Asian Motor Sports

Nico Hulkenberg now has six A1 Grand Prix wins, at the age of 19, the German racer has placed Team Germany in a dominant role — now 82 points in the 2006/’07 season.

“This is clearly a victory of the team of David Sears that has helped me regaining my lead. Obviously, we are in a good position in the championship, but we don’t relax as my appetite is whetted for further victories,” expressed the double winner.

Last season, Team France built the cushion that landed them the inaugural World Cup of Motorsport championship. This year, it appears that the German team headed by Willi Weber is on its way to take the second season title.

It was not an easy run for the German teenager at the start of the final race today and when the safety car came out, Weber’s team felt it best to take their mandatory pit stop early.

“I had too much wheelspin at the start. I lost one position and couldn’t get past Jonny Reid in the first corner as I was on the outside,” commented Hulkenberg. “Thanks to a quick pitstop, we fought back and I was ahead of A1 Team New Zealand again.”

Hoping to yet stop the dominant German team is Team New Zealand. Jonny Reid placed second in the two races today and holds second in the standings with 57 points. However, Team France is sitting third, just five points behind.

Reid had the early lead but when he came in for his pit stop, he lost the edge to Team Germany and the Kiwi could not make up the ground for the win.

“I just controlled it at the start as it is easy to control the race when you are in front. It was a little bit disappointing with the pit stop issue, but that is the way motorsport goes sometimes,” said Reid. “I pushed and pushed but we had nothing left as the car was not so good in the race.”

The fourth top team in the standings after New Zealand’s event has slipped down and Team Great Britain would have to have a strong comeback with four venues left on this year’s calendar, including their home race at Brands Hatch.

The 46 lap Feature race on the Eastern Creek circuit in Australia was easily won by Hulkenberg by over seven seconds in front of Reid. The two started both races on Sunday in Sydney on the front row with the German on the pole.

Further back in third in the Feature race and scoring points for Team China was Ho-Pin Tung for his best finish of the season after a brilliant late pass on Jeroen Bleekemolen on the 22nd lap to land China their first podium finish.

“I have just seen Steven our press manager cheering on the phone and screaming, so I think probably it will be a really big thing in China,” Tung said. “I think on the TV maybe it looked a bit braver when I overtook the Netherlands than it was in reality. I just had a very good tow down the main straight and I overtook him on the outside. I used my PowerBoost to get a really good tow, moved to the outside and could carry more speed into the corner where he had to lift as he had to defend his position.”

Team Netherlands’ driver Bleekemolen notched another top-five finish with fourth in the second of the two races. Earlier the Dutchman was fifth in the Sprint race.

As he prepares for his new ride in the American Le Mans Series and flying to Australia after racing in the Grand American Rolex 24 at Daytona, Florida, Tomas Enge landed fifth for Team Czech Republic.

Team Canada’s Feature race proved to be short lived following contact on the opening lap with Singapore’s Christian Murchison (See image above). Running side-by-side into Turn 4, Canada edged ahead under braking but Murchison’s front-left tire tagged Hinchcliffe’s right-rear pitching the 20-year-old rookie into a spectacular barrel roll which left him parked upside down in the gravel trap – race over.

Both drivers emerged unscathed from the incident but the subsequent failure to score for a second straight outing dropped Canada down a spot to tenth in the Nations Standings having arrived in Australia sitting ninth overall following a pair of top-six points scoring finishes in New Zealand. Germany’s Hülkenberg claimed the Australian Feature win with Reid second again for New Zealand while China’s Ho-Pin Tung celebrated the team’s first-ever A1GP podium in third.

“Well I’m pleased to say the car held up really well during my crash,” stated Hinchcliffe post-race. “Lola does a great job constructing these cars and all I’m left with thankfully is a bruised knee and a bruised ego. I’d made a great start, I was pushing Ireland for position, they had the line into turn four so I let them go but then I guess Christian ducked in there as well and we hit. It was a racing incident, nothing more but it’s really frustrating as we had a good car with the potential to pick up points.”

Round 8 of the 2006-07 A1GP World Cup of Motorsport sees a return to South Africa and the streets of Durban, Friday 23rd – Sunday 25th February – www.a1gp.com

Top-Ten A1GP Nations Standings after Round 7/11: 1st Germany (82), 2nd New Zealand (57), 3rd France (52), 4th Great Britain (37), 5th Switzerland (36), 6th Malaysia (35), 7th Netherlands (35), 8th Mexico (34), 9th Italy (29), 10th CANADA (28)