Switzerland lifts A1GP Cup at Brands Hatch

After season mostly spent at the top of the standings, and an especially dominating latter half, it’s no surprise that Team Switzerland emerges as champion after the final round of the A1GP World Cup of Motorsport 2007/2008 season, held at Brands Hatch in England.

Switzerland’s Neel Jani claimed six poles and eleven podiums, four of which were wins including a double-win in Malaysia. Rather than throw away a commanding lead, Jani played it safe at the weekend and let the likes of Great Britain, Ireland, USA and India take the lead, while he finished fourth in the sprint and managed a final podium finish in third for the season finale.

“I did what I had to do. Especially at the start of the sprint, I couldn’t take any risks. For this reason, I let Ireland get through in the first corner without further ado and I concentrated on defending my fourth position. For the feature race, I had my eyes set on another podium finish. Achieving this was more or less easy, so that I can look back on a rather successful season,” explained Jani.

While Switzerland may celebrate finishing as champions and closest rivals New Zealand come in a distant second, Robbie Kerr and Team GBR deserve special mention for finishing both the Sprint and Feature races at Brand Hatch in podium positions. Kerr has been known to quip that Brands Hatch is his favourite circuit in the world so it comes as no surprise that he won the Sprint race and finished second in the 48-lap Feature. This might not be the dream finish as quite a few teams and drivers have managed double-wins at certain circuits, but what makes this achievement special is that the points awarded allowed GBR to leapfrog France for third in the championship standings.

“It was great to win at home once again - it was a fantastic feeling and the fans here are brilliant. I felt comfortable throughout the race but I didn't push too much as I wanted to bring it home so I just kept it sensible. The important thing is that we passed France in the championship for third,” said Kerr.

At the start of the Sprint, Kerr was keen on impressing his home audience with his hard-earned pole position and pulled cleanly away from Team USA’s Jonathan Summerton, while Adam Carroll made his move for Team Ireland around the outside of Jani. The top order stayed the same after Carroll’s pass on Jani, but fourth place was enough to ensure the title for Jani and Team Switzerland.

The Feature race saw Narain Karthikeyan from Team India on a maiden pole position and despite initial pressure from Kerr, who was pushing for another win, Karthikeyan kept his cool and held the lead. Carroll made another move on Jani and was safe in third until a crash between Australia and Pakistan necessitated a safety car period. When the race restarted, India and Ireland made their first pitstops, while Kerr stayed on for a flying lap to get ahead of Karthikeyan. As India suffered a relatively slow stop, the strategy paid off and Kerr was leading a race at Brands Hatch once again.

Carroll dogged Karthikeyan until lap 17 when he attempted a daring outside pass on the Indian car, but the Celtic Tiger came away with nothing more than a missing nose and dirt on the wheels as Carroll flew off into a gravel trap. When the second pit window opened, Michael Ammermuller of Team Germany joined the front-running Kerr and Karthikeyan for a last stop. Just as GBR was pulling out, the turquoise-coloured Indian car slipped by and Karthikeyan retook the lead. Indian went on the claim the win (their second in A1GP) with Kerr in second and Jani (Ammermuller suffered a puncture late in the race) in third.

“I think I made a good start. Robbie tried to go round the outside but I defended that move. When we came out of the first pit stop I had a coming together with Adam Carroll - I didn't see him because I had a moment and he tried to go up the inside and I hit him. But anyway, a great result for A1 Team India and after the final pit stop my car was mega. I made a mistake at Sheen but at the end it was all good,”said Karthikeyan.