May 06, 2008	Tuesday	Rabi-us-Sani 29, 1429

BRANDS HATCH (England), May 5: In a dramatic final race of the season, Team India scored their second ever A1GP victory in the Feature race here, with Team Britain’s Robbie Kerr finishing second to take the home nation to the third place in the final championship standings.

India, led from the start only to be overtaken by Britain in the first round of pit stops.

Karthikeyan then battled the third-place Team Ireland until a contact between the two resulted in a broken front wing for Adam Carroll. The Irish driver limped back to the pits for a new nose cone, taking a trip through the gravel at Clearways in the process, rejoining at the back of the field.

Kerr held onto the lead commandingly until the second pit stop window, at which point Team India leapfrogged the British car in the pit lane. Despite trying desperately to catch up, Team Britain had to settle for the second place as they crossed the line — although the result was enough to overtake France and secure third place in the overall A1GP Championship.

It was a disastrous end to the season for Australia’s John Martin, who collided with Team Pakistan approaching Pilgrim’s Drop to put both cars out of the race and force a safety car period in the early part of the race.

Newly-crowned champions Team Switzerland finished third, with China’s Congfu Cheng in fourth. Indonesia also had cause for celebration, as the team scored its first ever A1GP points by crossing the line in tenth position.

Final standings

(Tabulated under position, team, points):

1. Switzerland 168

2. New Zealand 127

3. Great Britain 126

4. France 118

5. South Africa 96

6. Ireland 94

7. Netherlands 87

8. Germany 83

9. Canada 75

10. India 61

11. Portugal 59

12. United States 56

13. China 55

14. Brazil 44

15. Malaysia 25

16. Mexico 22

17. Australia 20

18. Italy 12

19. Czech Republic 10

20. Pakistan 1

21. Indonesia 1

—Agencies