Salvador Duran takes third place in the feature race, after a brilliant performance
Mexico's Salvador Duran achieved its second consecutive podium in the 2006 A1GP World Cup of Motorsport season, after starting from eighth and finishing third in the Feature race of the two-race meeting held this Sunday at the 5.41-Km. (3.36-mile) Brno circuit.
In the first race, polesitter New Zealand and second-placed Germany made contact before the first corner during the first lap and Malaysia took the lead, holding it until the chequered flag. Duran was able to climb up to seventh on the first lap and held his position until the end of the competition, despite struggling with an understeer problem.
In the Feature race, on the first lap the Mexican driver climbed from eight to third in a display of great driving and later was second, position that he enjoyed just for a couple of laps (10-11). He had a good pit stop, but he still had to regain some positions until reaching the fourth spot. Finally, he overtook Canada on Lap 34 to secure a podium, but the things were not easy for Duran, who was chasing former Formula One driver and second-placed Tomas Enge, while the Mexican was also holding off the attack from championship leader Germany, but eventually Duran prevailed over the German driver.
"The Sprint race was hard. At the start the German and the New Zealander clashed, and that helped me to regain two positions. I took two positions more at the track overtaking British and Swiss drivers. The car had some issues, it was not good enough and the team did a good job making some changes. Thus, for the second race the car was much better. That definitely helped us to obtain a good result. At the beginning of the Feature race I was able to reach the third place and later we had a good pit stop. Overall, the podium was a result of a team work," former British F3 National Class champion said.
"This podium was the best thing that could happen to us after having a difficult weekend, some parts were not the ones that we needed and the setting was not perfect for the first race, but the end of the weekend was the reflection of the my team's and sponsors' efforts. In Escuderia Telmex, they taught me to not give up and I think it mentally helped me very much for my performance," Duran said.
"Also, I want to take the opportunity to thank A1 Team Mexico and our sponsors Telmex and Mexico (Council of Tourist Promotion) for their support, I am here competing against International drivers and teams thanks to them," he added.
With these race results, Mexico continues second in the championship point standings and now it's just one point shy from leader Germany and with a two-point edge over Malaysia, the winner of the two races at Brno.
A1 Grand PrixBrnoSprint Race(10 laps)Pos. A1 Team Time1 Malaysia 18'02.9462. Canada 18'04.5803. France 18'05.6774. China 18'07.6085. Czech Rep. 18'09.0386. USA 18'09.6297. Mexico 18'13.702
A1 Grand PrixBrnoFeature Race(38 laps)Pos. A1 Team Time1 Malaysia 1:10'47.8152. Czech Rep. 1:10:55.1513. Mexico 1:10:56.7804. Germany 1:10:57.6575. Canada 1:11:00.7996. Great Britain 1:11:01.857
A1GP Championship Classification(Top-6)Pos. A1 Team Points1. Germany 202. Mexico 193. Malaysia 174. Canada 115. Czech Rep 116. Great Britain 11
The next A1GP World Cup of Motorsport will be held on November 12 at Beijing, China
