Carroll third at Czech A1 Grand Prix

Adam Carroll has finished third in the Sprint Race at the Czech A1 Grand Prix in Brno on his A1 debut.

The 24-year-old from Portadown was battling for second when he was shunted into the dirt by the British car.

Carroll still maintained his podium position.

Team Great Britain suffered a mixed bag of results in the second round of the A1GP season at Brno today, finishing second in the sprint race and suffering a puncture in the feature as Team New Zealand took a dominant brace of victories.

Team GBR’s Robbie Kerr finished just ahead of Adam Carroll in the sprint race.

In the feature race, Jonny Reid capped New Zealand’s perfect day by leading home from Jeroen Bleekemolen (Team Netherlands) and Team Switzerland’s Neel Jani.

New Zealand’s stunning display powered them to the top of the standings on 37 points, one clear of erstwhile leaders South Africa and six ahead of Britain and the Netherlands.

Reid made a fine start from second on the grid in the sprint race to take the lead into the first corner as pole-sitter Adrian Zaugg slipped to fourth for South Africa.

Kerr and Carroll had a spirited tussle for second place, swapping positions and coming together at one point on the opening lap as Reid edged clear of the squabbling duo on his way to a dominant win by six seconds after 10 laps.

Britain and Ireland lined up behind the leader for the closing laps as both contented themselves with solid podium finishes.

Commenting on his first-lap battle with Carroll, Kerr said: “I was on the tighter line going into the first corner which didn’t give me the exit and allowed Adam to come round the outside.

“It was a brave move by Adam and he pulled it off well, but then going into the next corner I knew I had to get ahead.

“I knew the car had the front grip to do it and Adam tried to come back, but unfortunately for him we both ran out of room and I took position. It was a great first lap and great battling with Adam.”

Carroll, meanwhile, believes a strong showing in his first race suggests Ireland can be a force this year.

“We’re not going to need luck this year,” he said. “We’re going to do it on pace because the guys [in the team] have done such a good job. They’re working really hard.”

Zaugg held station to claim fourth for South Africa, while the Netherlands came home in fifth, just holding off a spirited drive by Team France’s Nicolas Lapierre.

Reid’s victory in the feature race was much harder to come by, the New Zealander forced to rely on brilliant work by his pit crew to make his way up from seventh on the grid.

The ’Black Beauty’ entry twice got the jump on his competitors during the two mandatory pit stop windows, and took the lead for good when he pitted later than the Netherlands during the second window and returned to the track ahead of Bleekemolen.

Reid opened up a seven-second lead over the Dutchman at the chequered flag, while the leaders were followed home by Jani and the hard-charging Congfu Cheng of Team China.

France came home in fifth, while Carroll was again mighty for Ireland, battling his way through to sixth at the flag from 18th on the grid.

Kerr’s hopes of a second podium finish were scuppered on lap 17 when he was forced to pit with a puncture, dropping him to 20th place and out of the points reckoning.