Jeroen Bleekemolen disagrees with Ireland’s Adam Carroll and Switzerland’s Neel Jani, and believes that Team Netherlands can join in the fight for the A1GP championship title.

Bleekemolen gave Netherlands their first victory in 46 races when he triumphed in the Sprint battle at the last round in Gauteng, South Africa. He then took fourth place in the Feature, leaving his team 17 points behind championship leaders Switzerland.

Second-placed Team Ireland’s Carroll and Switzerland’s Jani believe it will be a three-way battle for the title, with Portugal – currently third in the standings – also involved.

However, Bleekemolen is confident the Dutch can challenge for the crown.

“If you asked me before Gauteng I would have said we were absolutely out of it because we are too far behind,” he told A1GP.com.

“But you saw how fast things can change in Gauteng and we are only 17 points behind now. We have an outside chance at the championship although we will need to be lucky.

“So, the first and a fourth that we got in Gauteng was great, and you need results like that. But what Jani did for Switzerland was like a dream, to get a third and then a win. You need weekends like this to be able go for the title.

“To be honest we are a bit behind, so it’s not going to be easy. We’re not ruling ourselves out.”

Bleekemolen believes a technical partnership between the Dutch and Irish squads has helped his team to develop and improve.

“We have changed a lot in the team and the biggest help is that we are working together with Ireland,” he added. “They are a really good team. They are not leading this series by luck and they have some excellent people. We have a few people that are really good too and the mix is making things go a lot better.

“We have been close a few times to victories in the last two seasons but we haven’t been on the pace enough to challenge. The new set up in the team is making a huge difference.”
[source: setanta.com]