A1 Team Canada Scoreless in Indonesia (z04-25)

A1 Team Canada left scoreless in Indonesia

Sunday 10 December, 2006 - A1 Team Canada left Indonesia empty-handed following Sunday's fifth round of the 2006-07 A1GP World Cup of Motorsport at the Sentul International Circuit. An eighth place finish in the morning's Sprint race was followed by retirement for Sean McIntosh in the afternoon's Feature event, the defending race champion forced out thanks to a wayward left rear tire.

With the team failing to score points for the first time since the opening round of the sophomore A1GP season in October, Canada drops two spots down to eighth in the Nations Standings, on 22 points, while Germany extended its lead to 12 points over Great Britain in second, 48-36.

Having qualified the Canadian car ninth on the grid for the 15-lap Sprint race, Sean took the rolling start alongside the Dutch entry of Jeroen Bleekemolen. A decent get away enabled the Vancouver-native a shot at eighth as he latched on to the rear of South Africa's Alan van der Merwe. The two racers pushed each other hard with McIntosh ultimately getting the better of his rival to take the position. Sean was soon in the slipstream of France's Nicolas Lapierre in seventh but an oversteer issue limited his attacking ability, the Canadian holding eighth through to the checkered. Pole-sitter Jonny Reid celebrated New Zealand's first A1GP victory followed onto the podium by Mexico's Salvador Duran and Great Britain's Robbie Kerr.

Torrential rain greeted the 21-car field for the afternoon's Feature race, the start subsequently delayed to allow the monsoon to pass. While the rain eventually stopped track conditions remained treacherous with the spray from the cars ahead severely restricting Sean's view. Showcasing his wet-weather prowess, he steered clear of trouble while reveling in the improved handling of his car and a clear track ahead following his mandatory pit-stop.

A second stop soon followed as Sean pitted for a set of slick tires to make the most of the drying track. Exiting the pits McIntosh hit a puddle and was pitched into a spin but he recovered to resume his on-track charge. Looking good for a potential top-five finish, Sean's race ended prematurely on lap 38 when his left rear tire flew off, the cause of which has yet to be determined. Sean retired on the spot while New Zealand's Jonny Reid celebrated his second win of the day nine laps later.

"The team did a great job today but we're leaving Indonesia scoreless this time round," stated McIntosh. "The changes following the Sprint worked well on the car and the team made two great pit stops but unfortunately events transpired against us with the tire coming off. It's pretty disappointing as I was making up ground with the potential for a top-five finish and a decent points haul."

PEE Channel televises the A1GP World Cup of Motorsport in Canada with Round 5 from Indonesia set for broadcast on Wednesday 3rd January 2007 at 4pm EST - for a full program schedule please log on to: www.speedtv.com/schedule

Round 6 of the 2006-07 A1GP World Cup of Motorsport takes place in the New Year, Friday 19th - Sunday 21st January, at the new 3.5km Taupo Circuit in New Zealand - www.a1gp.com

Top-Ten A1GP Nations Standings after Round 5/12: 1st Germany (48), 2nd Great Britain (36), 3rd Mexico (33), 4th France (32), 5th New Zealand (31), 6th Malaysia (29), 7th Italy (26), 8th Canada (22), 9th Switzerland (20), 10th USA (20)