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A1 Grand Prix 2007/2008
India wins as GBR takes home race podium

4th May 2008, Brands Hatch, Great Britain - A1 Team India secured its second win of the season when Narain Karthikeyan took victory in the Brands Hatch season finale Feature race this afternoon while GBR's Robbie Kerr notched up another home race podium after a beautiful drive, just losing out to India during the second round of pit stops.

Today's Feature race marked the end of an era as it was the 64th and final race outing for the Zytek-powered A1GP Lola cars. From season four onwards, Ferrari will manufacture and supply the A1GP engines and consult on the design and manufacture of the A1GP chassis. The first round of season four will take place at the Mugello circuit in Italy on 19-21 September 2008.

Narain Karthikeyan, who took his maiden A1GP race win in Zhuhai, China in December last year, was delighted to score India's second race win:

'I think I made a good start. Robbie tried to go round the outside but I defended that move. When we came out of the first pit stop I had a coming together with Adam Carroll - I didn't see him because I had a moment and he tried to go up the inside and I hit him. But anyway, a great result for A1 Team India and after the final pit stop my car was mega. I made a mistake at Sheen but at the end it was all good!'

Robbie Kerr, who won this morning's Sprint race from pole and finished second in the main event this afternoon, was visibly disappointed to just miss out on doing the double on home soil:

'It was a fantastic weekend for GBR, it was just a shame we couldn't pull the second win off. Narain and I were so equal and after the first pit stop we thought we had done enough. Then unfortunately the second pit stop didn't quite go our way, but it's a team sport and we all worked hard. It's just one of those things.'

Commenting on almost taking second from New Zealand in the championship for the second year running, Kerr said:

'The guys told me the situation and of course it was frustrating and I wanted to push but I had to consolidate third place in the championship as well. There was no point mucking it up with Narain and tangling over nothing, so we pushed and made sure we got a good result and unfortunately again, we were a couple of points off second place in the championship but we will fight on for next year and I'm sure it's going to be even tighter and closer with the new cars.'

Neel Jani, who secured the title for Switzerland when he finished fourth in this morning's Sprint race, celebrated the championship honours with a podium finish in the Feature race this afternoon, the final race of season three.

'This is the greatest moment of my career,' said an emotional Jani. 'I can't put it into words at this moment. A1GP has been getting tougher every season and this year we got the title. After the first race, winning the title with fourth place felt a little empty but after the podium it feels fantastic. I was a little bit worried by still being sixth after the first pit stop but we had a great second stop and great pace afterwards. Brands Hatch gave us a fantastic atmosphere and a great place to win the title.'

Twenty-four-year-old Jonny Reid, who did just enough today to fend off GBR and take silver in the World Cup of Motorsport, reflected on a dramatic season finale and an incredible year:

'I'm knackered,' Reid said. 'That was such an intense drive. We put everything into it and thankfully got everything out of it. We struggled with rear grip throughout the race, but it didn't matter in the end. I was pleased with my drive, the pit stops were great and the result was fantastic. I look back and see a lot of areas where things got away on us and think we could've won this championship. At the end of the day, second overall is a great achievement, especially with our tough finish to the campaign. Life wasn't easy. Over the three seasons we've been the most consistent nation in this championship and that's something to be proud of.'

Photo courtesy : a1gp.com

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