Course 2 – Switzerland, France, Portugal… what luck!
Switzerland, France, and Portugal stepped onto the podium of the second race in Durban, South Africa. On the urban circuit, these three teams took advantage of various accidents and a red flag to reach the podium earlier than expected in yet another turbulent race! The Swiss driver Néel Jani started from pole position and maintained […]
Switzerland, France, and Portugal stepped onto the podium of the second race in Durban, South Africa. On the urban circuit, these three teams took advantage of various accidents and a red flag to reach the podium earlier than expected in yet another turbulent race!
The Swiss driver Néel Jani started from pole position and maintained his first place throughout the 39-minute race, instead of the usual 70, due to a red flag.
France climbs to the second step of the podium after narrowly missing points in the first race. Loic Duval, who started 8th, gained two positions at the start and then pitted later than his competitors, emerging from his first pit stop in 4th position.
Then stuck behind Great Britain, he overtook Oliver Jarvis and took advantage of a spin by Canada (2nd) to score second-place points.
Canada, which won the first race, was well on its way to scoring big points once again. However, after 30 minutes of racing, they spun out in a hairpin turn. Robert Wickens then tried to get back on track, but with no visibility. France narrowly avoided him before the UK eventually collided with him.
Once the safety car was deployed, Canada had to retire while Jarvis lost more than a lap to change his front wing.
At the restart, Switzerland got off to a good start, as did France, but behind them, at the same corner, the South African, Adrian Zaugg, collided with the Netherlands. Jeroen Bleekemolen saw his fuel tank catch fire in the collision as 6 cars were involved in the incident, forcing the track marshals to prematurely interrupt the race once again.
Arriving at the top of the championship, tied with France, New Zealand had a complicated race due to a problematic first pit stop. Johnny Reid does not finish in the points, and at the end of the weekend, France ranks second, 10 points behind Switzerland. In third, New Zealand remains in the top three but is 20 points behind the Swiss team.
See the standings after the 7th round of the A1GP season
South Africa – Durban – Race 2 Endurance
| A1 Team | Drivers | Time | Laps | |
| 1 | Switzerland | Jani | 1:01’55.330 | 41 |
| 2 | France | Duval | + 1.051 | 41 |
| 3 | Portugal | Albuquerque | + 1.934 | 41 |
| 4 | Netherlands | Bleekemolen | + 3.378 | 41 |
| 5 | Malaysia | Fauzy | + 4.549 | 41 |
| 6 | China | Cong Fu | + 4.984 | 41 |
| 7 | South Africa | Zaugg | + 5.640 | 41 |
| 8 | Italy | Piscopo | + 6.562 | 41 |
| 9 | Brazil | Junqueira | + 19.524 | 41 |
| 10 | New Zealand | Reid | + 20.220 | 41 |
| 11 | Great Britain | Jarvis | +1 lap | 40 |
| 12 | Canada | Wickens | Accident | 39 |
| 13 | Lebanon | Beschir | Accident | 39 |
| 14 | Australia | Martin | Accident | 39 |
| 15 | Ireland | Carroll | Retirement | 35 |
| 16 | Czech Republic | Kral | Retirement | 33 |
| 17 | India | Sureshwaren | Retirement | 29 |
| 18 | USA | Summerton | Retirement | 25 |
| 19 | Mexico | Garza | Retirement | 18 |
| 20 | Germany | Ammermuller | Accident | 3 |
| 21 | Indonesia | Hermanto | Accident | 3 |
| 22 | Pakistan | Khan | Accident | 3 |