For the second year in a row Brands Hatch has hosted the season finale of the A1GP series, this year it was unfortunately only after the Mexico City round was cancelled due to the Swine Flu problems Mexico is currently suffering.
As usual the Kent circuit put on a great day for all the visitors for the day, including a parachute drop, entertainment on the grid and a great batch of support races including The Lotus Elise Trophy, Formula Palmer Audi and The Heritage Grand Touring Car Challenge among others.
Down in the Pits….
Just like the previous years at Brands Hatch there was an opportunity for the general public to enjoy a pit walk along the pit lane in the morning before any track activity took place. It was a great chance to meet the drivers and grab some autographs and watch the teams prepare for the race, including a few of the teams practising their pit stops.
Out on the Track
The traditional drivers parade lap took place with an open top bus, with only a small complication when the bus came across the bridge over Hailwood Hill, where everyone on top had to duck before the tops of their heads came into contact with the bridge!
Aaron Lim flies the Malaysian Flag on the Driver’s Parade Lap
The Sprint Race was dominated by Ireland who managed to get a good start off the line, a fantastic quick pit stop which helped them regain the lead before crossing the line a comfortable 7.230 seconds ahead of India and with Mexico picking up third place.
Only a few cars did not make the end of the Sprint Race, on Lap 15 Daniel Morad of Lebanon lost the back end of the car in Paddock Hill Bend with Earl Bamber of New Zealand having to go into the gravel to avoid hitting the Lebanese car.
The Swiss Team chase down the Dutch Team up Hailwood Hill.
The Feature Race featured a false start after South Africa stalled on the grid, but when the race got started Ireland had another good start, however the Chinese, U.S.A. and Indian Teams all got caught up in the first corner which left China and India in the gravel which brought out the Safety Car whilst the cars were recovered.
After the restart Ireland’s Adam Carroll crossed the line more than half a second ahead of the rest of the pack, which helped him build up a good lead in time for the first round of pit stops. Ireland came in first for their pit stop, which once again was a quick turn around allowing Adam Carroll to get out in the lead.
Team New Zealand did not have a good weekend ending up spinning out of both the Sprint and Feature Races.
Meanwhile Team Great Britain was flying around the circuit, and keeping up a good pace on home soil. In the second round of pit stops Ireland came in first again and returning to the front of the pack again, allowing Adam Carroll to build up a comfortable lead in the front, whilst The Australian Team were putting on the pressure on Team Great Britain by setting the fastest lap of the race with a 1:12.698.
In the last lap Adam Carroll was comfortably leading the race with The Netherlands behind him and Switzerland just holding off Monaco and Portugal who were battling for third place. At the end of the lap Ireland came across the line over 10 seconds ahead of the rest of the field to claim their second victory of the weekend and their maiden A1GP Title, beating the reigning champions Switzerland 112 points to 95 in the championship.
Team Ireland’s Adam Carroll took Pole Position for both races in Qualifying and then converted both of those Poles into Wins for Ireland, helping them to win the Championship.
