Ireland Wins World Cup of Motorsport!

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Brands  Hatch,  UK,  4th  May,  2009
;  A1  Team  Ireland  are  the  A1GP  World  Cup  of  Motorsport Champions  of  2008/2009.  Adam  Carroll  led  the  Ireland  squad  to  two  dominant  victories  in  the final event of the season at Brands Hatch yesterday to win an historic world title for Ireland. Carroll and Team Ireland were unstoppable all weekend, taking two pole positions, two victories and a fastest lap to take the title by 17 points from reigning Champions Switzerland. Ireland’s perfect day began when Carroll won the Sprint Race with the help of more slick pit work from the Ireland crew who converted an early second place into a secure lead which Carroll held to  the  flag.  In  the  Feature  Race  Carroll  was  in  control  throughout,  leading  from  the  start  and keeping  command  of  the  race  through  the  two  pit  stops  to  run  out  the  winners  over  the Netherlands by just over ten seconds.

Ireland  dominated  the  statistics  of  the  season,  ending  the  season  with  five  wins,  six  pole positions,  five  fastest  laps  and  three  further  podium  finishes  in  a  dream  season  for  the  squad. Afterwards  Carroll  described  the  emotion  of  taking  the  title:  “That  was  fantastic,”  said  Carroll afterwards. “I always knew this was someday going to come and I knew I was ready to do the job so I’m ecstatic really. I’d like to thank the team for giving me the opportunity to prove what I can really do. I think I cried for most of the last laps. Actually, I really did cry on the in-lap. It is such a relief to get it done.”

Ireland Team Principal Mark Gallagher reflected on the achievement of winning the title after four long, hard seasons in A1GP. “I’m just so proud of everyone in this team for what we’ve achieved here. But this weekend is just the culmination of a long, hard climb to the top that has tested us all and to find out today that we have proved to be worthy of the challenge is emotional.“It’s been such a long time coming but it proves that if you want something enough then you can fight through all the difficulties to make it happen. I’d like to pay tribute our rivals particularly the Swiss  and  Portugal  teams  who  have  fought  hard  all  year  and  thank  them  for  the  hard  and  fair competition we’ve enjoyed with them. I’d also like to thank all the fans, partners and sponsors for their  help  and  support  throughout  the  last  four  years  and  I  hope  that  this  title  represents  some reward for them.

“Adam has won this title with some style,” said Gallagher. “His arrival at the team was, I think, a catalyst for us. He’s a driver of a different calibre. With Adam we could set about fixing some of the issues we had identified as holding us back. He is part of a great team and he’s paid us back in spades.“This is a terrific experience. It’s very satisfying to make a plan and see it come to fruition. We’ve been  sticking  at  it  and  grafting  hard  and  today  we’ve  seen  it  through  and  carried off the World Cup of Motorsport™. It’s a terrific feeling.”