Ireland

Rain made driving conditions difficult at today's practice sessions in Durban, South Africa as the second leg of the A1 Grand Prix of Nations got under way. A1 Team Ireland driver Ralph Firman overcame a serious stomach illness that left him seriously ill and without sleep all night but he decided to carry on and drive in today's first practice session even though reserve driver Michael Devaney was put on stand by. In the first street race of the series conditions got wetter throughout the day leaving the 3.283km saturated in parts. In practice two Firman used the fact that few cars went out on track to his advantage to familiarise himself with the oceanfront street circuit. Ralph Firman overcame appalling conditions in today's two sessions in Durban Portugal, setting the 7th fastest time on a rain washed circuit.

Ralph Firman: "Great to be racing on a street circuit again as it's a good challenge. It was very difficult today with the rain but made it an interesting track as there was not much moving in the dry. We got a good balance in the rain but the track was very bumpy in parts and corners are slow but its a good challenge from a street circuit point of view. It's nice to be back racing again for A1 Team Ireland and I'm looking forward to the weekend and the first race of the New Year".

Andy Miller, Technical Director: "It's been a day of frustrations caused by the weather and driving on a new circuit. It would be nice if we could just get a little more consistent running tomorrow morning".

Mark Gallagher, Team Principal: "Today was something of a wash out but we decided to get in quite a few laps to learn the track and give Ralph some time in the car. Given the conditions and the fact that Ralph's been so ill last night, it was really quite productive in the end. Hopefully the conditions will improve tomorrow and the weekend will begin in earnest."

Switzerland

A1 Team Switzerland weathered the heavy rain which disrupted today's two free practice sessions in Durban, South Africa.

Under heavy rain, A1 Team Switzerland concentrated on finding the right set-up for tomorrow's qualifying, thought the conditions meant that running was limited.

Neel Jani comments: "It was a strange day. On one hand I was happy to be driving on this new circuit and on the other hand I was really cautious. In the morning I scared myself during the first practice as I passed Indonesia's car down the inside and he then ran over my front wing. Luckily he didn't do any major damage. There was no need to take any risks on such a wet track. The rain and many red flags made it difficult to get through much work."

A1 Team Switzerland team principal, Max Welti commented: "This weather is really surprising for the country, we weren't expecting it at all. Neel Jani had a rough day today. It wasn't so easy to work on the car set-up because the conditions were so difficult and we did not want to take any unnecessary risks. We will work very hard tomorrow and fight for a good qualifying result."

France

Heavy rain washed out the first day of practice all-new Durban street circuit in South Africa. The "A1 Grand Prix series" Team France driver Alexandre Prémat completed two installation laps in very wet conditions the first practice session. Choosing to sit out the rest of the session and not risk damaging the car Prémat did not set a time.

In the second session Prémat completed four laps before practice was stopped. His fastest time was 1.37.640, and he finished overall in seventeeth position for the day while Australia finished in front with 1'30.520.

"Today, it was more important to check the systems on the car than to do a fast lap time," Prémat said. "At one point, we thought that the track was going to dry but it did not really. The weather changes all the time here.
We wanted to be careful today not to damage the car in dangerous conditions. The track is quite narrow and the walls are very close. We are not taking any unnecessary risks at this time. I used my first few laps to learn the new track. I'm determined to fight for the win in what will be a very hard race."

Jean-Paul Driot, Team Principal, A1 Team France added: "It was important today not to take any risk or make any mistakes. The track is challenging especially in these wet conditions. We need to be prepared for a perfect race strategy on Sunday."

Britain

A1 Team Great Britain has arrived in South Africa for the second half of the A1 Grand Prix Series with victory very much in mind. Having been on the podium four times, three of which were for second place finishes, it's only a matter of time before A1Team.GBR takes a win. Robbie Kerr is once again driving for his country and as always is looking to move up the championship table. GBR currently lies fourth, 11 points behind Brazil, and with a possible maximum 21 points available over an event it's achievable. Durban is the first A1 Grand Prix street race, so with completely different characteristics, there could be many surprises over the next few days. The business community have welcomed the series as well as the motorsport community and the British Embassy held a function for local business dignitaries.