A1 GRAND PRIX OF NATIONS, SENTUL CIRCUIT, INDONESIA
source:
a1gp.com
FEATURE RACE RESULTS
A1 Team Canada fought their way from back of the grid to win the A1 Grand
Prix of Nations, Sentul Circuit, Indonesia giving them their first win of the
season. In front of a packed grandstand of 32,000 spectators, Indonesian
President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and government representatives including the
Ministers for Sport and Tourism, A1 Grand Prix laid on a spectacular race,
action-packed from start to finish.
It was turmoil from the green light with pole sitter France's bad start
allowing second place Great Britain to take the lead off the grid. Mexico also
suffered a bad start and with cars taking avoiding action as they went into the
first corner, Japan and Indonesia collided and the car bearing the rising sun
ended up in the barrier while Ananda Mikola managed to stay on track.
The incidents brought out the safety car at the end of lap one and both
Switzerland and Italy pitted. With the former obviously realising this was
against the regulations unless the car was damaged, Neel Jani drove through the
pits and rejoined the back of the field. A1 Team Mexico had obviously suffered
damage as his right rear tyre came off the rim on lap two and so the car limped
back to the pits. Several of the drivers took the opportunity to take their
mandatory pit stop at the end of lap two but Great Britain did not and so
maintained the lead. The safety car came in again at the end of lap three and as
racing recommenced there was a collision between France and Malaysia, with the
Sprint race winner having to pit for a new front wing.
The race was not the smoothest for the eventual winner as in lap five Canada
was given a drive through penalty for crossing the line at the pit lane exit. A1
Team USA managed to keep going despite a visit to the gravel trap while man on a
mission, Nicolas Lapierre found himself down in twentieth spot and a lap down on
the leaders.
The safety car was soon out on the track again to retrieve A1 Team Lebanon's
car from the gravel but they were not the only ones to go off at this point.
Both France and Austria visited the gravel but were able to get out under their
own steam.
At this point A1 Teams Malaysia and Netherlands made their pit stops from the
front of the field but race leader Great Britain stayed out, with the team
saying that he was past the point where he could pit when they knew the safety
car was going to come out.
The safety car came in at the end of lap 11 at which point the order was
Great Britain, South Africa and Portugal. Canada and the USA were battling for
twelfth place with the former getting by on lap 12 followed closely by A1 Team
Netherlands. The Indonesian fans had to suffer more disappointment on lap 13
when their hero collided with Malaysia and spun although luckily he was able to
continue. This was also the point when China joined the race having fixed the
gear box problems suffered in the earlier Sprint race.
The number of cars visiting the gravel traps continued to rise with A1 Team
India and A1 Team Ireland off in turn three on lap 14 and then to add insult to
injury the Indian team were given a drive through penalty for a false start and
the Irish team retired at the end of lap 15. However, there was some
compensation for the Irish team as driver Ralph Firman scored the bonus point
for recording the weekend's fastest race lap at 1.19.029 at a speed of 180.6
km/h, setting a new lap record for the Sentul circuit.
While Great Britain and South Africa were leading, third and fourth were
Portugal and Mexico. A1 Team Mexico had made their pit stop and so were in a
strong position as the others hadn't. However as they went into turn one at the
start of lap 19 they collided with Portugal and retired from the race while
Portugal continued. The safety car was deployed yet again but neither A1 Team
Great Britain nor South Africa pitted. The safety car came in at the end of lap
22 as the cars went down into turn one it was South Africa who got the best of a
side by side battle with Great Britain and came out in front.
By the end of lap 24, it was obvious that A1 Team Canada could win their
first race as only rain could save Great Britain and South Africa who still
needed to make a pit stop each. India was not having a good race and received
its second drive through penalty, this time for ignoring a red light when
exiting the pit lane.
Another team having an uncharacteristically bad race was France with yet
another excursion to the gravel pit on lap 28 with A1 Team New Zealand although
no contact was made.
One of the scarier moments of the race was on lap 30 when following contact
with Malaysia, Netherlands spun and ended up coming back on the racing line with
A1 Team Portugal bearing down on him. Thankfully the quick reactions of Alvaro
Parente avoided an accident and both stayed on track.
A1 Team Great Britain's hopes of its first win disappeared at the end of lap
30 when the car pitted and lost 44.5 seconds which included time for a sticking
left rear tyre. By the time Robbie Kerr had rejoined the race, they were down in
fifteenth.
Lap 31 saw A1 Team Germany head into the gravel with what was obviously a
problem with the front right tyre and A1 Team Czech Republic visit the outs for
a new nose. On the next lap it was retirement for A1 Team Italy after a spin
which left the car stranded on the side of the track.
At the end of lap 33, A1 Team Canada was assured of a win as South Africa
made its pit stop. At this point there was less than one second between Canada
and Malaysia but by the time the cars crossed the finish line at the end of lap
36, the gap was nearly two seconds.
It was a great weekend for newcomers to A1 Grand Prix as Marcus Marshall for
A1 Team Australia and Christian Fittipaldi for A1 Team Brazil finished third and
fourth respectively. Fittipaldi's spectacular drive put them back up above A1
Team Great Britain at third place in the championship points standing.
First-time winner, Sean McIntosh, A1 Team Canada: 'It's just an unbelievable
result after the Sprint race. I shot myself in the foot in the Sprint race, and
came to win from the back, even with a drive through penalty. It wasn't an easy
decision to pit early and then having to do the drive through penalty I lost all
the ground I made up. I overtook about six cars after that and by the end of the
race there were quite severe vibrations in the tyres.'
Ironically, it will not be Sean McIntosh that drives for A1 Team Canada at
the next races in Mexico and the USA as new signing Patrick Carpentier gets
behind the wheel. 'I've set a high standard for Patrick, the pressure is on him
now. But the team has more points now and I will be back in China and back
strong', McIntosh continued.
Second place man Alex Yoong said: 'I'm elated for the team. The car was very
strong. We should have pitted earlier though, we could have been even closer.
This is what the Series is all about, there was so much overtaking, the cars are
strong and built to overtake. Jos Verstappen and I had a real cat and mouse
fight as we made our way through the field. It is such a good result for the
team and for our new sponsor Proton. Having Proton on board has made such a
difference for the team, as we have been able to concentrate on the racing
rather than getting to the next race.'
Finishing on the podium in his first outing for A1 Team Australia, Marcus
Marshall said: 'It feels really good to be on the podium, especially after I
didn't even know whether I was coming or not. We really struggled in the dry and
a bit in Qualifying but we kept pushing all weekend. We never gave up, and
although there was too much wing on the car, which meant I was losing time on
the straights, I was setting good times in the other sectors. I'm really stoked
for the team, Fosters and everyone at home. A big hello to everyone in
Australia.'
Marcus Marshall and Sean McIntosh praised the crowds that cheered them on.
'The crowd were awesome. I know there have been smaller crowds elsewhere, but
this is the same for any series, I experienced the same in Champ Car, some
places take to Motorsport and some don't' said Marcus Marshall.
'The support for Ananda Mikola was amazing in the crowd and for the other
drivers as well. The country of Indonesia has been amazing and the people
really passionate and excited about A1GP', continued Sean McIntosh.
The ninth round of A1 Grand Prix, the World Cup of Motorsport will be held at
Parque Fundidora Monterrey, Mexico on 24 - 26 February 2006.
A1 Team Driver Time Gap
1 Canada Sean McIntosh 55.55.779
2 Malaysia Alex Yoong 55.57.710 +1.931
3 Australia Marcus Marshall 56.08.396 +12.617
4 Brazil Christian 56.09.779 +14.000
Fittipaldi
5 Switzerland Neel Jani 56.12.288 +16.509
6 Netherlands Jos Verstappen 56.17.625 +21.846
7 New Zealand Matt Halliday 56.17.998 +22.319
8 France Nicolas 56.18.477 +22.698
Lapierre
9 USA Philip Geibler 56.22.092 +26.313
10 Great Robbie Kerr 56.38.748 +42.969
Britain
11 South Stephen Simpson 57.10.293 +1.14.514
Africa
12 Germany Timo Scheider 57.28.763 +1.32.984
13 Czech Tomas Enge 35 laps 1 lap
Republic
14 Indonesia Ananda Mikola 35 laps 1 lap
15 India Armaan Ebrahim 35 laps 1 lap
16 Italy Max Busnelli 31 laps 5 laps
17 Portugal Alvaro Parente 31 laps 5 laps
18 Austria Mathias Lauda 24 laps 12 laps
19 Ireland Ralph Firman 21 laps 15 laps
20 Mexico Salvador Duran 18 laps 18 laps
21 China Tengyi Jiang 11 laps 29 laps
22 Lebanon Basil Shaaban 7 laps 29 laps
23 Japan Hayanari 0 laps 36 laps
Shimoda
Series Points to date - A1 Grand Prix of Nations, Sentul Circuit, Indonesia - 12 February 2006
1 France 132
2 Switzerland 104
3 Brazil 70
4 Great Britain 68
5 New Zealand 61
6 Netherlands 53
7 Ireland 50
8 Portugal 50
9 Malaysia 49
10 Canada 42
11 Australia 37
12 Czech Republic 31
13 Mexico 28
14 Italy 26
15 South Africa 20
16 Germany 15
17 USA 15
18 Indonesia 10
19 Austria 9
20 Japan 8
21 China 6
22 Pakistan 4
A1 GRAND PRIX OF NATIONS, SENTUL CIRCUIT, INDONESIA
SPRINT RACE RESULTS
A1 Team France has taken pole position for the Indonesian Feature race after
overtaking Britain's Robbie Kerr at the end of the first lap. The move set the
order for the top three teams that was to continue throughout the race but
battles further down the field gave the excited crowds the competition they came
to see.
The action began as the cars left the grid with Canada being the first victim
after contact with Malaysia meant they pitted at the end of the first lap and
retired. New Zealand's 'Black Beauty' climbed up from tenth on the grid to
seventh in the first lap, starting an assault on Ireland that was to continue
until Durban race winner, Dutchman Jos Verstappen, took the opportunity to split
the pair on lap 15.
A1 Team Italy made an unsuccessful move on Portugal on lap four going wide in
turn three and hitting the gravel. Driver, Max Busnelli, got the car back on
track but lost several places which he failed to regain. Shortly after, A1 Team
China pulled off the track in lap six with suspected gearbox problems.
Drivers made the most of A1 Grand Prix's unique PowerBoost button to snatch
vital places throughout the race. A1 Team Malaysia's Alex Yoong, one of the few
drivers with experience of the Sentul track, used his extra 30bhp to steal
fourth place from Switzerland on lap eight but it was when Timo Scheider in the
German car used his PowerBoost to take eleventh place from Indonesian hero,
Ananda Mikola in front of the grandstand that the groans of disappointment were
audible.
A1 Teams Brazil and South Africa finished the race several laps down after
being forced to pit. South Africa went in at the end of the first lap after the
bonding on the front wing failed allowing it to rub on the left tyre but after
both were changed he rejoined the race only to pit again on lap three when the
oil light came on. Brazil pitted at the end of lap six for a front tyre change.
Six times race winner Nicolas Lapierre said: 'We worked hard on the car in
warm up and made a few changes. It was quite difficult with the tyres, and I
pushed hard to pass Robbie. Fortunately I had a really good balance on the car
until the end. At the beginning of the race it was difficult to open up a gap to
Robbie but as he began to defend against Salvador it got easier and by the end I
was able to build up quite a big gap. I'm really pleased and just waiting for
the next race.'
Speaking about difficult weather conditions at the track, Nicolas said 'It is
very difficult, the humidity is bad and it is very hot. It wasn't too bad in
this race, but the next race is long and it will be much more difficult for all
the drivers and mechanics.'
Finishing second for the fifth time, Great Britain's Robbie Kerr was unable
to turn his pole position into a win in the Sprint race but was still positive
about his prospects in the Feature race. 'The car was good and qualifying was
good, unfortunately it didn't last. The balance went away throughout the race,
and the car became quite difficult. There are still good possibilities for the
next race, and I aim to finish at the front. We were close in this race, but not
close enough.' Second did, however, move A1 Team Great Britain up to third in
the points standing.
Scoring Mexico's first podium finish since the season opener at Brands Hatch,
Salvador Duran was happy with his third place. 'I'm very happy, and could even
have finished second. The car was good although at the end there was a bit of
oversteer. We are able to finish in the points again in the Feature race.'
A1 Team Driver Time
1 France Nicolas Lapierre 24.03.360
2 Great Robbie Kerr 24.10.341
Britain
3 Mexico Salvador Duran 24.11.387
4 Malaysia Alex Yoong 24.14.682
5 Switzerland Neel Jani 24.16.220
6 Ireland Ralph Firman 24.17.094
7 Netherlands Jos Verstappen 24.17.864
8 New Zealand Matt Halliday 24.19.669
9 Japan Hayanari Shimoda 24.22.074
10 Czech Tomas Enge 24.26.482
Republic
11 Indonesia Ananda Mikola 24.26.666
12 Germany Timo Scheider 24.27.761
13 Austria Mathias Lauda 24.32.882
14 Italy Max Busnelli 24.35.547
15 USA Philip Giebler 24.39.755
16 Australia Marcus Marshall 24.41.317
17 Lebanon Basil Shaaban 24.48.545
18 India Armaan Ebrahim 25.03.649
19 Portugal Alvaro Parente 27.23.194
20 Brazil Christian 17 Laps
Fittipaldi
21 South Stephen Simpson 15 Laps
Africa
22 China Tengyi Jiang 5 Laps
23 Canada Sean McIntosh 1 Lap
A1 GRAND PRIX OF NATIONS, SENTUL CIRCUIT, INDONESIA
QUALIFYING RESULTS AND SPRINT RACE GRID - UPDATED
A1 Team India has had its fastest lap time, which was recorded in the third
session of Qualifying disallowed due to an infringement of A1 Grand Prix's
sporting regulations. Driver, Armaan Ebrahim completed more than the three laps
allowed for each competitor by coming in to the pits at the end of the out lap
and then starting the three lap sequence (one out lap, one flying lap and one in
lap) for a second time.
The infringement occurred in the fourth session with the recorded lap time
for this session automatically disallowed.
A1 Team Driver Aggregate
Time
1 Great Robbie Kerr 2.34.257
Britain
2 France Nicolas Lapierre 2.34.477
3 Mexico Salvador Duran 2.34.554
4 Switzerland Neel Jani 2.35.055
5 Japan Hayanari Shimoda 2.35.190
6 Malaysia Alex Yoong 2.35.447
7 Ireland Ralph Firman 2.35.670
8 Canada Sean McIntosh 2.35.685
9 South Africa Stephen Simpson 2.35.750
10 New Zealand Matt Halliday 2.35.797
11 Portugal Alvaro Parente 2.35.808
12 Czech Tomas Enge 2.35.950
Republic
13 Netherlands Jos Verstappen 2.36.000
14 USA Philip Geibler 2.36.113
15 Germany Timo Scheider 2.36.319
16 Italy Max Busnelli 2.36.631
17 Indonesia Ananda Mikola 2.36.805
18 China Tengyi Jiang 2.37.313
19 Australia Marcus Marshall 2.37.950
20 Lebanon Basil Shaaban 2.38.275
21 Brazil Christian 2.38.290
Fittipaldi
22 India Armaan Ebrahim 2.38.603
23 Austria Mathias Lauda 2.39.229
A1 GRAND PRIX OF NATIONS, SENTUL CIRCUIT, INDONESIA
OFFICIAL PRACTICE SESSION RESULTS
A tropical downpour which began just as the pit lane opened for today's first
official practice session left a slippery wet track for A1 Grand Prix's first
outing at the Sentul circuit, Indonesia. The rain continued to fall into the
afternoon but as the sun broke through mid-way into the second session,
conditions improved and the A1 teams picked up speed.
Relative newcomer to the Series, A1 Team Italy's Max Busnelli who drove for
the first time at the last round brought out the first red flag spinning off and
damaging the car. Red flags caused by Austria, Brazil and the Czech Republic and
China followed with Lebanon and Portugal joining the list from the second
session.
Home racer Ananada Mikola showed that circuit experience pays leading the
second session for some time but it was A1 Team Malaysia's Alex Yoong who put in
the day's fastest lap time of 1.27.557. 'We did a good job today, but it
is more important to be quick tomorrow. We were struggling with set up at first,
but we found a couple of things that really helped us. And I have raced here a
long time ago which helps.'
Commenting on tyre wear at the track, Alex admitted 'I am a little worried,
the track is very abrasive. Tyre wear will be high if the track is dry, but I
have heard that it will be wet over the weekend.'
Marcus Marshall made an impressive debut with A1 Team Australia, finishing
the day second fastest. Marcus said he was impressed with what he had seen of
A1GP so far, 'It's been fantastic, I love the concept, every car being equal
means tough racing. No-one has an advantage, and everyone starts even.'
Winner of the last A1 Grand Prix of Nations, Jos Verstappen, is hoping for a
repeat performance this weekend. 'I'm very pleased with how it went today, it
took around five or six laps to find the limit. The response at home was very
positive after the win in South Africa, there was good press and TV footage
which always helps a team.'
However, the focus of local attention remains on Ananda Mikola, the Asian
Formula Three Champions, who is the driver for A1 Team Indonesia. 'There isn't
too much pressure at my home race, it is my own pride that is at stake. I just
want to get a good result. I think we are looking good for the race, as long as
no-one hits me from the back! This is a great race for Indonesia, there are some
good drivers here, some from F1 such as Ralph, Jos and Alex. We show great
racing, and crashes on TV all over the world, I think it will be a great race
this weekend.'
Official Practice Session 1 (13.00 - 14.00)
A1 Team Driver Time No. Laps
1 Ireland Ralph Firman 1.28.458 16
2 Indonesia Ananda Mikola 1.29.006 20
3 Great Robbie Kerr 1.29.028 20
Britain
4 Portugal Alvaro Parente 1.29.372 18
5 Australia Christian Jones 1.29.551 28
6 Canada Sean McIntosh 1.29.737 29
7 Switzerland Neel Jani 1.30.166 18
8 South Stephen Simpson 1.30.205 25
Africa
9 France Nicolas Lapierre 1.30.295 10
10 New Zealand Matt Halliday 1.30.385 30
11 Japan Hayanari Shimoda 1.30.444 25
12 Netherlands Jos Verstappen 1.30.517 20
13 Brazil Christian 1.30.571 27
Fittipaldi
14 Germany Timo Scheider 1.30.610 21
15 Mexico Salvador Duran 1.30.730 20
16 Czech Tomas Enge 1.30.801 6
Republic
17 Malaysia Alex Yoong 1.31.308 23
18 India Armaan Ebrahim 1.31.393 29
19 Lebanon Basil Shaaban 1.31.822 28
20 China Tengyi Jiang 1.32.963 28
21 USA Philip Giebler 1.33.459 16
22 Austria Mathias Lauda 1.34.518 10
23 Italy Max Busnelli 1.37.191 5
Official Practice session 2 (16.00 - 17.00)
A1 Team Driver Time No.
Laps
1 Malaysia Alex Yoong 1.27.557 17
2 Australia Marcus Marshall 1.27.820 21
3 Netherlands Jos Verstappen 1.28.279 20
4 France Nicolas Lapierre 1.28.680 23
5 Indonesia Ananda Mikola 1.28.776 15
6 Ireland Ralph Firman 1.28.915 20
7 Canada Sean McIntosh 1.29.203 18
8 Great Robbie Kerr 1.29.380 21
Britain
9 South Africa Stephen Simpson 1.29.437 17
10 Mexico Salvador Duran 1.29.666 19
11 Austria Mathias Lauda 1.29.785 28
12 Czech Tomas Enge 1.29.839 23
Republic
13 India Armaan Ebrahim 1.29.925 22
14 China Tengyi Jiang 1.30.019 30
15 Japan Hayanari Shimoda 1.30.100 22
16 Portugal Alvaro Parente 1.30.172 26
17 Germany Timo Scheider 1.30.349 23
18 Brazil Christian 1.30.414 25
Fittipaldi
19 Switzerland Neel Jani 1.30.489 24
20 USA Philip Geibler 1.30.772 26
21 Italy Max Busnelli 1.30.822 23
22 New Zealand Matt Halliday 1.31.464 23
23 Lebanon Khalil Beschir 1.32.958 24