22/10/2005
NEWS STORY
India
After yesterday's atrocious weather conditions, all the teams were ready for continued rain on Saturday morning for the 3rd official practice session. The team arrived at the circuit before the crack of dawn to make sure the car is fully prepared for the practice session which was to start at 11 am. The weather in the morning was the same as yesterday with rain and fairly cold temperatures.
However by the start of the session, the rain had stopped and the sun was just breaking through the clouds. The track surface was still very wet, and the cars went out on track with wet weather tyres and a full wet weather setup. A1 Team India's driver, Armaan Ebrahim had spent many hours yesterday in de-briefing sessions with his engineers and had studied his telemetry from yesterday's sessions very carefully. The team had prepared a strategy which should have allowed him to show significant improvements in his lap-times. He went back to his hotel last night, had an early dinner, and was off to bed.
The first half of the session was very wet, A1 team India put their strategy to good use, with 6th fastest in the wet, only 2 seconds slower than the quickest car out on track. An improvement of 7 seconds a lap from lap-times yesterday. This is an outstanding performance from a driver who has never driven at this circuit before, made even more creditable considering the adverse weather and track conditions.
Towards the end of the session, the track dried out considerably and in the last ten minutes many of the drivers started to go out onto the track on slicks (dry weather tyres). Lap times started tumbling. With 5 minutes to go in the session, A1 Team India sent the car out onto the track on slicks, but weren't able to get a single clear lap as Armaan was stuck in a lot of traffic. A1 team India finished the session in 22nd place.
For the qualifying session, the weather was dry and sunny, with partly cloudy skies. A1 Team India was looking forward to the qualifying session, which will consist of four 15 minutes sessions, with 10 minute intervals between each session. Each driver will be able to drive one flying lap during each of the sessions. The best two lap times will be added together to produce an aggregate time, which will decide the starting grid positions for the sprint race tomorrow. The finishing positions of the sprint race will decide the starting grid for the feature race, which will start one hour after the sprint race finishes.
Qualifying did not go well as far as the grid position is concerned as A1 Team India are 24th on the grid. However, the plus point was that Armaan improved by almost 4 seconds as compared to the first qualifying run with a time of 1:38.9 secs and the 4th lap qualifying run of 1:35.2 secs.
The team is quite positive to make quite a few places in the sprint race on Sunday which will then put the team in a better position for the main race. Despite the 24th place on the grid, the morale of the team is very high after being consistently 6th in the wet in the final practise session.
Brazil
A1 Team Brasil got off to a fantastic start at the third round of the A1 Grand Prix series at Circuito Estoril today when Nelson Piquet Jr put the team on pole position for tomorrow's first race.
The day began with the third and final official practice session. The track dried out considerably throughout the hour, with lap times dropping by some twenty seconds by the end. Although starting out with overcast weather conditions, the session ended with bright sunshine, which remained until the end of this afternoon's qualifying. Team Brasil put in a strong performance throughout the practice, and were consistently fast. Nelson completed 17 laps, with a fastest time of 1:33.414 to put the team in second position on the timesheets.
Qualifying did not start off too well for Team Brasil when Nelson had a spin during the first session. However, he more than made up for his mistake in the second session when he recorded the fastest lap of the weekend at that point, breaking the 1 minute 31 second barrier for the first time, with a time of 1:30.755. After another good lap in the third session he moved up to provisional second place, with Team Switzerland ahead by 0.165s. In the fourth session he put himself on pole in style by recording a time of 1:30.561, his aggregate time of his two fastest laps putting him ahead of second-placed Switzerland by over half a second.
Nelson Piquet Jr: "I am really happy, especially after we had the spin on the first lap. It was the first time the circuit has been completely dry but it was not actually much quicker than the end of practice, so I really pushed hard on old tyres and I made a mistake and slipped. I felt the car was not very well-balanced, so we changed a lot in the ten minutes before the second session. The car was much better then, and I did some good laps and everything went well in the end."
Emerson Fittipaldi: "It is a very special day because everyone has run on damp and wet so far and this is the first time we have run on dry. It's hard for anyone to get a good first run in that situation. I am very happy with the team performance, the engineer who improved the car based on Nelsinho's feedback, and of course with Nelsinho who did a fantastic job. It's a fantastic start for us."
USA
On a sunny day at the Circuito Estoril, A1 Team USA struggled to tame the twists and turns with a qualifying time of 3'05.024. That time put A1 Team USA into 15th place at the end of Saturday's qualifying session at the 2005 A1 Grand Prix in Portugal.
"After a strong morning practice session, Team USA is disappointed with the outcome of qualifying," said team owner Rick Weidinger. "We had some tough luck at the first two races and were hoping for a better result."
"We had to replace a rear shock on the car," said A1 Team USA Driver Scott Speed. "The car was getting faster as qualifying went on but we just ran out of time."
"We started in the middle of the pack at Brands Hatch and Scott drove his way to the front before an accident took us out of the race" said Weidinger. "I expect that same level of driving from Scott tomorrow."
Qualifying position is determined by the aggregate time of the best two of four qualifying laps the team is allowed to take. The final position in relation to the other teams then determines where A1 Team USA is positioned on the grid at Sunday's initial sprint race. The finish of the sprint race then determines where each team starts for the main feature race, which is also on Sunday.
China
Third Official Practice started at 11.00 am. Jiang TengYi mentioned about nice weather, and it worked this time. All the team members were in the garage to wish him good luck. Jiang took most of this one hour practice session on the track, and last lap's time (1'38.742) ensured him 20th position in the last Official Practice session.
The weather finally turned out to be fine in the Qualifying session for a while. Lebanon was the first car to start Qualifying session at 14.15 local time. Jiang Tengyi said that he was blocked by a car on his second lap, that was why he was over 26 seconds behind the fastest French driver. When he jumped out of the car after all Qualifying session, he said: "I really got worried after first lap, especially when I saw cloudy sky overhead. I am afraid that my time in the first lap could be counted in my final results."
But it was lucky for A1 Grand Prix nations, not a rain drop on the track before last car got into garage. Jiang Tengyi took his chance and got his two best lap times (3'07.543) in the third (1'33.672) and fourth (1'33.871) Qualifying session, and he will be 20th in tomorrow Sprint race. We could hear laugh from each garage when the rain started right after four sessions of Qualifying. Brazil, Switzerland and France got first three positions in the tomorrow's Sprint race at 13.30. And nobody knows what the positions would be in the Feature race afterwards.
Mr. Liu Yu, A1 Team China national Seat Holder congratulated Jiang Tengyi and said: "Jiang is a good student in motorsport world, he knows what is the time to run and grab each opportunity to achieve the target. Once again, I would thank our technical support team to get this car ready in such a short period." Without any break, A1 Team china members started working on the data analysis and car maintenances, we could imagine what they are expecting for tomorrow's Sprint race and Feature race.
Germany
A1 Team Germany will head into the third round of the A1 Grand Prix Series at Estoril from sixth row on the grid after Saturday's qualifying session. The team managed by Willi Weber achieved the eleventh-fastest time in the combined results of the two fastest times out of four separate flying laps.
Driving the 520-hp A1 Grand Prix car all weekend for the first time, A1 Team Germany's nominated driver, Adrian Sutil, set the seventh-fastest time in his first outing on used tyres, lapping the circuit in 1:34.076 minutes. In his second attempt, he improved his lap time to 1:32.625 minutes on fresh rubber, staying on seventh position overall in the aggregated classification. Despite being forced to use old tyres in the third quarter of the split qualifying session, the driver from Gräfelfing near Munich confirmed his previous performance, setting a time of 1:32.695 minutes. As the other nations improved, he dropped to 12th position temporarily. In his final outing, the 22-year old youngster had really gelled with the car and the set-up changes, achieving a lap time of 1:31.556 minutes, more than one second quicker than his previous best time. Thus, he climbed back one position in the leaderboard and secured eleventh position on the grid in the field of 24 nations.
Adrian Sutil: "Quite honestly, I am disappointed that I won't start from a better position. In the first qualifying session, I really had to find the right braking points on the dry track. Thanks to the right set-up changes, the engineers have constantly improved the car in between the outings. The A1 Grand Prix car is very good already, but I have to adapt to it. Only in the fourth outing, things really went according to plan. Tomorrow, I will do my best in both races in order to collect as many points as possible."
Ireland
A difficult start to the weekend's racing for A1 Team Ireland in Estoril, Portugal, saw Ralph Firman's hopes of qualifying well for the third round of the A1 Grand Prix series ended by gearbox trouble. The A1 Team Ireland driver had started his qualifying runs with a solid performance which the team felt would net a top six position on the grid for tomorrow's Sprint Race, but his penultimate qualifying run ended when the car suddenly lost drive. As a result A1 Team Ireland was unable to participate in the final qualifying run, dropping Ralph to 18th position.
Ralph Firman: "There's not much you can do when you suffer a technical problem like this, so we will simply have to pick ourselves up tomorrow and make the most of the Sprint Race. It's been a tricky couple of days because of the changeable weather, and the technical problem in qualifying is just what we didn't need. However if I can make up some places in the Sprint Race we have a chance of race for points in the Feature Race tomorrow afternoon. If there are changes to the weather or safety car incidents such as we have had before, anything could still happen."
Andy Miller, Technical Director: "There is not a lot to say. We could have achieved a top six position in qualifying considering how quick we were on old tyres on the second runs, but it wasn't to be because of the gearbox problem. I'm sure the car will be competitive tomorrow so it will be a case of seeing how well we can come through the field."
Mark Gallagher, Team Principal: "First two A1 Grand Prix races have shown that anything can happen in motor racing. It's possible to come from the back and score.
Czech Republic
The Czech team will start tomorrow's sprint race from the second row on the grid thanks to Tomas Enge who adapted quickly to A1GP car after the final IRL race and put in superb performance.
The day started nicely for the Czech team in the last free practice session. It was held in similar conditions to the yesterday's first one. It started in the wet but the track tried continuously. Enge timed his last lap beautifully, fully used best conditions and for the first time put the Czech car to the top of the results.
It was great encouragement before the qualifying session but Enge and the team remained realistic about chances in the qualifying. The organisers were forced to adapt the number of new sets of tyres for the qualifying due to changing weather conditions and each team was allowed to use two new and one used set. This brought a bit of tactical game to the qualifying because teams chose different routes. The Czech team decided to use the new sets in the second and third session and Enge got the best from them. His two best times were set in those sessions. The Czech driver was third in the first session, fourth in the second one, third in the third and ninth in the fourth one. His two best laps put him to the fourth place overall. It is the best result of the Czech team to date and all members are pleased with the progress since the last race. The Czech team missed most of the pre-season testing but have been able to close the gap to the frontrunners.
Tomas Enge: "I am happy with the fourth place on the grid because we have made quite a big step since the last race. It was good feeling to be first in the morning practice but I knew that I timed my lap perfectly to the conditions and it helped me a bit. My two laps on the new tyres in the qualifying were okay although I was slowed down a bit in the third session but it would not have done any difference in the end. The first corner will be crucial - it is even slower than at Lausitz, so it is going to be very tight there. I hope to get through without damage and then we should have a strong race."
Austria
A1 Team Austria experienced a difficult day today when the team's car suffered gearbox problems before qualifying, which only allowed them to participate in two of the sessions. The team will now unfortunately start tomorrow's race from the back of the grid.
In free practice this morning Mathias Lauda, driving the A1 Team Austria car, completed a useful 25 laps and for most of the session remained in the top ten on the time sheets. He eventually finished 15th fastest, with a fastest lap time of 1:35.498, which was 2.717 seconds slower than the fastest time set by Team Czech Republic.
Unfortunately, the team suffered a gearbox problem which began on the last lap in practice, and took over two hours to rectify. This meant Mathias could not go out for the first of the four qualifying sessions. On a dry track for the first time this weekend, Mathias eventually finished the session in 20th. However, after a misunderstanding as he entered the pitlane, A1 Team Austria
had all of its qualifying times cancelled and now must begin tomorrow's first race from the last spot on the grid.
Mathias Lauda: "The gearbox problem started at the end of free practice and it's really frustrating because in the morning I was in the top ten all the time so it was good, even when it was getting dry I was quick and and in the top six and the car was good. Then we got a problem with the gearbox and we could not do the first session of qualifying. Then it was difficult because it was my first lap in the dry conditions. Also, we now have to start from the back of the grid because I got a penalty from the stewards so it hasn't been a good afternoon."
Arno Zensen, Managing Director: "This morning it was looking promising for the qualifying then on the last lap in practice we had a gearbox problem which the A1 technical people could not find the reason for, so we lost the first outing of the qualifying. When we went out the first lap was okay and the second lap was not bad either. Now all of our times have been cancelled by the stewards because of a misunderstanding. There was a marshal with a yellow flag at the entrance to the pit lane who waved the flag each time a driver came in. On Mathias' final lap, he came in and saw a flag waving and thought it was the same thing, but it was a marshal to call him in for a check. Because of this, we now start at the back of the grid tomorrow. We are coming closer in the times but we need a result. It was possible today but we lost it."
Netherlands
A1 Team Netherlands and Jos Verstappen have made very good progress on the second day of the A1 Grand Prix at Estoril. In the morning Jos Verstappen set the fourth fastest time during the third and final free practice session at the sunny Circuito Estoril. The team had made some changes on the car overnight and this paid off straight away. Verstappen started the session on wet weather tyres, before switching to slicks a few minutes before the end of practice. At the end he was some seven tenths behind the Czech Republic and only two tenths slower than Great Britain and Brazil.
Jan Lammers; "Fortunately we were on course again this morning. We made some changes last night and discussed our approach with Jos and Graham. It's a combination of some good changes on the car last night and systematically working throughout the session. First we scrubbed our wet weather tyres and at the end we tried the slicks. The best qualifying we had so far was tenth at the Lausitzring, so for now realistically we aim on improving our qualifying position. And wether that's ninth, eighth or seventh, we shall see. We think that we can be around sixth or seventh, that's our goal for this afternoon. We will have to see if we can succeed there, because we know that if we can start round sixth place, we are competing for the podium and that is what we want."
In qualifying A1 Team Netherlands went one better than sixth. Even a starting rain shower did not stop Jos Verstappen from setting his fastest lap of the weekend so far. With a aggregate time of 3'03.210 ( 1'31.551 and 1'31.659) A1 Team Netherlands will start the Sprint race tomorrow from a fifth grid position, the best result in qualifying for the team so far. Now, the team will work hard to capitalize on this and convert their best grid position into the best possible finish during both the Sprint and the Feature race on Sunday.
Jos Verstappen; "This is just what we needed. Off course I'm very happy with a fifth grid position. Anyway, we are moving up bit by bit. The lap times were quite decent. We used two sets of new tyres and got the maximum result. At the end it started raining a bit, I think this cost me a few tenths of a second. But I'm more then pleased with the result and this is, I think, a big boost for the whole team".
Jan Lammers; "Pleased with the result. We still are some seven tenths behind the top, but if you consider this then the fifth place is the place is very good. Finally we are where we can be. Now we need a decent start of the race. Perhaps you can only gain one place with that, but then you're directly into fourth. So for now this a good start, but we have to be careful that we are going to be completely satisfied with fifth. We must not forget that it's all about winning. Fifth is super for now and a good basis to work on in future. But this is the grid position and we have to convert this to the next step and that's finishing like this or even better".
South Africa
Tomas Scheckter, driving 'Vulindlela' for Team South Africa, was unable to match his superb wet weather performance in yesterday's free practices and had to be content with 16th place on the grid for tomorrow's opening sprint race of the A1 Grand Prix of Nations at Estoril in Portugal.
Brazil's Nelson Piquet Jr will start from pole position for the second time in three races ahead of Switzerland's Neel Jani and France's Alexandre Premat. The Czech Republic's Tomas Enge (Scheckter's Panther Racing team-mate in the American Indy racing League) will share the second row of the grid with Jani, while the third row will be made up of Jos "The Boss" Verstappen of Team Netherlands and the host country's Alvaro Parente.
The top 10 is made up of Canada (Sean McIntosh), Malaysia (Fairuz Fauzy), Indonesia (Ananda Mikola) and Great Britain (Robbie Kerr).
Qualifying for an A1 Grand Prix of Nations is unique and rich with spectator appeal. Each driver is required to record a single flying lap in at least two of four 15-minute official qualifying sessions. The aggregate of the two best times determines the grid position for the 18-lap sprint race that opens race day proceedings on Sunday at 1.30 pm. This is followed by a 36-lap feature race at 3 pm with a compulsory pit stop to change all four tyres. The starting order for the feature race is determined by the finishing order of the sprint race.
Scheckter was happy to have improved on his grid position of 23 at Lausitz in Germany two weeks ago, but had hoped for a better result today. "We have made good progress since the last race and, after switching engines with our spare car, which we were able to use for the first time this weekend, we were looking for a starting position in the top 10.
"We seem to have our sums worked out for wet weather conditions, where we were very strong in yesterday's official practice sessions, but as the track becomes dry we drop off the pace. We're working on our set-up and looking at all our options. The folk back home can be assured of our very best efforts to represent them well."
"With all the pit stops and yellow flag caution periods we have in IndyCar, I'm used to the challenge of driving through the field from my IndyCar experience and tomorrow's rolling start for the sprint presents excellent opportunities for making up a few places on the first lap.
Team South Africa CEO Dana Cooper (Team South Africa principal Tokyo Sexwale) was full of praise for the team. "We've had our problems and we're working hard at solving them. We're improving all the time and are making our mark in a highly competitive environment in the company of 24 other nations.
"South Africa can be proud of our team and can count on Tomas and Vulindlela giving of their very best in tomorrow's races. The South African flag flies high over Circuito Estoril this weekend.
"And, of course, if it rains…"
Britain
Robbie Kerr's A1 Grand Prix fortunes have again given him a challenge for the races tomorrow with a tenth place position on the grid. Traffic and technical issues hampered Kerrs' efforts. Following battery failure at Brands Hatch and a first lap incident at EuroSpeedway, Kerr's points don't yet reflect his performance and efforts. Having come from 24th to second in the last race it's a good bet that he'll be putting up a good fight to get back on the podium tomorrow.
Robbie Kerr: "We've all been restricted to two sets of new rubber for qualifying because of the wet conditions yesterday so in the first session I went out on older rubber to get a feel for the car Unfortunately the Italians completely mucked my lap up by blocking me for the whole lap and not looking in his mirrors which is a bit frustrating and we'd made a change to the car so we weren't too sure where we were with it. We put the new tyres on and it went well and then we used them again for the third go – I lost a bit of time with the tyres being older. Then on the fourth run the time just wasn't there – it felt really strange but now we've found a minor technical problem that will be put right for tomorrow."
Lebanon
A1 Team Lebanon was pleased to be back out on track in the dry today, following the bad weather which the teams experienced yesterday for the practice sessions. Final practice before qualifying was held in brightening conditions and the weather finally warmed up for afternoon qualifying. Basil Shaaban, driving for the team this weekend in Estoril, will line up on the grid in 23rd place for the Sprint race after the four segment qualifying format.
Shaaban comments, "All the practice sessions yesterday were wet, with only this morning's run in the dry, so most of my experience at Estoril has been in the rain on wet tyres. This lack of time in the dry resulted in us not having the optimum set up for the conditions this afternoon and I think this was reflected in my qualifying time. We'll be out there tomorrow looking to improve on this start position for the races tomorrow."
Trevor Carlin, Racing Director, A1 Team Lebanon, summed up the team's day, "Basil continues to learn his racecraft, but it doesn't happen quickly and he still has a lot to learn. Tomorrow is the important day, so we're now focusing our attentions there and we'll be hoping to see Basil move up the field during the races tomorrow."
Malaysia
A1 Team Malaysia continued its strong performance this weekend, and will start eighth on the grid for the Sprint race tomorrow.
Following bad weather conditions in practice yesterday, the team was pleased to be running in the dry today. Fairuz Fauzy, driving for A1 Team Malaysia this weekend, has been on the pace from the start and has maintained his competitive performance throughout each session.
Eleventh fastest for the first run, Fairuz put new tyres on for the second and bettered his time; he went back out for the third run and then put another new set of tyres on for his final run, which resulted in him using his new tyre runs for the aggregated qualifying time that put him eighth fastest overall.
Fairuz commented, "I'm happy with the car and the team has done a good job. We changed a few things for qualifying and these improved the car. We had four good runs. We know we have a good wet set up and we just need to work on the dry setup a little more, then we will be ready for tomorrow."
Teammate Alex Yoong watched compatriot Fairuz out on track and added, "Fairuz is driving well for A1 Team Malaysia this weekend and it's good for us to be starting in the top ten. When you're a driver you just want to be in the car yourself, but it's great to see Fairuz flying, and flying the flag for Malaysia."
Jack Cunningham, Team Principal, summed up the weekend so far saying, "It's been a weekend in which we have all been saddened by the news of the passing of Datin Seri Endon which has naturally focused our attention back into Malaysia. Against that backdrop Fairuz has continued to perform well for A1 Team Malaysia today - we're very pleased with his pace in qualifying. He's got to grips with this circuit in both wet and dry conditions. With a little bit of luck this qualifying performance should deliver us a good result tomorrow."
New Zealand
New Zealand has plenty of ground to make up after a disappointing qualifying session for tomorrow's A1 Grand Prix in Estoril, Portugal.
The Kiwi team has qualified in 14th position for the Sprint Race that opens Round 3 of the World Cup of Motorsport…the team's same qualifying position as the previous round in Germany.
A1 Team.NZL chief executive Bob McMurray says driver Matt Halliday struggled to get to grips with the car and an unfamiliar track in difficult conditions.
"The track was wet to begin with, but dried by the time of the qualifying session, only for Matt to strike an isolated shower that cost him time on his third qualifying segment," McMurray said.
"That put him under more pressure and made for a disappointing final result. But it's what we've got to work with. Jonny Reid shot from fourteenth to fourth in the previous round and now it's Matt's turn to try and do something similar."
The usual suspects head the grid, with Brazil, Switzerland and France – who are alongside New Zealand at the head of the overall points table – occupying the first three grid positions.
"At least we're ahead of South Africa and Australia in our Tri Nations battle," quipped McMurray.
The weather could play a major part in the outcome of tomorrow's race. Estoril is close to the western-most point of Europe and exposed to the Atlantic Ocean. Today showed how changeable the weather can be, with mainly blue skies despite a forecast for showers.
Showers are forecast for the entire weekend, but if it is as unpredictable as today team tactics will play a big part on a track that could be slippery in stages.
Canada
Sean McIntosh comfortably secured a seventh place starting slot for the sprint race in tomorrow's third round of the A1 Grand Prix Series at the Estoril Circuit in Portugal.
McIntosh's aggregate qualifying time of 3m03.367s ensured the Team Canada racer would take the rolling start for tomorrow's sprint race well inside the top-ten for the first time while looking to ensure a strong finish at the 4.36km track to set himself up for an equally valuable grid slot for the hour-long feature race.
With 10mm of rain falling at the circuit yesterday, improved overhead conditions just prior to qualifying today saw Team Brazil claim pole position with Round 1 winner Nelson Piquet Jr. joined on the front-row by Neel Jani for Team Switzerland.
Commenting at the end of the day Sean remarked: "Our goal heading into today's sessions was to qualify in the top-ten so I'm satisfied with the outcome. It was a bit of a mixed session, the track was still pretty greasy but not half as slippery as it was yesterday in practice. All four of my qualifying runs were fairly smooth and I went as high as fifth overall on my final run on fresh rubber. It's encouraging for us as a team to be moving up the grid order each time we qualify, we just missed out on the top-ten in Germany but we're there today!
"We'll probably make a few small changes to the car to dial in the set-up a bit more before the sprint race but overall I'm really pleased with the handling today and I'm optimistic of a good showing tomorrow. The forecast looks good and the plan, as always, is to keep out of trouble in the sprint race and go for it in the feature race!"
Mexico
After the podium achieved in the A1 Grand Prix Series Round One, Telmex-backed driver Salvador Duran hopes to score another good result in his return to the Series in the two Sunday's races that correspond to the World Cup of Motorsport Round Three, to be held at the 4.36-Km. circuit of the Autodrome of Estoril, in Portugal.
Regarding his performance in qualifying sessions, Duran said: "In the first and second sessions I ran on used tyres. I went out to learn more about the circuit and the car, since it rained in the first day. I only used new tyres in the third session and I was fifth; if I have repeated my time in last qualifying, I would finish fifth. I was doing very well, I was one tenth faster, the track was better, but I made a mistake that cost me 1.6 seconds and we lost everything. I had a fifth place in my pocket and I dropped to 12th place. I didn't go off the track, what happened was that I've lost a lot of time in two turns and I've almost went off the circuit! I feel very disappointed for the result, but I'm relaxed. At the moment, my goal is to finish Sunday's races. I hope to do well, it's going to be difficult to avoid contacts starting from 12th place; the important thing is to pass Turn One, be smart and afterwards to receive the chequered flag. Here, a top five finish is extremely important, especially for the points."
"Friday was rainy and on Saturday it only rained in practice, in this one we were able to be seventh, but at the end we were in the top 10. During first qualifying session the track was still wet, but afterwards it dry out; hopefully on Sunday the races are held under dry conditions. The car is already fixed from Friday's transmission problems and we hope we can get a good result in both two races," Mexican Telmex-backed driver said.
Russia
Mikahil Aleshin who has rocketed to fame in the Russian motorsport scene qualified in 17th position for the third event of the season, the Estoril A1 Grand Prix in Portugal.
The young Russian finished the first session in 14th position (1.35.527), the second session in 17th position (1.33.433), the third session in 20th (1.34.324) and the fourth session in 17th position again (1.32.854) which gave a final aggregate time of 3.06.287.
Mikahil Aleshin commented after the qualifying session of the third event of the World Cup of Motorsport. "After all the rain yesterday, I feel it is a very good result. It matches my experience. I need more kilometres behind the wheel of this car to feel more confident. But we practiced on a very wet track and the grip is different under the sunny and dry conditions. The team helped me very much with their experience and I saved a lot of time. This format of qualifying is unique and different. But it is an interesting way to set the grid for the race. I am looking forward to tomorrow. I learned a lot during my first weekend and we'll see how it goes."
France
At the wheel of the 520-hp Formula racer, Alexandre Prémat started with the fastest lap of 1.33.024 during a damp first practice.
In the second session again Alex finished in front of the other drivers. This time the weather was very wet.
Stepping out of his car Alexandre Prémat said: "The morning roll-out was easy going. The teams have just tested the gearbox and a fresh engine. We only did a couple of testing laps to make sure that everything was fine. In the first session, it was not easy to work because of the wet weather. The car was difficult to drive mostly because the track was alternately drying out and wet again. The overall result was not too bad. I was fourth best time (1'53.041) although the session was short. In the first official session, we kept the wet set-up and towards the end, we put new slick tyres on. The time was good"
During the second session after the strong early afternoon rain the car was "rather good" according to Alexandre Prémat: "A really wet track which was clean and not greasy. It was not difficult to go fast. I only went out a few laps and I clocked the best time of the session. Let's see if we can keep the performance for the qualifying tomorrow".
Switzerland
In the third round of the new A1 Grand Prix Series A1 Team Switzerland claimed second place and front row on the grid.
In the aggregate result of his two fastest laps from the four 15-minute qualifying sessions – as prescribed by the qualifying format, which is unique in the world – Neel Jani achieved a time of 3.01.830. The 21-year-old Swiss driver was disappointed not to have made it to pole position at the end of the session.
Neel Jani commented on his grid position, saying that, "It was a very exciting qualifying session. These four different sessions built the pressure on everyone. It was difficult because the conditions between yesterday and today changed completely from wet to dry. To take top three means to drive very hard and be really on the top. I have moved to the top in my first run on old tires. I wanted to get the pole in the 4th session. But it just did not work out and I came only second. I’m satisfied with this first time in front row. A1 Team Switzerland have shown improvement since the last races. The race tomorrow will be interesting and very much depending on the weather conditions for everyone."
Team manager Max Welti added: "I like the philosophy behind the races of the A1 series. Now we need to make use of our strong second position for the sprint and the feature races tomorrow."