Sunday  was  a  very  good  one  for  the  A1  France  Team  which  scored  two  second-  place finishes in the Sepang race, putting it second overall in the championship chase. The day began with the Sprint race in which Loïc Duval, who started from second place on the grid, held on to that position until the chequered flag despite being hit at the start.

In  the  Feature  race  Loïc  started  from  fourth  and  he  moved  up  two  places  before  his  first pitstop. Unfortunately, a misunderstanding with the Brazilian and British teams, which were badly  placed  on  the  pit  lane  when  it  was  time  to  rejoin  the  track  when  the  safety  car neutralised the race, saw him come back out in fourth place. Loïc fought back and after a hard-charging  drive,  finished  third.  Soon  after  the  race,  the  Brazilian  team  was  penalised because  of  what  had  happened  during  the  first  round  of  refuelling  stops,  and  A1  Team France inherited a well-deserved second place.

The team has 53 points and is now second overall, eight behind Team Switzerland.

Olivier Panis, team manager: “Since the start of the weekend we knew that the car was well balanced, that Loïc felt very much at home and that the Sepang round could bring us luck. We seized our chance and we achieved our aim as we were on the podium twice, and we’ve moved up three places in the championship. Hats off to the whole team, which has done an excellent job in sometimes difficult conditions. Our next mission will be to take the lead in the championship; and that’s what we’ll be aiming for in the next race in China.”

Loïc  Duval,  driver:  “I’m  very  satisfied  with  my  double  podium  finish  today.  I  was  able  to alternate  aggressiveness  and  caution  in  both  races.  In  the  sprint  race,  I  respected  my schedule and finished behind Switzerland, which was uncatchable. During the second race, I was  a  bit  surprised  to  see  Brazil  and  Great  Britain beside me at the end of the pit lane. I drove my own race despite my car suffering from heavy understeer as it was on worn rubber for the second stint. I finished third thanks to the new tyres in the third stint. We moved up a place  after  the  Stewards’  decision,  which  was  fully  justified.  Today,  we’re  second  in  the overall classification behind Switzerland and I feel very confident for the rest of the season. I think that over the whole championship our consistency will help us overtake our rival.”