A1 Team Netherlands was underway to take valuable points home, but then the stewards delt a merciless blow. Jeroen was accused of causing an avoidable accident, at least that is the way the stewards saw it. In the end Bleekemolen drove a strong race, climbing back to eighth.
Jan Lammers; “A complete ridiculous decision.This clearly was a normal race incident. Jeroen was very close behind Team Great Britain, which braked. Because of this Jeroen had to brake as well and just slid out a bit, touching the car of former F1-driver Narain Karthikeyan. If there is one thing you want to avoid in Formula racing it is a collision with the front wheels, to even think that you would do this on purpose is farcical. The decision of the stewards is not even worth the argument. It is the start and first corner of the race, at a start of a marathon it is also squeezing through. This decision is in sharp contrast with the contact South Africa had in the Sprintrace, where they T-boned Malaysia and they got away with it.”
With our pace we could have easily finished in third and probably even in second place. After our drive through penalty we had to make a call, either go for the fastest lap in the race or go for the best possible finish.”comments Jan.
“We opted for the latter option, which gained us three valuable points, otherwise it would only have been one. When you use your powerboost three times in one lap with new tyres, then you can set the fastest lap, but when you have to overtake someone you have nothing left anymore. That is why we could go for the overtaking maneuvers and Jeroen was able to pass China on the final lap.”
“We finished the Sprint race in sixth and had the second fastest lap of the race, even faster than our partner-team Ireland which later today took a dominant victory in the Feature race. Our pitstops also went a lot better and we will continue to improve there. I do see us taking victories in a number of races this season, but we do not have to let these stupid situations like today get to us. It is harsh, but sometimes completely legitimate goals are also sometimes disallowed. Referees are a hurdle you have to take regardless of the sport you are entering. Our team has worked hard on improving and we have succeeded in getting the car competitive. Success is just a matter of time, I do promise you all,” concludes Lammers.
From ninth on the grid A1 Team Netherlands finished the A1GP Sprintrace in sixth. At the start of the race there is a huge startline shunt, with the A1 Team USA crashing into the rear of the A1 Team India car, with A1 Team Brazil also getting caught in the middle. This causes a restart and there A1 Team Great Britain has some technical difficulties, they drop back far and retire after four laps.
This means a gained position for Bleekemolen and in the first lap of the race he also overtakes Mexico on the outside of turn nine.
For the first time this season there is a mandatory pitstop during the Sprintrace. Many countries come in straight at the opening of the pitstop window on the end of lap four. A1 Team Netherlands waits one lap and manages to overtake Italy with a good pitstop. With a sixth place A1 Team Netherlands takes three points. Switzerland take their first win of the season, followed by France and New Zealand.
At the start of the Feature race everyone squeezed through the first corner. Bleekemolen comes from sixth on the grid, gets caught on the inside and collides with Karthikeyan of India, who spins and retires. Switzerland also retires in the very first corner.
A1 Team Netherlands does keep sixth place after this, right behind Great Britain, USA and Lebanon. Lebanon and Great Britain both go off after an overtaking maneuver and moments later France slices its tyre on Great Britain’s nose cone. Because of this A1 Team Netherlands are running fourth behind Malaysia.
At the first pitstop sequence A1 Team Netherlands does gain some ground on Malaysia and Bleekemolen closes the gap with Fauzy. Then the team gets a drive through penalty because the stewards decide that Bleekemolen could have avoided the collision with India. The Netherlands drop back significantly and come back out on track in fourteenth. Malaysia also drop back after an unplanned and unnecessary pit visit.
Jeroen then shows that A1 Team Netherlands has good race pace and manages to gain positions in the remaining laps. Soon Bleekemolen is running inside the points and is able to overtake China on the final lap. Brazil is almost overtaken on the finish line as well, but they just manage to stay in front.
Jeroen Bleekemolen; “Again we had bad luck today. It is a shame to get a penalty over nothing. At the start I was right behind Great Britain who braked. I also had to brake, slid outwards a bit touching India. I had the choice of either crashing into the rear of Great Britain or going outwards. If I could have avoided this I would have agreed with the stewards immediately, but there was no way I could have done this. As far as the races are concerned, I had two good ones, fun as well. We had the pace and I was able to close gaps and overtake people. After our drive through we rejoined at the back and in the end you are able to get back to eighth. That is good, but I am angry about another ridiculous penalty we were given”.
With eighth place A1 Team Netherlands do get three points, which makes the total 26 points. Ireland dominated the race and led from start to finish, followed by Portugal and A1 Team USA.
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