A1GP news
Strong start to season for Ireland
30 September 2007Erik Janis reckons he wasn't to blame for the incident that resulted in A1 Team Canada retiring from this afternoon's Feature race at Zandvoort.
Hinchliffe blamed Janis after the race, accusing the Czech racer of 'unsavoury driving.'
|
|
The Canadian had been fighting Janis for tenth position for several laps, when with just five laps to go, the pair touched at turn seven. The impact broke the suspension on the Canadian car, forcing Hinchcliffe's retirement. However, Janis was able to continue and secure the final point for the Czech Republic on his debut.
But Janis claimed he didn't see Hinchcliffe, and because he was ahead at the time it meant he wasn't to blame.
'He was pushing very hard but I knew that I was in tenth place with not many laps to go until the end,' Janis said. 'I was concentrating on not making a mistake but I was allowed to defend my position.
'He was very quick but not so much quicker. He tried to overtake me but he was just going inside the corner and he hit my back wheel with his front wheel. I don't really know what happened.
'It was difficult to say who was to blame. I was in front and running my line and he was trying to overtake on the inside and there wasn't space. There was a contact.'
A1 Team Czech Republic team manager John Village, who until this season worked with the Canadian team, also rallied to Janis' defence and pointed to the fact that only the car's rear wheel had paint marks on it, and that Hinchliffe could not have got any further in his passing manoeuvre.
However ultimately, Janis was more than happy with a points finish on his A1GP race debut. 'I didn't expect to get a point,' he added. 'We took one point and it was great for me for my first race.'
more news
- 05 Nov.
- 17 Oct.
- 13 Oct.
- 25 Sep.
- 21 Sep.
- 17 Sep.
- 14 Sep.
- 07 Sep.
- 14 Aug.
- 12 Aug.
- 10 Aug.
- 05 Aug.
- 28 Jul.
- 23 Jul.
- 22 Jul.
- 26 Jun.
- 11 Jun.
- 18 May
- 13 May
- 07 May
- 03 May
- 02 May
- 01 May
- 29 Apr.
- 23 Apr.