18/01/2008
NEWS STORY
Brazil
The sun blazed down on the Taupo circuit in New Zealand today as A1 Team Brasil hit the track for the first time of the weekend for round five of the 2007/08 A1GP World Cup of Motorsport. For the first time this season the Team utilised two drivers as it welcomed new rookie Clemente Faria Jr to join nominated race driver Sergio Jimenez.
Clemente got his first taste of an A1GP weekend today as he went out in this morning's rookie practice session. In the first 25-minute segment Clemente focused on learning the Taupo circuit and re-acquainting himself with the car, which he last drove at the pre-season driver shoot-out at Snetterton in the UK last August. He shifted his focus for the second segment to gather data for the Team before handing over the reins to Sergio for the afternoon's one-hour practice.
Taupo was another new circuit for Sergio as he hit the track this afternoon. As he is no longer eligible for the rookie practice sessions, the first aim of the afternoon was to get to grips with the technical 3.5km circuit. After that he began working with the Team to begin to find a good set-up for the car, and focus soon turned to finding a solution for the bumpy nature of the track. Although good progress was made throughout the hour, Sergio and the engineers will be looking to improve further in time for tomorrow's final one-hour practice session, before the afternoon's qualifying.
Clemente Faria Jr: "The track is very technical and I really enjoyed it. The sessions are not too long so I didn't have a lot of time to see the data and try to improve on my times. The car was good but I did not go to the limit so there is more to come. A lot of things are new to me but I just need to build my experience and I know we can improve in Australia because I will be more used to the car."
Sergio Jimenez: "It hasn't been bad today. I have been surprised by the circuit because it looked quite easy, but I have found a very tricky, bumpy track. The car was very nervous to begin with this afternoon and that made it difficult to drive. We changed a lot and the car kept improving during the session. We had some good sector times but didn't get a clean lap to put it all together; if we put our best splits together we would have done very well. So it wasn't a bad day but we still need to make improvements for tomorrow."
Emerson Fittipaldi: "Clemente did a good job this morning, he just needs to get adapt to the car because it's not easy to drive. This afternoon Sergio kept improving and did a very good job considering it is his first time here. He did some fast sectors but we didn't get one clean lap so tomorrow we should be running closer to the top, I think in the top six."
Canada
A1 Team Canada's Robert Wickens continued to make a name for himself in the A1GP World Cup of Motorsport as the Toronto teen dominated Round 5's ‘Rookie-Only' practice session on Friday morning at New Zealand's Taupo Motorsports Park.
Wickens, turning his first career laps at the stunning 3.5km facility, blitzed the field of rookie drivers setting a lap of 1m17.070s, almost two tenths clear of second-placed John Martin debuting for A1 Team Australia. Canada maintained its front-running pace in the afternoon's hour-long official practice, Robert setting the seventh fastest lap time from the 22 competing nations.
With 21 laps under his belt from the morning's rookie session Wickens headed into the afternoon's practice armed with track knowledge and some set-up adjustments to try out ahead of tomorrow afternoon's qualifying runs. Logging 18 more tours, his fastest lap, a 1m16.065s, was just half a second off of A1 Team France's timesheet topping 1m15.545s, set courtesy of veteran Loic Duval.
"We definitely improved the car today," said Wickens after Friday's Taupo sessions. "We made a few changes from the rookie session that didn't quite work so when we started this afternoon on the new tires the car wasn't up to go P1again. As the session went on we really progressed and I set our best lap towards the end of the day which I'm really pleased about considering the tires were worn."
Robbie continued, "The Team did a great job, we're going to work on the car and hopefully get some good qualifying spots for Sunday's Sprint and Feature races. You don't get a break at this track, it's extremely physical but the grip levels are phenomenal. I'd heard that there wasn't too much grip here last year but whatever they've done, there's a ton of it now! It's going to be a physical race so whoever's been to the gym will make it to the end!"
Team Manager Simon Cayzer reflected on a solid opening day down-under. "We're at the right end of the grid," he commented. "We tried a few things, some worked and some didn't but we know the direction we have to take. We're reasonably happy with our qualifying set-up and there's a bit more work to do on the race set-up. In Zhuhai we were P2 but we didn't deliver in qualifying, there are no points for the rookie session and last time we ended the weekend with no points. I'll be happy with a decent score come Sunday evening."
Germany
A1 Team Germany headed by Seat Holder Willi Weber kicked off the first race weekend in 2008 in the A1GP World Cup of Motorsport with a series of strong performances. In Friday's free practice sessions, Christian Vietoris from Gönnersdorf in Germany left his mark during the fifth round of the series in New Zealand with fourth place in the combined Rookie sessions, complemented by fourth place in the second free practice.
The German Team that has tasted its first victory of the season on the previous race meeting in December adapted well to the 3.5 kilometre Taupo circuit on New Zealand's North Island. Lapping the track in 1m17.577s, Christian Vietoris achieved the third best time in the first Rookie session behind Ireland's Adam Carroll and Australia's John Martin. In the second part of the Rookie session, he backed up his performance in finishing third again (1m17.444s), his times adding up to fourth overall in the combined classification.
In the afternoon, a time of 1:15.986s equalled fourth place again in the field of the 22 nations. Christian Vietoris was prevented from further progress on Friday by several factors. "Generally, it is good to be back. I have to get used to the car again and it feels better every lap. I still don't feel the new tyres perfectly so we didn't make the most of a set of fresh rubber in the afternoon. Also, the track was extremely dirty and many drivers had a few moments or even spins. The car didn't feel bad at all, but we are still working on the braking balance", reported the 18 year-old German driver. "I'm sure we have a good chance of sorting that out in the remaining free practice session on Saturday before we enter qualifying."
Commenting on the the track located in a unique landscape nearby a picturesque lake and a volcano, Christian Vietoris added: "Taupo is unique, and everybody enjoys the atmosphere over here at temperatures of 28 degrees centigrade. The twelfth corner has been changed quite significantly since last year. Instead of a fourth-gear bend, we now negotiate the corner in second gear. It's nearly a chicance. I enjoy it, but I somewhat doubt that it will cause more overtaking. This is why Saturday's qualifying that determines the starting orders for both the sprint and feature races on Sunday will be crucial. We look to build on our performances and to get a decent position on the grids."
Great Britain
Robbie Kerr and James Winslow were in action for A1 Team GBR today as the A1GP World Cup of Motorsport series moved to Taupo, New Zealand.
The British squad currently lies fourth in the Championship, and Robbie Kerr is determined to score some strong points for the Team. In preparation for what are sure to be two thrilling races on Sunday, Teams first hit the track today in two practice sessions. Driving for A1 Team GBR were James Winslow, who drove in the morning's 50-minute rookie practice, and Robbie Kerr, who took the wheel for the afternoon session.
It was 26-year-old Winslow's first taste of the A1GP car and his first visit to the Taupo circuit this morning. James, who won the 2007 Formula Asia V6 by Renault series, was one of very few drivers to make his debut in the car at this race. After acquainting himself with the 3.5km circuit on the edge of Lake Taupo, James went on to work on a programme which included an engine installation and bedding brakes, and was able to put some good laps in towards the end of the session. The practice was good preparation for James' next outing at Eastern Creek in Australia, where he has track experience and will be able to push harder.
Back in the car for the first time since the Brno weekend last October, during which he scored a second place podium in the Sprint race, Kerr took the wheel for this afternoon's one-hour practice. After almost three months out of cockpit, the aim of the initial laps were for Robbie to get a feel of the car and to learn the reconfigured turn 12, a slight layout change to the circuit from last year. Following that Robbie moved on to developing the set-up but limited laps to save tyres as the Team was happy with the overall performance of the car.
The Team's focus now shifts to tomorrow when Robbie will have the benefit of one final hour of practice before embarking on the afternoon's all-important qualifying. Viewers of Sky Sports in the UK can watch the qualifying sessions live, with the expert opinion of A1 Team GBR's Oliver Jarvis, who will be a guest in the studio on Saturday and Sunday.
Robbie Kerr: "It's great to be back in the A1GP car again. We cannot complain about being sixth quickest in the practice session since I've been out of the car for over three months. We made a few changes during the session, which did help with performance, and I think we're definitely looking good for the weekend. I'm sure with some other small changes, we're going to find those few tenths that we're after."
James Winslow: "It's been a fantastic experience driving for Great Britain for the first time and a real honour to represent my country. Considering it was my first time in the car, I was happy with how the session went and thought we had a good run, finishing only 1.3 seconds off the likes of Adam Carroll (A1 Team IRL) who have had podium finishes in A1GP. The main purpose of the session was obviously to get all the jobs ticked off the list, but I'm sure when I drive the car for a second time at Eastern Creek, we'll be quicker in the rookie session".
Katie Clements: "It's been an encouraging start to GBR's return to Taupo. James did a solid job in the rookie session, especially considering it was his debut both in the A1GP car and at Taupo, and obviously he has the honour of being the first Brit to drive the bio-fuel car for the Team. We're pleased with Robbie's performance, and he proved to be immediately on the pace after his initial laps on the revised track. We know the direction we're going in tomorrow and are feeling quietly confident ahead of qualifying."
Ireland
Belmayne A1 Team Ireland got off to a flying start in New Zealand today with Adam Carroll getting straight on the pace and finishing third and second in today's practice sessions on his Taupo debut.
In the first half of the rookie session Adam clocked the quickest time, 1:17.314, ahead of Australia's John Martin and Germany's Christian Vietoris. The second 25-minute session was then spent bedding in brakes and looking at set-up changes but his earlier time was still good enough for third overall. Canada's Robert Wickens ended the morning quickest with a 1:17.070.
During the afternoon hour-long session, Adam continued to push hard and got his time down to 1: 15.799 which made him second fastest man of the day, just 0.25s behind Team France.
Adam Carroll: "I like the track although it's quite bumpy through some of the faster corners and was really busy out there as its quite a short circuit but there's pretty good grip on the racing line and we got some good laps in. Today has been pretty good on the whole, we tried a few things and went out on new set of tyres this afternoon but we didn't really pull it altogether. We came in and made a small change and then I set my fastest time. I think everything we did after that was very positive and we're moving in a good direction. I'm very happy with what we've done and ready for the rest of the weekend."
Dan Walmsley, Race Engineer: "We're very satisfied with today's work but it's crucial that we carry the momentum through to tomorrow's qualifying sessions. We didn't make the most of the good position we put ourselves in during practice in Zhuhai so it's paramount that we capitalize on this tomorrow. The Team is focused and we understand what we need to do, so there's a really positive feeling that we can deliver a good result this weekend."
Lebanon
A1 Team Lebanon has arrived in New Zealand to continue its campaign in the A1GP World Cup of Motorsport and today took part in the first day of practice ahead of Sunday's races today.
The event marks the ground breaking introduction of greener fuel into the Series, with all the A1GP cars running on a 30% biofuel mix. It is the first truly global series to take this step as part of a wider THINK Greener Racing environmental policy.
Chris Alajajian and Khalil Beschir, the regular drivers for A1 Team Lebanon, are both in Taupo, with Alajajian selected to represent the nation this weekend in New Zealand. Eligible to take part in all the sessions, including the early Friday rookie practice session, Alajajian has previous experience of the circuit, although this was prior to the extensive circuit changes.
The Team fitted a new engine in the run up to today's sessions, which required Alajajian to complete a series of installation laps before he was able to run at full power. Once this had been completed the Team began work on their development programme and Alajajian learned their circuit, making setup changes as data was collected in the session.
The Team had a strong start to the weekend with Alajajian posting ninth quickest time in the morning. In the first part of the session he was seventh quickest and in the second session, with lap times dropping, eighth fastest.
In the afternoon the Team continued to work with Alajajian to make improvements to the car and he was posting consistent lap times in the early part of the session. Brake issues then caused Alajajian to end up in the dust off the track and he had to limp back to the pits for repairs. This lost him around 25 minutes of track time, but he was able to return to the circuit in the closing stages and put more laps in. As the chequered flag fell to mark the end of the practice session the Lebanese Team were 16th fastest.
Alajajian said of his opening practice day, "I think we've had a fairly good day today, although not without a little drama with the brakes. This lost us quite a bit of the afternoon session which was a shame, but I think considering this, we can be satisfied with 16th today. I think there's certainly room to make further improvements and we didn't make all the changes we wanted to, so we'll do this tomorrow morning, and then look for a strong qualifying in the afternoon."
Marcus Koch, Chief Engineer, A1 Team Lebanon added, "Chris had one of the best starts to the weekend this morning and really got to grips with the track quickly. He carried this momentum through to the afternoon, but the brake problems cut this short and although we were able to get back out, losing nearly half the session didn't help us. We'll be back on the pace tomorrow and are confident that we can make further improvements.
Malaysia
The A1GP World Cup of Motorsport 2007/08 begins the New Year in Taupo with a ground breaking move to greener fuel. Today A1 Team Malaysia and the field of A1GP cars took to the New Zealand track with biofuel in their tanks for the first time, the first truly global racing series to take this step.
The honour of running with the new fuel first fell to Aaron Lim for A1 Team Malaysia. The young racer, as rookie driver for the team, takes part in a Friday morning practice session at each A1GP race weekend that is reserved exclusively for young up-and-coming drivers. The session has the dual benefit of giving Lim valuable international race driving experience at a high level and providing the team with regular engineering tasks and valuable early weekend feedback on the car.
He said of his experience of the Taupo circuit, "It's quite a difficult track to learn, with many corners in a short lap. It's also very narrow, so if you make a small mistake you're off the track or spinning. However it is very good for me to have the chance to drive on so many different kinds of track and this one is definitely a challenge for me."
In the afternoon Yoong took over the wheel of the A1 Team Malaysia car and quickly got to work with the team to start preparations for the races ahead. He made steady progress during the session and was confident that there was more improvements to make tomorrow. Finishing 14th quickest, having turned 27 timed laps during the hour of running, Yoong said at the conclusion of the day, "We're only a second off pole, so that's okay. We've had a fairly positive day. With every change that we made the car reacted well, but there's still a lot more we can do with the car to make it quicker. The new corner definitely helps make this track more conducive to overtaking. It's an exciting track to drive, with the car hopping all over the place, going off the track is all too easy – and dusty!"
Jack Cunningham, Chief Executive of the team adds, "It's been a steady start for the team. Aaron, as always, played an important role this morning and Alex and the engineering team are confident that there is better to come for tomorrow. We're comfortable with the performance today, but of course we'll be looking to break into the top ten in the qualifying sessions tomorrow."
New Zealand
New Zealand driver Jonny Reid says this weekend's second-ever New Zealand round of the A1GP World Cup of Motorsport will definitely provide more thrills and spills.
Twelve months ago the nation versus nation series roared onto a Taupo circuit that had been completed literally days before the first practice session.
The rookie track was praised for its smile, but chastised for its toothlessness. Now, the picturesque venue wants to be more beast than beauty. And Reid says that is a given.
This afternoon's first official practice was noticeable for the number of cars going sideways and slipping off the circuit. Dust was then being brought back on to the track, making it even more slippery and magnifying the driver difficulty index.
"It was a very tough session," Reid said. "You might be on a really good lap, but you see dust up ahead as someone has gone off and it makes it really, really tricky as you come through the now dusty part of the track. You have to place the car with absolute perfection, but it will also be a case of being in the right place at the right time."
French driver Loic Duval, second in both races at Taupo last season, set the fastest time in the first official practice session. His quickest lap of 1:15:545 was less than a second slower than last year's record lap time – an astonishing effort given the track change at the end of the main track was supposed to slow the cars considerably.
Reid was 8th quickest for New Zealand, 0.529 seconds behind Duval. "We didn't get as close we would've liked, but we're getting there," Reid said. "We had a small problem with the car that we'll rectify and I'm sure we'll be well on the pace," Reid added, coyly refusing to elaborate.
Earlier in the day Brendon Hartley finished 5th fastest in his first-ever drive in the two 25-minute Rookie Sessions, an impressive performance given it was also his first drive on the Taupo circuit. Starting conservatively to bed in the brakes and engine, Hartley let rip late in his second session and could easily have set the quickest time if he hadn't slipped off on to the grass during his final, and fastest, lap.
"I made some gruesome mistakes," Hartley said. "But overall I think I did a reasonable job. I enjoyed the track. It's bumpy and really interesting. It's going to be a good weekend."
The most noticeable change to the track – the final bend at the end of the back straight where a sharper corner makes for fiercer, and braver, passing manoeuvres – was given the thumbs up by Reid. "It's still green on the inside and a bit slippery, but as the weekend goes on and more rubber is laid down I'm sure you'll have more people attempting to pass. The brave will be rewarded."
Taupo Motorsport Park managing director David Steele is sure the track's primary goal, to provide more of a challenge for the drivers and reward courage and skill, had been achieved. "We wanted to create more opportunity for passing and this is now, as Jonny Reid calls it, a "big balls" corner. You have to leave your braking to the absolute right moment. If you brake too early someone will slip you and if you brake too late you'll probably be off and out of the race. It will add real drama and it is right where the majority of the crowd is. It is just a perfect position.
"You can't get away from the fact that fans love to see action, they love to see a bit of excitement and they love to see crashes. They don't want anyone hurt, but they still want to see some bump and grind. It's a bit like boxing. They want to see people get knocked out but they don't want to see anyone hurt. It's a bit bizarre." Reid says qualifying, which takes place tomorrow afternoon from 2.15pm, will be vital.
Pakistan
A1 Team Pakistan with driver, Adam Khan, began racing in the fifth round of the A1GP World Cup of Motorsport today. The Series has travelled to a far corner of the globe, New Zealand, for the first race weekend of 2008. Taupo, in the centre of the North Island greeted the field of 22 nations competing in this high level international race series which pits country against country.
The New Zealand event is also making motor racing history. The A1GP Series has introduced a greener fuel for the A1GP race cars at this race meeting, with the cars being run on a 30% biofuel mix, the first truly global international race series that has taken this step. The initiative is part of a wider environmental policy, THINK Greener Racing, which A1GP launched at the beginning of this season. The move to the new fuel was a smooth transition, with the cars continuing to show strong reliability, and maintaining the speed and power that has been enjoyed since the start of this Series.
Khan, ineligible to run in the Friday rookie session, used the time to watch the field from the sidelines, but as always on this first day of running, the Team suffers from not having the chance to utilise all the sessions. The afternoon session was Khan's first taste of the circuit. He began by learning the track layout, and in the second part was able to start working with the engineering Team to develop the performance of the car. He completed 23 laps of the Taupo circuit, posting his quickest lap towards the end of the session, finishing 21st at the end of the hour of running.
During the five week break since the last round in Zhuhai the operational Team for A1 Team Pakistan has been changed, with new engineering staff and mechanics introduced for the remainder of the season.
Khan says of his first day of running in Taupo, "It was a very slippery track, but I enjoyed my first experience here. We suffered from not having this morning's session, but I'm pretty sure we can do a good job this weekend. We need to look at the data, see where I need to improve and where to improve the car and go from there. The transition with the staffing has been very smooth. Everyone knows what they are doing and just got on with their jobs, it hasn't been a problem and I'm very positive that we can make progress."
John Allen, Team Manager, A1 Team Pakistan adds, "I think we had a fair day today. We're not that far off the pace . We had some problems in the tight braking areas with the car locking up, but I think that is a driving technique situation and we'll work with Adam on that. Danny Watts, the Team's driver coach, has already established a good rapport with Adam, so this will help us to make progress as well."
Switzerland
Since their arrival in Taupo, Neel Jani and Tom Dillmann have acclimatized to the place and the track new to both drivers. Part of this process included a fishing trout fishing challenge on the magnificent Lake Taupo on Thursday morning as part of the buildup to this weekend's A1GP.
In the Friday rookie sessions where Canada Robert Wickens was the fastest overall (1.17.070), Tom Dillmann completed 12 laps setting a time of 1.19.116. Switzerland A1GP team engineer James Robinson had a routine technical program to work through with Dillmann. In the first official practice session, Neel Jani put on a great show for the additional newcomer TV viewers that have recently joined through Swiss STAR TV now broadcasting SSF - Schweizer Sport Fernsehen - coverage. After a difficult session, Neel completed with a third fastest time (1.15.919), only 0.374' behind fastest France's Duval and the Irish team's Adam Carroll who was second fastest.
Tom Dillmann says: "I had a good two sessions and also demonstrated consistent laps but I am not satisfied with the times for my first outing at Taupo Circuit. The main thing is to have worked well and delivered what the technical team expected of me. The track is narrow, tight and twisty. It reminds me of a karting track. I was only able to complete five full fast laps that we made good use of to check the brakes. It was a good working session that allowed me to learn the track and find my pace again at the wheel of the car that I had not driven since the summer Silverstone session. The session was a lot of work, but everything went according to engineering plan. I hope this will provide good data to Neel for the rest of this week-end."
Preparations for qualifying and the races themselves continued during the official practice session under bright sun and hot temperatures with Neel Jani driving for the first time at Taupo. After a difficult start where the Swiss driver encountered a slow puncture on his rear left tyre, Jani's concentration was not affected, and he made impressive progress with the car set-up, finishing third place overall with 1.15.919.
Neel Jani commented, "The track was new to me and I realize you have to be a street fighter to attack this track. It is not smooth or flowing at all. You must attack permanently. With the team we did a lot of work over my 19 afternoon laps. I used part of the session to learn the track and am pretty happy with the results. To my big surprise, I had a slow puncture on the left rear tyre as I started and was loosing a lot of air. Then I stopped to put some air, but it was not helpful. Nevertheless I got a good run on lap 11 and climbed to third position with 1.15.946.
Later, we used the third and fourth outing with the team and the engineers for other additional routine systems checks. I finished with an improved time of 1.15.919 but my slow puncture problem was not solved. It will be interesting for the rest of the weekend on the narrow track where everyone will be close together and overtaking conditions are difficult. We still have one session tomorrow morning before the qualifying session to continue improve the car. This track is really hard work!"
Max Welti, team principal, A1 Team Switzerland commented, "I am satisfied for our first day under these very hot conditions. The team did a good job, and I am pleased with the work that we achieved today with both drivers. Tom Dillmann worked well with our technicians during the session. Yellow flags and incidents with other cars made it difficult to run full laps in good conditions. When Neel took over the work was impressive because of the slow puncture at the start of the session. He nevertheless was able to continue through the working program without losing confidence or focus; his times were very fast."
USA
A1 Team USA's Jonathan Summerton had the fifth fastest lap in practice Friday in the A1GP World Cup of Motorsport at Taupo, New Zealand.
"The practice went well," Summerton said. "It was fun to go fast and we got plenty of work done for qualifying and the races. The car was pretty good from the start and we were able to make it better. We were fastest at the end of the practice on worn tires and that makes us feel good, too.
"The 'We the People' car was really good, but we still have some room to make it better. I am looking forward to a good weekend and I am feeling really confident."
Summerton had a best lap of 1:16.000 on the 2.17-mile circuit. The 19-year-old from Kissimmee, Fla., completed 26 laps in the one-hour session.
Charlie Kimball of Camarillo, Calif., opened the weekend for A1 Team USA by running the 10th fastest lap at 1:17.999 in the two 25-minute all-rookie practices. Kimball was 13th in the first session at 1:19.495 and ninth in the second. He completed 31 laps.
"I had a good, solid run this morning," Kimball said. "The track was a bit dusty to start with, but that was largely irrelevant as I was bedding brakes. As the track gripped up, I really started to enjoy the flowing connected sections of the circuit. The 'We the People' car wasn't perfect, but I think I gave the Team some good information so that Jonathan had a better car to start with in the afternoon. I once again enjoyed being a part of A1 Team USA."
Qualifying is Saturday. A one-hour practice precedes the four 15-minute qualifying sessions, two each for the Sprint and Feature races. The 20-minute Sprint and 70-minute Feature are Sunday.
"We're off to an interesting start in the Land of Oz, " A1 Team USA owner Rick Weidinger said. "I am cautiously optimistic about the race weekend. It's the highest we've been in practice this season and it appears our crew is really connected and well managed in their first day of practice in Taupo.
"Marc Lawrence, our new Team Manager, has already made a difference in Team meetings and briefings, but we still have much more to accomplish. We need to move up a few more positions in qualifying and then we'll be in great shape for the Sprint and Feature races. Although admittedly we are off to a slow start this season, we have not wavered one bit on our goals -top-five finishes in every race. We are building on consistency now."
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