Pakistan team withdraws from A1GP opener

Team Pakistan has been forced to delay its debut in the fourth season of the A1GP World Cup of Motorsport. The team had been set to compete at the first round in Zandvoort, Netherlands this weekend, but technical issues which compromised the safety of driver, Adam Khan, has led to the decision to begin Pakistan's campaign at the second round of competition which will take place at Chengdu in China.

Khan had his first run in the new A1GP Powered by Ferrari car on Thursday, at a shakedown test in Snetterton, UK. However, during this initial test session the Pakistan crew found that the constraints of the chassis from a technical perspective compromised Khan's safety in the car and the team reluctantly made the decision to delay their return to the track.

Driver and seatholder Khan said of this unfortunate situation, "I'm very disappointed not to be in the car, I was very determined to work round the technical problems so that I could drive, but it just wasn't possible. We're extremely sorry that we will not be racing in Zandvoort this weekend, but as I'm sure our fans will appreciate, safety is a priority in motor racing and in difficult circumstances we had no alternative but to delay the start of our season.

"I know that A1GP will work to rectify this situation and ensure that we'll be able to join for the second round. Fortunately there has been a recent rule change which allows a team to drop the scores from one event, so our overall World Cup of Motorsport campaign will not be compromised."

A1 Team Pakistan will be competing in the fourth season of the A1GP World Cup of Motorsport which pits nation against nation in this unique racing series. This season the teams will be running new cars and the Pakistan team has a new look and new operational crew, as they vie for the pride of their nation.