17/10/2005
NEWS STORY
Following a weekend of mixed emotions at EuroSpeedway, Germany, A1 Team Pakistan now travels to Circuito Estoril in Portugal for the third round of the A1 Grand Prix of Nations, which takes place on 21-23 October.
Although A1 Team Pakistan's driver Adam Khan has never competed at Estoril, he is familiar with the circuit. He explains: "I completed a Formula 3000 test at Estoril a couple of months ago, so I'll be using that experience this weekend. As a circuit, Estoril sits in between Brands Hatch and EuroSpeedway in its configuration. Where I had a good performance at Brands Hatch, I struggled slightly at EuroSpeedway, but Estoril suits more my style of driving. The team have shown that we can be competitive and every time I step into the car I'm focused and I'm there to win."
A1 Team Pakistan's Chairman, Arif Husain: "Adam Khan and the team had a positive result in the Feature Race at EuroSpeedway and I'm hoping that we can build on that. We are currently lying 15th overall in the A1 Team championship so it would be nice to collect some extra points and move back into the top ten, where I believe we should to be. The A1 Grand Prix series is extremely exciting and we are proud to be representing a great nation in the field of motorsport."
During the two-week break, A1 Team Pakistan's technical team, Super Nova, has been busy preparing the cars at the A1 Technical Innovation Centre at Silverstone Circuit in the UK. Commenting on the forthcoming race, Team Principal David Sears said: ""The team are looking forward to the race in Estoril. Adam Khan has tested here and has been extremely quick. After a little disappointment at Germany, we are positive for a good result in Portugal!"
A1 Team Pakistan best result to date is their 7th place finish at the A1 Grand Prix season opener at Brands Hatch. This coincided with the team's best qualifying performance, lining up eighth on the grid out of 25 competing nations.
Opened in 1972, Circuito Estoril did not actually witness any international racing action until 1975, due to the oil crisis. The track became popular with Formula One, with the circuit hosting races from 1984 though to 1996. In 1997, the FiA stipulated that redevelopment work would need to be undertaken for the circuit to remain on the F1 calendar. The delay in rebuilding work and increasing competition resulted in the circuit finally being given a licence for Formula 1 cars. Whilst the circuit does not appear on current F1 racing calendar, it is used by F1 teams for testing.