Australia

Today's second official practice session started later than normal at 5pm with ample sunshine, a mild breeze amongst a fanatical British crowd about the circuit. John Martin was quick in the early part of the session maintaining a good track position throughout until a small spin followed later in the session with a very brief off the track excursion moved him down the order from second to sixth.

Returning back to the pits for some further setup changes with Rob Arnott Team Chief Engineer and Danny King Data Engineer, Martin was confident he could improve his track time and position with fifteen minutes remaining in the session.

The level of competition has improved considerably this season as the top ten drivers were running in the one minute thirteen's as A1 Team Netherlands eclipsed the one minute twelve's with a final session time of 1:12.700 to finish in first place.

Alan Jones A1 Team Australia Seatholder: "Excellent session, John is very comfortable with his car, he set quick pace as soon as he took to the track and that's a great sign in any first practice. We're keen to get back here tomorrow morning and improve on today's track time"

John Martin: "Really good, the car is great, and in theory, with a perfect lap the way I was going, I could have finished second fastest. Very happy and confident to do a lot better as we move forward into the race weekend"

Rob Arnott: "Great session, John did very well, his radio communication was excellent with crystal clear frequency. We are quick, the car is very good all round so we're ready to move up onto the top runners tomorrow"

France

Today, practice began for the seventh and final round of the 2008-09 A1GP World Cup of Motorsport Championship on the very challenging Brands Hatch circuit in Kent in the south of England.

The rookie sessions got off to a prompt start in sunny, warm weather: air temperature 21 degrees C and on the track it was 36 degrees. Nicolas Prost was on the pace straight away and steadily whittled down his times as he began to dial himself in in the car. In addition, the team had solved the braking problems that had plagued it in Portugal, making it much easier to drive. Nicolas ended the first part of the rookie session with the quickest time in 1m 14.8s.

In the 10-minute break between the 2 rookie sessions, the team worked on improving the car's set-up, and Nicolas rewarded their efforts by topping the time sheets in the second part as well in 1m 13.7s.

The afternoon free session kicked off in temperatures very similar to those of the morning. A1 Team France waited for 10 minutes before going out, as the track was still a bit dirty. Nicolas then did a first run setting a time of 1m 13.598s giving him fourth place just2/10s off the provisional pole. Nicolas did not manage to improve during the rest of practice, and finished the day in seventh place overall in a very competitive session with just under a second separating the first seven cars. Tonight, the team will work on the data to try and find more time in the second section, where the car seems to be losing out to its rivals.

Olivier Panis, Sporting Director: "Overall, it's been a positive day's work for the team. Nicolas showed his speed this morning by setting the best times in both rookie sessions. This afternoon, he finished seventh in what was a very competitive session, which bodes well for tomorrow as we haven't yet run through our full programme and we feel there's more pace to come."

Nicolas Prost: "This morning went off very well and I'm delighted to have set the fastest times in what were my last rookie sessions. This afternoon could have been a little better. What's very positive is that we've solved the brake problems that plagued us in Portugal and overall the car's general balance is very good. We need a bit more grip and we'll work through the data tonight to find that little bit of extra pace for tomorrow to close the gap to our rivals."

Ireland

Adam Carroll and A1 Team Ireland made a strong start to the deciding weekend of the A1GP World Cup of Motorsport season with second fastest time in Friday's late afternoon practice session.

Earlier Niall Quinn set fifth fastest time in the Rookie practice sessions, the Meath man showing well on old tyres while his rivals had the use of new tyres unused by their teams at the last round in Portugal.

Carroll took over from Quinn and continued the set up and preparation work in Practice Two, recording his best lap three minutes from the end of the session to move up from fifth to second behind the A1 Team Netherlands which shares engineering support with the Irish squad.

It's a strong start to the most important weekend in the history of A1 Team Ireland which heads into Sunday's Sprint and Feature races at the top of the standings.