Brno: Team Ireland Sunday notes

Podium joy and Feature Race charge for Ireland

Adam Carroll scored a podium finish on his A1GP World Cup of Motorsport debut as Belmayne A1 Team Ireland achieved its best ever Sprint Race result in the Czech Republic this morning. Starting from fourth on the grid the 24 year old made a storming start and was battling with Team GBR for second position when there was contact between the two cars. Adam was forced onto the dirt and sustained slight damage to the right sidepod but was able to hold onto third position. Team South Africa, who had dropped down to fourth from a pole position start, tried to take advantage of the incident but Adam held them off and built up a cushion which he was able to maintain to the end.

Perhaps even more impressive was the Feature Race performance as Adam cut a swath through the field. From P18 on the grid he made up six places on the opening lap, a swift first pit stop followed by a great pass of championship contenders South Africa saw him moving up to ninth. The team knew that a good second stop could gain more places and they didn't disappoint. When Adam rejoined the track and the order settled after other teams had come in for fresh rubber he was up to sixth, a position he maintained to the finish. The team now lies seventh in the championship standings with 23 points, having scored in all four races of the season to date.

Adam Carroll: "It's been a very good day for us, a podium in race one is what we wanted and we achieved that. The car was really good throughout, we had a couple of small issues with the balance that we fixed for race two and we got a great start and made up a lot of places. After that everything came together, the guys did a great job with the pit stops, I had some good battles on the track and we finished sixth from the back, I'm now looking forward to the next race in Malaysia."

Dan Walmsley; Race Engineer: "A very satisfactory weekend, the only disappointment was qualifying but we turned that into a positive with a great result in the Feature Race. This was achieved thanks to the hard work and determination of everyone in the team from top to bottom. Adam drove two superb races, the guys did their usual great job on the pit stops and we've come away with more points. The fact we finished just 24 seconds behind the leader having started 18th on the grid shows just how far this team has come in two race weekends.

Mark Kershaw; Team Owner: "I'm delighted with the team's performance this weekend, our second podium in A1GP was long overdue and I'm confident it will be the first of many this season. Adam did a fantastic job in both races, the team was on top form, and based on this performance I'm sure we'll be challenging for wins and getting ourselves in the title hunt as the season unfolds. It will be nice to go to the A1GP podium party tonight having actually scored one!"

The team would also like to congratulate Ralph Firman, who clinched victory in the Super GT race at the Autopolis today and with it sealed the title with a race to spare.

-credit: a1gp.ireland