18-12-2007, 08:38 AM
[SIZE="2"]A1 GP Team South Africa claimed its third podium position of the A1 GP World Cup of Motorsport season on Sunday at the Zhuhai International Circuit in China when Adrian Zaugg raced to third place in the feature race.
Zaugg, disappointed after being knocked out of the earlier sprint race in a first lap incident involving three cars, started ninth on the grid and was up to fourth behind Switzerland, India and New Zealand when the cars came in for the first pit stop.
Two excellent pit stops by the South African team and some aggressive and controlled driving by the 21-year-old saw the distinctively liveried Vulindlela score valuable points to keep South Africa fifth in the championship, 32 behind leader Switzerland and just one behind fourth-placed Great Britain.
Podium finishers
India claimed victory in an exciting and closely contested the 45-lap feature race, with New Zealand finishing second and South Africa third, in round four of the motor racing series that pits nation against nation in identical cars.
Narain Karthikeyan, who became India's first Formula One driver in 2005, gave his vast nation its first ever A1GP victory after starting from third on the grid.
Championship leaders A1 Team Switzerland, with Neel Jani at the wheel, appeared headed for another win after starting the race from pole position, but problems with the first of the two mandatory pit stops saw India take a lead it was not to surrender, while Switzerland dropped back to finish sixth at the finish of the 70-minute race.
New Zealand's Jonny Reid did well to recover from 10th on the grid to take the runner-up spot ahead of a resurgent South Africa, with Zaugg scoring his third podium position after finishing first and second in the first two races of the 2007/08 season at Zandvoort in Holland in September.
Excellent performance
The South African star fought off a determined challenge from sprint race winner Michael Ammermuller of A1 Team Germany, producing one of the best drives of his career.
His passing manoeuvres, against the USA (Jonathan Summerton) in the opening laps and Great Britain (Oliver Jarvis) into turn 14 on lap 15, were of the highest quality, showing commitment and courage.
A1 Team France, with whom South Africa shares a technical partnership, was on track for a third place finish when a drive-through penalty for a pit stop infringement dropped Loic Duval back to seventh at the finish.
Germany won the 20-minute sprint race on Sunday morning from pole position ahead of Switzerland to give rookie Ammermuller his first win of the season. Cheng Cong Fu delighted the home fans with China's best result so far by taking third ahead of Ireland's Adam Carroll, the Czech Republic's Tomas Enge, and Oliver Jarvis of Great Britain.
'Very close'
"It was very close," said an elated Zaugg after the race. "I passed quite a few people early in the race and had to defend hard towards the end against Team Germany. Michael was very fair. It was not physically difficult, but you had to focus and keep up the concentration."
Mike Carroll, general manager of A1 Team South Africa, paid tribute to his driver and team. "This was the result we were looking for heading into the four-week Christmas break before the next round at Taupo in New Zealand in January.
"Adrian drove brilliantly. He looked after the car and defended his position on the track with great skill and commitment against Team Germany.
"The team did a great job of preparing the car for the two races after our disappointing performance in practice and qualifying.
Confidence for Durban
"We needed a good result today and it will give us the confidence to build on this as we approach the South African round of the series in Durban in February," added Carroll.
The fifth event of the 10-event season takes place at Taupo in New Zealand over the weekend of 18 January, followed by Sydney, Australia, the first weekend in February.
Durban hosts round seven on the weekend of 22 February.
Championship Standings
# 1. Switzerland 79
# 2. France 60
# 3. New Zealand 59
# 4. Great Britain 48
# 5. South Africa 47
# 6. Netherlands 41
# 7. Ireland 39
# 8. Germany 37
SAInfo reporter[/SIZE]
Zaugg, disappointed after being knocked out of the earlier sprint race in a first lap incident involving three cars, started ninth on the grid and was up to fourth behind Switzerland, India and New Zealand when the cars came in for the first pit stop.
Two excellent pit stops by the South African team and some aggressive and controlled driving by the 21-year-old saw the distinctively liveried Vulindlela score valuable points to keep South Africa fifth in the championship, 32 behind leader Switzerland and just one behind fourth-placed Great Britain.
Podium finishers
India claimed victory in an exciting and closely contested the 45-lap feature race, with New Zealand finishing second and South Africa third, in round four of the motor racing series that pits nation against nation in identical cars.
Narain Karthikeyan, who became India's first Formula One driver in 2005, gave his vast nation its first ever A1GP victory after starting from third on the grid.
Championship leaders A1 Team Switzerland, with Neel Jani at the wheel, appeared headed for another win after starting the race from pole position, but problems with the first of the two mandatory pit stops saw India take a lead it was not to surrender, while Switzerland dropped back to finish sixth at the finish of the 70-minute race.
New Zealand's Jonny Reid did well to recover from 10th on the grid to take the runner-up spot ahead of a resurgent South Africa, with Zaugg scoring his third podium position after finishing first and second in the first two races of the 2007/08 season at Zandvoort in Holland in September.
Excellent performance
The South African star fought off a determined challenge from sprint race winner Michael Ammermuller of A1 Team Germany, producing one of the best drives of his career.
His passing manoeuvres, against the USA (Jonathan Summerton) in the opening laps and Great Britain (Oliver Jarvis) into turn 14 on lap 15, were of the highest quality, showing commitment and courage.
A1 Team France, with whom South Africa shares a technical partnership, was on track for a third place finish when a drive-through penalty for a pit stop infringement dropped Loic Duval back to seventh at the finish.
Germany won the 20-minute sprint race on Sunday morning from pole position ahead of Switzerland to give rookie Ammermuller his first win of the season. Cheng Cong Fu delighted the home fans with China's best result so far by taking third ahead of Ireland's Adam Carroll, the Czech Republic's Tomas Enge, and Oliver Jarvis of Great Britain.
'Very close'
"It was very close," said an elated Zaugg after the race. "I passed quite a few people early in the race and had to defend hard towards the end against Team Germany. Michael was very fair. It was not physically difficult, but you had to focus and keep up the concentration."
Mike Carroll, general manager of A1 Team South Africa, paid tribute to his driver and team. "This was the result we were looking for heading into the four-week Christmas break before the next round at Taupo in New Zealand in January.
"Adrian drove brilliantly. He looked after the car and defended his position on the track with great skill and commitment against Team Germany.
"The team did a great job of preparing the car for the two races after our disappointing performance in practice and qualifying.
Confidence for Durban
"We needed a good result today and it will give us the confidence to build on this as we approach the South African round of the series in Durban in February," added Carroll.
The fifth event of the 10-event season takes place at Taupo in New Zealand over the weekend of 18 January, followed by Sydney, Australia, the first weekend in February.
Durban hosts round seven on the weekend of 22 February.
Championship Standings
# 1. Switzerland 79
# 2. France 60
# 3. New Zealand 59
# 4. Great Britain 48
# 5. South Africa 47
# 6. Netherlands 41
# 7. Ireland 39
# 8. Germany 37
SAInfo reporter[/SIZE]