07/10/2005
NEWS STORY
A1 Team Indonesia returned to the track for the first two practice sessions of the A1Grand Prix of Nations EuroSpeedway Lausitz, Germany, the second round of this new international motor racing series, with driver, Ananda Mikola on the pace from the opening lap. Mikola ran in the top six throughout both practice sessions, finishing sixth in the first, fifth in the second and fifth fastest overall of the two sessions.
Mikola summed up the day, saying, "I'm happy with our performance today. In the first session we weren't really pushing and in the second session, we were running in fourth position for most of the time. I think we lost a couple of spots because other teams put new tyres on and put in flying laps at the end. We didn't put on new tyres, so I'm especially pleased to be so quick. I hope to be able to qualify inside the top ten.
"I have driven at this circuit, but it was over two years ago. I expect that has helped me a little, but more than that I think it is that I am gaining more experience in the car and we are getting to grips with the setups we need for the circuit. It's quite a tricky track, so we had to work hard developing the optimum set up of the car. It's good to be back in the A1 race car and we'll continue to work hard to improve on our times and be competitive for the race."
Commercial Director, Russell Christopher, praised the young Indonesian driver for his performance today, saying, "It's been an excellent start to the weekend and I'm pleased to see that Ananda has been right up there on the pace all day. He's gaining more and more confidence in the car and this is reflected in his times today. I hope we can translate this in to a good qualifying position tomorrow."