Team South Africa travel to Jakarta, Indonesia, this weekend for the eighth round of the A1 Grand Prix of Nations in an upbeat mood. Official practice at the Sentul circuit is on Friday, qualifying on Saturday and racing on Sunday.
Following their first podium finish — third in Dubai in round six in December — and fifth place in the series’ first street race in Durban, KwaZulu-Natal, two weeks ago, the team are feeling confident and will be aiming for another good result.
”The South African round in Durban has boosted the team’s confidence and pride in representing our country,” said Dana Cooper, CEO of A1 Grand Prix Team South Africa. ”The support we received from the sell-out crowd around the street circuit and also from the media, particularly in the host province of KwaZulu-Natal, was incredible — almost overwhelming.
”Stephen Simpson’s cool and calculated drive on a very demanding circuit, in his first appearance on a street circuit, demonstrated both maturity and courage. We are all very proud of him,” said Cooper.
”Much is expected of us now by the South African public, and the team will be putting in the usual maximum effort to achieve another good result in Indonesia.”
Simpson, who turned 22 three weeks before the Durban race, has improved his performances with every race.
”We’re getting there. I’m feeling more confident in my ability to race the more experienced drivers and to attack the circuits. Durban was a very big challenge. Those concrete walls are very intimidating. We came through that challenge unscathed and I feel a lot stronger because of that.”
Gavin Cronje (25), who put in a storming drive in the first Volkswagen A3 support race in Durban and was the class of the field, will again travel as reserve driver.
The Sentul circuit is located 45 minutes from Jakarta and 8km from Bogor in West Java. It is 3,9km long, has 11 turns and runs in a clockwise direction. The circuit has been used predominantly for bike racing and the Asian F3 series. It is fast and wide with very high speeds. Extreme heat and humidity are added challenges.
Saturday’s qualifying will be broadcast live on SABC3 from 9am to 11am and Sunday’s two races live from 8am to 11.30am (South African time). — Sapa
Points after seven rounds of 11
1 France 119; 2 Switzerland 92; 3 Brazil 63; 4 Great Britain 58; 5 New Zealand 54; 6 Portugal 50; 7 Ireland 44; 8 Netherlands 44; 9 Malaysia 33; 10 Canada 32; 11 Czech Republic 30; 12 Australia 29; 13 Italy 26; 14 Mexico 20; 15 South Africa 20; 16 Germany 15; 17 United States 13: 18 Indonesia 10: 19 Austria 8; 20 China 6; 21 Japan 6; 22 Pakistan 4.