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Following Danny Watts’ double podium finish on his debut in China, he will race for A1 Team Great Britain in Sepang, Malaysia,
next week
After
scoring a crucial 16 points in Chengdu, China on Sunday, A1 Team Great Britain, is now looking ahead to Malaysia,
the third round of the A1GP World Cup of Motorsport, which will take place next
weekend at the Sepang International Circuit. Danny Watts, who scored two
fantastic podium results on his debut for the British squad, has been recalled
by the team to compete in Sepang.
The
result in China
last weekend was a huge achievement for GBR, which was forced to sit out the
season opener in Zandvoort due to build delay problems with the new A1GP
Powered by Ferrari cars. It was therefore vital for the team to score well in Chengdu, the second race
of the 2008/09 calendar. The team worked incredibly hard through the days and
nights to get the car race ready and the work was repaid on Sunday with
Danny’s two podium finishes, a result that seemed almost unattainable
before the weekend.
Coming
away from China
with 16 points and already eighth on the extremely tight championship board,
GBR is now focusing fully on scoring high in Sepang. The Malaysian track has
been a firm fixture on the A1GP calendar and is now making its fourth
appearance in as many seasons. Designed by Hermann Tilke, and the venue for the
Malaysian Formula 1 Grand Prix, Sepang is 5.54km in length and always
guarantees some spectacular overtaking opportunities due to the width of the
track. The heat and humidity in Sepang also proves to be a true test of car
capability and driver fitness.
A1
Team Great Britain
has a good record at Sepang, with Robbie Kerr taking podium finishes in the
2005 Sprint race and in the 2006 Feature race. On that occasion he led the
British team to a second place finish. Robbie and Oliver Jarvis have both had
further strong points finishes at the Malaysian track. Danny Watts has driven
the track before in a 2005 Porsche Carrera Cup event and GBR will be hoping
that this experience, twinned with Danny’s success already so far in
A1GP, will prove a winning combination come next weekend.
Danny Watts: “I
am delighted to be representing A1 Team GBR again. We had a strong start
in Chengdu last
weekend and it’s obviously important to continue that form in
Sepang. The aim has got to be to target a couple more podiums, but we have
already shown we are competitive, so race wins must be our primary goal from
now on. I will do my upmost to achieve these goals for A1 Team GBR and move us
higher up the Championship table”
Katie Clements, Team Principal: “I am still overwhelmed by the achievements of the
team and Danny from China
and we are heading to Malaysia
with a very positive mindset. The aim is to score another good haul of points
and take another step up the championship table.”
Saturday’s
qualifying starts at 1415 local time (0615 GMT) with Sunday’s 25-minute
Sprint race starting at 1100 local time (0300 GMT) and the 70-minute Feature
race beginning at 1500 local time (0700 GMT).
Sky Sports will
broadcast all the live action from Sepang,
Malaysia, from
0600 on Saturday 22 November (Sky Sports 2) and from 0530 on Sunday 23 November
(Sky Sports 1).
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