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A1 Team Germany take first Sprint race win

Saturday, January 20, 2007
A1 Team Germany has taken its first Sprint race win putting the car on pole for the later Feature race. With the first three cars clearing the first corner and pulling away from the pack to maintain their positions throughout the race, the battle for positions came in the middle of the pack as a damaged Great Britain car held off the continuous pressure of A1 Team Italy to take eight place on the Feature race grid. Collisions saw Singapore, Malaysia and Lebanon fail to finish while gear box problems spoiled the good fortune experienced so far this weekend for A1 Team Ireland.

1. A1 Team Germany
2. A1 Team France
3. A1 Team New Zealand

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Hulkenberg scores the double in New Zealand

Racing series A1GPDate 2007-01-21
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Team Germany's ace continues to rack up the points in the second season of the A1 Grand Prix. Nico Hulkenberg landed a double victory today on the new Taupo Motorsport Park circuit in New Zealand. Team Germany's lead in the 2006/07 World Cup of Motorsport has been expanded to 65 points.
"At the beginning I had a bit of a problem with my car and Loic (Duval) was putting me under pressure," said Hulkenberg. "But then it got better and better and now I am happy. We have to put a lot of fuel in for the main race so we always have to change some little things."
The team from Germany, with team manager Willi Weber, is looking to copy what Team France did in the inaugural A1 GP season by landing points early and shutting the door before the season finale in April at Brands Hatch.
The first step was to tag a hot-shoe, which even though only 19 years of age, Hulkenberg handles the pressure and challenges like a veteran open-wheel racer. The German worked his way from karting to Formula BMW program in Germany in 2005 -- he earned the German championship and top rookie -- last year, the young ace moved to the German Formula 3 series.
Starting from his first pole position in the sixth round after a Winter break, Hulkenberg led the field from start to finish over the 14 lap Sprint race on the 2.17-mile road course. His finish put him on the Feature race pole.
Second in the Sprint race was a fierce battle that toward the end saw Jonny Reid and Loic Duval boxing it out for second. The French rookie Duval won the right to start on the front row for the second time in his career with Team France. Duval joined the team in Indonesia as their rookie and in only his second appearance, he was second on the Sprint race starting grid in his first qualifying attempt.
"I made a good start and Nico was a little bit earlier on the throttle so I was second. I was a little bit faster than him but it was difficult to overtake him. It would have been stupid to take a risk in this race so that is why I was second and that is okay for me," commented Duval.
In his short career with the French team, he has already landed a podium finish and needed points and yet his aspirations for the second race were quite high. "I think I can perhaps catch Nico in the next race, we will see," he said. "It will be a long race with pit stops. I think we have a good car and for the second one for sure I will stay near him and if I can overtake I will try."
The Kiwi did give the local fans a first-class show when he battled with Duval. Reid landed the final podium step in the first race today. "I will take that third. It was tough work out there," said Reid. "I think I may be able to catch these guys in the next race why not. The car was reasonable and there is a small change we can make that I know will make it go quicker. It wasn't perfect but I am sure we can get it right for the main race."
Jeroen Bleekemolen for The Netherlands team was fourth followed by Sebastien Buemi for Team Switzerland. Team Canada's James Hinchcliffe was sixth with Alan Van Der Merwe for Team South Africa in seventh.
Racing for Team Great Britain, Robbie Kerr was eight with Italy's Enrico Toccacelo and India's Narain Karthikeyan rounding out the top ten.
The 50-lap Feature race was next on the agenda, one that includes a mandatory pit stop, and it read nearly the same leaderboard as the Sprint race.
Except for two teams who needed to continue to build points for the opportunity to win the title. Both Team Great Britain (second after the fifth round) and Team Mexico (first after round three) had mechanical problems. Salvador Duran ended up with brake problems and Robbie Kerr, after front wing damage in the Sprint race, had a electrical related failure in the Feature race.
For Great Britain it was a disaster weekend, they left without any points and slipped to fourth overall while others celebrate their first points, like Team India did today.
Hulkenberg earned the Feature race victory -- his first career A1 GP double -- he nows holds three Feature wins and one Sprint victory. It was not easy, with Duval looking for a place to pass and Reid, who landed a double in Indonesia in December.
When the Team France driver and New Zealand's Reid in a tight fight with Swiss racer Buemi and Dutch driver Bleekemolen, Hulkenberg was able to pull out an edge.
"I got into my rhythm, I was able to find my pace and I could make a little gap between us. My manager was a little bit sick this week and I think I have caught something off him but I am all right," said Hulkenberg. "I drank a lot, about four litres before the race and I am okay."
After a great pit stop by his Team Germany crew, the teenager was able to extend his margin over the rest of the field. "I want to say a big thank you to the team as we had a good strategy and a great pit stop. I am so pleased to be here and to have won the race and I am really looking forward to Australia now," expressed the German who crossed the line in first 19.511 seconds in front of Duval.
For Duval, this was a great first experience of driving these high-speed machines. Team France has moved to second overall in the standings with 46 points, the team still needs more wins and bonus points as they are 19 points out of the top spot as they continue to defend the first A1 GP championship that they earned last season.
"At the end it was not so bad unfortunately I was not first but for my first experience in A1GP I think it was quite good," commented Duval. "I am fine with the team and happy to be in this series so I hope the next race will be better."
Reid was unable to get pass the rookie Duval, but with two third place positions, Team New Zealand is only three points adrift of France in the standings. Plus the team earned bragging rights as the first team to land any podium spot in their home event.
"Everyone has done a fantastic job. Credit to everyone in A1 Team New Zealand, A1GP, the Government everyone who has put this event together," said Reid who added, "I put the pressure on but there were no mistakes made by the French team. Loic did a very good job under pressure and credit to him. That was a tough race for us all and I am happy with third place."
Buemi and Bleekemolen traded positions from the Sprint race finish. Team Switzerland edged out Team Netherlands. Hinchcliffe repeated his Sprint race finish with a sixth in the Feature race for Team Canada.
Karthikeyan came in as a rookie for Team India and moved from 10th in the first race to seventh in the Feature one, giving the team their first points in the World Cup of Motorsport.
Toccacelo was up with the early top runners but a penalty was assessed to the Italian, costing Team Italy a higher finish. With an eighth place finish by Italy, Chinese racer Ho-Pin Tung followed across the line to score ninth for Team China. Newly named to the American team, Ryan Hunter-Reay came home tenth for Team USA.

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A1 Team Germany take the double


Saturday, January 20, 2007
A1 Team Germany has taken its first double win of the series with driver Nico Hulkenberg leading the SuperPoints A1GP Taupo, New Zealand from start to finish. Rookie driver, Loic Duval impressed in his first A1GP race holding second place for A1 Team France despite constant pressure from Jonny Reid who piloted Black Beauty to achieve the best result for a home nation at any A1GP event.

As the cars started the second lap, A1 Team Germany led France, New Zealand, Netherlands, Switzerland and Italy ahead of South Africa and Great Britain. Unfortunately for South Africa their position at the front of the field was not to last as their drive through penalty taken at the end of lap four for a jump start saw them drop down to 17th position.

Further down the field, the Czech Republic began closing the gap with Brazil piling the pressure on throughout lap seven. The pair approached turn 12 side by side but as both drivers kept up their speed the cars left the track, cutting over the grass and returning with A1 Team Czech Republic ahead and A1 Team Brazil with a destroyed front wing.

As the mandatory pit stop window opened at the start of lap eight, race leader Germany was the first to pit, followed on the same lap by the Netherlands, Great Britain and Italy. France and New Zealand came in on the next lap and the pressure was on the pit crews to get their respective cars out ahead of each other. Both crews pulled off flawless pit stops but the French left the pit lane one second ahead.

After a driveshaft failure put A1 Team Ireland out of the Sprint race and twentieth on the Feature race grid, driver Richard Lyons began to push the bright green car up the field as the other teams pitted. By the time they pitted on lap 12, the second driver to be experiencing his first A1GP race had moved up to 11th. Despite a good pit stop and some impressive overtaking attempts, the luck of the Irish ran out as a later error saw the car clip the curb, break the rear suspension and put the team out of the race just five laps from the end.

Back at the front of the pack, Switzerland made the most of the gap created while Germany, France, New Zealand and the Netherlands pitted, so. when the red and white car made its mandatory pit stop it was able to leap frog the Dutch, into fourth and hold that position for the rest of the race.

New Zealand kept the pressure on France throughout the race making several close attempts at overtaking but near faultless performances from both on a tight and slippery track kept the positions at a stalemate.

While the success of the weekend saw both France and New Zealand move up in the championship standings, a disappointing weekend for Mexico saw them drop from third to fifth. Great Britain who started the weekend second in the standings dropped down to fourth place after an impressive Sprint race performance was dampened by a battery failure which forced the team to retire from sixth on lap 40 of the Feature race. However, there was no such disappointment in the A1 Team India garage as the team scored its first ever points for seventh place thanks to the efforts of another newcomer to the series, Narain Karthikeyan. As if this was not enough, he also managed to set the second fastest lap of the race less than two tenths of a second slower than that set by Germany.

A1 Team Germany’s Nico Hulkenberg was delighted with his first double win of the series, commenting: ‘I got into my rhythm, I was able to find my pace and I could make a little gap between us. My manager was a little bit sick this week and I think I have caught something off him but I am all right. I drank a lot, about four litres before the race and I am okay. I want to say a big thank you to the team as we had a good strategy and a great pit stop. I am so pleased to be here and to have won the race and I am really looking forward to Australia now.’

His first taste of an A1GP race weekend impressed France’s Loic Duval who like, Hulkenberg is looking forward to the next race at Eastern Creek in Sydney (2 – 4 February 2007). Duval said: At the end it was not so bad unfortunately I was not first but for my first experience in A1GP I think it was quite good. I am fine with the team and happy to be in this series so I hope the next race will be better.

‘I think the problem this weekend we were quick on the first two laps and then it was more difficult to drive the car, but anyway it was my first race and the team did a really, really good job. They did a great pit stop. At the end it was not such a bad weekend. Nico was just quicker than me, but this was my first experience with the team during a race and I think we can improve the car so now we see for the next race.’

The 80,000 plus crowd over the weekend spurred on the home nation making them the first A1 Team to set foot on the podium in front of their home crowd. Driver Jonny Reid commented: ‘It was tough out there. I was sliding around. I knew if I could get in front I could pull away gradually. There was not much between us. I think we were quicker overall but I just couldn’t put that into second place. When we had the back markers I knew that would cause some confusion so I put the pressure on but there were no mistakes made by the French team. Loic did a very good job under pressure and credit to him. That was a tough race for us all and I am happy with third place.’

Commenting on the success of his home race, Reid continued: ‘Everyone has done a fantastic job. Credit to everyone in A1 Team New Zealand, A1GP, the Government everyone who has put this event together. This is our second best overall placing at an A1GP event so we can take those points and look forward to Eastern Creek.’

With over 80,000 people attending over the race weekend, the first A1GP race in Taupo proved to be a great success. ‘New Zealanders should be incredibly proud of today’s event. In excess of 80,000 fans experienced the thrill and excitement of the A1GP World Cup of Motorsport at Taupo. The racing was incredibly close from start to finish with two podium places for the home team. Now we’re looking forward to heading across the Tasman to Sydney for round seven’ commented A1GP chief executive officer, Pete da Silva.

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A1 Team Germany take first Sprint race win


Saturday, January 20, 2007
A1 Team Germany has taken its first Sprint race win, putting the car on pole for this afternoon’s Feature race. While the German car led from start to finish and was never under serious pressure, the rest of the field did not have this luxury as there were fierce battles for position being fought down the field to the final lap.

The first start was aborted after A1 Team France failed to take its correct grid position for the rolling start but after a second formation lap, the race got underway. As the teams fought hard to improve on their grid positions into turn one the first incident of the race occurred with a collision between Great Britain and Malaysia which broke the red white and blue car’s front wing and caused the more seriously damaged bright yellow car into the pits and to retirement at the end of the lap.

The pack approached turn two with race leaders Germany, France and New Zealand edging away from the field, but once again the high-winds and dusty track meant the slightest mistake could end in disaster as Lebanon’s Alex Khateeb locked up and went into the back of A1 Team Singapore. The safety car was deployed as the stricken Singaporean car was removed from the track and as it pulled off at the end of lap five, New Zealand, France, Germany, Netherlands and Switzerland maintained their starting positions and led the race.

With positions set at the top of the field and the race leaders pulling ahead of the rest of the pack, it was the red, white and blue car of A1 Team Great Britain, still showing the damage from its earlier collision with Malaysia that came under attack. Knowing a pit stop would push the team too far back, the car did not stop for repairs and A1 Team South Africa were first to take advantage of the car’s troubles, overtaking on lap six. Italy was next to make its move but British driver Robbie Kerr would not be deterred and held the line forcing Italy to pull back and lose a place to Brazil as the car came up on the inside.

A1 Team Germany, Nico Hulkenberg: ‘The first start wasn’t good and then for the second one there was no problem. At the beginning I had a bit of a problem with my car and Loic was putting me under pressure. But then it got better and better and now I am happy. We have to put a lot of fuel in for the main race so we always have to change some little things.’

A1 Team France, Loic Duval: ‘I made a good start and Nico was a little bit earlier on the throttle so I was second. I was a little bit faster than him but it was difficult to overtake him. It would have been stupid to take a risk in this race so that is why I was second and that is okay for me. I think I can perhaps catch Nico in the next race, we will see. It will be a long race with pit stops. I think we have a good car and for the second one for sure I will stay near him and if I can overtake I will try.’

A1 Team New Zealand, Jonny Reid: ‘I will take that third. It was tough work out there as the start was difficult because I could not see the lights because Nico’s wing was in my way so I was trying to re-arrange myself in the cockpit just so I could see the lights go out. I had a look inside the French car at the start but there was no room for me so I had to settle for third from there. I think I may be able to catch these guys in the next race why not. The car was reasonable and there is a small change we can make that I know will make it go quicker. It wasn’t perfect but I am sure we can get it right for the main race

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Taupo: Feature race
Racing series A1 GP Date 2007-01-21

PosNumberDriver Team LapsTimeGapFirstKPH
17Nico HÜLKENBERGGERMANY501:03:38.100-159.9
26Loic DUVALFRANCE501:03:57.611+19.511158.6
319Jonny REIDNEW ZEALAND501:03:58.027+19.927159.1
423Sebastien BUEMISWITZERLAND501:03:58.956+20.856159.1
518Jeroen BLEEKEMOLENNETHERLANDS501:03:59.451+21.351158.9
63James HINCHCLIFFECANADA501:03:59.908+21.808159.3
710Narain KARTHIKEYANINDIA501:04:08.859+30.759159.6
813Enrico TOCCACELOITALY501:04:09.574+31.474159.1
94Ho-Pin TUNGCHINA501:04:23.837+45.737159.0
1025Ryan HUNTER REAYUSA501:04:26.641+48.541158.8
1116Alex YOONGMALAYSIA501:04:27.335+49.235159.4
125Tomas ENGECZECH REPUBLIC501:04:44.205+1:06.105159.2
131Karl REINDLERAUSTRALIA501:04:50.728+1:12.628158.1
142Raphael MATOSBRAZIL491:03:47.0451 Lap159.2
1521Christian MURCHISONSINGAPORE491:04:07.2421 Lap157.5
1622Alan VAN DER MERWESOUTH AFRICA491:04:07.5551 Lap158.8
1715Alex KHATEEBLEBANON481:03:41.9662 Laps156.8
1820Nur ALIPAKISTAN461:03:42.1454 Laps152.2
1912Richard LYONSIRELAND4558:31.3665 Laps159.1
2017Salvador DURANMEXICO4256:21.6888 Laps159.5
218Robbie KERRGREAT BRITAIN4051:20.59010 Laps159.2
2211Ananda MIKOLAINDONESIA810:30.92342 Laps156.5

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POS NATION POINTS
1 GER 65
2 FRA 46
3 NZL 43
4 GBR 36
5 MEX 34
6 MAL 30
7 ITA 29
8 SUI 29
9 CAN 28
10 NED 26
11 USA 21
12 CZE 20
13 AUS 18
14 RSA 13
15 CHN 10
16 BRA 5
17 IND 4
18 SIN 3
19 INA 1
20 IRL 1

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Taupo: Team Germany race report

Racing series A1GP Date 2007-01-21
A1 Team Germany takes double in New Zealand
The Willi Weber managed A1 Team Germany posted its most successful weekend to date in the A1 Grand Prix Series: Nico Hulkenberg from Emmerich proved to be unbeatable around the Taupo circuit in New Zealand by scooping pole position, winning both the sprint and main races and recording the fastest race lap of the weekend. It was the first sprint-race win and the third race-win of the 2006/2007 season for the team. After six of eleven rounds the German national team has increased its championship lead in A1 GP World Cup of Motorsport by seven points to now lead new closest rival France by 19 points.
In the first race A1 Team Germany converted its coveted pole position into a commanding lead. Nico Hulkenberg held his nerve and concentration after the first start was aborted -- a competitor had lined up in the wrong place on the grid -- and defended his position from the chasing Loïc Duval from France. The handling of his 520 hp A1 Grand Prix car improved from lap to lap during the race around the 3.5 kilometre Taupo circuit on on New Zealand's North Island allowing the 19-year old German to win by 3.747 seconds from France and Jonny Reid from host nation New Zealand.
The nations cup was witness to a dominating performance by A1 Team Germany in the main race: The German team's black-red-yellow car led from the start around the twisty circuit situated in the middle of a picturesque volcanic landscape. Nico Hulkenberg increased his lead to 2.937 seconds by lap eight before making his mandatory pit stop. After returning to the track he held tenth position. When the majority of his rivals headed down pit-road a lap later to change tyres, the German vaulted up to second position behind the Swiss team, which stopped on lap 13. Nico Hulkenberg assumed the lead on lap 14, before going on to increase his advantage to 8.943 seconds at half-distance after 25 laps. The "star of tomorrow" finally crossed the finish line 19.511 seconds in front of closest rival France, while local matador New Zealand completed the podium.
Nicolas Hulkenberg:
"We've had an absolutely unforgettable weekend in New Zealand. I laid the foundation for our success in qualifying. There were virtually no overtaking manoeuvres in the entire field, starting from pole was an enormous help. I think that New Zealand with Jonny Reid at the wheel and our team had the fastest cars in the field today. If Jonny had been up the front to start today he could also have won. Nevertheless, I still had to fight for my win: Loïc Duval from France attacked really hard at the beginning of both races, probably because his tyre pressures were better suited to the opening laps. But we were quicker over the distance."
Willi Weber:
"Nico has surprised us once again with his latest performance. Everything that was up for grabs this weekend he won: qualifying, the sprint race, the main race by a large margin and the battle for fastest lap, which actually gave us an extra point. We've opened up a significant lead in the championship at this half-way point. However, my congratulations don't only go to Nico and David Sears' team for the fantastic performance. Christian Vietoris also made a great debut. He drove our car for the first time during the 'rookie session' on Friday and lived up to everybody's expectations. We're in a good position for the remainder of the season."
-credit: team germany

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