MOTOR SPORT
WIWAT CHANG
Swiss racer Neel Jani. |
The third season of A1 GP completed with yet another winning team; Switzerland.
The 24-year old Neel Jani, of Swiss-Indian heritage, needed a total of four wins, 11 podiums, six poles and five fastest laps to give his team a decisive 41-point advantage over second placed New Zealand.
It was a positive turn for the Swiss team whose eighth-place finish in the 2006-07 season was a shame compared to their second position in the championship debut season.
This ought to be Jani's best racing season after finishing ninth in the American Champ Car series last year and test driving for Toro Rosso F1 team in 2006.
Despite A1 GP not being the strongest F1 feeder series but with energy drink giant Red Bull as his personal sponsor, Jani could be shortlisted again for either F1 or IRL series.
Switzerland can be proud to have two major racing champions this year - the other being GP2 Asia series champ Romain Grosjean.
New Zealand and Great Britain must be heart broken having to be content with their second and third places respectively for the second straight season.
On the Asian front, India is the highest ranking team at 10th - up from 16th last year and 24th the two seasons before.
Jani led Switzerland to A1 GP title. |
Narain Karthikeyan, who lost his F1 drive this year, helped boost team India's morale with two wins; first in Zhuhai, China and, second, a pole to flag win at Brands Hatch last weekend. Sadly, at 31 years of age, he's not likely to be a comeback candidate for any F1 team.
China also fared better this year with 13th place - up from 15th last year and 22nd the year before. Despite achieving only one podium - a third place in Zhuhai - Cong Fu (Frankie) Cheng snatched up four fastest laps out of all 20 races this season which is only second best to Neel Jani's five.
India and China - the rising economic powers in the world - are showing progress in the motorsport world, although there is still much to do on the path to F1.
With A1 GP's existence hanging by a thread last year, a better future seems to be in store with Ferrari supplying the racecars from the 2008-09 season onwards.
The alliance with one of the world's most recognised brands should help off-set the decline in entries from 25 nations in the first season to 22 in the last.
A little more good news for the series is the confirmed entry of Korea - the world's fifth largest car producer - next season.
But there is bad news as the attempt to create A1 Team Thailand has been aborted due to poor response from government and private organisations.
There is also an understanding that Chawakij Boughey, having devoted his effort to attaining the A1 drive, could not secure himself a Formula Renault V6 Asia seat this year, despite finishing second last season for Asian drivers.
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