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.
| 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 | 0 | - | - | - | - |
| 19 | MALAYSIA | Aaron LIM | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - |
| 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.
| 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 |
| 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.
| 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 |
| 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.
| 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 |
| 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."
| 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
| 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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