1. February 7 2008 autosport.com 7776 autosport.com February 7 2008
breathtakingovertakingmoves
astheyshotupthroughthefield
liketherestwerestandingstill.
Beforeyoucouldsay‘these
guysarebloodyquickinthe
wet’theywereuptofifth
andsixth,behindMichael
Ammermuller(Team
Germany).ThefasterWickens
thengotalongsideCarroll,at
whichpointCarroll’spromising
runcametoanendashespun
offintheheatofthemoment.
Wickensdidn’tstopto
sympathisewithhissistercar,
andwentanddrovearoundthe
outsideofAmmermullerto
takewhatwouldultimatelybe
thirdplacewhenJanihadhis
spin.Wickenshasnowclocked
upthreepodiumssincearriving
inA1GPfourmeetingsago–
watchthiskid.
AndDuval?Hebarely
seemedtohavenoticed
therain.Hehadtheadvantage
ofahealthycushionand
visibility,butstilldroveasuperb
raceinconditionsthat
encouragedmistakes.Itwas
thekindofbreakthrough
dreamsaremadeof.
FEATURERACE
Reidtimedhisqualifyingrunto
perfectiononatrackthatwas–
unusually–gettingsloweras
thesessionwenton.That
ensuredhetookthefeature
poleoverlaterunnersJani,Kerr
andCheng.Duvalwasn’tso
quickthistimeandwasfifth,
oneplacebetterthanZaugg.
ButwithReidandDuvalboth
havingpulledoutgoodpoints
onJaniinthesprintrace,the
championshipscriptsaidthey
hadtohittroubleinthefeature
event.Andsoitproved–both
ofthemknewtheywerein
strifebeforetheyevengot
tothedummygrid.
Duvalhadaseriousclutch
problem:“Ifeltitonmyway
aroundtothegrid.Icouldfeel
theclutchwassoftandItold
theteamaboutit.Butinthe
timelefttherewasnothing
theycoulddo.”ThusDuval
coulddolittletoprevent
stallingatthestartofthe
warm-uplap.Thatmeanthe
startedtheracelast.Atleast
fromtherehecouldavoida
repeatbysimplyrollingacross
thelinefromtheparadelap,
straightintoracing!
PolemanReidappearedto
haveamechanicalproblemon
hiswaytothegridtooashe
stoppedoutontrackandwas
broughtbackonatruck.It
turnedout,though,thathe’d
simplystalledthecarwhile
tryingapracticestart.“Igot
pushedtothetopofthehill
andfromthereIcouldhave
gotgoingagaintomakethe
grid,butIwasn’tgiventhe
opportunity,”reportedthe
Kiwi,whohadnochoicebut
tostartfromthepitlane.
Allthiswasgreatnewsfor
Jani,whoeffectivelyhadpole
position.Onthegriditlooked
likeitwouldbeawet-but-drying
race,somostleanedtowardsa
dryset-upwithraintyres.When
apropershowercametostay
justbeforethegreenflag,it
ensuredtheracewouldbewet
alltheway–butdriverswould
havetogowithwhatthey’dgot.
CarrollandNarainKarthikeyan
(TeamIndia)stilltriedslicks–
butbothchangedtheirminds
attheendoftheincreasingly
wetwarm-uplap.
BrazilianSergioJimenezhad
thebestgetawayontheslippy
surfaceandbrieflythreatened
toleadintothefirstcorner,but
hefoundthedoorfirmly
slammedbyJani,Kerrand
Zaugg.Janilookedliketheearly
favouriteashepulledouta
coupleofseconds’gap,but
onlybecauseZauggcouldn’t
seeenoughtogetpastKerr.
Ittookuntilthefirstroundof
pitstopsfortherealpecking
ordertobecomeapparent.
JaniandKerrwereinassoon
asthewindowopened,while
TeamSouthAfricatooka
potentiallyriskygambleon
leavingZauggout.Asafetycar
beforehisstopcouldhave
destroyedhisrace,butthat
didn’thappen.Rather,he
enjoyedthebenefitofclear
visionandairforfourfulllaps.
Zauggwassomuchfaster
thaneveryoneelseinthis
periodthathewasalwaysgoing
toemergefromhisstopwitha
clearlead.That’showitturned
out,withJanilefttotryandhold
offasuccess-hungryKerrearly
inthesecondstint.Robbie
lookedfasteratthispointand
wasallovertheSwiss,butthen
droppedawheeloffthetrack
andneverquiterecovered.
Zauggstartedhismiddle
stintwithaleadofalmostseven
seconds,anditonlygotbigger
ashekeptonlappingquicker
thananybodyelse.Hewas
morethan10secondsclearby
thesecondroundofstops,and
onadaywhenthesafetycar
stayedlockedawayTeamSA
couldtakeiteasy.
Thesecondstopshadlittle
effectontherestofthetopfour
either–foroncenobody
A1GP
EasternCreek,Australia
1-3.2.08
round 6/10
RACEREPORT
RobbieKerrwithAustralian
motorbikelegendMickDoohan
Zauggoutonhisowninfeature
race.Inset:Duvalwonsprint
RobertWickens,stunningin
thewet,passesAmmermuller
Janiahead,asZauggmovesto
blockJimenezinfeaturestart
Adrian Zaugg
hasneverbeena
mantoblowhisown
trumpet.Soit’sno
surprisethathe’snottooclued
uponplayingthedidgeridoo
either.That’sapity.Aftersucha
stunningdriveatEasternCreek,
he’dhavebeenwellwithinhis
rightstohavealoudblaston
theunusualwinner’strophy
hereceivedlastSunday.
TheTeamSouthAfricadriver
choseawetSydneydaytoprove
hecanwinA1GPracesoutside
Zandvoort,anddidsoin
crushingstyle.Winningstrategy
andrelentlesspaceensured
nobodycouldgetcloseto
Zaugginthefeaturerace.Itwill
godownasoneofthemost
memorableperformances
inA1GP’sshorthistory.
LoicDuvalalsoleftthecircuit
ahappyman.TheTeamFrance
manknewthiswouldbehislast
chanceformonthstoregister
anA1GPracewin,andinatricky
wet-drysprintracehefinally
brokehisduck.He’llmissthe
restofthisseasontofocuson
hisJapaneseracing,buthe’s
lefthisteamwithashareof
thechampionshiplead.
Withfourroundstogo,the
titlelookssettogodownto
thewire.France,NewZealand
andSwitzerlandcontinuedto
mixsuccesswithdisasterin
Australia,andtheirwildpoints
wormsconvergedonceagain.
Allanyoneneedstodoisget
afewsolidfinishesandthe
championshipwillbetheirs.
Butwithfourroundsandjust
threepointscoveringthe
leadtrio,there’snosign
ofthathappening.
They’dbetterbecareful
though,becauseZauggis
lyinginwait.Hishomeracein
Durbanisnext,andhecould
yetbethesnakeinthegrass.
SPRINTRACE
Duvalhadbeentheformman
throughoutpractice,despite
notlandinginAustraliauntilthe
rookiesessionwasunderway.
Havingtravelledovernightafter
testsinJapan,hewasinstantly
onthepaceonFriday,andhe
keptuptheformadaylaterby
takingpoleforthesprintrace
aheadofSwitzerland’sNeel
JaniandZaugg.
Duvaleasilyconvertedpole
intotheleadattherollingstart,
andsetaboutbuildingupagap
overJaniandZaugg.Ashesped
offintothedistanceinarace
thatdidn’trequirepitstops,you
gotthefeelingthatthiswas
finallygoingtobehisday.
Somethingbigwouldhave
tohappentostophim.
Theracewasgettingnotably
dullwhensomethingbigdid
happen.Justafterhalf-distance,
withDuvalleadingbyaround
threeseconds,theleaders
suddenlyslowedforthe
usually-flat-outturnone.
They’drunintoarainshower
onthestart-finishstraight!
Withinsecondstheracehad
comealive.Janiwasinstantlyon
thedefensive:“Icouldn’tbrake,
Ihadundersteerandoversteer.
Iguessourdryset-upmightnot
besogoodastherestwhenit’s
half-wet.Iwaslost!”
Zauggpassedhimright
away,onlytohavehisownspin
justacoupleofcornerslater
anddropseveralplaces.
Janiwasabletohangonto
secondforanothercoupleof
lapsbeforeNewZealand’sJonny
Reidrelievedhimoftheposition.
AlapbeforetheendJaniwasoff,
havingmisjudgedhisbraking
forthehairpinbehindthepits.
Hemadeitbackontrack,but
wouldfinish10th.
Withalotofslitheringgoing
on,itmusthavebeentempting
topitforwet-weathertyres
whentherainarrived,butwith
onlysixlapstogoitwasn’t
worthit.RobbieKerr,who’drun
fifthfromthestart,foundthat
outwhenTeamGreatBritain
calledhiminforagamblethat
didn’tworkatall.Itwasanother
frustratingturnofeventsfor
Kerr,whowoundup16thwhen
heshouldhavescoredpoints.
FrankyCheng,meanwhile,
slippeddowntheorderfroman
earlysixthashesurvivedawild
spinontheinsideofturnone.
Althoughhedidhisbitto
entertainthesparsecrowd,it
wasIreland’sAdamCarrolland
CanadianRobertWickenswho
werereallystarring.
Afteratroubledqualifyingfor
both,therainallowedtheir
abundantnaturaltalentsto
shinethrough.Wickensin
particularseemedtofindthe
grippylinelongbeforeanyone
else,andbothpulledoffsome
AdrianZauggdidaconsummatejobinwetconditions
forSouthAfricaatEasternCreek,butFrance’sLoicDuval
reignedinaverytrickysprintrace.ByRICHARDASHER
the a-to-z
ofwinning
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2. 78 autosport.com February 7 2008
11India–NarainKarthikeyan,21m03.278s(Q13-1m19.004s);12Portugal–JoaoUrbano,
21m04.667s(Q17-1m19.492s);13Italy–EdoardoPiscopo,21m04.732s(Q20-1m19.975s);14China–
FrankyCheng,21m07.959s(Q5-1m18.370s);15Ireland–AdamCarroll,21m08.836s(Q12-
1m18.929s);16GreatBritain–RobbieKerr,21m15.251s(Q8-1m18.649s);17Mexico–David
Garza,21m21.382s(Q19-1m19.785s);18CzechRepublic–TomasEnge,21m21.569s(Q14-
1m19.099s);19Lebanon–ChrisAlajajian,21m23.565s(Q22-notime);20Malaysia–FairuzFauzy,
21m39.416s(Q16-1m19.384s);21Indonesia–SatrioHermanto,21m41.178s(Q21-1m20.154s);
R Pakistan – Adam Khan, 1 lap – accident (Q18-1m19.623s).
Winner’s average speed 100.973mph. Fastest lap Duval, 1m19.350s (110.790mph).
KeyQ=qualifyingposition;R=retired.Qualifyingtimesforsprintracearebestlapfromfirsttwo
qualifyingsegments;qualifyingtimesforfeatureracearebestlapfromlasttwoqualifyingsegments.
11India–Karthikeyan,1h13m36.344s(Q18-1m19.878s);12Pakistan–Khan,1h13m40.426s
(Q17-1m19.852s);13Ireland–Carroll,41laps(Q15-1m19.706s);14Italy–Piscopo,41laps
(Q19-1m20.051s);15CzechRepublic–Enge,41laps(Q8-1m19.232s);16Portugal–Urbano,
41laps(Q16-1m19.733s);17Malaysia–Fauzy,41laps(Q10-1m19.252s);18Mexico–Garza,
41laps(Q13-1m19.529s);19Lebanon–Alajajian,41laps(Q22-notime);20Indonesia–
Hermanto,39laps(Q20-1m20.133s);RFrance–Duval,31laps–transmission(Q5-
1m18.829s); R USA – Summerton, 20 laps – accident (Q7-1m18.976s).
Winner’saveragespeed85.439mph.FastestlapZaugg,1m39.034s(88.794mph).
Championshippoints:ineachrace,15-12-10-8-6-5-4-3-2-1fortop10finishers,plus1for
fastest lap. All drivers in Lola-Zytek.
RESULTSFebruary1-3,A1GP,EasternCreek(AUS),round6of10
NEXT ROUND Durban (ZA), February 24
Sprint Race – 14 laps, 34.188 miles feature RACE – 42 laps, 102.564 miles Championship table
Pos Country Driver Result Qual Grid Pos Country Driver Result Qual Grid
1 France Loic Duval 20m18.536s 1m18.149s 1 1 South Africa Zaugg 1h12m00.930s 1m18.922s 6
2 New Zealand Jonny Reid 20m27.734s 1m18.368s 4 2 Switzerland Jani 1h12m20.490s 1m18.590s 2
3 Canada Robert Wickens 20m29.552s 1m19.197s 15 3 Great Britain Kerr 1h12m26.124s 1m18.720s 3
4 Germany Michael Ammermuller 20m30.465s 1m18.632s 7 4 Brazil Jimenez 1h12m43.700s 1m19.235s 9
5 USA Jonathan Summerton 20m31.140s 1m18.464s 6 5 Australia Martin 1h13m09.577s 1m19.611s 14
6 Australia John Martin 20m32.746s 1m18.690s 9 6 Canada Wickens 1h13m11.251s 1m20.775s 21
7 South Africa Adrian Zaugg 20m33.059s 1m18.243s 3 7 Germany Ammermuller 1h13m17.229s 1m19.516s 12
8 Brazil Sergio Jimenez 20m48.796s 1m18.811s 11 8 Netherlands Bleekemolen 1h13m18.085s 1m19.487s 11
9 Netherlands Jeroen Bleekemolen 20m52.007s 1m18.804s 10 9 New Zealand Reid 1h13m23.377s 1m18.578s 1
10 Switzerland Neel Jani 20m52.342s 1m18.218s 2 10 China Cheng 1h13m34.843s 1m18.825s 4
Pos Country Points
1= New Zealand 96
1= France 96
3 Switzerland 93
4 South Africa 79
5 Germany 77
6 Great Britain 58
7 Netherlands 55
8 Ireland 50
9 Brazil 38
10 Canada 37
11 China 29
12 India 28
13 Mexico 19
14 Australia 15
15 USA 12
16 Czech Republic 10
17 Portugal 5
18 Italy 4
19 Malaysia 2
20 Pakistan 1
CorbettwithZaugg:wonderif
they’rediscussingnewrubber?
AussiegridSheilas.Noshortage
ofvolunteerstodrythemdown
Australiagotitsbestresultof
’07-08onhometurf,withMartin
“i couldn’t brake,
ihadundersteerand
oversteer.Iwas lost”
neel jani has a nightmare
the two sides of adrian zaugg
team south africa engineer finds it hard to predict his charge
When Adrian zauggisgood,he’ssensational.
Watchhimononeofhisgooddaysandyou’llbe
convincedhe’sgotsuperstarpotential.
SundayatEasternCreekwasoneofthosedays.
SowashiswinintheBilbaostreetracewhenhewas
inFormulaRenault.AndhisDoningtonpodiumsin
themiddleofabrief2006RenaultWorldSeriesstint.
And,ofcourse,hispairofA1GPwinsatZandvoort.
Butit’spuzzlingthattheseperformancesdon’t
comearoundthatoften.Zaugg’sGP2rookieseason
lastyearwasn’tonetoremember,thoughmuchof
thatwasadmittedlydowntothe(nowtreated)
compartmentsyndromethatweakenedhisarms.
Evenduringthecourseofaraceweekend,his
successesseemtocomeoutoftheblue.It’sroutine
tofindhimwaydownthetimesheetsinpracticeand
apparentlystruggling,onlytoseehimburstontothe
frontrow.Thenhemightfadeorerrintherace–or
absolutelyfly.Whatmakeshimsuchanenigma?
“TherawpaceisdefinitelytherebutI’mnot
alwayssurewhatittakestounlockit,”sayshisA1GP
engineer,HumphreyCorbett.“It’sacaseofgetting
thecartosuithisstyle.It’smostlydowntomegiving
himtherightset-up,butsometimesalsoabouthim
learningtoadapthisdrivingwhenthegripisn’tthere.
“Helikesitquitestiffforagoodturn-in.Thatcan
shagoutthetyresandhecangetawaywiththatin
qualifying,inwhichIthinkhe’sthebestinA1GP.But
sometimesheneedstocompromiseintheraces.”
EvenCorbettcanbefooledbyZaugg’spractice
‘woes’:“Oftenwethinkwe’relostandthen,bang,
we’reonpole.Adriancanusuallyfeelifthecaris
goingtobegoodonnewrubberinqualifying.
Whenhesaysthat,Idon’tworry!”
hadanypitlanemadnessand
Jani,KerrandJimenezstayed
justwheretheywereasthe
gapsbetweenthemgrew
biggerandbigger.Janiwas
delightedjusttogettotheflag
andscoreproperpointsagain,
Kerrfadedfurtherashefound
histhirdsetoftyresnottohis
liking,andJimenezenjoyeda
lonelyruntofourth.
TeamAustralia’sJohnMartin
deliveredaboutthebestresult
thehomecrowdcouldhave
hopedforwithadecentdrive
toadistantfifthplace.Hewas
happywiththatafteranot-
very-goodqualifyingeffort
meanthestarted14th.The
BritishF3Championshipracer
nearlythrewitawaywithalap
togothoughwhen,afteran
unforcederror,hebrieflylost
sightoftheracetrackashe
slitheredoffanddowntowards
thepondoutsideturnnine.But
hescrambledbackupthe
bankjustintimetostop
Wickensgettingpasthim.
Wickenshastogetanother
mentionforhisoutstanding
workintheopeninglaps.Once
againheworkedoutthegrip
levelinnotimeand,bytheend
oflapone,he’dgonefrom21st
(he’dbeenstrippedofhisbest
qualifyinglapforbaulking
Jimenez)to10th.Oncetherace
pacesettled,progressproved
muchtougherandhereally
wasn’tamatchforMartin.
Chengmighthavebeena
top-fivecandidate,butanearly
jump-startpenaltylefthim
battlingonthefringesofthe
top10.Duvallookedsetfora
decentrecoveryasalongfirst
stinthelpedhimmoveupto
eighth,butitallfellapartwhen
anoptimisticmoveonTeam
USA’sJonathanSummerton
wentwrongandtheyclashed.
SummertonwasoutandDuval
earnedadrive-through.The
TeamFrancemanultimately
retiredanyway,unabletofind
firstgearafterhissecondstop.
Reid’sprogresswasn’tas
impressiveasDuval’s–he
justdidn’thaveagreatdeal
ofpaceintheconditions.Still,
hemadeitasfarasninth.And,
thewaythischampionshipis
going,thosetwopointsmay
provedecisive.
allpics:a1gp
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