The inaugural A1 GP Championship got underway at Brands Hatch today, with the two free practice sessions taking place in varying conditions.

Though conditions for the first session were overcast, it remained dry, allowing the 25 drivers to settle in, however, in the second session it was a case of wet, wet, wet.

Both sessions featured a number of red flags, with the second session eventually being cut short.

For the most part the drivers dealt with the differing conditions - which is highly impressive considering the amount of real track time some of them have had - while others seemed slightly overwhelmed.

Team USA's Scott Speed, who dominated the recent test at Paul Ricard, was in fine form in the first session, posting the best time (1:16.516). However, Brazil, France and Britain were all within a second of the red, white and blue car.

Behind this leading group the competition is extremely close, with Malaysia, Australia, Switzerland, Portugal, Netherlands, Mexico, New, Zealand, Germany and Canada, all covered by less than a second.

With (Minardi third driver) Enrico Toccacelo having had no previous experience in the car, it was to be expected that Team Italy would be at the wrong end of the timesheets, however, the pre-season pace - or lack of it - of Teams China and Russia is clear evidence of the vast (experience) gap that many had expected. That said, it is refreshing to see so many teams battling in the midfield.

Team India's Karun Chandhok completed only two laps in the first session, and none in the second, following a crash with Team Netherlands's Jos Verstappen at Druids Hairpin.

The Indian had allowed the Australian car through, but clearly failed to see the orange car directly behind it. As Verstappen went to go through on the inside, Chandhok turned into him, launching the Indian's car into the air. It was a spectacular accident - bringing out one of the many red flags - and meant that Team India failed to appear in the second session.

Teams China and Russia both had problems, with Alexey Vasiliev causing another red flag when he collided with Team Ireland's Michael Devaney.

The second session took place in entirely different conditions, with heavy rain soon sorting the men from the youths.

Nelson Piquet Jr posted the best time of the day, however, his session came to an early end when his car overheated in the Team Brazil garage. Nonetheless, he was delighted with the overall performance: "We were a bit unlucky because we had some problems in the first practice session," said the Brazilian, "but it was no disadvantage as I was fastest in the second session.

"We don't have any major problems and the team is working well but it really is too early to tell how quick we are going to be," he admitted. "I think qualifying and the Sprint race will say a lot about this weekend. It could be the true pointer for how the weekend is going to be. Obviously it is equal for everybody so it is good to be quick early on however I have a good history on this track as I have raced here on the long track in Formula 3 and won."

Team Great Britain's Robbie Kerr was second quickest, ahead of Team Portugal's' Alvaro Parente. However, one of the stars of the session was Pitpass contributor Stephen Simpson in the South Africa car, a driver who has always admitted his passion - and skill - for wet weather racing.