The Hindu : Sport : A1 GP: Team India disqualified

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Monday, Dec 11, 2006
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A1 GP: Team India disqualified

New Delhi : A radio communication failure saw Team India being disqualified in unfortunate circumstances in the Feature Race of the A1 Grand Prix in Sentul, Indonesia, on Sunday.

After finishing 18th in the Sprint Race, Armaan Ebrahim, the youngest driver in the field, was disqualified for a penalty infringement.

As the sequence of events unfolded, Ebrahim followed the incorrect guidance of a marshal to his grid slot for the Feature race, which was deemed a jump start.

The team were consequently given a drive through penalty which, under A1GP regulations, must be taken within three laps of notification.

Radio communication problems, however, hindered the team from informing Abrahim of the penalty and the team missed the three-lap window, resulting in the A1 Team India car being shown the black flag and disqualified from the race. Ebrahim said, ``obviously I'm disappointed, the marshal on my grid slot told me to move forward, which I did. And I had no way of knowing that the team were calling me in for a drive through penalty.''

``I couldn't see the pit board, the radio was broken and just kept making a beeping noise all race. By the time I saw the pit board the team were telling me to stop as we had been disqualified.'' — PTI

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