A1 Team Indonesia celebrated their first points of the season in the A1GP World Cup of Motorsport event at Kyalami circuit, South Africa, today. Zahir Ali, on his debut for the team, produced a superb drive to finish ninth in the Feature race after an 18th place in the earlier Sprint race.

Zahir lined up on the grid of the Sprint race for his debut in A1GP. The young Indonesian was at the back of the field after a disastrous day yesterday when they were unable to take part in the qualifying session. A problem with the car was identified as a faulty part and the team did not have the time to make the changes needed before the qualifying session.

The team put their day behind them and Zahir, although not having had a chance to run on new tyres or practice a pitstop, was ready for the Sprint race. The 21 year old driver made a good start and was running well, gaining valuable race experience, but initially struggled to select gear. There was also a fuel pump problem for us, which slowed Indonesia’s pace. In his first A1GP race Zahir finished in 18th position, a commendable effort, especially considering the lack of running he had prior to the race.

“It was a nightmare in the Sprint”, said Zahir. “In the first few laps I couldn’t select the gear. Then there was a fuel pump problem and this slowed me down, I just had to continue on so that we could finish the race and gain the experience.”

The Feature race was only the second A1GP start for Zahir. He was off the line well from the ninth row of the grid and moved up to 17th by the end of the opening lap. Over the next few laps he moved up to 13th place and then further forward as other cars pitted. Zahir made a clean pitstop and rejoined the race, lying in tenth place after all the cars had completed their stops. He was up to ninth when China slowed, a position he would keep until the chequered flag. The team worked quickly in the second pitstop to maintain position and the team’s first A1GP World Cup of Motorsport points of this season were welcome reward for their efforts. Zahir’s performance was even more impressive as he battled intermittent fuel pump problems throughout the race.

Zahir said after the Feature race, “The first few laps were good, I was on the pace and I was quite happy. I passed the USA car through the hairpin but then the fuel pump problems returned and I was fighting it throughout the race. I thought I would stop on two occasions but I kept going. I’m delighted to get points for the team and I loved racing for my country. I’m very happy.”

Team Manager, Bobby Issazadhe added, “I’m overjoyed. It was such a difficult start to the weekend, but when you get results like this you forget about all these problems. I have to dedicate this to the boys who have been working flat out with all the problems. Never give up – it doesn’t matter where you start on the grid you could be in the points. Zahir drove exceptionally well. He’d had so little track time, he’d never done a pitstop, never entered the pits at full speed, never run on new tyres – it was such a steep learning curve for him yet he didn’t make any mistakes.”

Bagoes Hermanto “I’m very relieved after all the problems we’ve had that we have our best result of the season. Zahir showed that he is a very talented driver, not making any mistakes, coping very well with the pitstops and the pressure. He has become a world class driver from Indonesia.”

The A1GP World Cup of Motorsport will visit the Algarve for the sixth round of racing, with the Autodromo Internacional do Algarve hosting the series for the first time.