08/11/2008
NEWS STORY
Brazil
A1 Team Brazil will begin tomorrow's Sprint race from the sixth row and the Feature row on the fifth row after Felipe Guimarães qualified in 12th and tenth places respectively at the Chengdu International Circuit in China for round two of the A1GP World Cup of Motorsport.
The team got the day underway with one final hour of practice ahead of the afternoon qualifying sessions. Temperatures were cooler than yesterday and conditions were overcast, although there was no rain. Felipe completed a useful 33 laps of testing during the session, which aimed to correct a few set-up issues that were discovered yesterday and get prepared for qualifying. He consistently improved his times through the session and posted the seventh fastest time just after the half-way mark with a time of 1:16.607. Several red flags and other drivers spinning disrupted the second half of the practice, and Felipe finished up tenth fastest, six tenths of a second behind session leaders Netherlands, who had new driver Robert Doornbos at the wheel.
In qualifying for the sprint race, a tyre pressure problem meant the young Brazilian finished 12th fastest overall after the first segment. The team aimed to improve this in segment two, however this was cancelled after Italy's Edoardo Piscopo had an accident on his in lap, which caused a delay to the programme while the car was recovered.
Felipe put in a strong lap in segment one of Feature race qualifying, setting a time of 1:15.325, putting him in provisional seventh place. However, the team made a set-up change in the break before the final segment to try to cure some understeer, which unfortunately caused severe oversteer, and Felipe could not improve on his lap, qualifying overall in tenth place.
Felipe Guimarães: "This was the first time I've done one-lap qualifying and it is difficult as you have to have the set-up right and have a perfect lap. Unfortunately in the first sprint qualifying we had a problem with our tyre pressures, which were far too low, and there was no grip. Because the second was cancelled we didn't get the chance to improve our position for the sprint race. We fixed the tyre pressures for the first feature qualifying, immediately gained a second and the lap was quite good. We had a little bit of understeer on the high speed corner, which we tried to change for the final session but it caused bad oversteer so we lost the lap. If the car had been good I am confident we would have been P5 or P6. The track here is going to be difficult to overtake on so it's better to be starting at the front but we will see what we can do tomorrow."
France
Today, A1 Team France took part in qualifying for the second round of the 2008-09 World Cup of Motorsport Championship on the Chengdu circuit in China. Nicolas Prost was feeling confident after a good free practice session. The son of the 4-times F1 world champion looked on course to set pole when an unforeseen incident a few hundred metres from the finishing line dashed his hopes.
In the A1 GP Championship the first 2 qualifying segments determine the grid positions for the Short race, and next two establish the starting order for the Feature event. In the first segment A1 Team France adopted a cautious approach deciding not to use its new tyres until the following one. Unfortunately, this was cancelled and the team had to make do with sixth place.
In the third segment, Nicolas was held up by another car and could only set the tenth-fastest time. So his qualifying position depended on his final run. The Frenchman set off with the bit between his te eth and set the quickest time in the first and second sectors on his flying lap with a marvellous display of controlled aggression. He looked set to take pole with a few tenths in hand until he came upon a car crawling along in the final corner. It was the second time he'd been baulked in the two sessions and once again his hopes were dashed.
Tomorrow, A1 Team France will start from sixth and twelfth places. Once the team had got over its initial disappointment they were delighted with Nicolas's performances, and know they can count on a highly-skilled second driver.
Olivier Panis, sporting director: "Nicolas was bitterly disappointed when he got out of the car a few minutes ago. We have to see the positive side of his performance. Since first getting behind the wheel he's amazed the whole team and has been consistently among the front-runners. The performance he looked set to achieve in the fourth segment was incredible, and pole position was well within his grasp. We've now got to put this disappointment behind us and tackle the race in a calm frame of mind. We can score points, and the championship is so closely-fought that every position gained will count at the end of the season."
Nicolas Prost: "I would so much have liked to start from pole in my first race with A1 Team France. I was bitterly disappointed after qualifying but we've now got to concentrate on the two races tomorrow. Today, I showed that we have the speed to fight at the front. My aim will be to try and overtake on this twisty circuit in the Short race and use an aggressive strategy for the Feature event. Overall, I'm satisfied with my performance so far. Things would have been different but for that last-corner incident. But that's motor racing!"
Great Britain
On his debut for A1 Team GBR, Danny Watts has secured pole position for tomorrow's Feature race in Chengdu, China, round two of the A1GP World Cup of Motorsport.
A1 Team Great Britain's Danny Watts will line up on pole position for tomorrow's Feature race in Chengdu, China, after a blistering lap in today's qualifying session. He will be on the second row for the Sprint race after setting the fourth fastest time in Sprint qualifying. It is a brilliant result for the team on its return to A1GP after missing the first round of the season in Zandvoort.
After stepping into the team's car for the first time on Friday morning, Danny has been using his impressive single-seater experience, which includes beating Lewis Hamilton to the 2002 Formula Renault Championship, to dial quickly into the new car and to learn the circuit. He has been competitive all weekend so far, consistently performing well in the practice sessions, the final of which he drove this morning, finishing third fastest behind Robert Doornbos in the Netherlands car and Ireland's Adam Carroll.
It the afternoon's qualifying, it was Ireland and the Netherlands, along with Switzerland, that proved to be GBR's biggest competitors, and it all promises to provide some thrilling racing in the Sprint and Feature events tomorrow. In each of qualifying slots, GBR opted to head out right at the end of the ten minute sessions to get the track at its optimum temperature and grip levels. Danny fought hard in Sprint qualifying 1, setting the fourth fastest time on his first attempt at the championship's unique one-lap format. He was aiming to improve in the second segment, but this was cancelled after Italy crashed and so the grid was set from the times in the first session.
In the first Feature qualifying segment, Danny set an incredible lap of 1:15.325, the fastest time of the weekend to take provisional pole. No-one could touch the time in the second session, thereby guaranteeing GBR the pole on its first race weekend of season four. Ireland's Adam Carroll will join Danny on the front row, bringing the prospect of exciting race action between the former British Formula 3 rivals.
Danny Watts: "It has been an amazing few days. We really are lucky to be here as just a few days ago the car was still in bits. All credit has to go to the team and I thank them for their hard work. They have worked through the night since they arrived in China and they've only had four hours sleep the last two nights, so this makes it all worth it. The car was running fantastic all through qualifying and I'm happy to have the pole and fourth for the Sprint. I've been trying to help the team as much as I can, being a new driver, but luckily the whole package has come together very nicely. We've just got to focus on tomorrow now, go for it and see what happens."
Katie Clements, Team Principal: "We couldn't have asked for more after the challenges we have had and on behalf of the whole team I can say we are absolutely delighted. I have to pay tribute to the team's hard work in getting the car ready and Danny has stepped in and done a fantastic job for us. This is only part of the battle though and the competition is fierce. I'm sure tomorrow is going to see some thrilling racing and we will do all we can to make sure we get the best possible result."
Ireland
A1 Team Ireland will start from pole and second positions on the grid respectively for the Sprint and Feature races in the second round of A1GP World Cup of Motorsport™ following Adam Carroll's stunning brace of lap times at Chengdu, China today.
It's Ireland's best ever qualifying performance with Carroll securing top spot for tomorrow's Sprint race and just missing out on pole for the Feature race by three hundredths of a second in his green A1GP Powered by Ferrari car.
Both qualifying efforts eclipse the previous best starting position for the team of third place, recorded four times. Ireland had high hopes of a strong qualifying session after setting second fastest time in final practice, just nine thousandths of a second slower than the Netherlands.
With thirteen cars within a second of each other, qualifying was always going to be an extremely close affair and that's how it turned out, Carroll just edging out the Netherlands by seven hundredths of a second to take top spot in the closing moments of the first segment of Sprint race qualifying.
A delay retrieving a stranded car meant the second single lap run was cancelled, thus ensuring that Ireland had finally secured the top starting spot after 33 A1GP events.
There was no time to celebrate, however, as the teams were pitched straight into qualifying for the Feature race and Carroll showed that Sprint race qualifying was no fluke, setting second fastest time, a scant three hundredths shy of the Great Britain car.
Adam was looking forward to pitching for pole once more in the second segment but track conditions changed and no leading team improved, leaving Ireland with the consolation of a double front row start.
"It's our best ever qualifying result and just reward for all the hard work put in by the team," said Team Principal Mark Gallagher afterwards. "After a difficult day yesterday, today was relatively straightforward by comparison and it was further evidence of the potential we showed in qualifying in Zandvoort.
"In some ways it was a little disappointing not to get the second pole for the Feature race but that just shows the ambition we have. Conditions changed, the track wasn't as quick and we missed out but, nonetheless, it's a very positive result. The track is bumpy and physically demanding so it's ideal to be at the front because it's going to be a busy couple of races.
"This year there is a mandatory pit stop in the Sprint race to go with the usual two stops in the Feature race so it places further responsibility on the pit crew on race day. Last year our pit stop times were consistently among the best so I'm quietly confident for the race. It's impossible to predict the outcome of these races but certainly our goal is for wins and podium finishes are our realistic minimum aim."
Adam Carroll: "It feels great to get Ireland's first ever pole position and to make it a double front row start is even better. It's quite a bumpy circuit so it's very important to put together a really clean lap.
"We were quick in final practice but we didn't focus too much on lap times from there because we knew we would be quite a lot faster in qualifying with the new rubber. The times are so close and the drivers are of such quality that it feels great to be at the front.
"The new Powered by Ferrari car is extremely quick with huge levels of downforce and it has really suited the team and my driving so far."
Team Technical Director Gerry Hughes: "It's very pleasing to be able to put a lap together on what is a very difficult circuit that has a different set of requirements to get the ultimate out of the car. This is good result for the team and a reward for a sensible approach after practice," he said.
"The track lost a little bit of potential towards the end of Feature race qualifying but second position is still a good position to start. We had made some minor changes to the car's set up over night but it was more about fine tuning." "The Michelin tyres being used this year are very consistent and both races are like sprint races so it's great to have two front row starts which I hope will reward us with some points."
Korea
A1 Team Korea took part in a challenging qualifying session in the A1GP Chengdu, China today, as nations from around the globe prepared for the second round of the 2008/09 A1GP World Cup of Motorsport. Representing his country in the global racing series, Jin-Woo Hwang completed his second day on track at the Chengdu International Circuit and following an eventful qualifying session, will line up 20th for tomorrow's Sprint and Feature races.
Before taking to the track for qualifying, the teams had one last chance to learn more about the Chengdu circuit, in the final free practice session this morning. In an eventful one hour session, Jin- Woo Hwang showed clear improvement, and having completed 21 laps improved his best time on Friday by nearly 1.5 seconds.
With qualifying in Zandvoort completed in a one-hour session, Hwang faced his biggest challenge of the season so far this afternoon, as he took part in A1GP's unique qualifying system for the first time. The team's each complete four qualifying segments, with the fastest lap from the first two segments setting the team's position for the Sprint race, and the fastest lap from the second two segments setting the grid slot for the Feature race.
On his first qualifying attempt, Hwang completed a flying lap on used tyres, and qualified the Korean car in provisional 20th place. However, Hwang had no chance to better his time, as the second qualifying segment was cancelled as track officials faced difficulties removing the stranded Italian car from the gravel.
Moving straight into the third qualifying segment, Hwang made his first attempt to set a time for the Feature race. Despite the pressure of having to set just one flying lap, Hwang responded well, almost matching his quickest time of the weekend. Taking to the track for the fourth qualifying segment however, Hwang was unable to improve his time and will consequently line up 20th for tomorrow's 70 minute Feature race.
Reflecting on his first proper A1GP qualifying session, A1 Team Korea driver Jin-Woo Hwang said, "The track is still very slippery; if you go off the racing line at all it is very easy to spin off track. I'm not used to this kind of intense qualifying system where you only have one opportunity to set a quick time and I'm not sure I got the best out of the car this afternoon. But we have a lot of racing laps ahead of us tomorrow and a lot can happen, so I will be concentrating on making further progress in the Sprint and Feature races."
Korean Seat Holder Jung Yong Joshua Kim added, "Today has been a real learning curve for Jin. To complete his first weekend racing in the dry on such a bumpy and dusty circuit is a real challenge, and as we've seen there were some very experienced drivers out there who were struggling as well. Jin is not used to one lap qualifying, and I think this has been his first proper test as an A1GP driver. There is a long way still to go through, and Jin will be working with the team to make improvements ahead of the races tomorrow."
Lebanon
A1 Team Lebanon continued with race preparations for the A1GP World Cup of Motorsport races in Chengdu, China today. This morning all the teams took to the track for the final one hour practice session before this afternoon's qualifying session which was held under cloudy skies with a cool track temperature. Daniel Morad, driving for the team this weekend, will line up in 13th place on the grid for the start of both tomorrow's Sprint race and Feature race.
The final practice session for A1 Team Lebanon started well with Morad running in and around the top ten in the first few minutes. However fuel pressure problems, which have blighted the team throughout the weekend, curtailed the track time available to Morad. Despite the lack of running the young Canadian Lebanese driver finished the session 12th quickest of the 20 nations competing.
In the afternoon qualifying session the team were back on track and Morad was ready for the ‘flying lap' segments, with the best of his first two runs due to determine his grid position for the Sprint race. Morad put in a strong first run intending to improve on this for the second. However logistical issues after the A1 Team Italy car crashed forced A1GP to cancel the second of the four sessions, leaving the Sprint race positions being taken from the first Lebanon run, a lap time which gave the team 13th place on the grid for the start.
The second two segments of qualifying are used to determine Feature race grid positions and the team had two new set of tyres available to use. Morad went back out on track to set his lap times for the Feature race grid position. His first of the two runs gave him a provisional 12th place position, and after an extended break due to a red flag stoppage by the French team, Morad returned to the track for his final run, but dropped one place to finish in 13th position overall.
Morad said after qualifying, "Today hasn't been easy as we've not been able to focus on car development and our pace. In the qualifying sessions we expected to have two opportunities to set a strong lap time for each race start, but the second run being cancelled meant we didn't qualify as well as I had hoped. However, I know that I can race hard and make places from these grid positions so I'm feeling quite positive for tomorrow."
Patrick Moore, Team Manager, A1 Team Lebanon said of the second day of running in China, "We've continued to be challenged by technical issues which have been out of our control and that has definitely impacted on our qualifying performance this afternoon. In these circumstances I think Daniel has driven exceptionally well to start 13th tomorrow. Although we expected teething problems with the new car and we're not alone in suffering with them, it is still disappointing not to have been able to show our pace in today's sessions. We'll focus on tomorrow now and with a strong race strategy I think we'll be able to move forward from our grid positions by the chequered flags."
Billy Karam, A1 Team Lebanon Ambassador, added, "Motor racing is always unpredictable and it's been a challenging weekend for the team so far. I think they have been forced to concentrate more on technical issues rather than performance. I know they'll put that behind them tomorrow and will be racing for more points, for the pride of Lebanon and, as the only Arab nation in A1GP, for the wider Arab world."
Malaysia
Qualifying for the A1GP World Cup of Motorsport, Chengdu, China took place this afternoon at Goldenport circuit close to the city centre. Fairuz Fauzy took to the track in the Malaysian car, aiming for strong qualifying positions for tomorrow's races. In warm, cloudy conditions the team completed a final practice session this morning and by the end of a tough qualifying session, Fauzy had posted lap times which gave him fourteenth place on the grid for the Sprint race and sixth position for the Feature race.
In morning practice Fauzy ran 30 laps, posting a best time of 1 min 17.103 seconds to put him 17th fastest. The hour long session was used by the team to refine the car set up for the track conditions today and for Fauzy to continue gaining experience of the technically demanding track, rather than outright speed, and the team were confident of considerable improvement in qualifying.
Afternoon qualifying with similar conditions to the morning promised to offer the biggest challenge of the weekend so far for Malaysia. With the drivers required to complete four flying laps, one in each of four segments, the team prepared the car for a series of low fuel sprints. The team opted to run with used tyres for the first of the two Sprint race runs and put on new tyres for the second one. However, logistical issues forced A1GP to cancel the second of the two runs, taking the grid positions from the first one in which Fauzy had posted 14th fastest time as he had run on used tyres.
Fauzy used a new set of tyres for the first of the two runs for the Feature race, posting ninth quickest lap. The majority of the grid opted to run late for their final run as earlier runs had proved quicker later in the session, but a red flag caused by Nicolas Prost nearly jeopardised their opportunity to improve on their time. However the clock was stopped, to allow the grid to put in a second qualifying run, and the battle for the top spots recommenced.
Fauzy used his first set of new tyres to set his best time of the weekend so far and with his second fastest lap improved further to line up in sixth place for tomorrow's Feature race.
He said after qualifying, "We had planned a series of changes through the qualifying session which was set to improve our lap times for each run, but unfortunately the cancellation of the second run meant we didn't qualify as well as we had hoped. We should have been around a similar position to our Feature race grid slot. The team put in a great effort to make changes between the sessions and keep us improving, so we're looking good for tomorrow."
Jack Cunningham, Chief Executive, A1 Team Malaysia said of the day's running, "This morning we had a game plan to work on the car and not worry about lap times or running new tyres, so we were all confident of showing our competitiveness in qualifying. The cancellation of part of the Sprint race qualifying session hurt us quite a lot as we ran on used tyres on our first run. We would certainly have improved our grid position well inside the top ten if we'd had a second run. I think the strong lap by Fairuz for the Feature race demonstrated that. Overall it's been a satisfactory start and I think we should be able to have two good races tomorrow."
Monaco
A1 Team Monaco secured a fifth row starting slot for the Sprint Race and seventh place on the grid for the Feature race of round two of the A1GP World Cup of Motorsport Powered by Ferrari at the Chengdu International Circuit today.
Following a frustrating Friday, Team Monaco made progress during this morning's final practice session when Clivio Piccione set the ninth fastest lap time. Working closely with the team studying data overnight, Clivio was able to find a better car balance for tackling the four 15-minutes qualifying sessions later in the afternoon.
Clivio kicked started Monaco's China campaign in earnest when he took to the technical and extremely bumpy track for qualifying. It was the first time that Clivio had run in this format as it reverted back to its traditional A1GP Saturday schedule.* The Monegasque squad mirrored its morning's practice performance and secured tenth place on the time sheet with a 1:16.794 in SQ1 (Sprint race Qualifying Session 1). Following a delay to the start of SQ2 due to an incident out on track and a delay in the removal of the cars, the second session was cancelled and the grid for the Sprint race determined by the times from segment one only.
As FQ1, the first qualifying session for tomorrow's Feature race, got underway, Clivio left the Monaco garage with under two minutes of the session remaining. He set a time of 1:16.723 to finish the segment in 13th place with only 8/100ths second separating the closely fought battle between sixth and thirteenth positions. After the five minute respite and a quick study of the data sheets, the final qualifying segment got underway. The session was Red Flagged late into the running when Team France spun and left the track. An extra three minutes of track time was added to FQ2 leaving just under five minutes left on the clock for many of the teams, including Team Monaco, to set a second fast lap time. Clivio went out in the final two minutes of the session and was able to set a 1:16.016, elevating the team to seventh place. Clivio will start the Feature race in Chengdu on the fourth row of the grid tomorrow.
Clivio Piccione: "In the practice session this morning we went straight out and made a few changes. We realised that we were running a heavier fuel load than most of the teams yesterday, so we ran a little lighter in practice and our first flying lap was a lot quicker than our best time yesterday. We spent time fine tuning the car with set-up changes to make it more comfortable for my driving style and we understood the track a lot better. This is also the first race weekend working with my new engineer and so it is a learning curve for both of us. We went out on new tyres for the first Sprint race qualifying, but I was not happy with the way the car handled; it was sliding as the tyre pressure was a little bit too high. After the second outing was cancelled, we put on another new set of tyres for FQ3, but we were still suffering from oversteer into the slow corners and we could not improve on our lap time. So we decided to change a few things again, like the springs, for FQ4 and we put in a really good lap. We had managed to get rid of our traction problem and even though I made a slight mistake into turn six and lost maybe a tenth or so, we improved our time more than 6/10ths. To finish P7 is a good result and I am happy with our improvement compared to how our weekend started."
Graham Taylor, Team Principal: "We made significant progress overnight which allowed us to concentrate on our programme in free practice this morning. It is the first time that we have participated in this qualifying format and it is extremely tough. To lose running time with the cancellation of SQ2 for the sprint race hurt us a little bit, but the team showed in FQ4 that we are making progress and we are very much looking forward to racing at the sharp end tomorrow."
South Africa
Adam Carroll gave Ireland its first ever A1GP World Cup of Motorsport pole position with fastest time in qualifying today for tomorrow morning's rolling start Sprint race at Chengdu in south western China.
The Netherlands' Robert Doornbos will start alongside the Irishman on the front row of the grid, while row two will be shared by reigning A1GP champions Switzerland (Neel Jani) and Great Britain (Danny Watts). South Africa's Adrian Zaugg was seventh fastest in qualifying and will start from the inside of the fourth row of the grid, alongside New Zealand's Chris van der Drift.
The second of the two 10-minute segments of qualifying for the sprint race, in which each nation's driver has just one timed flying lap to determine his grid position, was cancelled following a lengthy delay in retrieving A1 Team Italy's car from a gravel trap.
Fastest overall in the two 10-minute qualifying sessions for Sunday afternoon's Feature race was Great Britain's Watts, who secured his first pole position for the longer, standing start event. Ireland's Carroll was second quickest, while the second row of the grid will be filled by Portugal's Felipe Albuquerque and Switzerland's Jani. Zaugg went one better than his sprint race qualifying effort and will start the feature race from sixth place, alongside Doornbos on the third row of the grid.
Although a little disappointed not to have qualified better, Adrian Zaugg was upbeat about his prospects in Sunday's races. "Based on our free practice sector times (where the South African had the best theoretical lap), we knew we could improve a lot for qualifying. It was unfortunate we didn't have the opportunity to improve on our Q1 time as a result of the cancellation of Q2. I'm confident we could have done better and we showed this with our improvements in Q3 and Q4 for the feature race.
"The car is good and I'm enjoying the circuit. It's very bumpy and dirty. The bumps affect the balance of the car and the physical demand on the driver is quite big. It was surprising the change in fortunes among the drivers between practice and qualifying. With just a single timed lap per qualifying session, it's a bit unpredictable, but it was surprising the improvements of some of the drivers from practice. I think there will be more surprises in the races."
Mike Carroll, general manager of A1 Team South Africa, commented: "Considering the nature of the circuit and the fact that it's an unknown quantity for all the teams, I'm happy with Adrian's qualifying results. He did well to improve from sixth to fifth in the final two qualifying sessions and was unlucky not to have had a chance to improve on his opening qualifying lap. I think he would have ended higher up on the grid had they not cancelled the second session."