A1 Grand Prix of Nations
Canada Sets Top-Ten Target for Brands Finale
By Stuart Morrison
Photos courtesy Jakob Ebray Photography
BRANDS HATCH, United Kingdom (Saturday 03 May, 2008) - Cracking the top-ten and earning points is tomorrow's mission for A1 Team Canada's James Hinchcliffe after the Toronto racer qualified 15th and 13th respectively for the Sprint and Feature races in Round 10 of the 2007-08 A1GP World Cup of Motorsport, the season finale unfolding at the Brands Hatch Grand Prix Circuit in the United Kingdom, Sunday 4th May.

With Canada looking to secure its highest placing in three seasons of A1GP competition, the team currently ninth from 22 nations, Hinchcliffe is keen to accelerate his learning curve as he makes his racing debut at the 2.62-mile Kent track with points scoring finishes the clear objective. Robbie Kerr repeated last season's feat of securing a pole position for his home event, the British A1GP veteran claiming the Sprint pole while India's Narain Karthikeyan trumped the crowd favorite by just over two tenths of a second to snatch the Feature pole, A1 Team India's first in A1GP.

"Qualifying was interesting, it certainly didn't go quite as we had planned," said Hinchcliffe. "The first segment of the Sprint session was actually my first run on new tires since October. The gain in grip was phenomenal and to be honest I wasn't quite prepared for it. We were a bit off on that run but the second lap time was quite reasonable and would have been a great first attempt so I felt like I was a session behind for the Sprint which is unfortunate.

"I did a decent lap on old tires for my first Feature run and we knew what we had to try and do on new rubber for the final lap. I had a really good first and third sector but in the middle of the lap someone went off in front of me and I had to back out a bit which ultimately compromised my lap. I was happy with the car but we'll see what else we can do. The boys have done a great job as always and all being well we'll get up there and score some points tomorrow."

"We knew it would be tough this weekend with James having been out of the car for a few months," Team Manager Simon Cayzer commented. "Brands is quite a technical circuit, it's definitely not as easy to learn as some of the other tracks we visit. We kept chipping away though improving with every outing. I think we've got a reasonable package to run with tomorrow. Scoring points in the Sprint will be tough but there's everything to play for in the Feature. The Netherlands are a couple of spots ahead of us on the grid but we think if all goes to plan we could leapfrog them on the track and in the points!"

Round 10 SPRINT Race Qualifying Top-5
1, Great Britain, Robbie Kerr, 1:14.424
2, USA, Jonathan Summerton, 1:14.236
3, Switzerland, Neel Jani, 1:14.772
4, Ireland, Adam Carroll, 1:14.935
5, India, Narain Karthikeyan, 1:15.040
*15, CANADA, JAMES HINCHCLIFFE, 1:15.470

Round 10 FEATURE Race Qualifying Top-5
1, India, Narain Karthikeyan, 1:14.682
2, Great Britain, Robbie Kerr, 1:14.909
3, Switzerland, Neel Jani, 1:14.957
4, Ireland, Adam Carroll, 1:15.020
5, Germany, Michael Ammermüller, 1:15.042
*13, CANADA, JAMES HINCHCLIFFE, 1:15.667

Sunday's 20-minute Sprint race starts at 11am (6am EST) with the 70-minute Feature race starting at 2:30pm in the U.K. (9:30am EST). Live Feature race streaming will be available via - www.a1gp.com

A1GP Top-Ten Standings - Round 9/10: 1st Switzerland (150), 2nd New Zealand (121), 3rd France (111), 4th Great Britain (99), 5th South Africa (92), 6th Germany (83), 7th Ireland (83), 8th Netherlands (80), 9th CANADA (75), 10th Portugal (50)

Canada Aims High Heading to Brands Hatch
By Stuart Morrison
Photos courtesy Jakob Ebray Photography
MONTRÉAL, Canada (April 30, 2008) - The tenth round of the 2007-08 A1GP World Cup of Motorsport will play out in the United Kingdom this weekend as Kent's Brands Hatch Grand Prix Circuit hosts the season finale of the nation versus nation championship, Friday 2nd - Sunday 4th May. Having announced last week that Toronto's James Hinchcliffe will return to race action for A1 Team Canada at the event, there's just one mission for the 21-year-old and that's to help secure Canada's best-ever A1GP finish.

Already comfortably in the top-ten of the current A1GP Nations Standings, sitting ninth on 75 points, 25 points clear of tenth placed Portugal, Canada's sights are firmly set on a potential top-six finish. A mere six points separate Germany, the out-going A1GP World Champions, in sixth place on 83 points and Canada in ninth with Ireland (83) and the Netherlands (80) in between.

While the Canadian team has already enjoyed its best ever A1GP season, with rookie racer Robert Wickens steering his way to victory in Round 7's Sprint race in South Africa in addition to four other podium finishes, Brands Hatch could seal the deal on the team's stellar progress competing around the world with lots to play for heading into the final Sprint and Feature races.

Hinchcliffe will return to the cockpit of the 550bhp A1GP car for the first time since Round 2 in the Czech Republic last October. The 21-year-old, capped a total of eighteen times for Canada - with a highest placing of second alongside seven top-ten A1GP finishes last season, is looking forward to his debut on the 2.62-mile Brands Hatch Grand Prix Circuit.

"I'm really looking forward to being back at Brands Hatch," said Hinchcliffe. "I attended last season's race to support A1 Team Canada and I'm pumped to actually be the guy driving there this year. The team's already proven itself to be a consistent force and I'm confident we can go out there and keep that momentum going. The points battle is pretty tight where we're at but we all know what's achievable if everything goes our way. Brands also marks the last time we'll be racing the Lola-Zytek A1GP car so hopefully we can give it a good send off and put on a great show for the British crowd."

Hinchcliffe will be joined in the United Kingdom by his fellow Atlantic Championship racer, Daniel Morad. The 18-year-old from Markham will again undertake Friday morning's 'Rookie-Only' session for Canada having performed the role over the course of the previous three A1GP race meetings.

"As always I'll be working to make sure we get a good base set-up on the car," Morad commented. "I'd like to crack the top-three in the rookie session this time. I've definitely got an eye on landing the race seat for next season so I'm keen to keep showing I can do a good job. I've been learning as much as I can with each opportunity. I know I'm capable of doing a full weekend but in the meantime I'll do all I can to help the team and James this weekend and hopefully I'll get my shot next season."

Sunday's 20-minute Sprint race starts at 11am GMT (6am EST) with the 70-minute Feature race starting at 3pm at Brands Hatch (10am EST). Live Feature race streaming will be available via - www.a1gp.com / Setanta Sports Canada will broadcast Round 10 from the United Kingdom as a tape-delay starting at 8am EST on Monday 5th May - www.setantanorthamerica.com

A1GP Top-Ten Standings - Round 9/10: 1st Switzerland (150), 2nd New Zealand (121), 3rd France (111), 4th Great Britain (99), 5th South Africa (92), 6th Germany (83), 7th Ireland (83), 8th Netherlands (80), 9th CANADA (75), 10th Portugal (50)

Wickens Scores Shanghai Sprint Podium
By Stuart Morrison
Photos courtesy Jakob Ebray Photography
SHANGHAI, China (Sunday 13 April, 2008) — Robert Wickens wracked up his fifth podium of the season for A1 Team Canada today in Round 9 of the 2007-08 A1GP World Cup of Motorsport, the penultimate round of the nation versus nation series and the Canadian's final appearance for the team. From third on the grid the 19-year-old from Toronto scored a second place Sprint finish before going on to set the fastest lap of the afternoon's Feature race - a problematic first pit stop ultimately thwarting any hopes of a points score in the later event.

Wickens, already with more points and podiums to his name than any other Canadian to have competed in A1GP, capped a stellar rookie season in China with another front-running performance in the 20-minute Sprint, his podium scoring efforts adding to Canada's points tally with the team holding ninth overall in the A1GP Nations Standings, on 75 points, with only the Brands Hatch season finale remaining next month.

A superb qualifying effort from Wickens the previous day, with just one hour's practice time on the 4.6km track, put A1 Team Canada in prime position for a decent finish in this morning's 10-lap Sprint. Qualifying third behind Switzerland's Neel Jani on pole and Portugal's Felipe Albuquerque, Wickens made a great start to snatch second as the 22-strong field of nations gave chase. Holding second Wickens duly took the checkered for his fifth A1GP podium in seven rounds. Jani celebrated the win for title-leaders Switzerland ahead of Wickens and Albuquerque in third.

A disappointing qualifying session meant Wickens started 12th on the grid for the 70-minute Feature race. The Canadian wasted little time in trying to break into the top-ten and the points paying positions. An aggressive shot at tenth came up just short on the second tour with disaster striking a handful of laps later at the first of two mandatory pit-stops on lap 10. A mechanical issue with one of the wheel changes cost Wickens precious track time and position.

With a points finish realistically out of reach now, the Canadian team aimed to underline their pace and grab the point on offer for fastest lap of the race. Robert failed to disappoint, setting a hot lap of 1m35.177s just five laps from the checkered - a marker that remained unbeaten. Wickens finished the 38-lap Feature 20th with A1 Team USA celebrating their maiden A1GP victory courtesy of Florida's Jonathan Summerton.

"Well the Sprint race went really well as I knew we were capable of securing a podium finish," stated Wickens. "I got the start I was hoping for and I just wanted to score as many points as I could. I wasn't so happy with my Feature start and I was being held up a bit through to the first stop. Unfortunately we had a hold up at the stop but that's racing! Luckily the team gave me a good car and we managed to get the fastest lap towards the end of the race. Looking at the lap times I was matching the American entry so it's a bit disappointing. Overall I've had a great year in A1GP and I was able to accomplish everything I set out to. It's been a great experience but I leave definitely wanting more!"

Mark Gallagher, whose company, Status Grand Prix, operates A1 Team Canada, was full of praise for Wickens; "To take a fifth podium in seven weekends of racing for A1 Team Canada is once again testament to Robert's ability. The Sprint race produced another superb result. Robert then showed in the Feature, with the fastest lap, what the car was capable of. Overall it's been another strong weekend where we were competing at the right end of the grid. We head to Brands with hopes of a strong finish to the season. We'll have a driver change there but in the meantime we'd like to thank Robert for the stunning job he's done for the team this season!"

Setanta Sports Canada will broadcast Round 9 from China as a tape-delay starting at 8am EST on Monday 14th April - www.setantanorthamerica.com / The 2007-08 A1GP World Cup of Motorsport concludes with Round 10 hosted at the Brands Hatch Circuit in the United Kingdom, Friday 2nd - Sunday 4th May - www.a1gp.com

A1GP Top-Ten Standings - Round 9/10: 1st Switzerland (150), 2nd New Zealand (121), 3rd France (111), 4th Great Britain (99), 5th South Africa (92), 6th Germany (83), 7th Ireland (83), 8th Netherlands (80), 9th CANADA (75), 10th Portugal (50).

Wickens Leads Canada to Feature Pole
By Stuart Morrison
 Photos courtesy Jakob Ebray Photography
MEXICO CITY, Mexico (15 March, 2008) – Robert Wickens captured A1 Team Canada’s second pole position of the 2007-08 A1GP World Cup of Motorsport season today as the Toronto-born racer topped the timesheets in Feature qualifying at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriquez in Mexico City, home to Sunday’s eighth round of the nation versus nation championship.

Wickens, who became the youngest ever A1GP pole winner at the previous round in South Africa, collected his third front-row start in four races courtesy of a flying lap of 1m20.278s in this afternoon’s Feature race qualifying session. The 19-year-old, whose pole came with the top twelve nations separated by less than a second, hopes to convert P1 into victory tomorrow as he did in Durban last month in the Sprint race – Canada then climbing to eighth overall in the A1GP Nations Standings.

The earlier Sprint qualifying session proved to be an even tighter affair at the 4.42km track with the top fifteen entries split by less than a second – Wickens powering Canada to a third row grid slot with the sixth fastest time, a 1m20.621s. South Africa’s Adrian Zaugg claimed the Sprint pole ahead of fellow A1GP race winner, New Zealand’s Jonny Reid.

Robert fired himself into immediate pole contention with his first tour in Feature qualifying, a 1m20.812s, second fastest for the session. Going quicker still on his final run, Robert set the fastest third sector time on his way to a 1m20.278s lap. Wickens duly trumped the field to claim both his and A1 Team Canada’s second-ever A1GP pole position.

“Getting my first Feature pole is definitely a great accomplishment,” said Wickens. “Everyone wants to win the Feature race as it’s longer with pit stops and more variables. The team did a great job; the car was phenomenal in qualifying. We struggled a bit in practice but overcame those difficulties in time for a competitive qualifying showing!”

“Another great performance from the team and particularly Robert,” reflected Mark Gallagher whose Status Grand Prix operation runs A1 Team Canada. “After the win in South Africa, another pole here, this time in the Feature, is very satisfying and a further indication of the team’s strength in depth. Daniel Morad played his part this weekend by performing well in the rookie session yesterday so all in all it’s a very satisfying team effort.”

Solid Start Bodes Well for Canada
By Stuart Morrison
Photos courtesy Jakob Ebray Photography
MEXICO CITY, Mexico (March 14, 2008) — A1 Team Canada enjoyed a solid start to the eighth round of the 2007-08 A1GP World Cup of Motorsport with Markham's Daniel Morad sixth quickest in Friday morning's 'Rookie-Only' session before he handed over to Toronto's Robert Wickens, who was subsequently eleventh fastest of the 22 competitors on-track in the afternoon's official practice session at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez circuit in Mexico City, Mexico.

The 4.42km circuit, although new to the Canadian racers, held no obstacles for Morad or Wickens with both drivers picking up the layout quickly and posting promising lap times. The morning's rookie session saw Morad first out for the team and he quickly found a front-running pace, ending the first half of the session with the third fastest time. The 17-year-old Formula BMW USA Champion ended his Friday outing with the sixth fastest lap time, a 1m23.716s, from a total of 21 laps.

Wickens, who turned 19 yesterday, strapped in behind the wheel for the afternoon's hour long practice session. Posting 23 laps, with a best time of 1m22.227s, Robert's turn of speed on used rubber bodes well for Sunday's later Feature race but the Durban Sprint race victor knows he'll need to extract the maximum from new tires in tomorrow afternoon's qualifying runs.

"I don't think we're that far off," reflected Wickens after practice. "Our pace on old tires was pretty respectable. We're just lacking a little bit of grip when the tires are still fresh. We've had this issue before and we've overcome it - there are no points on offer on Friday's so there's no need to panic. We need to pick up a bit everywhere, there isn't one spot where I'm losing a lot of time so that's a sign to me that we have to work to get the balance better and I think we can get it for sure!"

Following just his second A1GP 'Rookie-Only' session Morad commented; "The track was really dirty but given it was just the second time I'd driven the car things in general seemed pretty good. There's obviously a little bit more work to do. I ended up sixth, things were definitely looking promising in the first half of the session but for the second half we had to bed in brake pads and lost our rhythm a little. I thought the circuit really suited me, some parts are pretty bumpy but I found a rhythm which was ideal as I don't like to muscle the car around, I'm more of a finesse driver!"

Official Practice (1 Hour Session)
1, Great Britain, Oliver Jarvis, 1:21.431
2, Switzerland, Neel Jani, 1:21.482
3, Ireland, Adam Carroll, 1:21.808
4, Netherlands, Jeroen Bleekemolen, 1:21.876
5, South Africa, Adrian Zaugg, 1:21.883
*11, CANADA, ROBERT WICKENS, 1:22.227

Rookie Only Practice (2 x 25 Minute Sessions)
1, Italy, Davide Rigon, 1:22.810
2, Ireland, Niall Quinn, 1:23.103
3, South Africa, Wesleigh Orr, 1:23.106
4, France, Nicolas Prost, 1:23.168
5, Mexico, David Martinez, 1:23.486
6, CANADA, DANIEL MORAD, 1:23.716

Qualifying starts tomorrow, Saturday 15th March, at 2:15pm in Mexico (4:15pm EST).

Sunday's 20-minute Sprint race starts at 11am (1pm EST) with the 70-minute Feature race starting at 3pm in Mexico City (5pm EST).

Live Feature race streaming will be available via - www.a1gp.com
 

Canada Celebrates Durban Sprint Victory
By Stuart Morrison
Photos courtesy Jakob Ebray Photography
DURBAN, South Africa (24 February, 2008) — Robert Wickens powered his way round the streets of Durban, South Africa today to lead A1 Team Canada to its first ever Sprint race victory in Round 7 of the 2007-08 A1GP World Cup of Motorsport. The Toronto rookie capitalized on his maiden pole position to lead the 22-strong field of nations from green to checkered, claiming Canada's second ever A1GP victory and the first since Sean McIntosh's Indonesian Feature race triumph in the inaugural 2005-06 season.

Wickens threatened a second straight race win having hounded Switzerland's Neel Jani throughout the afternoon's 70-minute Feature event. The Canadian's race ended abruptly however on lap 40 taking action to avoid a backmarker. Despite this, Wickens' superb Sprint victory boosts Canada from tenth to eighth in the A1GP Nations Standings.

Having claimed A1 Team Canada's first ever pole position the day before, Wickens had his sights set on nothing less than victory in Sunday morning's 20-minute Sprint race. Durban's 3.28km temporary street circuit enjoys a notorious reputation for incidents and accidents and despite being hit from behind by New Zealand's Jonny Reid on the approach to Turn 1, Robert held his line at the start and more importantly the lead. A late-race safety car period had the potential to threaten Canada's hopes but again Wickens showcased his coolness under pressure, the 18-year-old holding off Great Britain's Oliver Jarvis at the re-start with two to go. Robert duly claimed the win as the race ended under a red flag with Jarvis finishing second for Great Britain and Neel Jani third.

Canada then put forward a strong challenge for a second straight win in the Feature. With Robert sitting second after the first round of pit-stops and holding position following the second mandatory stop, the gap to Neel Jani in the lead was cut to as low as half a second by lap 36 with the race clock showing ten minutes to go. Disaster struck four tours later while lapping Lebanon's entry into the first turn. Attempting to avoid contact with the slower car on the exit, the steering input snapped Wickens around resulting in contact with the wall. Robert then found himself hit by a blameless Oliver Jarvis as the Brit wasn't expecting to see the Canadian car on the exit of the corner. Wickens was out on the spot with Jani going on take to the Feature win ahead of France's Loic Duval and Portugal's Filipe Albuquerque.

Looking back on the highs and lows of the day Wickens commented, "Well obviously the Sprint win was an awesome result for the whole team and we were hoping for more of the same in the Feature. We've had a strong weekend but we should have had at least second place in the Feature. I was going to run into Lebanon on the exit so I put a lot of steering into the car and I just clipped the inside wall and spun around I apologize to Great Britain. We didn't get the result we wanted, I feel bad for the team as they've been nothing short of outstanding all weekend!"

Mark Gallagher, whose Status Grand Prix operates A1 Team Canada said; "When we took Canada under our wing six months ago we aimed to elevate the team onto the podium and today we took a victory after yesterday's pole position. This weekend showed that the technical crew headed by Simon Cayzer is top notch, that Robert is a special talent which the Canadian motorsport community and his sponsors at Red Bull should be very proud of. Similarly Wade Cherwayko's three years of investment in Canadian motorsport in A1GP should be recognized for the opportunity it has given to drivers like Robbie, James Hinchcliffe and Daniel Morad. It's a shame that the Feature didn't result in another podium, but we now look forward to Mexico and another strong weekend!"

Setanta Sports Canada will broadcast Round 7 from South Africa as a tape-delay starting at 8:30am EST on Monday 25th February - www.setantanorthamerica.com / The 2007-08 A1GP World Cup of Motorsport now crosses the Atlantic with Round 8 hosted in Mexico City, Mexico, Friday 14th - Sunday 16th March - www.a1gp.com

A1GP Top-Ten Standings - Round 7/10: 1st Switzerland (118), 2nd France (108), 3rd New Zealand (98), 4th South Africa (83), 5th Germany (77), 6th Great Britain (70), 7th Netherlands (69), 8th CANADA (52), 9th Ireland (50), 10th China (43)
 

A1 Grand Prix of Nations
Canada Secures Ninth in Final A1GP Standings
By Stuart Morrison
Photos courtesy Jakob Ebray Photography
BRANDS HATCH, United Kingdom (Sunday 04 May, 2008) - A1 Team Canada celebrated its highest placing in the A1GP World Cup of Motorsport on Sunday, finishing the 2007-08 A1GP season ninth overall despite a tenth and final round to forget for Toronto's James Hinchcliffe at the Brands Hatch Grand Prix Circuit in the United Kingdom.

The 21-year-old missed out on adding to Canada's points tally having been recalled to the team for the first time since Round 2 in October, James finishing 15th in the morning's 15-lap Sprint race and 17th at the end of the afternoon's incident-packed 48-lap Feature. Enjoying a comfortable cushion in the points, the Brands Hatch no-score ultimately failed to impact on Canada's ninth place standing - the team's highest finish in three seasons of A1GP competition.

Hinchcliffe's race debut on the 2.62-mile Kent track lacked any real drama, the short nature of the Sprint race preventing too much in the way of passing opportunities. Lining up 15th for the rolling start, the Canadian lost a spot on the opening lap and held 16th through to lap 9. With China dropping down the order James was promoted back up the order to 15th and stayed there through to the checkered six laps later.

Pole-sitter Robbie Kerr delivered a second-straight Brands Hatch Sprint victory for A1 Team Great Britain with the USA's Jonathan Summerton second and Ireland's Adam Carroll third. Neel Jani's fourth place finish was enough to secure the A1GP title for A1 Team Switzerland with New Zealand's challenge coming up short at the final round.

While an engaging battle for the lead between India's Narain Karthikeyan, who started from pole, and local favorite Kerr entertained the crowd in the later Feature race, Canada's push for points was quickly eradicated with a series of penalties. Climbing to sixth on-track as the front-runners pitted for their first mandatory stop, Hinchcliffe was served with a drive through penalty for an alleged false start. Dropping to 19th as a result, Canada's day went from bad to worse as a 10-second 'stop and go' penalty was issued following a questionable line infringement from James' pit visit.

Down a lap on the leaders and with all hopes of cracking the top-ten long since gone, the team had one last attempt for points gunning for fastest lap of the race. Setting the fastest first sector time of the day, James posted a 1m16.204s lap three tours shy of the finish but was forced to settle for second best as the sister car of A1 Team Ireland, with Adam Carroll behind the wheel, took the extra point courtesy of a 1m15.997s. Karthikeyan scored his second win of the year for India with Kerr and Jani second and third respectively.

"Well it's been an eventful day for sure," said Hinchcliffe. "My car was rolling a bit at the start of the Feature but the grid's on a slope and I don't know how they expect people to control three pedals with two feet! Despite everything else that happened, and I'm really disappointed with the officiating today, the pace of the car was pretty good. I have to thank the Canadian team for their efforts this weekend, superb as always, and congratulate them on a great season!"

"James did a solid job considering he hasn't been in an A1GP car for six months," concluded Status Grand Prix's Mark Gallagher, who runs A1 Team Canada on behalf of Seat Holder Wade Cherwayko. "He was getting back into the groove with every session. Both races were frustrating though with the Feature hosting a catalogue of problems. Overall it's been a fantastic season for Canada with lots of podiums and a victory and it certainly puts down a solid foundation for next season. While today's results are disappointing, we've proved how competitive we can be!"

The 2008-09 A1GP World Cup of Motorsport - Powered by Ferrari, featuring the next generation of A1GP car, gets underway with Round 1 hosted at Mugello, Italy, Friday 19th - Sunday 21st September 2008 - www.a1gp.com

A1GP Top-Ten Standings - Round 10/10: 1st Switzerland (168) - CHAMPIONS, 2nd New Zealand (127), 3rd Great Britain (126), 4th France (118), 5th South Africa (96), 6th Ireland (94), 7th Netherlands (87), 8th Germany (83), 9th CANADA (75), 10th India (61)

Brands Hatch Debuts for Canadians
By Stuart Morrison
Photos courtesy Jakob Ebray Photography
BRANDS HATCH, United Kingdom (May 02, 2008) - A1 Team Canada racers James Hinchcliffe and Daniel Morad made their respective debuts on the Brands Hatch Grand Prix Circuit in the United Kingdom Friday as the tenth and final round of the 2007-08 A1GP World Cup of Motorsport got underway at the renowned Kent track.

Morad racked up 21 laps on the 2.62-mile circuit in the morning's 'Rookie-Only' session, his best a 1m16.102s - good for ninth on the timesheets, before the 18-year-old handed over to fellow Toronto-native James Hinchcliffe for the rest of the event. Hinchcliffe logged 23 tours in the afternoon's hour long practice session, the 21-year-old back in the A1GP saddle for the first time since the second round of the current season last October in the Czech Republic.

While he placed 17th from the 22 nations entered, with a quickest lap of 1m16.257s, the Canadian worked on building his track knowledge and re-acclimatizing himself to the 550bhp A1GP car. Great Britain's Robbie Kerr, an A1GP winner at Brands Hatch last season, delighted the home crowd with the fastest practice lap, a turn of 1m14.891s.

"My first day back was a bit of a baptism of fire," Hinchcliffe said. "It's a challenging circuit and obviously I haven't been in this car since October so there was a bit of reacquainting going on. That said, things slowly came to us over the session and at the end of the day our position on the time chart doesn't look great but it's not a true reflection on our pace. I actually don't think we're that far off the front-running pace. There's definitely more to come from both me and the car and I'm looking forward to a good day tomorrow!'

"There was quite a bit of traffic out there this morning," reflected Morad after his final rookie outing of the season. "I got caught up in a bit of it in the first session and just as I managed to find a decent gap the checkered flag came out. We continued to make adjustments to the car throughout the session. The car was great on some parts of the track and not so great on others so there's room for improvement. I really liked the track; it's not too dissimilar from Mosport back home with lots of fast corners, my kind of circuit!"

Team Manager Simon Cayzer commented; "This morning was pretty straightforward with Daniel doing a solid job providing us with the required feedback. We knew the first session back with James would be a case of dialing back-in. We know the areas that need to be addressed and we'll work on that tonight with him. Really, as James alluded to, we're in a stronger position than the times perhaps reflect and with a bit more track time we'll be up there!"

Canadian Racers Kick Start Regular Season
By Stuart Morrison
Photos courtesy Jakob Ebray Photography
MONTRÉAL, Canada (April 21, 2008) – While the 2007-08 A1GP World Cup of Motorsport draws to a close at Brands Hatch in the United Kingdom in a couple of weekends, Friday 2nd – Sunday 4th May, for most racers the regular season is in the process of kicking off around the world and A1 Team Canada’s drivers have either begun or are away to begin their quests for 2008 titles.

Italy’s famed Monza circuit plays host to the opening round of the 2008 World Series by Renault this weekend with Robert Wickens looking to translate his form from an outstanding rookie year in A1GP over the winter into his new ride with Carlin Motorsport. The 19-year-old Toronto-resident, who became an A1GP race winner with A1 Team Canada in just his ninth start this season in South Africa, has already impressed in pre-season testing, powering his way to the top of the timesheets on the final day of World Series by Renault running at Spain’s Circuit de Catalunya two weeks ago.

With back-to-back race weekends in Monza and Belgium’s Spa-Francorchamps circuit, Robert’s season starts with a double punch but success in the World Series by Renault is usually rewarded with the likes of Sebastian Vettel (Toro Rosso), Robert Kubica (BMW-Sauber) and Heikki Kovalainen (McLaren-Mercedes) all graduating to Formula One having showcased their talents in the series against some of the finest up-and-coming racing prospects.

Having proved himself in A1GP with one win, five podiums and two pole positions, Wickens will no doubt continue to shine this season in the European-based championship – the teenager the first Canadian to race in the World Series since countryman and fellow A1 Team Canada race winner Sean McIntosh, from British Columbia, claimed a sixth place championship finish in 2006.

Elsewhere James Hinchcliffe and Daniel Morad have already enjoyed their first taste of 2008 race action with the Canadian stand-outs opening their respective campaigns in the 11-round Atlantic Championship at the weekend in Long Beach, California.

Hinchcliffe, who has 18-race starts for A1 Team Canada under his belt, including the opening two rounds of the 2007-08 season, enters his third year in Atlantics with the 21-year-old from Toronto returning to Forsythe Pettit Racing - the team he debuted with in 2006. Markham’s Daniel Morad arrives in Atlantics as the reigning Formula BMW USA Champion and he graduates with Eurointernational who ran him to his 2007 title. The 18-year-old currently has three A1GP events to his credit participating in the ‘Rookie-Only’ sessions for A1 Team Canada in 2008.

‘Hinch’ set the pace in Friday’s opening practice, pacing the 23-car field around the 1.968-mile temporary street circuit in Long Beach. Final qualifying on Saturday saw Morad and Hinchcliffe share the fifth row of the grid in ninth and tenth respectively. Sunday’s 50-minute race was a fairly static affair although Daniel was one of the few to improve his position claiming sixth at the checkered while James crossed the line tenth. Quebec’s Kevin Lacroix represented Canada on the Atlantic podium claiming third for Walker Racing – Lacroix another competitor with A1GP experience having represented A1 Team Canada in four events last season in the ‘Rookie-Only’ sessions.
A1 Team Canada will look to cement a second top-ten finish in the A1GP Nations Standings in three seasons at the final round of the 2007-08 A1GP World Cup of Motorsport on Sunday 4th May at Brands Hatch – Canada currently ninth overall on 75 points. Driver confirmation for Round 10 will be announced shortly.

Mexican Double Score for Wickens
By Stuart Morrison
Photos courtesy Jakob Ebray Photography
MEXICO CITY, Mexico (16 March, 2008) – An overheating engine ultimately robbed A1 Team Canada’s Robert Wickens the opportunity to convert a well-earned pole position into victory in the Feature race of Round 8 of the 2007-08 A1GP World Cup of Motorsport in Mexico City on Sunday. The 19-year-old Toronto-native battled hard despite this to capture fifth in the Feature having earlier scored a seventh place finish in the morning’s Sprint event at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez.

Wickens’ performances at the 4.42km track netted Canada its first double-score since Round 6 in Australia in February and with 10 points accumulated in Mexico City, Robert now becomes Canada’s all-time A1GP points scorer with 62 markers earned in just 12 race starts this season. With two rounds remaining, in China and Great Britain respectively, A1 Team Canada sits ninth overall in the A1GP Nations Standings.

A sixth place qualifying slot for Sunday morning’s 14-lap Sprint event kept Robert at the sharp-end of the action in what was ultimately an incident-packed race meeting. An early red-flagging of the race brought with it much frustration for the Canadian team as Robert’s efforts picking up two spots were wiped in an instant. The second rolling-start saw a fierce fight to the first turn with Wickens again battling the leaders. His luck ran out early however as he found himself pushed wide on the exit of the Turn 1. Despite this Robert ensured another solid points finish with seventh at the checkered. New Zealand’s Jonny Reid triumphed over Great Britain’s Oliver Jarvis and Switzerland’s Neel Jani.

The Canadian enjoyed a clear view of the track from pole through to lap seven of the Feature when the early indicators of an overheating engine presented themselves. Passed by Jani, Wickens ran second to his first scheduled pit-stop two laps later. As the field cycled through, Ireland, the sister car to Canada – with both teams operated by Status Grand Prix, split the Swiss and Canadian entries.

Faced with driving on the defensive for the remainder of the 47-lap race thanks to engine concerns, Robert again delivered a supreme performance. A constant force in the top-five, Wickens survived a spearing from behind by Germany on lap 34 and emerged from the second round of stops sixth. A late-race penalty for Switzerland promoted Canada back up to fifth – a position held through to the flag. Adam Carroll delivered A1 Team Ireland’s maiden A1GP victory, the Irishman taking the Feature win ahead of Great Britain’s Oliver Jarvis and the USA’s Jonathan Summerton.

“I think we salvaged the best that we could given the circumstances today,” stated Wickens. “Obviously when you have a Feature pole you hope to lead throughout but we had a lot of overheating issues. My oil temperatures were crazy and I’d always lose ground on the main straight making me a bit of a sitting duck! I want to do the best I can every weekend so it’s an honour to have now scored more points than any other Canadian in A1GP but I’m a little disappointed that things just didn’t really go our way today, especially in the Feature.”

Mark Gallagher, Managing Director of Status Grand Prix commented; “We knew Robbie was a bit behind the eight-ball in the Feature race. As usual he was giving us top-class feedback and we recognized we would struggle a bit so in that context he did a phenomenal job. Robbie’s pole yesterday ranks amongst the best in A1GP so it’s disappointing not to win but good to come away with back-to-back points. Ireland and Canada are working incredibly well together and it’s no surprise that Canada won last time out in South Africa and Ireland won here in Mexico this weekend!”

The 2007-08 A1GP World Cup of Motorsport returns to China for a second stop with Round 9 hosted at the Shanghai International Circuit, Friday 11th – Sunday 13th April – www.a1gp.com

Wickens Targeting More Wins in Mexico
By Stuart Morrison
Photos courtesy Jakob Ebray Photography
MONTRÉAL, Canada (March 11, 2008) — Three weeks on from scoring his maiden win for A1 Team Canada in South Africa, Toronto's Robert Wickens heads to Mexico City this weekend as the 2007-08 A1GP World Cup of Motorsport crosses the Atlantic for the first and only time this season with Round 8 hosted at the 4.42km Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez, Friday 14th - Sunday 16th March.

Wickens' supreme efforts behind the wheel, aided by some slick team-work from the Canadian pit-crew has rocketed A1 Team Canada up to eighth overall in the A1GP Nations Standings with just two rounds remaining following this weekend's Mexican adventure. In addition to Wickens making his eleventh and twelfth consecutive race starts in Sunday's Sprint and Feature events, the team will again field Markham's Daniel Morad on Friday morning for the hour-long 'Rookie-Only' session.

Morad, the reigning Formula BMW USA Champion, heads to Mexico City following a two-day Formula Atlantic Championship test outing at California's Laguna Seca Raceway. The 17-year-old continued to showcase his potential on Monday's opening day with the fourth fastest time and top rookie honours. Daniel hopes to replicate that rookie form in Mexico having made his A1GP debut with Canada last time out on the challenging street circuit in Durban, South Africa.

Wickens will assume driving duties on Friday afternoon following Morad's rookie stint with the 18-year-old aiming to become the top Canadian A1GP points scorer on Sunday. Robert, already with more podium finishes to his credit than any other Canadian to have competed in A1GP, his tally taken to four following his Durban Sprint victory, requires just two points to surpass Sean McIntosh's target of 53 points scored from 24 starts. Wickens has registered 52 points in just ten race starts - his accomplishments all the more remarkable given this is his first season competing in A1GP.

It's not simply Robert's race performances in A1GP that have earmarked him as one of Canada's leading young racing talents. Last month's South African Sprint race saw the Canadian become the youngest ever pole winner in A1GP history with Wickens backing that up with a second straight front-row start with second on the grid for the Feature. With a total of six top-ten qualifying performances to his credit, Robert has proved to be equally impressive on Saturday's as he has been on Sunday's!

Wickens, who will go on to compete in the European-based 2008 World Series by Renault, is targeting further A1GP victories with a return to the top step in Mexico City high on his agenda.

"I've been itching to get back into the car after South Africa," enthused Wickens. "The weekend saw some real highs and lows. The morning's Sprint win was followed by a disappointing exit from the Feature, especially frustrating when we'd been looking strong for at least another podium finish. It'll be good to get back out on a long permanent road course following the confines of the Durban street track. I'm confident we can maintain our form and keep Canada challenging at the head of the pack and with that hopefully more wins will follow!"

Sunday's 20-minute Sprint race starts at 11am local time (1pm EST) with the 70-minute Feature race starting at 3pm in Mexico City (5pm EST).

Live Feature race streaming will be available via - www.a1gp.com

Wickens Powers Canada to Durban Street Pole
By Stuart Morrison
Photos courtesy Jakob Ebray Photography
DURBAN, South Africa (23 February, 2008) — Robert Wickens led A1 Team Canada to its first ever pole position in the A1GP World Cup of Motorsport as he claimed the top spot for Sunday's seventh round Sprint race following a storming lap around Durban's challenging 3.28km temporary street circuit. The Toronto racer backed up his performance in South Africa with a second consecutive front-row start, claiming second on the Feature grid behind Switzerland's Neel Jani.

Saturday's qualifying accomplishment, with Robert becoming A1GP's youngest-ever pole-sitter, is all the more remarkable as he logged just four laps in Friday's official practice session, the 18-year-old's first sighting of the 11-turn Durban track. The team battled to fix an electrical issue following on from the morning's 'Rookie-Only' outing in which Markham's Daniel Morad debuted for Canada.

A red-flag ended the first Sprint qualifying session prematurely with just six of the 22 competing A1GP nations logging a lap time. Undeterred Canada hit the track with just one hot lap at its disposal. Wickens, no stranger to street courses in North America, subsequently blitzed the opposition to claim pole position - the first pole for Canada in three seasons of A1GP but also the first for Status Grand Prix who, in addition to managing A1 Team Ireland, took over the running of the Canadian operation this season. Brazil's Bruno Junqueira joins the Canadian on the front-row of the Sprint grid.

Wickens then achieved another first claiming Canada's first-ever consecutive front-row starts. Just pipped to the Feature pole by Switzerland's Neel Jani, Robert will be attacking from second.

"We almost had the perfect qualifying session," said Wickens. "We got caught out in Q1 with the red flag which wasted a set of tires but I think we have a good car for tomorrow and we have an extremely good shot at winning the Sprint and Feature races. It's good to be clear for the first corner; there should be no-one I can run into from pole. I think the field's pretty responsible though, everyone knows how tight it is here. Overall I'm ecstatic with today's result. We've had our ups and downs but to get Canada's first ever pole position considering where we came from yesterday is a big deal!"

A1 Team Canada Team Manager Simon Cayzer commented, "Robert did an amazing job today! His ability to act calm under all sorts of different pressures is amazing. It was an incredible session and to score Canada's first pole is fantastic. This was a brand new team at the start of the season but we've kept chipping away. We're in a really good position for tomorrow's races, hopefully we can win!"

Round 7 SPRINT Race Qualifying Top-5
1, CANADA, ROBERT WICKENS, 1:18.150
2. Brazil, Bruno Junqueira, 1:18.168
3, New Zealand, Jonny Reid, 1:18.229
4, Great Britain, Oliver Jarvis, 1:18.410
5, Switzerland, Neel Jani, 1:18.470

Round 7 FEATURE Race Qualifying Top-5
1, Switzerland, Neel Jani, 1:17.688
2, CANADA, ROBERT WICKENS, 1:17.810
3, New Zealand, Jonny Reid, 1:17.880
4, Great Britain, Oliver Jarvis, 1:17.916
5, Brazil, Bruno Junqueira, 1:17.951

Sunday's 20-minute Sprint race starts at 11am local time (4am EST) with the 70-minute Feature race starting at 3pm in Durban (8am EST). Live Feature streaming available via - www.a1gp.com