Disappointing End For A1 Team Pakistan
May 04, 2008
A1GP
A1 Team Pakistan endured a disappointing end tothe third season of the A1GP World Cup ofMotorsport this weekend, as a racing incident withA1 Team Australia put Adam Khan out of action inthe Feature race at the A1GP Brands Hatch, GreatBritain. In the earlier Sprint race, Khan finished 18th.
Starting from 18thon the grid for the 20 minute Sprintrace, Khan was passed by the Brazilian car on thefirst lap, putting the team in 19thplace. In a fairlyuneventful race, positions remained unchanged until China fell down the field, promotingPakistan to 18th– the position maintained to the chequered flag.
While the team made last minute changes and checks ahead of the main event, Khan took part in the traditional drivers’ parade, which saw the 22 A1GP drivers aboard an open-topLondon bus for a tour of the Brands Hatch circuit. Following a colourful opening ceremony,the tension rose in the crowd as the start of the Feature race drew closer.As the lights went out to start the 70 minute Feature race, Khan found himself squeezed bya number of other cars in the short run down to the first corner.
With no where to go, the 22year-old driver managed to maintain his position and vigorously defended from A1 TeamAustralia behind him. On lap two, the Australian driver tried to find a way past Khan whichresulted in a clash between the two cars, with the Pakistan car slamming into the barriers.Khan climbed from the car unhurt, but the team’s race was over.
An understandably disappointed Khan said, “This really isn’t the way I wanted to end theseason. We’ve all put a lot of work into this season and it’s such a shame to have crashedout of the Feature race before we were able to show what we were capable of. I knew thatJohn [Martin] was behind me and then he came along side. I defended my position and webanged wheels, which sent me into the crash barriers. Its not at all satisfying to end theseason like this and I’m sorry that we weren’t able to deliver a better result for all the fans inPakistan.
”Team Manager John Allen added, “It’s a disappointing way to end the season. The entireteam has put a lot of effort into this weekend, and to see our race end so early was verydepressing. Adam was defending his position from Australia, and unfortunately the twoclashed which resulted in Adam crashing into the barriers. Unfortunately this is often thecase in a high pressure race environment and I think we can just put this down to a racingincident.
”This weekend’s event concluded a 10 race season, which has seen A1 Team Pakistantravel to nine different countries across five continents. It was also the last outing of thecurrent A1GP cars, which will be replaced next season by new generation of car, withdesign input and powered by the famous Italian marque Ferrari.
