A1 Team Lebanon brought its national flag-liveried car home in eleventh place at Estoril, Portugal today, the best finish for the team so far in this inaugural A1 Grand Prix series. It was the first A1 Grand Prix race start for driver, Basil Shaaban, while team mate Khalil Beschir supported Lebanon from the Al Jazeera commentary booth, assisting with the live broadcast to the Arab world. In the first race Shaaban started from 23rd place and by the end of the first lap had improved to 18th .and gained two further positions to run much of the race in 16th place. As the 18 lap race reached its closing stages Shaaban came under pressure from 17th placed A1 Team Austria and in the ensuing battle Shaaban used all his skills and the PowerBoost button to keep the Austrian at bay until being pushed wide and into the gravel, losing two places and finishing 18th .
The second race for A1 Team Lebanon, with a standing start, saw numerous track incidents which brought out the safety car a number of times. Many teams opted to take early pit stops, but Lebanon stayed out on track and made positions. Shaaban steadily progressed through the field from his 18th place start to be running within the top ten at mid distance, with a highest position of fourth before the team brought its Lebanese driver in for the tyre change pitstop. Shaaban rejoined in 13th and once again drove consistently moving through the field, and finally crossed the finish line just outside the points in 11th place.
Shabaan was pleased with the Feature race result saying, “It was great that A1 Team Lebanon finished with a strong result, although it is a bittersweet placing, just outside the top ten and a points-scoring position. We had a great strategy, a slick pitstop and a consistent pace which were so important to this 11th place finish today.”
Tameem Auchi, Team Owner, adds, “This weekend we have seen the potential that we have within A1 Team Lebanon. Everyone has played an important part towards achieving the result that we did in the second race. The crew, engineers, drivers and support staff have all worked together as a cohesive unit, and we put together a strategy which put us up in contention for a top ten finish. We didn’t make it today, but we have had the performance boost we needed and we hope that we can continue this momentum as we move on to Australia.”
The A1 Team Lebanon drivers have not only been participating in motorsport this weekend, but golf and go-karting have been enjoyed by Shaaban and Beschir.
Both drivers took part in a pre-race weekend media event at the Penha Longa Golf Club near to the circuit, where they were given professional golf tuition. Beschir also participated in an invitation go-kart race with A1 GP drivers, local celebrities and media.
On raceday the team was supported trackside by a group of over thirty A1 Team Lebanon guests including Iraqi, Moroccan, Algerian and Tunisian ambassadors.