Sprint Race – New Zealand wins!

Johnny Reid for New Zealand won the first race of the weekend in the A1 Grand Prix for the 8th round of the season in Mexico.

The New Zealander outpaced Great Britain with Oliver Jarvis and Switzerland (Néel Jani). He took advantage of this to catch up in the championship by taking the second place, which until then belonged to France, who performed very poorly… landing in 13th position.

At the start, Adrian Zaugg (South Africa) and Johnny Reid (New Zealand) launched side by side. At the beginning, they touched briefly, causing a wheel lock-up for several drivers behind them and creating a bottleneck at turn 1, resulting in a few bumps. Zaugg got a flat tire a lap later, finishing the race in 20th position, only 12 laps down due to other mechanical issues.

Oliver Jarvis, who witnessed the showdown between the top two, commented: « Zaugg got ahead of Reid and suddenly braked, causing everyone behind him to slow down, then he quickly accelerated again! He should be disqualified for that! »

Another notable event during his 14 sprint laps was the accident involving Pakistan caused by Mickael Ammermuller. At the start, Ammermuller (Germany) hit Khan’s (Pakistan) wheel, causing him to literally lift into the air. The driver was unhurt, and the car was only slightly damaged, even being able to resume the race as if nothing had happened.

Oliver Jarvis managed to hold on to his second place, secured thanks to his good start, against the current championship leader. Neel Jani for Switzerland therefore steps onto the podium. He is ahead of Carroll, who delivers one of his best performances with Ireland.

On the tricolor side, the absence of Loic Duval in the ranks is strongly felt in the performances as the A1 Team France only finished 13th. It was Jonathan Cochet’s first weekend in A1 GP.

Race 1 Result – A1GP – Mexico

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