Zandvoort: Team Mexico Sunday report

DURAN WAS FASTEST IN THE FEATURE RACE AT ZANDVOORT
Salvador Duran had a great performance, but he finished one step behind the podium

ZANDVOORT, The Netherlands (October 1, 2007) - With an excellent performance that placed him one step behind the podium, Salvador Duran was fastest in the Feature race during Round 1 of the A1GP The World Cup of Motorsport that was held at 4.183-Km. circuit of Zandvoort.

"The Sprint race was hard because at the start I've had a contact with Adrian Zaugg when attempting to pass him for the first place. That cost me a lot because we lost grip, when a wishbone was bent in the front left suspension. Then I was third. After the contact it was difficult to keep my position and (Jeroen) Bleekemolen overtook me. I thought that we were going to lose a lot of positions and at the end, I should be glad with this fourth-place finish, because we collected points and finished the race," Salvador Duran said.

For the Feature race, the Mexican team had to regain several positions after qualifying eighth. At the start, Duran placed his car in the sixth place. He stayed in this position until he pitted with 36 Laps to go. He dropped to 12th and two laps later he was 11th. On Lap 12 he was already seventh and on Lap 14, he was sixth after passing Irish Ralph Firman.

On Lap 20, Duran passed on the inside Christian Vietoris on the main straight in an spectacular move for the fifth spot and with 27 laps to go, Salvador overtook Jonny Reid on the inside to grab the fourth spot. He wanted the third spot, but Neel Jani already pulled away.

"I pushed as much as possible, but the tires were worn out because I had to overtake several times. Therefore, I pitted again. The car was very good. We pushed hard and set the fastest lap. We were gaining ground over the leaders at an average of one second per lap. I am pleased with that and the Interwetten team did a good job in their debut in the series," the Mexican added, who set his best time (1' 29.181) on Lap 37 of the 45-lap race, finishing fourth again.

"The two races were really hard and with the race results we are fourth in the championship," the Telmex-backed driver said. "I want to thank A1 Team Mexico for their support and for inviting me to compete in this race and also, I thank my sponsors because they are always supporting me."

"The project is becoming stronger. We feel very glad for the race results obtained. We know that we have to work harder, but the base of the project is solid. We have a good car and Salvador felt very comfortable with the technical personnel," Julio Jauregui Executive Vice-president of the A1 Team Mexico said.

On the other hand, Jimmy Morales Director of Escuderia Telmex said: "We had enough just for fourth places in the two races, starting to prepare the car from Monday. We were strong. I think as the time pass by we are going to improve our performance every day. We are trailing two points to second place in the championship and we are one point from the third place. The first place is a little bit away, but we are on the right track. We came here not for victories but for points, because this is a long championship. What we need is to be consistent to obtain it. The team was working hard on the car. We've had some difficulties during the pit stops. We've lost a little bit of time in pits. This is normal because we did not have enough time to prepare ourselves as it should be for this event, but we think that we can win a lot of races in the series in the future."

And he added: "The number one driver, who will represent Mexico at Brno, is not confirmed yet. Escuderia Telmex has to have a meeting with all the group of sponsors to reach an agreement and to know who is going to be the designated driver for the next race."

The next A1GP World Cup of Motorsport will be held on October 14 at Brno, in Czech Republic.

-credit: team mexico