14/10/07 - BRNO, CZECH REPUBLIC A1GP: SPRINT & FEATURE RACES
SPRINT RACE

A1 Team New Zealand's Jonny Reid raced to a sensational victory at Brno this morning at round two of the 2007/08 A1GP World Cup of Motorsport season in the Czech Republic, dominating from the first corner to the end of the 10 lap race. Great Britain's Robbie Kerr and Ireland's A1GP debutant Adam Carroll joined Reid on the podium in second and third position respectively.

Reid took the advantage from second on the grid on the run into the first corner of the Sprint race in perfect weather conditions, as pole-sitter South Africa fell back three places to fourth behind a thrilling scrap for second between A1 Team Great Britain and Ireland.

Kerr managed to hold off the Irish rookie but the pair continued to battle and make contact as Reid started to streak away in 'Black Beauty', edging out a two second lead by the end of lap three. The 23-year-old racer from Auckland was never under threat as the pack settled down behind him and concentrated on their own fights for on-track position.

Nicolas Lapierre made an incredible start in the French car, carving his way through the field from 10th place to sixth behind the Netherlands' Jeroen Bleekemolen on the opening lap. The Frenchman made several attempts to snatch fifth from the Dutch star but the pair remained in fifth and sixth position behind fourth-placed Adrian Zaugg when they crossed the line.

German rookie Christian Vietoris managed to hold off the more experienced Neel Jani in the Swiss car, taking seventh place and a valuable four points. Portugal's Joao Urbano and China's Congfu Cheng took the final points-paying positions, finishing ninth and tenth respectively.

Reid went on to win the 10 lap race by a commanding six seconds from second-placed Kerr, closely followed by Carroll in third, who was sensational in his maiden A1GP race.

Commenting on his fourth A1GP race win, Reid said:

'We made a good start, South Africa was slightly in front of me and then I just pulled in close and got a bit of draft and I was on a good line for the breaking area. South Africa had to defend from Great Britain and I was able to go right around the outside. The guys are working so hard this weekend and we've got to keep a good balance on the car. We are out there to win and we're looking forward to the Feature race for sure.'

Following Great Britain's winning start to the season at Zandvoort two weeks ago, Kerr was pleased to finish on the podium and pick up some more championship points for Team GBR. The 28-year-old said:

'I was on the tighter line going into the first corner which didn't give me the exit and allowed Adam to come round the outside. It was a brave move by Adam and he pulled it off well, but then going into the next corner I knew I had to get ahead. I knew the car had the front grip to do it and Adam tried to come back, but unfortunately for him we both ran out of room and I took position. It was a great first lap and great battling with Adam. I'm just looking forward to the Feature race now. We need to make a few improvements to the car but we know what we've got to do. We're fairly happy with where we are.'

Carroll, who suffered from damage sustained to the Irish charger during his first lap tussle with GBR's Robbie Kerr, was delighted to score A1 Team Ireland's first podium finish since the Portugal Feature race in season one:

'It was pretty good. I got a good tow off Jonny down into turn one on the PowerBoost. The guys held quite a tight line so with the slipstream I was able to pull out and actually get right up alongside Jonny. I went into turn one and Robbie was tight and I just went around the outside. I think that's when he hit the bump on the inside that forced the rear of the car out and he tapped me, and that's what put me a little bit wide.'

On whether this was just beginner's luck, Carroll commented:

'We're not going to need luck this year, we're going to do it on pace because the guys have done such a good job. They're working really hard and for the Feature race, even though we're starting down at the back, hopefully we will have the pace and we can come through to a good position.'

Canada's James Hinchcliffe was on fine form, quietly climbing from 20th on the grid and staying out of trouble to finish 12th behind Brazil's Sergio Jimenez.

It was a quiet race for home nation rookie driver Erik Janis who brought the Czech Republic car home in 18th position having started the 20 minute race in 21st.

Ian Dyk was forced to park the Australian car in the garage on lap three after it was hit by debris when A1 Team Lebanon ran wide directly in front of him. The car sustained considerable damage but A1 Team Australia are confident they will be able to repair it in time for the Feature race, which starts at 15:00 this afternoon.

Sprint race results

Pos

Driver

A1 Team

Time

Gap First

1

Jonny REID

NEW ZEALAND

18:11.609

-

2

Robbie KERR

GREAT BRITAIN

18:17.561

+5.952

3

Adam CARROLL

IRELAND

18:20.433

+8.824

4

Adrian ZAUGG

SOUTH AFRICA

18:21.878

+10.269

5

Jeroen BLEEKEMOLEN

NETHERLANDS

18:23.170

+11.561

6

Nicolas LAPIERRE

FRANCE

18:23.412

+11.803

7

Christian VIETORIS

GERMANY

18:24.809

+13.200

8

Neel JANI

SWITZERLAND

18:25.056

+13.447

9

Joao URBANO

PORTUGAL

18:30.179

+18.570

10

Congfu CHENG

CHINA

18:30.410

+18.801

11

Sergio JIMENEZ

BRAZIL

18:33.781

+22.172

12

James HINCHCLIFFE

CANADA

18:35.605

+23.996

13

Michel JOURDAIN

MEXICO

18:36.536

+24.927

14

Enrico TOCCACELO

ITALY

18:37.531

+25.922

15

Adam KHAN

PAKISTAN

18:40.372

+28.763

16

Buddy RICE

USA

18:42.685

+31.076

17

Alex YOONG

MALAYSIA

18:45.270

+33.661

18

Erik JANIS

CZECH REPUBLIC

18:46.324

+34.715

19

Satrio HERMANTO

INDONESIA

18:59.798

+48.189

20

Khalil BESCHIR

LEBANON

19:01.439

+49.830

21

Narain KARTHIKEYAN

INDIA

19:49.425

+1:37.816

22

Ian DYK

AUSTRALIA

3 laps

7 Laps

Fastest lap: A1 Team New Zealand set the fastest lap (1m 48.438s) of the Sprint race on lap five

FEATURE RACE

A1 Team New Zealand took its second victory of the day in this afternoon's thrilling Feature race at Brno in the Czech Republic, moving the team into the championship lead by one point. Jonny Reid crossed the line in first place from seventh on the grid, ahead of the Netherlands' Jeroen Bleekemolen and Switzerland's Neel Jani in second and third position respectively.

Another gripping start greeted the crowds at a chilly but sunny Brno as pole-sitter Bleekemolen and the cars of South Africa and Great Britain went three abreast into the first corner, the Dutchman making it stick to hold the lead ahead of Adrian Zaugg, Robbie Kerr and China's Congfu Cheng.

New Zealand's Reid moved up a place at the start and was all over the back of fifth-placed Jani in the Swiss car while further down the pack Ireland's Adam Carroll had made an incredible start from 18th on the grid, gaining six places to 12th by the end of lap one.

By lap five Bleekemolen had edged out a 3.5 second lead over Zaugg, who was holding up the pack as the Dutch car stormed into the distance. As the first mandatory pit stop window opened on lap eight, race leader Bleekemolen was the first man in for a fresh set of tyres, closely followed by South Africa, Great Britain and New Zealand. Reid's team did an awesome job in the pits, getting 'Black Beauty' out on track ahead of Zaugg and Kerr, who had been battling for second place.

As the pit stop window closed on lap 15 the top six settled behind the Netherlands to New Zealand, Switzerland, Great Britain, closely followed by China, France and Germany. Two laps later Kerr was forced to pit with a puncture, moving China up into fourth place as the British racer rejoined in 20th.

Second-placed Reid was on blistering form, closing in on Bleekemolen to within half a second by lap 25 when the Dutch driver pitted for his second obligatory stop. With eight laps to go the Kiwi had pulled out a 32 second lead when he came in for his second stop on lap 30. Having rejoined in the top spot after fast work in the pits, Reid eked out his advantage over Bleekemolen and Jani to over six seconds by the start of the final lap.

New Zealand went on to stamp its authority on the weekend by taking another commanding victory, followed home by the Netherlands and Switzerland in second and third place with China hot on its heels in fourth. Fifth position was taken by A1 Team France as Ireland crossed the line in an incredible sixth place, having started back in 18th. Brazil finished seventh while the final three point scoring positions were taken by Germany, India and Italy.

Local hero Erik Janis finished a solid 12th in his home race, having started 17th. GBR's Kerr had a disappointing race after being forced to pit three times, eventually crossing the line in 17th behind South Africa.

Jonny Reid was delighted with his team's performance today and can't wait for round three at Sepang in Malaysia:

'We're very pleased as a team. I couldn't have asked more from the boys in the pits. The car was well balanced and I was just happy to push 110 per cent all the time and average a very quick time and that brought us up behind Netherlands and again the pit stops again were great and I was able to pull a margin with some clear air at one point in the race so I'm really pleased.' He continued: 'The car was good, I knew that and I was able to push. I was held up by the Netherlands and once I got some clear air I was able to put some good laps together and get a margin and it was big enough to jump them in the pits. The car was good everywhere and I was able to push 110 per cent. I had no problems with the car and was able to be very quick. I can't wait for Malaysia. The car's good, I'm feeling good. The warmer climates don't bother me at all so I'm looking forward to getting out there and getting into things.'

Second-placed Jeroen Bleekemolen said:

'Well because the wear on the tyres is so high here I thought he (Reid) is not going to stay out and I can make up ground on him so he can never overtake me, but then I was behind India for three laps which cost me about three to four seconds totally. He was definitely faster today but we had the pole position and we pulled away at the beginning so we could have won it if we didn't have traffic. Their car was a bit faster today than us but we had a chance. It's really difficult to overtake here. All the corners are pretty quick so when you come close to someone you can't always overtake. With India I caught them pretty quickly but then couldn't get passed and it's really difficult.'

Switzerland's Neel Jani, who was under pressure from A1 Team China but managed to hold position to cross the line third and join Reid and Bleekemolen on the podium at Brno, commented:

'At the end they were catching up massively. First I watched in the mirrors and I couldn't see any cars and the second lap I looked in the mirrors and he's all over me, so I had to be very careful not to make any mistakes at the end and luckily the race ended.'

China's Congfu Cheng, who had a difficult start to the season two weeks ago, was looking good for his first podium finish but eventually crossed the line a competitive fourth behind Jani:

'I am very happy and really thanks to the team because we had a terrible weekend in Zandvoort and to be able to come this high particularly in this race as well it's a great surprise and I'm really looking forward to the next race now. The team made a good strategy and we were quite competitive on old rubber and we knew that once we put on new tyres we would be even better. I thought if I am able to get two more laps I could put a bit more pressure onto Switzerland, but it was a great effort that they put in so congratulations to them. In China motor racing has just started, so to be able to finish that high at this level of competition is great.'

Irish rookie Adam Carroll, who had an incredible race to cross the line sixth having started 18th on the grid, said:

'It was a great race and I got a great first lap in and you know there is nothing to lose starting from 18th so you get stuck in, it's a long race. The pit stops went really well, the guys did a fantastic job and we were able to come through to sixth which was a very, very good result. There's a lot of support from back home and there's a great team atmosphere, so I'd like to thank everyone for doing a great job and giving me the opportunity to do this.'

New Zealand now leads the title challenge on 37 points, just ahead of South Africa on 36 and Great Britain on 31 as the series has a short break before heading to Sepang, Malaysia on 23-25 November 2007.

Feature race results

Pos

Driver

A1 Team

 Time

Gap First

1

Jonny REID

NEW ZEALAND

1:10:34.700

-

2

Jeroen BLEEKEMOLEN

NETHERLANDS

1:10:41.846

7.146

3

Neel JANI

SWITZERLAND

1:10:46.977

12.277

4

Congfu CHENG

CHINA

1:10:47.423

12.723

5

Nicolas LAPIERRE

FRANCE

1:10:54.139

19.439

6

Adam CARROLL

IRELAND

1:10:59.048

24.348

7

Sergio JIMENEZ

BRAZIL

1:11:04.325

29.625

8

Christian VIETORIS

GERMANY

1:11:12.649

37.949

9

Narain KARTHIKEYAN

INDIA

1:11:13.085

38.385

10

Enrico TOCCACELO

ITALY

1:11:24.106

49.406

11

James HINCHCLIFFE

CANADA

1:11:26.231

51.531

12

Erik JANIS

CZECH REPUBLIC

1:11:32.499

57.799

13

Ian DYK

AUSTRALIA

1:11:37.248

+1:02.548

14

Alex YOONG

MALAYSIA

1:11:37.938

+1:03.238

15

Buddy RICE

USA

1:11:57.490

+1:22.790

16

Adrian ZAUGG

SOUTH AFRICA

1:11:57.800

+1:23.100

17

Robbie KERR

GREAT BRITAIN

1:11:58.433

+1:23.733

18

Joao URBANO

PORTUGAL

1:11:59.618

+1:24.918

19

Satrio HERMANTO

INDONESIA

1:12:00.037

+1:25.337

20

Adam KHAN

PAKISTAN

1:12:06.215

+1:31.515

21

Khalil BESCHIR

LEBANON

1:11:06.771

1 Lap

22

Michel JOURDAIN

MEXICO

1:11:38.703

1 Lap

 2007/08 A1GP World Cup of Motorsport points standings

Pos

 A1 Team

Points

1

NEW ZEALAND

37

2

SOUTH AFRICA

36

3

GREAT BRITAIN

31

4

NETHERLANDS

31

5

FRANCE

29

6

SWITZERLAND

29

7

IRELAND

23

8

MEXICO

17

9

GERMANY

14

10

CHINA

10

11

BRAZIL

4

12

INDIA

3

13

PORTUGAL

2

14

ITALY

1

15

CZECH REPUBLIC

1

Fastest lap: A1 Team China set the fastest lap in the Feature race, lapping Brno circuit in 1m47.610s with a speed of 180.8 kph on lap 29 of the 38 lap race.

Next race: A1GP Sepang, Malaysia, 23-25 November 2007


Reporting by A1GP.com
TOP^  
SPRINT RACE
Jonny Reid (Team New Zealand) was uncatchable.
(Picture A1GP.com)
Robbie Kerr (Team Great Britain) was a fighting second.
(Picture A1GP.com)
Adam Carroll was an excellent third for Team Ireland.
(Picture A1GP.com)
Adrian Zaugg (Team South Africa) was a competitive fourth.
(Picture A1GP.com)
Jeroen Bleekemolen (Team Netherlands was fifth, just holding off...
(Picture A1GP.com)
...Nicolas Lapierre in the Team France car.
(Picture A1GP.com)
Team Germany and Christian Vietoris could do no better than seventh.
(Picture A1GP.com)
Michel Jourdain (Team Mexico).
(Picture A1GP.com)
Adam Kahn had a competitive weekend for Team Pakistan.
(Picture A1GP.com)
Buddy Rice (Team USA) was off the pace.
(Picture A1GP.com)
Robbie Kerr, Jonny Reid and ADam Carroll on the victory podium.
(Picture A1GP.com)
FEATURE RACE
Two on the trot for Team New Zealand and Jonny Reid.
(Picture A1GP.com)
Jeroen Bleekemolen finished second for Team Netherlands.
(Picture A1GP.com)
Neel Jani completed the podium for Team Switzerland.
(Picture A1GP.com)
A superb fourth for "Charlie" Chen and Team China.
(Picture A1GP.com)
Fifth for Nicolas Lapierre (Team France).
(Picture A1GP.com)
Adam Carroll (Team Ireland) could only manage sixth in this race.
(Picture A1GP.com)
Seventh for Sergio Jimenez (Team Brazil).
(Picture A1GP.com)
A brake-locking Team Germany were still not on the pace.
(Picture A1GP.com)
Ninth place for Narain Karthikeyan (Team India).
(Picture A1GP.com)
Enrico Toccacelo (Team Italy).
(Picture A1GP.com)
Erik Janis (Team Czech Republic) was twelfth on home ground.
(Picture A1GP.com)
Ian Dyk (Team Australia).
(Picture A1GP.com)
Robbie Kerr (Team Great Britain) suffered a puncture when running well.
(Picture A1GP.com)
Adrian Zaugg (Team South Africa) could do no better than sixteenth.
(Picture A1GP.com)
Team Indonesia chases Team Malaysia and Team Pakistan.
(Picture A1GP.com)
Jeroen Bleekemolen, Jonny Reid and Neel Jani show off their trophies.
(Picture A1GP.com)
The beautiful Czech grid girls.
(Picture A1GP.com)