:40.093 +8.661
8 Loic DUVAL FRANCE 20:40.465 +9.033
9 Jeroen BLEEKEMOLEN NETHERLANDS 20:41.082 +9.650
10 Jonny REID NEW ZEALAND 20:44.424 +12.992
11 Edoardo PISCOPO ITALY 20:46.141 +14.709
12 Jonathan SUMMERTON USA 20:48.327 +16.895
13 Ian DYK AUSTRALIA 20:48.601 +17.169
14 Adam KHAN PAKISTAN 20:52.376 +20.944
15 Robert WICKENS CANADA 20:53.216 +21.784
16 David GARZA MEXICO 20:54.820 +23.388
17 Satrio HERMANTO INDONESIA 20:55.224 +23.792
18 Sergio JIMENEZ BRAZIL 20:55.457 1 Lap
19 Joao URBANO PORTUGAL 16:26.238 3 Laps
20 Adrian ZAUGG SOUTH AFRICA 03:15.105 12 Laps
21 Alex YOONG MALAYSIA 03:26.864 12 Laps
22 Chris ALAJAJIAN LEBANON - 13 Laps

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

A1GP Gets Set For Thrilling Zhuhai Debut

Zhuhai, China – After a sensational event at Sepang, which saw Switzerland secure a double victory and steal the championship lead from New Zealand, A1GP World Cup of Motorsport returns to Asia to make the first of two visits to China this season, as 22 nations prepare to take on the Zhuhai International Circuit for the first time this weekend (14-16 December).

The series is set for a thrilling debut at Zhuhai on a level playing field as none of the teams have ever driven the 4.3 km circuit in anger and all 22 A1GP drivers will be taking on the unknown, keen to learn the new track as fast as possible. The teams will have no previous data to rely on when setting up the car, putting a lot more emphasis on the rookie driver and developing nations’ practice session on Friday morning.

Zandvoort Feature race winner Oliver Jarvis is no longer eligible to represent A1 Team Great Britain in the rookie session, as he has competed in more than the limit of six races that participation in the session allows. For Zhuhai, GBR has recruited a new rookie in Danny Watts, 2002 Formula Renault UK champion and a race winner in British Formula Three and the Porsche Carrera Cup. Although this will be his maiden outing for the British squad, Watts has a wealth of racing experience and is not completely new to A1GP, having tested the biofuel-powered development car in the off-season.

Brazil’s Sergio Jimenez will take part in his final rookie session at Zhuhai as the team looks to build on the success it achieved last time out in Sepang, Malaysia where the 23-year-old from Sao Paulo scored Brazil’s first podium in 43 races. The team currently lies eighth in the championship, having notched up three top-ten finishes so far this season.

A1 Team Portugal has named the first three drivers set to benefit as part of its new FPAK A1GP Portugal Junior Team project. Gonçalo Araújo will travel to China next week and will take part in the rookie session at Zhuhai while Bruno Serra and Frederico Duarte will appear for the nation at later rounds. The team announced last month that it was to join forces with its national motorsport governing body in a pilot scheme to encourage its youngest and brightest talents into A1GP.

Michael Ammermuller will again represent A1 Team Germany at Zhuhai. The 21-year-old qualified in the top four when he made his debut in Sepang last month but his races did not go according to plan. The German received penalties in both the Sprint and Feature races for on-track incidents with other cars, and ultimately the team did not score any points. However, Germany is convinced of his potential and has opted to recall him over Christian Vietoris, who raced for his nation in the first two rounds at Zandvoort and Brno.

Home nation A1 Team China’s lead driver, CongFu Cheng, who last drove at Zhuhai in 2002 in a Chinese Formula Renault race, thinks it is a relatively easy circuit to learn and predicts lots of close racing and overtaking. China’s rookie driver, Marchy Lee, knows the circuit well having raced there in previous categories and became the first driver to lap Zhuhai in an A1GP car when he completed demonstration laps in front of thousands of fans at the official launch of A1GP Zhuhai, China in September. The 31-year-old from Hong Kong considers Zhuhai to be his ‘home’ circuit, as he learnt to drive single-seaters there over 10 years ago and won the inaugural China Formula Campus Championship there in 1997.

Danny Watts, A1 Team Great Britain:
‘It’s a privilege to be asked to drive for A1 Team GBR in Zhuhai. I will be contributing a hundred per cent to the team both in and out of the car throughout the weekend in order for us to have the best opportunity to achieve two strong results and hopefully a couple of wins to boost us up the Championship table. I obviously want to be quickest in the rookie session, but also intend to make sure the car is a hundred per cent prepared with the best set-up possible in order for Olly to get into the car and win.’

Sergio Jimenez, A1 Team Brazil:
‘The team was very happy with the podium in Malaysia because it had been a long time since the last one and showed just how hard we have all been working. We have been improving race on race, and are looking to continue that in China. For me, Zhuhai will be a different challenge and I’m feeling confident because no-one has driven the track before so it will be a level playing field for all the A1GP drivers.’

Emerson Fittipaldi, A1 Team Brazil seat holder:
‘This season A1 Team Brasil is becoming more competitive every race and we are looking to continue that. I am so happy with the way the team is performing and we are aiming for a top three position again in China. We know that the opposition is tough and many teams are improving, but I am confident we can be right in the mix again.’

Michael Ammermuller, A1 Team Germany:
‘I’ve wet my appetite. The championship is excellent, I’m enjoying racing and enjoy working with this team. In Zhuhai I aim to score similar results to those which we’d hoped for after qualifying on the second row and those which we were robbed of long after the race had finished.’

CongFu Cheng, A1 Team China:
‘It’s not a difficult circuit to learn because no corners are blind. You arrive into a corner and you can see where the apex is so it’s quite easy to know where your braking points are. In general it’s quite a smooth circuit and I think the difference between a good lap time and the pole lap will be very close. Many of the corners are second gear corners followed by long straights so there should be lots of opportunities to overtake. The first corner will be pretty exciting and the last corner is quite quick - some drivers will try to make up time there so they might take risks and end up in the gravel.’

Marchy Lee, A1 Team China:
‘Turn 14 is a good viewing spot for spectators as it’s the fastest corner and leads into the long start/finish straight. It’s always quite exciting at turn one too. Another good place to watch from is turn seven which is a hairpin corner, so you should get to see the cars fighting for position and passing each other there.’

The A1GP Zhuhai, China event runs from 14-16 December, starting with the rookie driver and developing nations’ sessions on Friday from 11.00 to 11.25 and again from 11.35 to 12.00. All 22 teams can take part in the later practice session from 14.00 to 15.00. Final practice and qualifying for the Sprint and Feature race will take place on Saturday with the two races scheduled to run on Sunday at 11.00 and 15.00 respectively.

Pre-event PR activity:
The pre-event PR activity for the Zhuhai race weekend will take place on Thursday morning in the Palace Ballroom at the Holiday Inn Hotel, Zhuhai. The focus of the event will be cooking and nutrition. The drivers will take part in a dim sum making contest and the media will be invited to taste the food and ‘judge’ the culinary skills of the drivers. The chef and invited media will award points for quality, quantity and team work. Drivers from the following nations will be taking part in the event: China, New Zealand, Switzerland, Mexico, USA, Portugal, Indonesia, Germany and Lebanon.

About Zhuhai circuit:
Zhuhai is situated on the south coast of the country, which borders the special administrative region of Macau, a short ferry ride from Hong Kong. The circuit itself features lots of potential for overtaking with several tight corners and two straights of 900m and 500m in length.

Zhuhai International Circuit became China’s first permanent motor racing circuit when it opened in 1996. The 4.3 km / 2.7 mile circuit was designed by Chinatrack Consultant Ltd, a consortium that includes Kinhill Engineering (now known as Halliburton KBR) in Australia, who designed and acted as project manager for the popular Adelaide F1 Circuit. In 1999, circuit upgrading work was carried out by renowned circuit designer Tilke GmbH.

Track length: 4.3 km (2.7 miles)

Lap record: To be established

2007/08 A1GP World Cup of Motorsport points standings
Pos A1 Team Points
1 SWITZERLAND 61
2 FRANCE 53
3 NEW ZEALAND 46
4 NETHERLANDS 39
5 SOUTH AFRICA 37
6 GREAT BRITAIN 36
7 IRELAND 31
8 BRAZIL 22
9 MEXICO 17
10 CHINA 16
11 GERMANY 14
12 CANADA 10
13 INDIA 8
14 ITALY 4
15 PORTUGAL 2
16 AUSTRALIA 2
17 MALAYSIA 2
18 USA 1
19 CZECH REPUBLIC 1

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