A1GP
Shanghai: Team USA Saturday notes
A1 TEAM USA on front row for Feature race, 3rd row for Sprint at Shanghai SHANGHAI, China--Jonathan Summerton qualified A1 TEAM USA in second starting position for the Feature race and sixth for the Sprint for the A1GP World Cup of Motorsport on ...
Published: Apr 13, 2008, 5:25 AM
Copy link
Share on Viber
A1 TEAM USA on front row for Feature race, 3rd row for Sprint at Shanghai
SHANGHAI, China--Jonathan Summerton qualified A1 TEAM USA in second starting position for the Feature race and sixth for the Sprint for the A1GP World Cup of Motorsport on Saturday at Shanghai International Circuit.
"It's a great feeling to be starting on the front row for A1 TEAM USA in the Feature," Summerton said. "We made some changes before Sprint qualifying that improved the balance of the 'We the People' car and we were sixth. Leon Gutfreund, our race engineer, tweaked the setup a little more for the Feature and made the car even better. We had our fastest lap of the weekend in the second segment of Feature qualifying.
"We came here to at least stand on the podium and to challenge for wins and we're in position to do that in both races."
Summerton had a best lap of 1:34.626 in qualifying for the feature, .396 of a second faster than No. 3 Filipe Albuquerque of Portugal, on the 2.9-mile circuit. The 19-year-old from Kissimmee, Fla., ran 1:34.791 in Sprint qualifying.
"We timed our runs really well," Summerton said. "We were patient and waited for the fast cars towards the end of the sessions. We were able to slot in behind (pole winner) Neel Jani (Switzerland) by design and used him as a rabbit. He was faster in the first two segments, but on the final (Feature) run, we were slightly quicker in the final third of the track."
Sunday's Feature race will be the second time A1 TEAM USA has started on the front row. Under a different format, Scott Speed qualified second at Germany's Lausitzring in 2005.
Summerton's previous top performances in qualifying were third for the Sprint at Mexico City three weeks ago and third for the Sprint at Shanghai last season.
"We're very happy to be starting on the front row for the Feature and sixth for the Sprint was a solid effort," A1 TEAM USA Holdings owner Rick Weidinger said. "The team has made great strides forward this season and we've become one of the strongest teams in A1GP. We want to win, of course, but our focus is on high finishes and scoring points consistently. Leon (Gutfreund, A1 TEAM USA race engineer) has been with me for almost five years now and I have never been more proud of how he reacted and engineered the 'We the People' car to the Feature front row this weekend..
"We're 13th in the championship and we want to move up as far as possible. We're 16 points behind (10th-place China) and 33 behind (ninth-place) Canada and it's possible for us to catch and pass both of them."
-credit: team usa
We want your opinion!
What would you like to see on Motorsport.com?
Take our 5 minute survey.
- The Motorsport.com Team
Read and post comments
Read also :
Share Or Save This Story
Copy link
Share on Viber
Previous article Shanghai: Series qualifying report
Next article Shanghai: Team Malaysia Friday notes
Top Comments
There are no comments at the moment. Would you like to write one?
View More & Comment
More from
Neel Jani
Estre, Jani praise revisions to "fairer" Le Mans qualifying format
WEC
WEC
24 Hours of Le Mans
Estre, Jani praise revisions to "fairer" Le Mans qualifying format
Jani explains fix for bizarre Porsche door problem while leading WEC Spa race
WEC
WEC
Spa
Jani explains fix for bizarre Porsche door problem while leading WEC Spa race
Daytona 24h: Derani unleashes track record to capture pole for Cadillac
IMSA
IMSA
Daytona 24 Hours
Daytona 24h: Derani unleashes track record to capture pole for Cadillac
Latest news
Zane Smith fined $50,000 by NASCAR for ramming Carson Hocevar after Phoenix Cup race
NASCAR Cup
NAS NASCAR Cup
Phoenix II
2 h
Zane Smith fined $50,000 by NASCAR for ramming Carson Hocevar after Phoenix Cup race
FIA expects F1 races in Qatar and Abu Dhabi to continue as planned
Formula 1
F1 Formula 1
United States GP
7 h
FIA expects F1 races in Qatar and Abu Dhabi to continue as planned
TDS Racing doubles down on IMSA program with two-car LMP2 return
IMSA
IMSA IMSA 7 h
TDS Racing doubles down on IMSA program with two-car LMP2 return
Why Isack Hadjar doesn’t like F1 sprints anymore
Formula 1
F1 Formula 1
Singapore GP
7 h
Why Isack Hadjar doesn’t like F1 sprints anymore
Subscribe and access Motorsport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
You have 2 options:
- Become a subscriber.
- Disable your adblocker.
Subscribe now Already subscribed? Sign in here
Already disabled your adblocker?
Reload page
Manage Alerts
Subscribe