11/11/2006
NEWS STORY
Brazil
A1 Team Brasil will begin tomorrow's sprint race from the third row of the grid after Raphael Matos qualified in sixth position on his first outing for the squad. However, the day has been a little unconventional, with the grid formed from the results of this morning's practice session, after much of today's running had to be cancelled due to safety concerns relating to the manhole covers on the racing line of the circuit, which will be repaired and secured prior to tomorrow's races.
Following yesterday's issues with the circuit layout, organisers worked through the night to resolve the turn eight hairpin, which proved too tight for the cars to negotiate. To solve the problem, the track was altered, shortening the main straight and moving the hairpin bend to a wider turning circle.
With the layout issues resolved, the cars began a 90-minute practice session at lunchtime today in preparation for the planned qualifying session this afternoon. However, after 25 minutes the session had to be red-flagged after a manhole cover came loose on the racing line between turns three and four, and the practice was subsequently suspended to allow the necessary repairs to take place.
The decision was taken by A1 officials to form the sprint race grid from the practice results at the time of the red-flag. The second race will begin at 3pm local time, and an announcement by A1GP will be made later today if arrangements can be made to move the sprint race to a later start time, to allow an extra practice to take place in the morning.
Emerson Fittipaldi, Team Principal: "I am very happy with the way that the team ran the car today and Raphael did a fantastic job, improving all the time. He was running right at the top of the times, and was on a very fast lap towards the end of the session, but was unfortunately slowed down when he got stuck in traffic in the last sector. With the performance of the car and driver, we really should have been second or third fastest, so that puts us in a confident frame of mind. Regarding the problems with the track, we cannot be too critical. I have experienced this kind of problem many times on American street tracks, even when I was racing I had this sort of thing happen at least twice. The Chinese people did a great job to put together the track, but unfortunately we've had this problem with the manhole cover. They have a lot of time to sort this out before running tomorrow, so now we just look forward to the race."
Raphael Matos: "I'm quite happy with the car and the team is working well - we have secured a good grid spot for tomorrow despite the limited running we had. I was still learning about the car and the circuit when the session was stopped, but this is the situation and we just have to get on with things. We had a really good lap going until the second to last corner when I was held up by a car, which was a shame. I'm a bit disappointed with the way that things have happened with the problems on the track, but there's nothing we can do. It's quite a fun track to drive, it's very bumpy but every street circuit is like that. I have just been trying to use my experience of this kind of track from Atlantics this year and hopefully everything will be sorted and we'll have a good race tomorrow."
France
Saturday morning practice was red flagged and qualifying cancelled after officials discovered a problem with manhole covers on the street circuit. As a result the fastest laps set up to that point in practice were taken to form the starting grid for tomorrow's sprint race.
Unfortunately A1 Team Frances Nicolas Lapierre had only completed six installation laps and had not been working on setting a fast time at that point as the team were working on testing the braking system as the incident occurred on the track. He will start tomorrow's sprint race from a 21st position.
Nicolas Lapierre said: "I ran about six laps and immediately noticed that the car was not performing as strongly as I wanted. But before we could put in any fast laps the session was red-flagged because of a manhole cover sticking out after turn 3. It is a real shame because we could definitely have been at the sharp end of the grid if there wasn't a problem on the circuit which caused qualifying to be cancelled. Tomorrows sprint race will be tough but I'm hopeful we can make our way through the field."
Germany
Willi Weber's A1 Team Germany concluded Saturday's unusual free practice for the third round of the A1 Grand Prix series in Beijing by claiming fifth position. In use for the first time, the street circuit in the capital of the People's Republic of China required modifications on both Friday and Saturday, which prevented official qualifying being held.
During Friday's opening practice session the radius of turn eight on the 3.1 kilometre course proved, at approximately 24 metres, to be too tight. By repositioning the hairpin and shortening the previous straight, the radius of the corner was increased to 48.5 metres. The 22 national teams competing in the A1 Grand Prix series completed a single free practice around this new circuit layout on Saturday. Nico Hülkenberg from Emmerich, A1 Team Germany's nominated race driver, set the fifth fastest time of 1m01.275s in the powerful 520 hp A1 Grand Prix car. However, because the manhole covers dislodged on the now 2.2 kilometre long circuit free-practice had to be stopped early. The qualifying session originally planned for Saturday was also cancelled, to allow the responsible parties to make modifications to the circuit to guarantee the safety of all competitors.
If it is also not possible to hold qualifying on Sunday, Article 144 of the A1 Grand Prix series Sporting Regulations comes into effect, according to which the times set in free practice determine the starting grid for the sprint race. A1 Team Germany would start the sprint race from the third row after having recorded fifth fastest time.
Nicolas Hülkenberg: "It's obviously a great shame that our first appearance this season in the People's Republic of China runs like this, because the circuit really is a challenge. There are several very bumpy sections which demand your utmost concentration. Free practice was cancelled due to the problems with manhole covers just as we wanted to make the first changes to the car after 14 laps. If qualifying doesn't take place we'll start fifth. Overtaking around this track is absolutely impossible. It'll be all about making a good start, hoping that the others make mistakes and making up ground during the pit stop and strategy. These conditions do, however, apply to everyone – nobody actually has a disadvantage."
Great Britain
A1 Team Great Britain's rookie racer, Oliver Jarvis, was left frustrated in China ahead of Sunday's third round of the 2006-07 A1GP World Cup of Motorsport as Saturday's planned practice and qualifying sessions were disrupted due to on-going issues with the Beijing street circuit, the grid for tomorrow's Sprint race set by today's recorded practice times.
An extended official practice session was meant as a precursor to qualifying but as the first session progressed further issues were raised and as a result all on-track activity for the day was postponed leaving A1 Team Great Britain eighth quickest of the 22 nations set to compete with Jarvis (22) starting eighth on the grid for his A1GP race debut.
Modifications had been made overnight to the original configuration, chiefly the removal of the hairpin bend at Turn 8 which had caused the initial problems in Friday's aborted running in the Chinese capital. As a result track officials had shortened the length of the main straight, removing the troublesome bend and replacing it with a wider hairpin turn.
"It started out as a good solid session and I wasn't pushing too hard," Jarvis remarked. "The worst aspect of practice was clearly the manhole covers which don't seem to be able to take the force of the cars, but it's a good circuit and certainly different and challenging for the drivers, although I definitely would have liked more track time here before having to race!"
A1 Team Great Britain Team Principal John Surtees stated, "Oliver did a good job in practice and was just starting to get underway! He came up to eighth before practice stopped and no doubt would have climbed higher. There are certainly no complaints about the performance of the car or the driver here, though we may have some complaints about the preparation of the circuit. It's disappointing for the team not to show our true potential but it's important that the race takes place tomorrow."
India
A1 Team India continued its campaign today in the A1GP World Cup of Motorsport, in what was an eventful day in Beijing, China. A1 Team India driver Armaan Ebrahim will start tomorrow's Sprint race from 19th on the grid, after only 14 laps around the new street circuit.
Due to problems with a manhole cover in the street circuit's racing line, organisers were forced to cancel the third official practice and qualifying sessions for tomorrow's Sprint race. Under the terms of Sporting Regulation 144, in the event that qualifying does not take place, the lap times set in Practice will be taken as the grid positions for the Sprint Race.
A1 Team India driver, Armaan Ebrahim said, "I'm a bit frustrated that we have ended up 19th on the grid for tomorrow's Sprint race. I know we could have improved our time dramatically as I was just concentrating on bedding in the brakes and finding a balance on the car. There is still a lot of speed to be found in the car and I'm confident that we will be able to move up the field tomorrow."
Yohann J Setna, Seat holder for A1 Team India added, "Armaan did a great job today, and managed to learn this difficult circuit quickly. Unfortunately, the team were working on getting the car to optimal temperature rather than pushing for very fast lap times. I don't think this gird position is reflective of the team's pace and I'm sure we will be able to improve on it in the Sprint race tomorrow."
Ireland
Ireland's Michael Devaney will start tomorrow's A1GP event in Beijing, China, from 11th position on the grid after the organisers were forced to scrap qualifying due to a broken manhole cover on the new street circuit. The incident occurred after 25 minutes of an already-delayed third practice session, and the times set by competitors at that point have been used to determine the starting order for tomorrow morning's Sprint Race.
A 90 minute practice session was scheduled for 11.30am today but started three quarters of an hour late due to damage caused to the circuit by one of the support races. Devaney complete 14 laps before the session was halted due to the manhole cover being sucked out of the ground, posing a serious safety issue to competitors. With organisers deciding that all manhole covers would now have to be bolted in place as well as welded, track activities were cancelled for a remainder of today and the results of practice were used to determine grid order.
"It's been a frustrating time for everyone but we just have to hope the organisers get things sorted for tomorrow's race," said Michael Devaney. "We managed to do a few laps in practice at least, but the conditions were very dusty and I was running on old tyres and 40kgs of fuel when the session was halted. The track is narrow and very bumpy, but if they can get the issues with the manhole covers sorted out I am sure we can have a good race tomorrow."
Mark Gallagher, Managing Director of A1 Team Ireland, said: "I have spoken at length with the A1GP management and they have explained the problems in detail. Although the manhole covers were welded shut, the welds did not stand up to the vibration of the cars and so the only thing to do is bolt them in position as well as to re-weld them. This is going to take time and, with the emphasis on ensuring that tomorrow's first ever street race in Beijing goes ahead, we have to let the organisers do whatever they need to do. Using the practice times to establish the qualifying order is in fact covered in the Sporting Regulations, so it's a correct procedure for A1GP to follow. We really want Beijing's street race to be a success, so let's hope tomorrow goes off without further problems."
Lebanon
The A1GP World Cup of Motorsport inaugural Beijing, China event is set to take place tomorrow at Jingkai, the temporary street circuit built specifically for this race weekend, with A1 Team Lebanon starting on the tenth row of the grid.
Initial circuit layout problems yesterday curtailed the Rookie session track time. A1 Team Lebanon driver, Alex Khateeb, and the rest of the A1GP field were only able to complete two laps. Following overnight revisions, the 2 km circuit was ready for practice and A1 Team Lebanon driver, Basil Shaaban began race preparations.
A new engine demanded that the team completed a number of installation laps before undertaking planned race preparation. However, after 25 minutes of action, the 90-minute long session was suspended following a red flag resulting from a manhole cover coming loose on the racing line. The problems led to the remainder of today's track action and qualifying being cancelled. All necessary work to rectify the problem will be carried out this afternoon and the A1GP cars are expected back on track tomorrow. Under race regulations grid positions are determined by practice times only and A1 Team Lebanon will line up 20th for the Sprint race tomorrow.
Shaaban said after the session, "We only managed to complete 14 laps of the track today, as the majority of the time was spent on the technical procedures that have to be completed with a new engine installation. That also meant that we weren't running at race pace. I think it's been a tough day for everyone, but I always enjoy driving the A1GP car and representing Lebanon, so I'm looking forward to racing tomorrow."
Malaysia
A1 Team Malaysia will line up on the eighth row of the grid for tomorrow's Sprint race after problems with the temporary street circuit limited the practice session, a situation that was compounded for the Malaysian team by mechanical issues. Alex Yoong, driving today for the team, was limited to just ten laps of the circuit.
Initial track layout issues denied the A1GP field from running a full Friday session, with Fairuz Fauzy, along with the rest of the field, only completing two laps before practice was abandoned. Following overnight modifications to the Jingkai street circuit, the inaugural A1GP Beijing race weekend got underway today with the third official practice session. Alex Yoong was behind the wheel for A1 Team Malaysia.
After 25 minutes of action, the 90-minute long session was suspended following a red flag resulting from a manhole cover coming loose on the racing line between turns three and four. The problems led to the remainder of today's track action being cancelled. All necessary work to rectify the problem will be carried out this afternoon and the A1GP cars are expected back on track tomorrow.
Yoong said after the practice session, "I'm disappointed that we haven't had the chance to run properly at this track but we understand the difficulties being faced here. For A1 Team Malaysia this situation has been made worse, as I not only had gearbox issues in the time I was on track, but also rear roll bar problems. We didn't have a chance to put in a competitive lap, and our 15th place grid position is not reflective of our capabilities.
This narrow track has very limited opportunity for overtaking, so with this starting place we can't be too optimistic for tomorrow. It will probably hurt our championship standings but our goal will be to take as many points as possible away with us from China."
A1 Team Malaysia Chief Executive, Jack Cunningham comments, "A1GP has been breaking new ground from the time of conception, and with this inaugural event there have been a few teething problems. With the addition of Fairuz to the team this weekend, we had expected to be able to show our real capabilities. That's not been possible because of the circumstances. Never mind.
We ran only 10 laps and Alex had just begun to push when he had a spin caused by a fault in the roll bar. When he came in, he said that he thought the gearbox was shifting more than 1 gear at a time. Whilst the roll bar was sorted, the mechanics looked at the gearbox and found a pawl on a gear part cracked and a part broken. During the stop the session was red flagged and was not started again, hence our 10 laps.
Had Alex run the same as the other drivers, we can reasonably assume he would have been close to their times or better.
So we are nowhere near where we had hoped to be. But that's the way it goes sometimes and we are certainly not going to worry about it now.
We're now looking at managing our affairs, and being realistic about our chances tomorrow. I would add that in any street race, near anything can happen. So let's see where we are at 16h15 tomorrow."
Netherlands
A1 Team Netherlands will start the Beijing A1GP Sprint race tomorrow from pole position. It is the teams first ever pole position in A1GP. With a time of 1'00.093 Jeroen Bleekemolen was halve a second faster then Salvador Duran of Mexico.
After qualifying had been cancelled, due to problems with manhole covers on the track, article 144 of the Sporting regulations was applied. This states that in the case of the cancellation of qualifying the results from the free practice sessions determine the start grid for the Sprint race.
In today's only free practice session, which got underway at 12.15 local time, A1 Team Netherlands was quickest from the beginning. After warming up the new engine Jeroen Bleekemolen went out for his first flying lap, immediately setting the fastest time.
It stayed like that until the end of the session, which ran for 30 minutes instead of the orginally planned one and a half hours. A manhole cover coming loose in turn four caused this. The organisers then decided to cancel qualifying. All manhole covers on the circuit will be bolted down tonight.
A1 Team Netherlands driver Jeroen Bleekemolen was of course really pleased with this first pole position; "It went very well. In the beginning of the session we lost some 10 minutes because of our new engine. In total I was not able to drive many laps. But the moment we went out we were fastest straight away. I had to go in to have some things checked, we went out again and were immediately fastest again. We are on the pace and the car feels really good on this track. With a street race it is an even bigger advantage to be on pole, overtaking is very difficult. We have a good chance of winning, also because we were fast all throughout the session. We are really looking forward to this. Hopefully we will have a good rolling start tomorrow, work from there and see where we end up", said Jeroen who is expecting that the times tomorrow will be much faster then today. "We ran on used tyres today and tomorrow there will be more rubber on the track and less dirt, this could easily be three seconds difference."
A1 Team Netherlands team principal Jan Lammers was also very happy with this result; "Pole is pole and always the best way to start. The practices session did get cut short, but Jeroen was on the pace straight from the beginning, overtaking everywhere and was razor sharp, just like the whole team. Winning without compromise is always our goal, that is what we are here for and we will go for it! We are now busy preparing for tomorrow, because then we will have to capitalize on this. We are capable of winning, we did show that before".
Switzerland
The Saturday morning practice session for this weekend's third round of the 2006/2007 A1 GP World Cup of Motorsport at Beijing was interrupted by a red flag. Up until then, A1 Team Switzerland's Neel Jani had covered thirteen laps working on race set-up and was lying tenth fastest with a best lap of 1.01.711s.
Officials who discovered problems with a manhole lid on the street circuit then cancelled the official practice and qualifying at Beijing. As per the regulations, qualifying will not take place and today's practice positions and lap times will be used to decide the grid positions for tomorrow's sprint race.
Neel Jani said: "We had a very difficult qualifying session and qualifying 10th was not what we were hoping for and we could have done much better in qualifying, if it hadn't been cancelled. I noticed right away that I had a problem with gear shifting. I came in the pits too many times during the session, and at the end I was only out for one timed lap. But I was in the pits when the manhole lid problem occurred in turn 3 and I did not get caught up in it. Overall, this track is quite bumpy, challenging and slippery. It will be an interesting race as I am far from the limit of my car and I have plenty in reserve so tomorrow will be a case fighting my way through the field. I would have liked a qualifying session to be able to check if the gear shift works now that the team worked on it. The race will be tough as the track is narrow and it will be hard to overtake. I expect it to be quite unpredictable though."