07/11/2008
NEWS STORY
Brazil
A1 Team Brazil was in action today as driver Felipe Guimarães began practice in preparation for this weekend's races at the Chengdu International Circuit in China, for round two of the A1GP World Cup of Motorsport.
Despite threats of rain, the day dawned warm and sunny and the practice sessions were held in near perfect conditions. Felipe took to the bumpy track for this morning's first 30-minute rookie practice session with the aim of learning the circuit and beginning the task of finding a suitable set-up. Felipe ran consistently strong throughout the session, and was third fastest for the majority of the half hour, behind only the experienced Danny Watts and Narain Karthikeyan for GBR and India respectively. As the track got quicker as it warmed up, Felipe was pushed down to fourth on the last lap of the session when Switzerland's Alexandre Imperatori slipped into third position.
In the second of the rookie sessions, Felipe headed out early on to continue learning the track and the feel of the car in the conditions. He maintained a strong pace and was in second position for the first half of the practice behind Imperatori. He slipped to fifth as the lap times fell but moved up to third four minutes before the end behind France's Nicolas Prost and Karthikeyan. With just a minute to go, Imperatori once again leap-frogged the Brazilian, putting him down to fourth.
In the afternoon's one-hour practice, in which all the nominated race drivers took to the track, Felipe went out a quarter of the way into the session. His first flying lap of 1:17.234 placed him fourth fastest but in a frantic and interrupted latter part of the session Felipe slipped down to ninth as the lap times fell. Five minutes before the end, trying to find the limits of the car, Felipe had a spin, which unfortunately beached him on the gravel, ending the session. Tomorrow will see all teams have one final hour of practice before the afternoon's qualifying shoot-out.
Felipe Guimarães: "The rookie session this morning was very good and we did some good times and made some positive changes to the car. In the afternoon I ran new tyres but on my fast lap someone spun in front of me so I could not improve on my time, otherwise it would have been better. The track is very bumpy and there are a lot of corners so we just have to keep working hard on the set-up and make the most of our last practice tomorrow before qualifying."
Dan Walmsley, Race Engineer: "Straight out of the box this morning the car seemed competitive and we knew that there was still some time to come from Felipe without making an major set-up changes. This afternoon we ran new tyres but didn't get the lap time out of the car and we also suffered from oversteer. We'll be working to solve the oversteer problem tonight. Felipe gave us some very good feedback and we have good information to work on to get it right for tomorrow morning."
France
Today, A1 Team France took part in the rookie session and the first free practice on the Chengdu circuit in China, which is hosting the second round of the 2008-09 A1GP World Cup of Motorsport Championship.
Nicolas Prost replacing Loïc Duval was on the pace right away. On his first flying lap he was already up among the front-runners, and he finished the rookie session in second place just 1/100s off the best time. In free practice in which all the drivers took part Nico showed the same fighting spirit. He held on to 1st place for a long time despite numerous interruptions and ended the session in 2nd spot. These performances augur well for the rest of the weekend.
AB Motors will show the Chengdu qualifying session tomorrow at 14h00, and will televise the 1st race at 14h00 on Sunday. Race 2 will be shown at 15h00 on NT1. A1 Team France currently leads the championship after the first 2 rounds on the Zandvoort circuit.
A1 Team France has concluded a one-off partnership agreement for the Chinese round with the Carrefour Hypermarket chain, which has 5 outlets in the Chengdu province. Its logo will appear on the rear wing of the car, and A1 Team France will be given a lot of publicity in the catalogues published by the local shops. A competition will allow some of the 100 000 daily visitors to win tickets to attend the 2 races on Sunday.
Olivier Panis, sporting director: "We managed to put in a lot of good laps today. We seem to be on the pace, which is very encouraging. Tomorrow, we're going to fine tune our set-up even more and Nicolas will use every lap to up his speed. Overall, the first sessions have been positive, and we're tackling the rest of the weekend in a confident frame of mind."
Nicolas Prost, driver: "It's been a good day's preparation. We were able to run through our technical programme, and I felt at home in the car right away. The circuit's bumpy and fairly twist y and we seem to have found the right set-up. I was a bit surprised to be at the front, but I mustn't raise my hopes too much, as it's only the first day. The hardest is still to come and I'm looking forward to doing battle in qualifying!"
Great Britain
A1 Team Great Britain got its 2008/09 A1GP World Cup of Motorsport campaign underway today as Danny Watts took the new A1GP Powered by Ferrari car out on the Chengdu Circuit in China for its maiden outing.
With no sign of the forecast rain, the practice sessions today took place in sunny conditions with warm temperatures. Due to GBR not having had the benefit of any testing with its new car, A1GP officials scheduled an extra one hour testing session for the team, along with India and USA, which took place at 0900hrs this morning. The team used this time to run installation laps and ensure all areas of the car were working correctly on its first run ahead of official practice.
Danny then hit the track alongside 13 of his eligible compatriots in the first 30-minute rookie session, performing well straight out of the box. After initially toppling USA's Marco Andretti to take the quickest time half way through the practice, he was briefly usurped by India's Narain Karthikeyan before returning to the top of the timesheets with a time of 1:17.934, despite being held up on the lap by Lebanon's Daniel Morad. Due to a hydraulic leak, GBR did not venture out of the garage for the second 30-minute rookie practice, instead focusing on preparing the car for the one-hour afternoon practice session, which saw all the team's nominated race drivers out on track.
In the afternoon practice, Danny headed out eight minutes into the session and was immediately on the pace, setting the fastest time with a lap of 1:17.145. France's Nicolas Prost broke into the low 1:16's after twenty minutes, taking the fastest lap. As the session progressed, lap times dropped and Danny improved his time to a lap of 1:16.881 after 34 minutes, and set an even faster time of 1:16.601 on his next lap. The second half of the session proved extremely competitive but also littered with red flags and, when the practice came to a close, Danny was in 6th position, the top six cars separated by a mere 0.252s.
Danny Watts: "This morning was the first time we've worked on the car and, as we missed the first race, we are playing catch up, but the boys are on top of it. The track here at Chengdu is very difficult and bumpy so we've just been exploring different avenues to find out about the car and find out what makes it tick. We have to find a compromise with the set-up to deal with the bumpy, twisty section in the middle and the long straight. I think they'll be a lot of overtaking opportunities in the race. It's been a positive start early on, we're going in the right direction and we look fairly competitive at this stage. Overall it's been going well and we'll keep working away – the boys are doing an incredible job."
Katie Clements, Team Principal: "We were so pleased to finally get the new car on track today and Danny and the team have done a fantastic job. We've had a positive start to the weekend with some strong practice results, which we have to be encouraged by considering the disadvantage that we had heading into the weekend. Everyone is working very hard and we will continue that way tomorrow to put us in the best possible position for qualifying."
Ireland
A1 Team Ireland made a satisfactory start to the second event in the 2008/9 season at Chengdu, China today where Niall Quinn and Adam Carroll worked through a busy programme on the series' first acquaintance with the Sichuan Province venue.
Niall Quinn began the team's on track activities with two half hour sessions on the 3.367km Chengdu circuit, the Co. Meath driver completing 26 laps to establish baseline data from which the team could work from.
With grip very much at a premium on the extremely dusty and dirty track surface, Niall initially found that the car was too stiffly sprung for the conditions but following a change to softer springs for the second session the Motorsport Ireland Young Racing Driver of the Year was able to run more consistently.
Adam Carroll took over the driver's seat in the Powered by Ferrari car for the second hour of practice, the Portadown racer completing 24 laps despite a 20-minute delay caused by the need to replace a faulty radiator. After some swift work by the A1 Team Ireland crew, Adam was returned to the track in time for some extended five-lap runs at the end of the session during which he recorded ninth fastest time of the day with an identical time to Team USA driver Marco Andretti.
It was a difficult if, on the whole, unspectacular day," said Team Principal Mark Gallagher afterwards. "The team did well to change the radiator and get Adam back out in time for some late laps in the session and set a useful baseline for tomorrow final practice and qualifying sessions.
"The track was so lacking in grip early on that what was most important was keeping the car off the walls and out of the gravel traps. We've got some good running and, while we've ended the day eight tenths of a second off the fastest time, we're confident that we know where we can make up most of that.
"Adam's session started well and he got some strong runs in at the end so we're confident we can carry the form of Zandvoort qualifying and Silverstone testing into the rest of the weekend.
"There was so little grip early on for Niall that it was tough to learn anything meaningful but towards the end, after the spring change, he started to make real progress. His last lap was his fastest and he made a very useful contribution.
Team Technical Director Gerry Hughes was frustrated with the interruption to the team's progress caused by the radiator failure but was satisfied with the way the team reacted to the problem.
"It was a day not entirely without incident but all in all we can be satisfied that we've got a reasonable amount of track time and have established a clear direction to progress for the rest of the weekend," he said. "A water radiator developed a fault but the crew replaced it really quickly and Adam was able to get back out for some late runs by which time the tyres were past their best. While the time sheet doesn't look too impressive we're confident that, given the difficulties we had, we're still on target for a strong weekend."
Adam Carroll - Session 2, Position 9, 1m17.183s: "The track was very dirty and slippery and it was tough to pick a line and balance the car. Hopefully that will all become easier when the circuit rubbers in and gets some grip
"The circuit has lots of second and third gear corners and is actually quite difficult so it's going to be a challenging weekend. I don't think the balance of the car is too far away and it was important here to get as much track time as possible."
Niall Quinn - Session 1, Position 11, 1m18.486s: "The car was really stiff to begin with and just very hard to drive on a track that was incredibly dusty and slippery. There's very little run off at many of the corners so it was vital that I didn't go off and I was happy with the run I had in the second half of the session."
Korea
A1 Team Korea endured an unlucky start to the A1GP Chengdu, China today. Taking part in free practice around the dusty and bumpy Chengdu circuit, A1 Team Korea driver Jin- Woo Hwang was behind the wheel for his country's second A1GP event, and competed on track along side drivers from 19 other nations from around the globe.
As the teams readied themselves for Sunday's racing action, A1 Team Korea saw its morning practice session cut short by a technical issue. Taking to the Chengdu circuit for the first time, 25 year old Jin-Woo Hwang completed just seven laps before the car suffered a problem with the drive shaft, forcing him to return to the pits.
Completing the necessary repairs, the A1 Team Korea mechanics fixed the car in time for the second practice session of the day. With little running time in the morning, Hwang had only one hour on track to get to grips with the challenging 3.3 km circuit. Several of the front running A1GP drivers had incidents throughout the session, including those from China, New Zealand and Malaysia. The team's testing was brought to an early conclusion however, when Hwang went off track and ended his session in the gravel.
A1 Team Korea COO Harry Lee said, "It was a difficult day for us and we were very unlucky this morning to suffer a problem with the drive shaft. The track here is very difficult and Jin unfortunately went off in the afternoon which also limited our track time, but I'm confident we'll have a more positive day tomorrow."
Reflecting on his first experience of the circuit A1 Team Korea driver Jin-Woo Hwang said, "We didn't make the progress I'd hoped today. We had a problem in the morning so I only completed seven laps. After the team fixed the car we were able to take part in second practice session. The track is very bumpy and dusty and it's easy to go off here. Unfortunately I made a mistake in the afternoon but I will make up for it tomorrow."
Team Manager Martin Stone added, "This morning's technical issue meant we had limited time work on our set-up and with little time to replace the part, we missed the second half of the session. Jin made a small mistake this afternoon, but with only 10 minutes of the session remaining and relatively little damage done, it hasn't been too much of an issue. We will be working with Jin now to see where he can make improvements ahead of qualifying tomorrow."
Lebanon
A1 Team Lebanon resumed their campaign of racing in the fourth season of the A1GP World Cup of Motorsport in Chengdu, China today. Driver Daniel Morad returned to the cockpit of the new A1GP Powered by Ferrari car, aiming to build on the momentum of Zandvoort, the first round of the Series, where the young Canadian-Lebanese driver scored the team's first championship points.
In the morning rookie and developing nation session, a practice hour reserved for young, up and coming racing talent, Morad posted 10th fastest lap time. The team used this practice period initially to check over the car after the post-zandvoort accident rebuild work.
Following this session the engineering team worked on a base set up and plan for the afternoon session. However when Morad went out on track a number of minor technical problems hampered the team's efforts to focus on the set up and the time was used to resolve these issues and ensure the reliability of the car for the remainder of the weekend.
With a further practice session tomorrow morning before qualifying the team is confident that they will be able improve on the performance for tomorrow. Morad said at the conclusion of the day, "We've had a lot of problems, not so much in the rookie session, I was taking it easy to learn the track and make sure everything was okay with the car after the rebuild. But this afternoon we had an engine misfire and had a few problems with the car, so we're just getting these out of the system. I'd prefer that any problems happened today and that they're all fixed for the race rather than these happen later in the weekend. On the last run, we had two laps with the engine not having a misfire and we picked up around a second, even on old tyres. I reckon there's another half a second as well as we weren't really focusing on performance. Once we're sorted I think we'll be in a good position.
Patrick Moore, Team Manager added, "We didn't make as much progress today as we would have liked, due to the technical issues we had, and we certainly weren't alone with a number of other teams also suffering minor setbacks. I think these are just initial technical teething problems following the car rebuild after the Zandvoort accident and we expect to have a much better final practice session and a strong qualifying."
Billy Karam, A1 Team Lebanon Ambassador, said of the opening day of competition, "The team has had its challenges today with the technical problems, but this is not unexpected after a major rebuild. I know everyone has worked hard to repair the car, ready to make progress tomorrow. There's still another practice session before the qualifying, so the team can fine tune the set up for this and I'm confident that we'll see an improvement in Daniel's lap times tomorrow."
Malaysia
The second round of the A1GP World Cup of Motorsport began today at the Chengdu circuit in China with A1 Team Malaysia being given its first taste of the track which is new to the series this season. In the morning Aaron Lim was given his first drive of the A1GP Powered by Ferrari car and in the afternoon Fairuz Fauzy posted 10th fastest lap in the opening practice session.
Lim drove the car this morning and enjoyed the power under the throttle as well as the sharp braking capabilities of the carbon brakes. Fairuz Fauzy took over the driving duties this afternoon to continue working with the engineering team to set up the new car for the two races this weekend. The team also welcomed young Malaysian driver, Jazeman Jaafar.
"It was incredible", said Lim after his session. "The car lived up to its expectations, with the G forces produced by the down force really amazing. I'm very happy to have driven the car. This morning, with a new engine, we had to do lots of checks to do with this, but after that I was able to put in some runs, although I'm not optimising the down force of the car yet.
"It's the first car I've driven with such a high level of down force, it was interesting to start to understand what it is all about. The brakes were phenomenal. You can brake so, so late. I've never driven a car with this type of brakes, which create grip with the amount of down force which is produced." And of Chengdu Lim says, "The Chengdu circuit layout is a real drivers circuit, very technical and I think it'll produce some good racing."
Fairuz Fauzy ran 19 laps this afternoon before a technical problem stranded the Malaysian car in the middle of the track and caused the session to be stopped while the car was restarted. Fauzy was towed back to the pits and the crew quickly set to work to identify the problem.
The A1GP winning driver said after his opening session of the weekend, "We had a few engine problems today. In the beginning I was getting used to the track so I took it steady. After four or five laps I started to pick up more speed, but I found that the set up was too stiff for the bumpy surface, so we made some changes and it felt more comfortable. However we didn't have the speed of other cars and I was unsure as to why we were off the pace. It turned out that there were technical problems, so I think once we've sorted these we'll be on the pace of the front runners."
Jack Cunningham, Chief Executive, A1 Team Malaysia, summed up the day saying, "We're pleased with Aaron's strong start in the rookie session today. He quickly adapted to the enhanced power of the new A1GP car and started to understand the characteristics of the car and gave us some valuable feedback and data from the session. Fairuz had a small number of technical challenges which the team had to work through, so we weren't able to make as much progress as we had hoped. We've got these out of the way now and will be able to focus on final preparations for qualifying and the races tomorrow."
Monaco
Team Monaco struggled to find a comfortable set-up during official practice for round two of the A1GP World Cup of Motosport 2008/9 at the Chengdu International Circuit this afternoon.
Out on track from the start of the session in dry and sunny conditions, Team Monaco targeted set-up and ride quality. The 3.4kms track at Chengdu is extremely bumpy, technical and twisting, therefore driver comfort must be taken into account as well as drivability. Significant changes were made to the car to try to improve handling throughout the session, but the team could not find a balance that Clivio was happy with. With Team Monaco unable to participate in the morning rookie session due to Clivio's previous participation the GP2 series, the team is at a distinct disadvantage with Friday running limited to the final practice.
During a session interrupted by sporadic red flag situations Clivio set a fastest lap time of 1:18.233. It was defending champions Team Switzerland and Neel Jani who topped the timesheet with a fastest lap time of 1:16.349, with Nicolas Prost (France) in second, and Narain Karthikeyan (India) in third position.
Clivio Piccione: "It was a really disappointing session. Because of the handling of the car it feels like the tyres are not working and we cannot get the maximum grip, so it is really difficult to push. In the quick parts of the track it is really bumpy and slippery and the car was snappy and suffering from understeer. We need a very aggressive therapy to move forward as we will not go anywhere like this. We will look at the data and analyse my feedback and sensations felt in the car to try to come up with a master plan for tomorrow. It is a tricky track and I think that set-up is key, so we will try to do as much as we can overnight."
Graham Taylor, Team Principal: "It has been a challenging afternoon. Unfortunately we do not have a rookie driver and as a result we miss out on information gained by teams running in the morning session. We have a lot to do overnight as we are not happy with the balance of the car and hope for a better day tomorrow."
South Africa
A1 Team South Africa, with 21-year-old Adrian Zaugg at the wheel of Vulindlela, was fourth fastest at the end of the first day of practice for the second round of the A1GP World Cup of Motorsport at Chengdu in south-western China today.
Reigning champions Switzerland (Neel Jani) were credited with the best time of the day, a lap of 1 min 16.349 sec, with France (Nicolas Prost) second, just 0,097 sec behind, and India (Narain Karthikeyan) 0,125 sec off the pace in third. As has become the custom in A1GP the competition was close and the first 12 teams were covered by less than a second. Zaugg's best time of 1 min 16.557 sec was only 0,208 sec slower than Jani around the 3,36-km circuit.
Zaugg, sandwiched by two former F1 drivers on the time sheet (Karthikeyan in third and Netherlands' Robert Doornbos in fifth), declared himself satisfied at the end of the day: "Like the other drivers, this was my first time at this circuit and we have not had a lot of opportunity to get to know it yet. It's very bumpy, with a lot of tight and slow corners. I'm happy to be in the top four at this stage."
General manager of A1 Team South Africa Mike Carroll was equally positive: "Adrian got quicker as the session progressed and put in his best time right at the end. He was quickest in sector one. We're looking quite strong at this early stage and we're hoping we can carry this Friday form into tomorrow's qualifying and then Sunday's races. We're encouraged by the fact that France, with whom we share a technical partnership, are right on the pace."