|
A1 Team
Malaysia will be in
China this week for the penultimate
round of the A1GP Malaysia to the circuit where he scored the first
A1GP victory in China, taking victory in the Sprint
Race during the first season of A1GP. World Cup of Motorsport 2007/08 season at the Shanghai
International Circuit. Alex Yoong will return with Team
Last time out Yoong
added to the team’s points tally with a ninth place finish in the Sprint race at
Mexico City but, after a drive through penalty in the Feature race, the team was
disappointed with a 15th place position at the chequered flag.
A1GP has visited the
ultra-modern Shanghai International Circuit for the past two seasons and it has
provided four different winners. Team Malaysia and Alex Yoong will be
looking to repeat what was one of the team’s most successful racing weekends in
2006, which saw them secure pole position for both races, win the Sprint Race
and finish second in the Feature Race.
 The Shanghai track shares
similar qualities to the team’s home circuit at Sepang as it is another masterpiece by circuit designer Hermann
Tilke. The 4.6-kilometre version of the circuit layout was used
during last years A1GP race, which missed out three corners and introduced a
chicane. This had the effect of bunching the field up for longer through the
circuit, whilst the one-kilometre straight at the end of the lap provides
drivers with superb overtaking opportunities, resulting in the revised Shanghai
Circuit delivering exciting, close racing.
A1 Team
Malaysia driver Alex Yoong
commented ahead of this weekend’s race, “We are really looking forward to
getting out to Shanghai, as the track holds good
memories for us at Team Malaysia. We are aiming for a good
result, particularly with our knowledge of the track and having a good setup
from the previous two seasons. This season has been difficult, but things
started to look better in Mexico City in terms of
our pace and we hope that we can at least get some more points in China.”
Jack Cunningham, Chief
Executive of the team commented, “The increasing competitiveness of A1GP has
given us a greater challenge this season and now, as we head towards the final
leg of the Championship in the UK in May, we are really looking to
get some more points. Although we won here in the first season that doesn’t make
it any easier for us; in fact it probably adds to the pressure. Every team has
raised its game, including ourselves, but with the experience everyone now has
the pace is much higher, and the field much tighter, with just a few tenths of a
second separating the majority of the grid. We can make improvements on our
recent outings and need to be pushing for top ten finishes, so that will be our
focus this weekend. ”
The Shanghai race weekend
starts on Friday 11 April with practice sessions, continues on Saturday 12 April
with final practice and qualifying, and concludes on Sunday 13 April with the
Sprint and Feature races.
|
