Adrian Zaugg suffered a miserable time during qualifying for his home race in Durban this weekend, as South Africa's belated bid for A1GP World Cup of Motorsport glory threatens to come crashing off the rails.
The 21-year-old failed to record a time in either of the first two qualifying segments, after a red flag prevented his first effort and a loss of control on a bumpy section of the challenging street circuit in Q2 sent him into a spin and down to the very back of the grid for the short sprint outing. He then went on to fare little better in the feature race qualifying, for which he will line up a lowly 15th.
The former GP2 ace was naturally disappointed, but remained undeterred and still determined to do his best in front of his home fans.
“To be honest, we've not really been in contention in terms of performance for a top four position all weekend,” Zaugg candidly admitted. “We've struggled to achieve the optimum set-up for the car for the bumpy track conditions.
“I was surprised when the car snapped to the side [coming out of turn two in the second qualifying segment], as this had not happened in the two practice sessions. We then had a problem with the fuel pick-up in segment three, and I just tried my best to get in a decent lap.
“There's not much I can do from the back of the grid in the sprint race, but I'll do my best to at least finish in the points in the top ten. The 70-minute feature race offers more of an opportunity for a good result. There are two compulsory pit-stops and we've been good at those this season, so I'll be looking to make up places here.
“Whatever happens, I'll be trying hard to get a good result for the team and for my country.”
![South African A1GP ace Adrian Zaugg [pic credit: A1GP Media]](http://pix.crash.net/thumbs/409602.jpg)
