2005 A1 GRAND PRIX

A1 GP (2005/2006)

FEATURE RACE REPORT

• EuroSpeedway Lausitz, 9 October - It was a close fought, incident packed Feature race that was watched by 34,000 noisy fans at the impressive EuroSpeedway Lausitz circuit. The country whose national anthem was played on the winner's podium for the second time this weekend was France, with Great Britain and Canada second and third, each taking their first podium of the A1GP series.

  When the starting lights went out and the cars rushed into Turn 1, it was A1 Team Switzerland who got the best start with France in close attendance. As the cars crossed the start/finish line for the first time, it was A1 Team Malaysia completing the top three with Brazil in fourth. However, A1 Team France soon opted to use the PowerBoost button and the red, white and blue car overtook Switzerland on lap 4. In the meantime, A1 Team Brazil had moved ahead of Malaysia and the German fans were given something to cheer for as their car moved into fourth on lap two and third on lap 8.

  The order at the front remained the same until France pitted and it was A1 Team Switzerland that crossed the line first at the end of lap 16. Sadly for Switzerland, a long pit stop put them out of contention and France re-took the lead they were never to give up on lap 21.

  One of the drives of the race was by A1 Team Great Britain. With their car having started last, by the end of lap two it was seventeenth, by the end of lap 10 eleventh, by the end of lap 15 sixth and by the end of lap 21, the French driver knew he had a very rapid car behind him as A1 Team GBR was lying second. A1 Team Canada's driver also moved up through the field after starting from seventh on the grid and like A1 Team GBR moved into a podium position on lap 21.

  There was one safety car period after A1 Team India stopped on the start/finish straight and the car had to be retrieved. This was soon cleared up however A1 Team Malaysia received a drive through penalty for overtaking during this period. This was not the only team to be penalised during the race, as A1 Team Czech Republic received a drive through for a jump start and A1 Team Brazil, the same penalty for a pit stop infringement. Unfortunately that was not the end of Brazil's problems as at the restart after the safety car period, three into two didn't go and with the car in the middle of a sandwich, the inevitable collision happened and Brazil spun into retirement.

  It was another miserable weekend for A1 Team USA with Scott Speed being an early retirement in both races. In the Sprint race it was a retirement at Turn 1 while in the Feature race, at the end of lap 2 the car drove into the garage.

  Khalil Beschir, who made a name for himself at Brands Hatch after a spectacular crash, gave A1 Team Lebanon their best result to date despite severe handling problems and an extra pit stop. The Team, along with several others, encountered wheel nut problems during their pit stops. This is something that the A1 Grand Prix organisers will be looking into over the next couple of days.

SPRINT RACE REPORT

• EuroSpeedway Lausitz, 9 October - A1 Team France's Nicolas Lapierre retained pole position for the Feature race. 'I had a big gap on the first lap which was fantastic for me and then I just tried to manage that gap. Then the safety car came out and I had a good race start after that and the situation was under control. The balance of the car was not perfect but I was still able to win the race so it's good for the next one. The next race is going to be more difficult at the start because it is the standing start so we need to make a good start. It is more difficult because we have a pit stop strategy but the team is fantastic for pit stops. They did some very good practices but we will have to see what happens this race. It is my first race for A1GP and the team gave me a car to win the race so it is a fantastic start for us, but now we have to focus on the second one which is as well very important and we will see tonight where we are.'

  The second slot on the Feature race grid goes to A1 Team Switzerland who moved up four positions from sixth on the grid for the Sprint race when A1 Teams USA and Great Britain collided on the first turn. Driver Neel Jani said: 'I made quite a good start and I was on the inside. I just saw a lot of smoke so I stayed on the inside and everybody else went out so there was a nice gap for me to go through to second. Through the race, I was not allowed to do any mistakes because Nelson would have overtaken me for sure. I just had to concentrate and make sure I did not do any mistakes and try to do quick laps.'

  Double winner at the A1 Grand Prix of Nations, Brands Hatch, A1 Team Brazil took third place in the Sprint race and also managed to set the fastest lap with a time of 1.34.736 on lap 14. Driver, Nelson Piquet Jr said: 'I did a little mistake at the start, I went out in the wrong gear and I lost a lot of positions at the start. I am not going to say that I was lucky, as for the cars that crashed it was a bit unlucky, but I gained the positions that I lost at the start and went to third. Throughout the race I was quicker than Jani so it was difficult to follow him. This circuit is quite difficult to follow and it is not easy to overtake. I tried to make some gaps from the drivers behind and tried for quickest lap and the last thing I heard on the radio was that I had fastest lap.'

  A1 Team Italy was given a 25 second penalty for overtaking under a waved yellow flag which demoted them from 8th to 17th position.

  The pole position for the Sprint race was changed from the right side to the left side of the grid for the rolling start, but the Feature Race pole will be back on the right.

  Before the start of the Sprint race all the A1 Teams and Drivers observed a minute's silence in memory of the earthquake victims in Pakistan and India.

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