The race weekend at Chengdu, China witnessed breathtaking action as the new A1GP powered by Ferrari cars scorched the track for the Sprint and Feature race on Sunday (November 9).
The action began on with the 24 minutes Sprint race at 11 am. A1 Team Ireland took the chequered flag clocking a best lap time at 1:16.084. The other teams to take the podium finish were A1 Team Netherlands with 1:16.183 and A1 Team Great Britain with 1:16.712. A1 Team India finished 10th in the Sprint race with 1:17.282 as its best lap time.
The Feature race that started at 15:00pm had a standing start and included one pit stop during laps eight and sixteen, as well as a second mandatory pit stop to be taken within a window revealed 40-minutes before the lights turned green. A1 Team Portugal took the honours this race followed by A1 Team Ireland and A1 Team Great Britain.
Team India finished at tenth position here as well despite starting sixteenth on the grid. The climb up for lead driver Narain Karthikeyan was slow and steady and the car performed very well after the second pit stop when he overtook team South Africa.
Speaking on the outcome of the race A1 Team India lead driver Narain Karthikeyan said, "I think we have had a satisfactory performance and this weekend has been more of a testing for us with the new car. It also feels good to have opened our points tally with this race as well. There are a lot of aspects of the new Ferrari car that I need to get used to like the launch control, braking distance and other driving techniques. In the feature race I managed to take over Lebanon on the second turn and after the second pit stop managed to climb up to the ninth and then finally the tenth position."
"I think the key is to qualify better and that is what I will work hard towards in the forthcoming races. I also realise how fitness plays a very important role in terms of endurance in these cars. I will need to focus on neck and lower back exercises to be better prepared for a better performance in Malaysia."
The changes made in the set up of Team India's car were in the right direction for today's race and both the engineering team and race driver were satisfied with the cars performance. The best lap time recorded by Team India during the feature race was 1:16.315.
Adding on to Narain, A1 Team India CEO, Andaleeb Sehgal said, "Today's race was very exciting and more of a learning experience for us. We are very happy with the way the new car and engineering team are gelling well together and we are hopeful to steadily improve our performance from race to race."
An interesting aspect was the last minute withdrawal of the mandatory pit stop in the sprint race for today's race at Chengdu. The reason stated for this was the lack of time and safe space between all twenty cars coming into the pit lane for the pit stop.
Another interesting change in the series due to the new car coming in place is the larger role now to be played by the power boost button which has a much more critical role in terms of adding speed to the car as compared to the previous season. With a higher impact – when and where to use the power boost will add towards the driving strategy of each team.
The race track at Chengdu witnessed a burst of festivity today as thousands of fans thronged the paddock and the opening ceremony saw traditional Chinese dances performed by the local school children. The driver's parade also had a unique touch with them cruising along the track in classic vintage cars. The festivities and fan support received by A1 Team India marked a positive end to the race weekend in Chengdu and an even more positive start at the 2008- 2009 championship.
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