Oliver Jarvis scored valuable points in difficult conditions for A1 Team GBR in round three of the A1GP World Cup of Motorsport at the Sepang International Circuit. Oliver made a good start in the Sprint race holding position in third through Turn 1 before being caught out by France braking early for Turn 2. This caused Oliver to run into the back of him and sustain slight damage to the front wing while also dropping down the running order to sixth.
Despite pushing really hard and being the fastest through the third sector, New Zealand managed to find a way through on lap four leaving A1 Team GBR seventh but scoring four valuable points. Oliver made a great start in the Feature Race holding off France and Brazil for second until his throttle stuck and he lost out to them dropping back to fourth.
He kept the pressure on Brazil until the Safety Car came out on lap nine following an incident between South Africa and Canada. He immediately pitted and some quick teamwork got him back out in third ahead of France with Brazil now leading from Switzerland. On the re-start GBR put pressure on Switzerland, temporarily getting ahead on the outside of the first corner but Switzerland immediately fought back to regain their place diving down the inside into Turn 3 pushing GBR wide and allowing France to also take advantage leaving Oliver back in fourth.
On lap 19 Germany caught onto the back of GBR and made an ambitious move at Turn 2 hitting GBR’s left rear wheel and causing GBR to loose places. The team lost time in the second pit-stop due to the front right tyre sticking, and GBR was then given a drive through penalty for speeding in the pit-lane, leaving Oliver to concentrate on overtaking as many cars as possible in order to salvage points.
He put in a great drive through the final stint making a fantastic manoeuvre on Mexico, and fighting until the chequered flag to overtake the USA on the main straight just before the finish to claim the last points’ position.
Oliver Jarvis: "In the Sprint race, I made a reasonable get away coming down into the first corner and was comfortably in third. I moved to the middle of the track braking fairly early and Canada shot up the inside. This wasn’t too much of a problem, the problem was that France was almost at a standstill and unfortunately we made contact coming into turn 2. There was a bit of damage and I struggled with the car, which felt very snappy. "
At the start of the Feature Race, going into the third corner, the throttle stuck so when I braked I locked the front wheels, and ultimately lost two places on the exit. The team did a great job in the first pit-stop and we got ahead of France coming back out on track in third. On the restart, I managed to get Switzerland round the outside, but he had a better run out on the second corner and drove down the inside of the third pushing me out wide to allow France back through leaving me in fourth.
I put pressure on France for many laps then Germany made a ridiculous move hitting the left rear and causing me to drop a couple of places. Unfortunately we got a drive through penalty after the second pit stop as I couldn’t get my car to slow down enough for some reason, which lost us valuable time. It’s probably the hardest race I’ve ever had to only get a point. It’s a disappointing result for the team and hopefully we will do better in ZhuHai."
Katie Clements, Team Principal: "Oliver drove fantastically all weekend and we had a good car but these things sometimes happen. We also had a problem with our two-way radio in the Feature Race; our engineer could speak to Olly, but Olly could not communicate back making it hard for the team to know if he was happy with the car and difficult track if he was coming in for pit-stops. The team really pulled together though and despite the problems it’s great to come away with some valuable points. We’re all now looking ahead to China where we hope to be back up on the podium."
Channel Five will broadcast all the highlights from Malaysia at 0420 on Wednesday 28 November Round 4 of the 2007-08 A1GP World Cup of Motorsport will be held at ZhuHai International Circuit, China, on Friday 14 December to Sunday 16 December
A1GP Round 3 Sprint Race 1. Switzerland, Neel Jani, 18:20.910m 2. France, Loic Duval, 18:24.702m 3. Germany, Michael Ammermuller, 18:32.845 *7. Great Britain, Oliver Jarvis, 18:35.847 A1GP Round 3 Feature Race 1. Switzerland, Neel Jani, 1:08:13.459 2. Brazil, Sergio Jimenez, 1:08:21.873 3. France, Loic Duval, 1:08:22.387 *10. Great Britain, Oliver Jarvis, 1:08:57.818 A1GP Championship 1. Switzerland, 45 2. New Zealand, 42 3. France, 41 *5. Great Britain, 35
A1 Team Great Britain is partnered by AquaSP, Playseats and Visit Britain.
– www.a1teamgbr.com -
- Victoria Henley - photos A1GP
more photos on automobilsport.com under PHOTOS - A1GP
more photos on automobilsport.com under PHOTOS - A1GP
