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After what seems like an eternal six week break in the A1GP racing schedule the series is kicking off its run to the wire with the first of three events that will bring the season to a close. With 81 points still in play for the top rung the mathematical chances are still there for every team on the grid to claim their fair share of glory, but realistically it’s starting to look like a fight to the finish for four teams.

It might be good to be lucky, but in this sport you’re only lucky if you’re good. That said, the focus is absolutely upon the business at hand, said Irish driver Adam Carroll.

"We’re at the business end of the championship now," he said. "So, we have to get the maximum out of the weekend from the time we arrive at the track right through to Sunday evening."

The weekend in question brings the series to Portugal’s new racing jewel, the Autodromo International do Algarve at Portimao. The circuit is 4.69 kilometre track purpose built to host Formula 1 testing sessions and attract racing industry companies to locate in the region. Indeed A1 officials were so taken with the facility they decided to move lock, stock and barrel from their English headquarters to Portimao simply because they centralize their administrative, fabrication, repair and test facilities all in one location.

"I have been fortunate enough to visit this exciting circuit and it is truly one of the very best new venues in the world," said Ireland’s team principal Mark Ghallagher. "The track is in a superb setting and the circuit undulates with challenging corners, rising and falling with blind crests and lots of interesting challenges for the drivers."

In Ghalleghar’s opinin there’s no bigger challenge right now than the one facing Portugal’s A1 team which will want to do well in front of their home crowd while closing the nine-point gap between them and first place Switzerland.

"This weekend will be a big test for them because they have to win on home soil," he said. " They will have a lot of pressure, whereas we simply have to keep doing what we’ve been doing all season.

"In spite of them knowing the circuit very well, the pressure is on."

Portugal’s driver Filipe Albuquerque would beg to differ, saying it’s not critical for the team to win this event, it’s is however important to be more successful than the other three teams still in the title chase. "I do not feel any pressure – in fact, I feel comfortable," he said. "It’s a tight championship battle but with the final round at Mexico City now confirmed there are more than 70 points available - and that’s a lot of points.

"Of course, I am pushing always for the win, and I need to be in the front of the other guys from now on otherwise I will never make it. It’s not much of a gap but I am on the case, so we will see now how it goes." Swiss team principal Max Welti would seen to agree the time has not yet come where any of the front runners would need to throw caution to the wind and go for broke.

"Currently trying to win at any cost would be wrong," he said. "In the races to come we will adapt our strategy to match those of our opponents, which means taking bigger or smaller risks depending on the situation at the track."

As English play write William Shakespeare once said: The game’s afoot.

Team Previews

Switzerland

Back on top thanks to a double podium weekend at Kyalami. And looking to do what it takes to keep themselves at the front. While not quite slipping the car into championship mode, they certainly will be paying more attention to their position relative to front runners Ireland and Portugal

Neel Jani - Last season's A1 champion driver, Jani was runner up in the series' debut season and spent 2007 racing in the Champ Car World Series, where he finished ninth in points. He spent 2006 as a test driver for F1's Toro Rosso, finished seventh in GP2 in 2005, fourth in Renault V6 Eurocup 2004 and second in Formula Renault 2000 in 2002.

Alexandre Imperatori - Ran Japanese F3 this past season, finishing second in the national class. He is a two-time runner up in Asian Formula Renault in his four years in the series, capturing the second-place position in both 2007 and 2006. He won the Chinese Formula Renault crown in 2006.

Ireland

Now running number two, but with the drop one rule still to go into play the squad believes they’re actually one point ahead. The team is looking to overhaul the Swiss squad but is also keeping a weary eye out for the Portugeese team who will want to impress at their home track event.

Adam Carroll - Took in a couple of GP2 events this past summer after finishing seventh in the series in 2007 as a mid-season replacement driver. Carroll had been a consistent top-10 campaigner in his four seasons in that series. He finished second in UK F3 in 2004 and was that series National division champ in 2002. He also holds championship hardware from the 2000 British Formula Ford winter series.

Naill Quinn - Currently sits 9th in British F3 National Class after running 6th in Asian F3 in 2007. He ran seventh in Formula BMW Germany in 2007 and ran 10th in that series World Final. He cut his racing teeth in Formula BMW UK, running 12th in 2006 and took 12th in the BMW World Final that year.

Portugal

Despite being in the throws of a championship hunt and wanting to do well in front of their home crowd, it’s all business as usual for the squad with the chief objective being to score more points than the other two front runners.

Filipe Albuquerque - Vaulted Portugal up the standing in a late season run last year after finishing forth in the World Series by Renault and taking in four races in GP2. He was the Formula Renault 2000 Eurocup champion in 2006 after cutting his racing teeth in 2005 running in Spanish F3 and Eurocup series while nailing down third in German Formula Renault.

Netherlands

With three events to go the team believes they still have a shot at the title, although they admit they’ll need to get consistent podiums while the other three teams ahead of them will need to falter in order for them to get the job done.

Robert Dornbos - Currently running in Indycar after finishing third in Superleague Formula this past summer. Doornbos took rookie of the year honors in Champ Car in 2007 by finishing third in that series. He had a two-year stint in Formula 1 with Red Bull and Jordan after finishing third in Formula 3000 International in 2004. He finished 9th in F3 Euro in 2003 while getting seat time in British, Italian and German F3 over a three year period. He came second in Benelux Formula Ford in 2000 and cut his racing teeth in Formula Arcobaleno and Dutch Forula Ford in 1999.

Dennis Retera - Won all four events he entered in the Westfield Challenge Series and took in a couple of events in ADAC Masters GT this year. He ran in Formula Renault Northern European Challenge in 2007 after campaigning in British F3 in 2006. He finished fifth in 2005 Formula Renault UK Winter Series and has an extensive career in Formula Ford twice wining titles in Benelux Cup and taking the Ford-Zetec Netherlands crown in 2005.

France

The last couple of events haven’t been kind to the French team and the team is hoping that the racing gods will smile upon them in Portugal. There’s no fixing the past, so their job is to work on the future and get the results they need to put them back in the championship hunt.

Nicolas Prost - This season’s F3000 Euroseries champion, Prost finished third in Spanish F3 in 2007 as a follow up to his fourth place finish in that series the year before. He has run in French and German Formula Renault and taken in a couple of events in the World Series by Renault and Formula Renault 2000 Eurocup.

New Zealand

The quick Kiwis have not been handling the competition as well as they were earlier in the season. They’ve slid from third to sixth since their home race at Taupo and in order to shake things up a bit the team has opted to go with Earl Bamber, putting him in for his first back-to-back run with the team.

Earl Bamber - Ran in GP2 Asia earlier this season and was as high as tenth in points before opting to concentrate solely on the A1 effort. He took the crown in Formula Renault V6 Asia this past summer and finished second in the Toyota Racing Series while taking in rounds of Australian F3, Formula Master Italia and Formula Master International. He won the Formula BMW Asia championship in 2006 after finishing forth in New Zealand Formula Ford.

Malaysia

The team is hoping for better fortune in Portugal than what they experienced in South Africa where an opening lap collision with New Zealand left them with but a single point to show for their efforts at Kyalami.

Fairuz Fauzy - Tuning up for a run in the World Series by Renault this year after bouncing around a bit last season running in GP2, GP2 Asia and the WSR. He had a strong season in the Asian round of GP2 coming in fourth in points. He finished 11th in the WSR in 2007 after two years in GP2. He had a three-year career in British F3 and ran in British Formula Renault and British Formula Ford, where he cut his racing teeth in 1999.

Aaron Lim - Now in his third season as Malaysia’s rookie driver, Lim took in a couple of events in Asian Touring Cars this past season after finishing 13th in Formula Renault V6 Asia in 2007. He finished fifth in Formula BMW Asia in 2006 after running eight in 2005.

Australia

Seatholder Alan Jones his hoping the maturation of John Martin will result in a podium finish at Algarve after the young driver slotted in forth on the grid for Kyalami feature. Were it not for a pitstop that went totally wrong, Jones figures the kid had a good shot at a podium finish.

John Martin - ran this past summer in British F3 International and sits 13th in points. He paced Australia to a 17th place standing in A1 last season. He ran British F3 in 2007 finishing 15th in the series and was the Australian Formula Ford champion in 2006 after taking the title of the Victoria State Formula Ford championship in 2005 while running second in the New South Wales division.

Monaco

The team made a healthy three position jump in the A1 standings with their results at Kyalami where the team took third and fifth. They’re obviously looking to build on that success and believe, since nobdy’s ever raced on this circuit, the more even playing field that aspect offers plays into their hands.

Clivo Piccione - Finished 15th in the World Series by Renault in 2007 after spending two seasons in GP2. He finished fourth in British F3 in 2004 after a three-year campaign in the series and cut his racing teeth in 2001 running in British Formula Ford.

Hubertus Bahlsen - The other seatholder in the driver-owner operated team. His racing experience has been limited to racing in historic F1 events.

Great Britain

The British team is simply not use to running this deep in the field at this point in the season. In past years it has always challenged for the title, but this year the squad is finding it tough to break into the top 10. While not quite throwing in the towel on this season, the team admits they’re using the last few events of this season as a means to prepare for next year. The team is bringing in former Champ Car racer Dan Clarke for this event with a view to possibly use him next season.

Dan Clarke - Idle last summer after campaigning the previous two seasons in the Champ Car World Series where he finished 12th and 13th in points standings with a couple of podium finishes to show for his efforts. Clarke spent one season in British F3, where he finished fifth in points for Riakonnen-Robertson, after a four-year career in British Formula Ford where he took championship honors in 2001 and ran second overall in 2004.

United States

While this has been the most successful season in A1 for the US team, from a points perspective, the squad is hungry for more points and better finishes as the season begins to draw to a close. They’re hoping to come out of the box hot and stay that way all weekend long.

Marco Andretti - A top-ten contender in his three years in Indycar the third generation racer worked his way up the racing ladder with championship seasons in Barber Dodge eastern division in 2003 and southern division in 2004. He ran in both Indy Lights and Star Mazda in 2005 before graduating to Indycar in 2006.

South Africa

A solid top 10 runner this season, but not getting the big points and podium finishes of those further up the point ladder. Indeed the team has more top 10 finishes as the Swiss team and one fewer than Portugal and the Netherlands, but so far no podiums - and that’s where the big points are.

Adrian Zaugg - a former member of the Red Bull driver development program Zuagg paced South Adrica to a fifth place finish last year after running 18th in GP2. In 2006 he bounced around in a variety of series taking second in Italian Formula Renault and a couple of podiums the Renault World Series. Zaugg placed sixth in Renault 2000 Eurocup in 2005. He finished seventh in German Formula BMW in 2004.

Christiano Morgado - Spent the last two years racing in Formula Volkswagen in South Africa where he finished second and third. He finished second in British F3 national class in 2006 and ran in British F3 Internationals in 2007.

Brazil

The team’s all fired up to repeat their success at Kyalami where Filipe Guimaraes became the youngest racer in the series’ history to claim a podium result with his second place finish. Ever optimistic, team boss Emerson Fittipaldi is suggesting Guimaraes might give the other Filipe (Portugal’s Albuquerque) a run for his money at this event.

Filipe Guimaraes - Coming fresh off a championship season in Brazil's top-ranking karting series and finished ninth in points in Euro F3000 in 2008. He finished forth in South American F3 in 2007.

Ana Beatriz Figueiredo - Running in Indy Lights this season after taking third in the series in 2008. She finished fifth in South America F3 in 2006 after taking second in Brazilian Formula Renault 2.0 in 2005. In 2004 she took second in the light division of South American F3 while claiming fifth in Formula Renault Brazil, a series where she cut her racing teeth in 2003.

Italy

The Italian squad is making changes and snagging all the limelight in the process bringing in former F1 racer Vitantonio Liuzzi to steer their car to victory. While there’s no guarantee the former Red Bull racer will find his way to victory lane, Luizzi does come with the most solid resume of any driver the Italian team has fielded - and the Italian team has used a lot of drivers over its four-year history.

Vitantonio Liuzzi - A test driver with F1 Force India this season, Liuzzi ran with Toro Rosso in 2007 and 2006 after a stint as a test driver with Red Bull in 2005. In 2004 he took the championship title in International F3000 after coming fourth in the series in 2003. He ran italian and German F3 in 2002 after cutting his racing teeth in German Formula Renault with a second place showing in 2001.

India

Bouyed by a sixth place finish in Kyalami sprint and hard charge through the back of the field in the feature the team is hoping they’ve got a grasp of the front running pace and hope to cash in on that progress in Portugal.

Narian Karthikeyan - Recently seen vying for a GP2 seat after posting India to its best season in A1GP. A test driver for Williams F1 in 2006 and 2007 after running his rookie F1 season with Jordan in 2005. He spent three years in the Formula Nissan World Series, reaching fourth in 2003. He ran three seasons in British F3, was the Formula Asia champion in 1996 and took the British Formula Ford winter series crown in 1994.

Parthiva Sureshwaren - Has been India’s rookie driver off and on for the last three seasons and ran in Formula Renault V6 Asia in 2007 finishing eight in points. His other race experience dates back to 2002 when he ran in Barber Dodge Pro after running 11th in British F3 nationals in 2001.

Lebanon

Again the team came hot off the transporter and lead the way in early practice sessions. Unlike Taupo, this time the team was able to translate that success in practice into points as they came home sixth in the feature event after launching from 19th. The sixth place finish marks the best result Lebanon has had in A1 and obviously the team wants to build on that success.

Daniel Morad - Raced in Formula Atlantic this past season, where he finished 12th in points. Morad took the 2007 Formula BMW USA champion and was sixth in the series in 2006 when he scored a fourth place finish in the Formula BMW World Final. He also holds the 2006 title crown from the Bridgestone Academy F2000 series, a driving school whose graduates include Paul Tracy, Alex Tagliani, Ron Fellows, Patrick Carpentier and Jacques Villeneuve.

Jimmy Auby - running 12th in Spanish F3 and has done a couple of races in Italian F3 this season. He finished 16th in F3000 Euroseries in 2007 ran in Formula Renault 2000 Eurocup and ended up ninth in the South African WesBank V8 Super Series. His career has followed a strange path considering he started racing stock cars at the age of 15 before he started racing karts in the Rotax World series in 2004.

China

What a year of misery it has been for the Chinese team after a strong showing last season where they were snapping at the heels of the top 10. The team will attempt to push their misfortunes behind and concentrate on getting their into the points.

Ho-Pin Tung - Ran GP2 this past season, finishing 16th in points after coming 21st in GP2 Asia. He finished 23rd in GP2 in 2007. He took the championship in German Formula 3 in 2006 in his third year in the series. He is also the 2003 Formula BMW Asia champion and ran in Portugese Formula BMW, Benelux Formula Ford and Dutch Formula Ford.

Indonesia

The team’s pre-race strategy could best be summed up with the phrase going with the hot hand. Driver Zahir Ali scored a couple of points in the in the Kyalami feature with a ninth place finish and for a team where points have been historically hard to come by their not going to mess with the good thing they’ve got going.

Zahir Ali - Ran a few races in Australian Formula 3 and campaigned in Japanese Formula 3 this past season. He also spent 2004 racing in Asia Pacific Formula A.

Germany

With all that has gone on with the team this season it was a small victory just to get on track at Kyalami. The started the first practice sessions running with the front, but were unable to step up the pace with the rest of the field as the weekend wore on. Still they came within five seconds of scoring a point in their first race.

Andre Lotterer - Running Formula Nippon and Japanese Super GT this season where he’s been racing since 2004. He’s been a consistent top five runner in the Japanese open wheel series with a best showing of second overall in 2004. He took the championship title in the Japanese sportscar series in 2006. Prior to racing in the land of the rising sun, he has seat time in the CART World Series, was a test driver for Jaguar in Formula 1, Took the championship of German Formula BMW in 1999 and cut his racing teeth by taking the Formula BMW Jr. title in 1998. He also ran in British and German F3, and came second in the Masters of F3 event at Zandvoort in 2001.

Pakistan

Maybe this time Adam Khan will get his team into the race. The squad did a few test runs at Kyalami but chose to withdraw from the event just before the rest of the field was slatted to hit the tack. Perhaps this is the weekend where their long awaited debut will take place.

Adam Khan - Entering his third year driving for Pakistan in A1GP, Khan is coming off a strong summer where he took third in F3000 Euroseries after a late entry into the series. He has raced in GP2 Asia, British F3 Nationals, German F3, Spanish F3 and Formula Renault V6 Eurocup. He cut his racing teeth in 2001 racing in British Formula Ford.

 

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