A1 TEAM USA 3rd in Feature, 5th in Sprint at Mexico City

MEXICO CITY—A1 TEAM USA’s Jonathan Summerton finished third in the Feature race and fifth in the Sprint in the eighth round of the A1GP World Cup of Motorsport season Sunday at Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez.

“This was a fabulous day for A1 TEAM USA,” Summerton said. “It was a great feeling to represent America on the podium again and to accomplish our goal of two top-five finishes in the same round. The ‘We the People’ car was very strong and we had two solid pit stops.”

Starting from seventh in the Feature, Summerton moved up to sixth during the first mandated window of pit stops from laps nine through 15 and began chasing down Germany’s Michael Ammermuller and Canada’s Robert Wickens.

The 19-year-old from Kissimmee, Fla., passed Ammermuller for fifth in Turn 1 halfway through the 47-lap race on the 2.53-mile circuit. With 15 laps to go, Summerton moved into fourth by overtaking Wickens in the same corner.

A1 TEAM USA made its second pit stop on lap 34 and remained fourth after the field had cycled through and moved up to third when A1GP penalized Switzerland’s Neel Jani, running second, for a pit-lane violation.

Summerton challenged Great Britain’s Oliver Jarvis for second on the final lap, getting side-by-side with him in Turn 1, but ran out of racetrack entering Turn 2.

“I was trying my best, but it didn’t happen,” Summerton said. “There was too much risk and not enough reward for trying for force it. It was good, clean, hard racing and I was happy to be third.

“It was a great run. We had an OK first stint and in the middle and last stints, we really rocketed up there.”

A1 TEAM USA started third in the 14-lap Sprint. Pole-sitter Adrian Zaugg of South Africa was slow at the green flag. Summerton was trapped behind him and fell to sixth. He ran competitive laps and gained one spot through attrition by the checkered flag.

“It was disappointing to finish fifth considering how good the car was,” Summerton said.

It was the first podium for A1 TEAM USA since Summerton finished second in the Feature at Mexico City last year.

“We’re very happy and proud of what A1 TEAM USA has accomplished this weekend,” A1 TEAM USA Holdings owner Rick Weidinger said. “We were in the top-seven in practice, qualifying and the races. That’s the kind of consistency that wins races. It’s wonderful to stand on the podium representing the USA. Our goal each and every race this season has been to be in the top-five. We accomplished that in spades today. We need to focus on China and London now and push ourselves into the top-ten in the season championship.”

A1 TEAM moved up to 13th in the championship with 29 points with two rounds remaining. The next A1GP World Cup of Motorsport is April 11-13 at Shanghai, China.

For more information on A1 TEAM USA, visit A1TEAMUSATV.com. For more information on A1GP, visit www.A1GP.com