A1 Team Ireland successfully completed three days of testing at Paul Ricard in the south of France recording the fastest lap time on the final day of testing (1.24.561). A1 Team Ireland competed against 20 other nations in the test clocking up over 1000kms in the three days and set the third fastest time over the course of the three-day test. Commenting on the team's performance, Team Principal Mark Gallagher said "naturally we are all very happy with today's result. We made steady progress throughout the test and to record the fastest time on the final day and end third overall for the week is a great achievement for the team."

Emphasising the team involvement in A1 Grand Prix, A1 Team Ireland driver Ralph Firman said: "It was a very encouraging start for the team, we have only had one week to get the car ready and we've done a fantastic job to get the car up and running. We can now look forward to the opening race of the season at Brands Hatch with great confidence."

Ralph Firman took the driver's seat for most of the three-day test however fellow Irishman Michael Devaney proved his skill on Wednesday afternoon when he tested the A1 car. A1 Team Ireland CEO Mark Kershaw commented, "the test has been remarkable for the way in which A1 Team Ireland got straight down to business and performed strongly throughout. Ralph was quick, in the top three on Wednesday afternoon and Thursday morning and took the quickest lap time on Friday. The team worked particularly well given that for the mechanics and engineers this was their first time working together as a team."

A1 Team Ireland has established a strong technical team with highly respected Formula One engineer Andy Miller at the helm. "It has been a very constructive test given how little time we had to prepare for it following the team's entry into the A1 Grand Prix series, and we leave Paul Ricard with a pretty good idea of how the car works and reacts to set-up changes. Ralph drove well and with strong consistency, which is essential at this, level, and it's clear we are in the mix towards the front of the field, which is where we aim to be. Michael Devaney did a very solid job given that this was his first outing in the car and he had very limited running. The series is going to be very competitive and when you look at the quality of the driving talent you can see that in terms of competition to win races this is going to be quite a battle."

The team will now return to the A1 Technical Centre at Silverstone to prepare the car for the official team launch in Dublin, which will be announced over the coming days.

Friday Times

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