Team Ireland lead A1GP world championship

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A1 Team Ireland's Adam Carroll took victory and with it the championship lead in the Feature race at round three of the A1GP World Cup of Motorsport in Sepang today.

Ireland became the first repeat winner in the current season and, combined with a strong fifth place finish in the earlier Sprint race and fastest lap in the Feature race, amassed a 20 point haul to move to the top of the series standings to lead Portugal by eight points.

It was a textbook performance throughout the weekend from the entire Ireland squad who produced impeccable pit stops in both races to complement the searing pace they had unlocked from the Powered by Ferrari machine.

Carroll led away from pole position in the 34 lap Feature race and, after a brief safety car period, soon set about making a break at the head of the field. As his rivals wilted in the intense humidity, Carroll found a rhythm that produced a clear lead by the time the pit road opened for the first of two compulsory stops. He emerged with his lead intact and was more than six seconds clear by the time of the second round of stops.

A sub ten second stop by the Irish crew combined with stunning in and out laps by Carroll meant that Ireland was more than ten seconds clear of Portugal within two laps and, with a fresh set of tyres on board, Carroll set about making it a perfect afternoon by securing the point for fastest lap.

Apart from the pit stop periods, Carroll was never headed as he built up a lead of just under 16 seconds by the chequered flag to record Ireland's second Feature race win in A1GP racing and their second race win of the season to go with the Sprint race success in China last time out.