This  weekend,  A1  Team  France  scored  20  points  on  the  Taupo  circuit  in  New  Zealand, putting  it  only  2  points  behind  the  leader. 

Mission  accomplished!  Since  the  start  of  the season,  the  team  has  shown  remarkable  consistency  and  competitiveness  with  5- podium finishes and ten places in the top 10. Loïc Duval started the « Sprint Race » from third on the grid and he finished third 14 laps later. In the « Feature Race », he was unable to take full advantage of his pole position and was  passed  by  the  Swiss  team  in  the  first  corner. 

The  latter  was  handed  a  drive-through penalty and A1 Team France took the lead, but several safety car periods prevented Loïc from opening up a gap.  Germany took advantage of this to snatch first place after the first refuelling stops, and Canada also gained a place during the second round. A1 Team France finally saw the flag in third position. This  event  marked  the  halfway  point  of  the  2007-2008  A1  GP  season.  There  are  still  10 races to go, with the next round in Australia, in 2 weeks. A1 Team France is feeling pretty optimistic and hopes to continue its series of excellent results.

Olivier Panis, Sporting Director: “It’s always a bit disappointing not to win a race when you start from pole. But the team has done a good job this weekend. The 20 points we’ve scored in New Zealand represent our second-best haul since the start of the championship. This has enabled us to hold on to our second place, and above all to get to within two points of the leader. Our next objective is to take first place.”

Loïc  Duval:  “Consistency  is  the  most  important  factor  in  our  quest  for  the  title,  and  apart from  our  Zhuhai  disappointment,  we’ve  shown  that  we’ve  always  been  potential  podium finishers  since  the  start  of  the  season.  But  we’d  like  to  add  a  bit  of  panache  and  score  a victory  soon.  Psychologically,  this  could  unlock  our  full  potential  and  help  us  finish  the championship  with  flying  colours.  We’ve  had  a  solid  weekend,  though,  and  we  should  be very competitive in Sydney in two weeks’ time.”