A1 GP Brands Hatch - Double Victory For Carroll Seals Title For Team Ireland

Adam Carroll converted his two Saturday pole positions and Brands Hatch lap record into two victories today at the same time clinching the A1 GP 08/09 Championship for Team Ireland.

In the morning sprint race, Carroll had initially lost the lead to Team Mexico's Salvador Duran off the start but was later able to regain the lead following his mandatory pit stop.

Narain Karthikeyan for Team India who had started from seventh on the grid made up ground to evenutally take second place. Duran took a well deserved third step of the podium.

Team New Zealand's Earl Bamber had a coming together with the Team Lebanon car at Paddock Hill Bend putting them both out of the race.

The final results of the sprint race were as follows -

1. Ireland (Adam Carroll), 16 laps

2. India (Narain Karthikeyan), +7.230s

3. Mexico (Salvador Duran), +12.340s

4. USA (JR Hildebrand), +12.689s

5. Portugal (Filipe Albuquerque), +13.018s

6. Netherlands (Jeroen Bleekemolen), +13.783s

7. Australia (John Martin), +15.208s

8. Switzerland (Neel Jani), +22.220s

9. France (Nicolas Prost), +22.945s

10. Italy (Vitantonio Liuzzi), +27.062s

There was a lot of support for Team Ireland today at Brands Hatch and even the Red Devils showed their goodwill!

In the feature race, Carroll had it sown up from start to finish - a classic lights to flag victory.

Narain Karthikeyan of Team India and Frankie Cheng of Team China crashed off at Paddock Hill Bend at the start of the race.

Jeroen Bleekemolen of Team Netherlands, who had a very good weekend overall, finished the race in second place with Neel Jani of Team Switzerland in third.

Dan Clark for Team GB finished in seventh place after fending of Team Australia's John Martin for a large part of the race.

The final results for the feature race were as follows -

1. Ireland (Adam Carroll), 49 laps

2. Netherlands (Jeroen Bleekemolen), +10.156s

3. Switzerland (Neel Jani), +13.564s

4. Monaco (Clivio Piccione), +14.293s

5. Portugal (Filipe Albuquerque), +16.484s

6. Mexico (Salvador Duran), +21.810s

7. Great Britain (Dan Clarke), +23.409s

8. Australia (John Martin), +24.493s

9. Italy (Vitantonio Liuzzi), + l lap

10. France (Nicolas Prost), + 1 lap

L2F junior had an enjoyable but very tiring day and looks forward to more A1 GP action at Brands Hatch in the new season!

Team Netherlands Fastest in Second Practice at A1 GP Brands Hatch

The final Championship deciding round of the A1 GP World Cup of Motorsport is taking place at Brands Hatch this weekend.



Three countries - Ireland, Portgual and Switzerland are vying for the title honours which will only be finally decided after the feature race on Sunday afternoon.


The closing round of the season was due to have taken place in Mexico but had to be cancelled due to the swine flu epidemic.


L2F senior was at Brands Hatch today and can report that the new Ferrari powered cars are very impressive and sound great!



In the final Friday practice session, to the delight of the travelling Dutch fans, Team Netherlands topped the time sheets.


Their car was driven in that session by Jeroen Bleekemolen. The Team Ireland car piloted by Adam Carroll was second fastest followed by former Formula 1 driver Narain Karthikeyan for Team India.


It will be interesting to see if Karthikeyan can replicate this performance again in qualifying for Sunday's race.

Last yearKarthikeyan snatched victory in the feature race at Brands Hatch.


Friday final practice session top ten positions and lap times -


1. Netherlands (Jeroen Bleekemolen), 1m12.1002.

2. Ireland (Adam Carroll), +0.503s

3. India (Narain Karthikeyan), +0.584s

4. Monaco (Clivio Piccione), +0.698s

5. USA (JR Hildebrand), +0.698s

6. Portugal (Filipe Albuquerque), +0.703s

7. France (Nicolas Prost), +0.868s

8. New Zealand (Earl Bamber), +0.892s

9. Australia (John Martin), +1.192s

10. Switzerland (Neel Jani), +1.192s


Meanwhile, Team Great Britain who were off the pace all day could only manage eleventh fastest.

Hopefully they will be able to squeeze some extra performance from the car in time for Saturday's qualifying.