Clarke to Lead A1 Team Great Britain at Home Event
London, Great Britain -- A1GP World Cup of Motorsport heads to
Brands Hatch for the penultimate round of the A1GP World Cup of
Motorsport 2008/09 season next weekend, 1- 3 May, with Dan Clarke hoping
for success in front of his home crowd and Aaron Steele getting his first
chance in the Rookie session at his local track.
Homenation A1 Team Great Britain has had a mixed season to date sitting
tenth in the championship, despite claiming two podium finishes and a
pole position in Chengdu, China. However, the team has always performed
well on home soil and Clarke will be looking for a boost from the British
crowds to help get a good result next Sunday.
"I haven't raced at Brands since 2004 when I won the Formula
Ford Festival and because of that success this circuit will always be
special for me," said Clarke. "It's also a great place
to go racing, both for drivers and fans and I'm sure it will suit
the A1GP car.
"It's a unique home race for me, as I know that as the driver
of the British car most of the fans will be supporting us. It is a big
motivation to do as well as we can, although I am realistic about our
potential for the weekend. I'm up against drivers who have much
more experience of this car and the series, while I jumped in only
recently. Of course we're all racing to win and a podium would be
fantastic for the British team at the British race, but if we're
close to this it will still be an achievement."
Clarke, 25, has started four races for A1 Team Great Britain this season,
scoring his best finish of seventh last time out in Portugal and will be
looking to build on that next weekend. Steele, the rookie driver, will
get his first taste of the new A1GP Powered by Ferrari car next Friday (1
May) morning. The 20-year-old from Chatham in Kent became the sixth
finalist for theprestigious McLaren Autosport BRDC Award last year after
winning a nail biting Formula Palmer Audi shootout race at Brands Hatch
last November. After graduating from karting, Steele has competed in
Formula Palmer Audi, BARC Formula Renault Championship and the Formula
BMW UK Championship.
This race will also be very special for another driver, as after nearly
two years of running as the team's rookie driver, Aaron Lim will be
promoted to the lead race seat for A1 Team Malaysia.
Lim has been an ever present part of the squad since the final races of
the 2006/07 season and with this season's regular driver Fairuz
Fauzy unavailable due to other racing commitments, the team has opted to
give Lim his chance.
"I've waited a long time for this and now it has been
confirmed I'm both excited and nervous," said Lim. "I
love driving the A1GP Powered by Ferrari car and working with such a
professional racing team, so to be given the chance to race for my
country in this series is a dream come true.
"I'm probably making my debut at one of the more difficult
tracks on the A1GP calendar, as Brands Hatch is renowned as one of the
most challenging circuits. It is also very much part of the history and
heritage of motorsport, so it's quite a special place to be racing.
I'm going to head over to the UK this week so that I can
acclimatise to the time change and cooler weather."
Lim has also been gaining experience of Brands Hatch in the A1GP
simulator in Modena, to add to his track experience in last two
season's rookie sessions at the circuit.
"I am delighted to have Aaron driving at Brands," said Jack
Cunningham, chief executive of A1 Team Malaysia. "It is simply one
of the best things that has happened to this team since we started on
this journey in November 2004.
"No one should underestimate the standards that now operate in A1GP
as evidenced by the grid at Portugal a few weeks ago.
"Aaron will be up against some former F1 drivers and others with
very much more experience than himself. It is going to be hard on Aaron
to come out and compete at this level for a whole weekend. However, he
has earned his chance through the tremendous loyal support he has given
the team throughout the past seasons.
"A1 Team Malaysia has given Alex Yoong his career's finest results
and I think the same is true for Fairuz. Now we have the opportunity to
graduate another young man in the team into the upper echelons of
motorsport."
Fresh from victory in the Firestone Indy Lights series in America last
weekend (19 April), J.R. Hildebrand will be stepping up to the race seat
for A1 Team USA. The 21-year-old Californian earned his second career
victory on the streets of Long Beach last weekend and after taking part
in the rookie sessions in Malaysia, New Zealand and South Africa for A1
Team USA, Hildebrand will get the chance to join the racing action when
he takes over from Marco Andretti for the Brands Hatch event.
A firm fans' favourite, Brands Hatch has played host to three
superb A1GP races so far. It held the inaugural A1GP World Cup of
Motorsport meeting in September 2005, as well as being the only circuit
that has been used in all A1GP seasons to date. With the battle at the
top of the championship heating up it looks set to be more action-packed
than ever before.
The championship battle is incredibly tight with regular racers
Switzerland's Neel Jani, Ireland's Adam Carroll and
Portugal's Filipe Albuquerque all vying for the top
spot.Switzerland (88) currently leads from Ireland (86) and Portugal
(82). However, as each team has to drop its worst weekend score Ireland
is leading, but the team will still be looking for a convincing win in
front of its Irish supporters and will leave nothing to chance at the
closest event it has to a home race.
"I have had a fantastic season so far and the three-way fight between
ourselves, Switzerland and Portugal has been really tough," said
Carroll after returning from promotional events in both Dublin and
Belfast this week.
"Brands Hatch is a fabulous circuit and one of my favourites, so I am
looking forward to this event. I should have won the Feature race last
year but ended up having a tangle with Narain Karthikeyan (A1 Team
India), so my goal this year is simply to put the car at the front of the
grid and go for race wins. In terms of the championship, it is natural to
look at points-permutations, but in reality the simplest thing for me to
do is to make sure I beat Neel (Jani) and Filipe (Albuquerque) all
weekend. I can't wait to drive the Ferrari-engined car on the Grand Prix
circuit - it should be very quick and hopefully our racing will give the
fans the usual thrills they have come to expect from A1GP."
Jeroen Bleekemolen will be back behind the wheel of the A1 Team
Netherlands' car also hoping to keep his nation in the title hunt.
Narain Karthikeyan took victory for A1 Team India in last season's
finale at Brands Hatch and will be looking for a good result, having not
been on the podium yet this season.
"Brands Hatch has always been a happy hunting ground for me," said
Karthikeyan. "Last year we took A1 Team India's second win of the
2007/08 season there. We have every reason to believe that we are going
to be in a strong position this season. I believe we have found a good
setup in the Algarve and we were only denied a podium in the feature race
because of a mechanical failure with the wheel hub. Brands Hatch is
definitely the race I look forward to the most every season. There's also
a huge Indian population in the UK who really come out in great numbers
to cheer me on and I really enjoy and appreciate their support."
Salvador Duran believes A1 Team Mexico can continue its revival at Brands
Hatch next weekend following on from its best finish in 30 races in the
Algarve.
Salvador Duran finished in fourth place for A1 Team Mexico in the Algarve
Feature race, its best result since he finished in the same position in
Zandvoort's Feature race back in 2007.
It got the team off the mark in terms of championship points this season,
but now, because of his expert knowledge of the 2.3-mile Brands Hatch
track in both Formula Three and A1GP (he scored a podium finish for
Mexico in the inaugural event in 2005), he believes he will be able to
push the team's A1GP Powered by Ferrari car to its limits.
"I can't wait to go to Brands Hatch because all my questions
[about our pace] will be answered," said Duran. "I will know
how to make the car go quicker at Brands Hatch. I haven't been to a
track yet in the new car that I have known for this long a time.
"In Kyalami and Algarve our practice was limited, so we have had
little time to develop the car or develop my driving.
"We are pushing hard and we are going to get there. I trust the
guys a lot and we all have the talent to do it so we need to put
everything together, and we will be there at the front."
Felipe Guimaraes will be back for Brazil, while Lebanon will have the
familiar face of Daniel Morad behind the wheel. Vitantonio Liuzzi had an
impressive debut for A1 Team Italy, claiming the team's first A1GP
pole position in the Algarve. Liuzzi will be back on track again hoping
to secure a victory at Brands Hatch despite never racing at the Kent
circuit before. Monaco's Clivio Piccione and Australia's John
Martin will also continue to represent their nations as the 2008/09 nears
its conclusion.
Battle resumes on 1 May 2009 when A1GP will get one step closer to seeing
who will become crowned the 2008/09 Champion.
-credit: a1gp
