Speed Demon

Alex finished 1st in the Sprint race (from pole position) but bungled the start of the Feature race, slipping down to 6th. In the end he finished the race 5th. There are two more races to go in the season and Malaysia is currently 5th overall with the next country a further 7 points ahead....

     

chooz

A1 GRAND PRIX - MEXICO - SPRINT RACE & FEATURE RACE REPORT

MALAYSIA UP TO FIFTH IN CHAMPIONSHIP AFTER A WIN AND A FIFTH

Sunday, 25 Mar 2007 - Team Malaysia which lay seventh before the weekend vaulted to fifth in the A1 Grand Prix championship after a resounding win in the Sprint Race and a fifth in the Feature Race in Mexico City today.

Alex Yoong, driving for Team Malaysia, led from pole in the 12-lap Sprint Race and was never headed as he raced to the team's third win of the season.

With a double pole under his belt from the win, Yoong started from pole in the 45-lap Feature Race but as the cars took off for the warm up lap there was an ominous sign that not all is well for the Malaysian car. It struggled to take off from the line on it's warm up lap and that was what eventually happened during the start proper. Yoong had an appalling start and dropped from pole to seventh by turn 1 due, possibly, to a clutch problem.

Yoong eventually managed to haul the team up to fifth by the end of the race although it was evident that the car did not have the pace it had during the Sprint Race. He had to endure a long battle with Portugal and New Zealand to keep them behind before finally pulling away with a gap.

The win in the Sprint Race and fifth in the Feature Race earned Team Malaysia 12 points for a total of 50 points to leapfrog from seventh to fifth in the championship and within striking distance of France in fourth with 57 points and Great Britain in third with 61 points.

Yoong was pleased with the weekend although he wanted a better result for the Feature Race, "The Sprint win was good but we missed out on a perfect weekend - as the car mysteriously lacked the balance for the Feature Race - but we'll take the 12 points anytime. I am pleased for the whole team who had worked very hard for the weekend."

In the Sprint Race Oliver Jarvis of Team GBR and Ian Dyk of Team Australia followed Team Malaysia home in second and third respectively.

Jarvis who led off from the start controlled the Feature Race flawlessly to take the first ever A1GP win for the team from a fast closing Team Canada driven by Jonathan Summerton who finished a close second. Third went to Team South Africa's Adrian Zaugg ahead of Team Italy's Enrico Toccacelo in fourth.

Two rounds remain in this second season of A1GP with round 10 scheduled for Shanghai in China in three weeks time and the final round in Brands Hatch near London two weeks after China.

END


A1GP Championship positions after Mexico

1. GER 101
2. NZL 74
3. GBR 61
4. FRA 57
5. MAL 50
6. SUI 45
7. NED 43
8. ITA 36
9. USA 35
10. MEX 35
11. CAN 28
12. CZE 26
13. AUS 25
14. RSA 24
15. CHN 21


A1GP Rd. 9 Mexico - Sprint Race Results:

Pos Driver Team Time 1. Alex Yoong Malaysia 17:44.563 2. Oliver Jarvis Great Britain + 2.138 3. Ian Dyk Australia + 6.346 4. Adrian Zaugg South Africa + 9.223 5. Jonathan Summerton USA + 9.440 6. Ho-Pin Tung China + 12.033 7. Enrico Toccacelo Italy + 13.097 8. Ananda Mikola Indonesia + 14.232 9. Renger Van Der Zande Netherlands + 14.75510. Marcel Fassler Switzerland + 15.70011. Narain Karthikeyan India + 16.89112. Jarek Janis Czech Republic + 17.92113. James Hinchcliffe Canada + 27.30214. Alvaro Parente Portugal + 51.74615. Nur Ali Pakistan + 56.09516. Jonny Reid New Zealand + 1:15.09717. Salvador Duran Mexico + 1:20.21118. Allam Khodair Lebanon + 1 Lap19. Jean Karl Vernay France + 10 Laps20. Bruno Junqueira Brazil + 12 Laps21. Christian Vietoris Germany + 12 Laps22. Richard Lyons Ireland + 12 LapsA1GP Rd. 9 Mexico - Feature Race Results:

Pos Driver Team Time 1. Oliver Jarvis Great Britain 1h 07:37.362 2. Jonathan Summerton USA + 0.690 3. Adrian Zaugg South Africa + 10.056 4. Enrico Toccacelo Italy + 14.087 5. Alex Yoong Malaysia + 19.271 6. Jonny Reid New Zealand + 21.641 7. Alvaro Parente Portugal + 23.409 8. Ian Dyk Australia + 34.068 9. Christian Vietoris Germany + 35.31110. Ho-Pin Tung China + 36.24211. Ananda Mikola Indonesia + 36.90912. Jarek Janis Czech Republic + 37.41113. Bruno Junqueira Brazil + 37.87714. Marcel Fassler Switzerland + 42.23815. James Hinchcliffe Canada + 51.13916. Richard Lyons Ireland + 1:03.97817. Jeroen Bleekemolen Netherlands + 1:11.49118. Narain Karthikeyan India + 1 Lap19. Allam Khodair Lebanon + 1 Lap20. Jean Karl Vernay France + 1 Lap21. Nur Ali Pakistan + 2 Laps22. Salvador Duran Mexico + 31 Laps