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Yoong lost for words after pole

Alex Yoong reckoned he could not put into words how big a deal it was for him to take pole position for Team Malaysia in qualifying for this weekend's A1 Grand Prix race in Shanghai

Yoong snatched his first top spot of the inaugural A1 Grand Prix season in the closing moments of qualifying from Britain's Darren Manning.

"It is hard to put this into perspective," Yoong told autosport.com. "It is like England suddenly taking up baseball, going to America and then winning the World Series.

"We do not have a motorsport heritage and it has been hard for us. But now we have a Formula One circuit and Malaysian drivers and a Malaysian team.

"This means a huge amount to this team and my country. I hope they are going crazy back home now."

Yoong was not surprised however that his Proton-backed team took a pole position this season, because he always believed they had the pace.

"It is not a surprise that we have achieved this - we have been quick in America and quick in Indonesia, where we could have won.

"We made only small improvements to the car on each run this weekend - nothing drastic. We knew the grip would come to the circuit so we weren't worrying about the grip we had at the start. The grip did get better and I went faster."

Aside from the Chinese pair, Yoong is the only driver who has previous experience of the Shanghai International Circuit, having raced in the Chinese Grand Prix-supporting Porsche race in 2004.

"Knowing the circuit only helps you for about the first ten laps," he added. "If it had been wet all through free practice then maybe I would have had an advantage but everyone is so professional and quick at learning tracks it doesn't make a difference anymore."

Yoong is the first Malaysian to be on pole of any kind of international motor race since he himself took the top spot for a Formula Asia race at the Zuhai street course in 1994.

It was Yoong's first pole since a Formula Renault Winter Series race at Donington Park in 1997. That day however, he stalled on the line.

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