17/11/2008
NEWS STORY
A1 Team South Africa is in Malaysia this weekend to join the 20-plus nations contesting the third round of the 2008/09 season of the A1GP World Cup of Motorsport at the ultra-modern Sepang International Circuit 60 km south of Kuala Lumpur.
Adrian Zaugg and Vulindlela are currently joint 10th with Monaco in the points standings after the first two rounds.
South Africa comes off a fifth place in the sprint race in the previous round in Chengdu, China two weeks ago and ninth in the feature race, where a piece of plastic debris attached itself to Vulindlela's front wing and affected the car's handling before it could be removed in one of the two scheduled pit stops.
"Once again, Adrian and Vulindlela proved to be one of the quickest combinations in practice, but we were unable to translate this into the kind of grid position that provides the platform for a podium result," said Mike Carroll, general manager of A1 Team South Africa. "Sepang provides us with a new opportunity to get back to the front and the team will be using all its combined skills and knowledge to ensure that we are competitive this weekend. We need more points on the board if we are to challenge for a top-five finish to the season."
Zaugg, with three A1GP race wins under his belt (he won the season-opening sprint race in the Netherlands in 2006 and 2007 and the feature race in Australia last year), is confident ahead of this race weekend. "We have a very fast car and with a bit more luck we could have scored a lot more points in Chengdu. I really enjoy the Sepang circuit. It has fast, sweeping corners and wide straights and I think you will see the full potential of the new Ferrari-engined cars."