Strong, gusty winds and bright sunshine greeted the A1GP World Cup of Motorsport, New Zealand in Taupo today for the sixth round of the Series. In the Sprint race the team finished in 19th place but recovered to finish a well deserved 11th in the Feature event.After two days of preparation for the Sprint and Feature races, A1 Team Malaysia lined up for the grid of the first race in eighth place.
The rolling start of the Sprint race saw the field of cars storm to the first corner, but Yoong was sandwiched by the cars of Canada and Great Britain as they rushed through, resulting in wheel banging which caused damage to the Malaysian car. Yoong needed to pit for repairs to the car and in the midst of this, the original start was declared void as the front running cars had been out of grid position. A second rolling start saw Malaysia returning to the track at the back of the field. Yoong was determined to race as hard as possible to improve his grid position for the Feature race and by the end of the 20 minutes sprint he had made up a couple of places, to finish 19th, his grid position for the Feature race.
In the Feature race Yoong knew that he faced a difficult challenge to reach a position in the points and was determined to give it his best shot. At the start of the race he struggled to make progress, but after the mandatory tyre change the Malaysian was into his stride and started to make headway. With blistering pace, Yoong made his way through the field, picking off his opponents and benefiting from other drivers' mistakes. By the end of a tough 50 lap race Yoong was 11th, just outside the points, but had overtaken six cars, a feat that few other drivers were able to match.
The Malaysian driver said after the two races, "It was the Sprint race that really ruined our day for us. Great Britain drove into the side of me and damaged my front wing, so we had to pit, but it was just a racing incident. We went back out, but for the remaining laps it was really a test session for us. This left us so far back for the Feature race that it was always going to be tough to get in the points. We made up quite a few places, the boys did a really quick pitstop and the car was fast too. The team worked so hard this weekend, but for no points, so I'm disappointed."
Jack Cunningham, Chief Executive, A1 Team Malaysia, said of the weekend, "We made progress throughout the weekend and the team was working so well that we really thought we had a chance for it to come together today. It was the first lap incident that cost us and we weren't able to recover from it to gain any points. It's always difficult when so much effort, commitment and teamwork doesn't reap the rewards that are deserved, but these attributes are also the ones that keep us going and I know we can fight back in Sydney in two weeks time."
A1 Team Malaysia heads to Australia for the next round of the A1GP World Cup of Motorsport. Taking place at Eastern Creek Raceway in Sydney, the event is expected to draw a warm reception from the Australian fans. The Series raced at the venue and brought Yoong one of his best performances with an eighth place finish in the Sprint race and fifth place in the Feature event.
For further information regarding the season visit http://www.a1teammalaysia.com.my/