Taupo: A1 Team Pakistan celebrated their first World Cup of Motorsport point in Taupo, New Zealand today. The sixth round of the A1GP World Cup of Motorsport produced two exciting races, with driver Adam Khan finishing a season-high 10th place in the Feature race and 11th in the Sprint race.  
The Sprint race took place in the morning with the rolling start that is a feature of this lights-to-flag 20 minutes dash. In the opening lap a three car clash in the middle of the pack quickly brought out the safety car, and gave Khan a welcome boost up the order, in addition to the young Pakistan driver making up places at the start. Lying in 15th place he held position while touring under the safety car, and then at the restart was able to pass the Indonesian car for 14th spot. He then climbed up the order, to lie just outside the points in 11th place at the chequered flag.
Khan said after the Sprint race, “I’m pleased that we’re finally knocking on the door of a points finish. A few more laps might have helped us to reach the top ten, but it certainly gives us the confidence as we head into the main Feature race and I hope it won’t be long before we can achieve this.”
The Feature race produced plenty of drama and excitement. In the opening lap India spun and Khan was quick to take avoiding action and benefit from this incident. As the race progressed Pakistan continued to move up the order, reaching a high of 11th place before the first round of pitstops. After a tussle for position with the Swiss car, with Khan defending well, a small trip through the grass pushed the Pakistan car down to 15th. Undeterred he continued to push on, moving up to 13th place before the second round of tyre change pitstops. Up to 12th and with new tyres, Khan continued on towards the end of the race. In the final few laps he moved up to 11th, and with a penalty for USA, inherited 10th place, to capture the team’s first point of the season for Pakistan. “It was a good step forward; the team is gelling well, the car is good, and moving up half the field – I was pleased. It was a very physical, difficult race, particularly on my hands which were very sore. A World Cup of Motorsport point is a welcome reward for the team’s efforts this weekend and I’m delighted we’ve got off the starting blocks.—Agency