Jani gallant after losing A1GP title

Outgoing A1GP champion Neel Jani said he was content to see Adam Carroll take his crown as Team Switzerland was unable to summon the pace to take the fight to Ireland at the Brands Hatch finale on Sunday

Charles Bradley May 3, 2009, 4:33 PM

Jani paid tribute to the efforts of Carroll and Team Ireland, saying they are both worthy champions.

"It's been an entertaining year, with a lot of close battles," said Jani. "I knew it would be hard to beat Ireland at Brands Hatch. Last year we struggled here, and they were quick.

"Ireland did a great job, it's a fantastic win for them. If I don't win it, I'm glad that they did."

Jani finished third in the final round of the year, ensuring the Swiss beat Portugal to the runner-up spot by three points.

"I had a bit of bad luck this weekend, but I'm actually happy because we finally found some pace in the feature race this weekend," said Jani.

"We struggled since Friday, and were way too slow this morning [in the sprint race] to win any championship in the world! At least we were somewhere around the front [in the feature], despite the broken exhaust."