Already comfortably in the top-ten of the current A1GP Nations Standings, sitting ninth on 75 points, 25 points clear of tenth placed Portugal, Canada's sights are firmly set on a potential top-six finish. A mere six points separate Germany, the out-going A1GP World Champions, in sixth place on 83 points and Canada in ninth with Ireland (83) and the Netherlands (80) in between.
While the Canadian team has already enjoyed its best ever A1GP season, with rookie racer Robert Wickens steering his way to victory in Round 7's Sprint race in South Africa in addition to four other podium finishes, Brands Hatch could seal the deal on the team's stellar progress competing around the world with lots to play for heading into the final Sprint and Feature races.
Hinchcliffe will return to the cockpit of the 550bhp A1GP car for the first time since Round 2 in the Czech Republic last October. The 21-year-old, capped a total of eighteen times for Canada - with a highest placing of second alongside seven top-ten A1GP finishes last season, is looking forward to his debut on the 2.62-mile Brands Hatch Grand Prix Circuit.
"I'm really looking forward to being back at Brands Hatch," said Hinchcliffe. "I attended last season's race to support A1 Team Canada and I'm pumped to actually be the guy driving there this year. The team's already proven itself to be a consistent force and I'm confident we can go out there and keep that momentum going. The points battle is pretty tight where we're at but we all know what's achievable if everything goes our way. Brands also marks the last time we'll be racing the Lola-Zytek A1GP car so hopefully we can give it a good send off and put on a great show for the British crowd."
Hinchcliffe will be joined in the United Kingdom by his fellow Atlantic Championship racer, Daniel Morad. The 18-year-old from Markham will again undertake Friday morning's 'Rookie-Only' session for Canada having performed the role over the course of the previous three A1GP race meetings.
"As always I'll be working to make sure we get a good base set-up on the car," Morad commented. "I'd like to crack the top-three in the rookie session this time. I've definitely got an eye on landing the race seat for next season so I'm keen to keep showing I can do a good job. I've been learning as much as I can with each opportunity. I know I'm capable of doing a full weekend but in the meantime I'll do all I can to help the team and James this weekend and hopefully I'll get my shot next season."
Sunday's 20-minute Sprint race starts at 11am GMT (6am EST) with the 70-minute Feature race starting at 3pm at Brands Hatch (10am EST). Live Feature race streaming will be available via - www.a1gp.com / Setanta Sports Canada will broadcast Round 10 from the United Kingdom as a tape-delay starting at 8am EST on Monday 5th May - www.setantanorthamerica.com
A1GP Top-Ten Standings - Round 9/10: 1st Switzerland (150), 2nd New Zealand (121), 3rd France (111), 4th Great Britain (99), 5th South Africa (92), 6th Germany (83), 7th Ireland (83), 8th Netherlands (80), 9th CANADA (75), 10th Portugal (50)
Photo Credit: 'Toronto's James Hinchcliffe returns to duty for A1 Team Canada' - Jakob Ebrey Photography // Copyright-free A1 Team Canada images are available for download at www.a1gp-photo.com/can // From A1 Team Canada Media Relations: Stuart Morrison - PR & Media Manager
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