February 04, 2008	Monday	Muharram 25, 1429

SYDNEY, Feb 3: In an action packed day of racing here on Sunday at the A1GP Sydney, Australia, Team Pakistan enjoyed some thrilling moments as Adam Khan took 12th place in the Feature race to after enduring disappointment following a spin and retirement in the Sprint race.

As the grey clouds gathered over Eastern Creek, the 22 nations lined up for the 20 minute Sprint race Making a good start away from the line, Adam maintained position, but came under pressure from the Lebanese car, which found a way past at the end of lap one.

Pushing hard to re-take position, Adam ran wide at turn one on the second lap, spinning off track and into the wall. Despite damage to the rear left corner, the team were able to repair the car fully before the Feature race.

With A1 Team New Zealand, Ireland and India all starting the race from the pit lane, the grid had an unusual appearance as the lights went out. The heavy rain that began in the closing stages of the Sprint race continued for the 70 minutes during the Feature race, making conditions difficult.

Starting the race on wet tyres, Adam made a great start off the line and was up to 12th place by the end of the lap two. Charging ahead, he was pulling away from the cars behind, until the team was served with a drive through penalty for a jump start.

Taking his drive-through penalty and the team’s first mandatory pit stop, Adam re-emerged on the track in 16th place.

As other cars clashed and fell off the track, Adam moved up to 14th lap and was soon under attack from A1 Team India. In the treacherous conditions, he maintained his position to hold off former F1 racer Narain Karthikeyan.

As the rain continued to fall and conditions deteriorated, Adam set the fastest time in the final sector of the lap and made was up to 10th place before the team’s second stop.

Having been passed by India during the pit stop period, Adam closed up the gap to put the Indian car under pressure. Unable to find a way past, he still maintained his position to the chequered flag and took 12th place.

“I had a reasonable start in the Feature race, I had a good feel for the car very quickly; unfortunately I hadn’t had the experience of the track in the rain in the Sprint race, which the other guys had, so I had to learn the grip levels pretty quickly.”

“After that it was a case of driving smoothly, although there were a few scary moments,” said Adam in his post-race comments.

A1 Team Pakistan will next take to the track for the seventh round of the current season, in the beautiful surroundings of Durban in South Africa.

—Agencies