A1GP news

Clarke enjoyed home support at Brands Hatch

A1 Team Great Britain's Dan Clarke saved his best for last when he hit the pace in the Feature race at Brands Hatch, and he hopes to come back in October and contest the fifth series of A1GP's World Cup of Motorsport.

"My car wasn't much good in the Sprint race, suffering from understeer, but after still talking about what changes to make to it on the grid before the Feature race, it really came good and I now certainly want to come back for more and contest the entire series," Clarke told A1GP.com, as his fans thronged around him after he'd brought his car home a competitive seventh in the Feature race.

That was despite starting down in 14th and then running the last dozen laps with a failing exhaust. "I had caught the group ahead of me but knew that passing them would be difficult as it's all down to aerodynamics at Brands Hatch," explained the 25-year-old. "But a vibration set in with a dozen laps to go and I thought at first that it was an out of shape wheel rim, but it soon became clear that it was the exhaust."
He did well to hold off A1 Team Australia's John Martin to keep seventh place, but it was the speed of the car that cheered Clarke most.

"Setting the race's fourth fastest lap shows just how the car came on through the course of the meeting. You also have to consider that A1 Team Great Britain has had a tough time over the past few rounds. Indeed, it's not every team that has its race engineer running around carrying tyres.

"The team has great potential, though, and I really want to spend the summer racing in the US and then come back and run the whole season, to build on what we've achieved."

As someone who hasn't raced in his home country for years, Clarke was clearly moved by the home support. "I'd really like to thank the fans waving Union Jacks around the circuit. Their support was really appreciated. It's just that I was too busy to wave to them until the slowing down lap…"

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