Adam Carroll will start tomorrow’s Vodafone A1GP Algarve round of the World Cup of Motorsport from 3rd and 2nd place for the Sprint and Feature races. The 26 year old from Portadown overcame the frustration of brake problems on Friday to put Ireland back in contention during final practice this morning, before turning in a series of blistering laps in qualifying to line up on the 2nd row of the grid for the Sprint Race and on the front row for the Feature Race.

With championship rivals Switzerland and Portugal suffering a difficult qualifying, Team Ireland’s focus on regaining the overall lead in the championship took a further step forward. Switzerland hit technical problems and will start the Sprint Race from last position, while in the Feature Race it is behind Ireland in 3rd position. Portugal could only qualify 5th and 7th for tomorrow’s events, giving the home team a difficult task if it is to win this crucial event.

Pole position for the Sprint Race went to Force India F1 driver Tonio Liuzzi on his A1GP debut for Italy, although he used his single Powerboost to do the time and was well down the order for the Feature Race. Netherlands’ Robert Doornbos claimed pole position ahead of Ireland for the Feature Race, 0.281s quicker.

Adam Carroll; “The car felt much better today, totally different due to the new brakes, so I had no real problems and we were right on the pace. Pole position in either race looked possible, but we’ll settle for 3rd and 2nd since our immediate series’ rivals are behind us. Our goal is the championship, so we have to focus on that. My aim tomorrow is to make a good start and bring the car home on the podium, taking the win if we can do it.”

Mark Gallagher, Team Principal; “A good day today, and an indication once again of our pace and consistency. The overnight brake change worked as expected and Adam was very confident after practice. The competition is tight, and Netherlands in particular was very quick today, but the main thing for us is keeping Switzerland and Portugal behind – that’s the title fight for the moment.”