16/11/2005
NEWS STORY
A1 Team Germany faces a huge logistical challenge for the fifth round of the A1 Grand Prix series: Timo Scheider competes for the Willi Weber managed team on 19 and 20 November in Sepang, Malaysia. The 27-year old professional racing driver takes parts in another race only one day earlier; however it just happens to be in an endurance race in Dubai 5,500 kilometres further west. As a result, he misses the first two free practice sessions of the A1 Grand Prix of Nations in Malaysia and travels half-way around the world over night for his team.
This massive logistical effort became a necessity after Adrian Sutil, the driver originally scheduled to race for A1 Team Germany, picked up an injury and can not start in Malaysia. As a medical check-up after the fourth round of the A1 Grand Prix series on 6 November in Australia revealed, the 22-year old 'star of tomorrow' broke the thumb on his right-hand in an accident during the first of the two races and must now allow the break to heal.
"It certainly wasn't an easy decision to make, but it was the best solution", explained Willi Weber. "Timo must indeed miss two practice sessions in Sepang, but accumulated plenty of valuable experience during the first two rounds of the A1 Grand Prix series, in which he has already scored eight points for the team. If we had nominated a third driver, he would have started from zero in the A1 Grand Prix car. Adrian should takes his time to recuperate, so that he is fully fit for his next race."
Timo Scheider looks confidently towards the challenges facing him around the 5.54 kilometre long circuit situated south of Kuala Lumpur. "The toughest aspect will almost certainly be the time difference", says the native Rheinlander. "My race marathon starts on Tuesday in Dubai with the three hour time difference to Germany. The endurance race finishes on Friday at 5.00 p.m., and at 08.15 in the evening I fly to Malaysia. The overnight flight takes about seven hours. Due to the different time zones I lose another four hours between Dubai and Malaysia. I've practiced enough on my PlayStation for the track in Sepang, which is new to me. It is very modern, has bends with blind entries and good places to overtake. I'm looking forward to the cut-and-thrust of two exciting races in which I want to score more points for A1 Team Germany."