25/02/2006
NEWS STORY
Switzerland
A1 Team Switzerland clocked respectively eighth and ninth fastest times under the heavy rain which disrupted today's two free practice sessions in Monterrey today.
In the first session, under heavy rain, A1 Team Switzerland completed 21 laps on the wide Mexican track and concentrated on finding the right set-up for tomorrow's qualifying with a third quickest time of 1'39.335.
In the second session, Neel Jani finished in ninth position after twelve laps and a time of 1'40.155
Neel Jani comments: "It was very wet out there on the track. It is always interesting to discover a new track. I had to be really cautious. This track is as slippery as ice and there is no need to take any risks on such a wet surface. The rain and a few red flags made it difficult to learn much. Let's hope for improvement for a good qualifying session tomorrow"
A1 Team Switzerland team principal, Max Welti commented: "After the rain in South Africa and Indonesia we were not expecting this wet weather here at all. It wasn't so easy to work on the car set-up. We did not want to take any unnecessary risks. We will fight for a good qualifying result to-morrow."
France
A1 Team France drivers Alex Premat and Nicolas Lapierre landed only late morning in Monterrey straight from the GP2 tests in Paul Ricard to prepare for the ninth round of the new A1 Grand Prix Series at the historical Parque Fundidora Monterrey in Mexico.
For the first practice session, under very wet conditions, at the wheel of the 520-hp Formula racer, Alexandre Prémat covered 21 laps and finished in 1'38.300, 0.233s behind New Zealand Matt Halliday (27laps) who clocked 1'38.067. In the second session, which was just as wet, Alexandre Premat grabbed the headlines with the quickest time of 1'38.926 after 14 laps. He also spun, stalled his car on the curb and caused a red flag.
Alexandre Prémat : "It is quite unusual to arrive that late at a Grand Prix. It was a quick transition from the plane to the track! I had never seen this track before except on TV. I find it interesting with a number of tricky chicanes and interesting curves. The rain and lack of grip did not bother me. Our car has an excellent set-up in the rain but it did not keep me from spinning. In the morning, I wanted to set my quick time earlier, but there was traffic on the track. Anyway, in the afternoon, I managed to be quicker despite the rain without taking too many risks. It is very slippery on the track. I hope that the weather will improve to-morrow."
Jean-Paul Driot, team principal, A1 Team France commented: "The session today under these conditions was challenging. We just arrived from the GP2 testing session in Europe. Alex must be cautious under these driving conditions and remain very focused to prepare for a good qualifying session to-morrow."
Germany
A1 Team Germany made a good start to the ninth A1 Grand Prix series race weekend in Monterrey. Timo Scheider drove the powerful 520 hp single-seater race car, entered by Willi Weber's team, into the top five in the 21 nation field during the first two free-practice sessions.
The 27-year old professional race driver got to grips with the Mexican circuit immediately in the opening free practice session. During the course of 28 laps the team familiarised itself initially with the unusual circuit before posting third fastest time with a 1:38.969 lap. Owing to the bumpy track surface and, more importantly, the various types of tarmac the tyres generate very little grip. "I don"t think I've ever encountered a track with so little grip", confessed Timo Scheider. "As it had also rained, there were a few sections around the track that were so slippery that you just had to roll around. You really don't want to have to brake, accelerate or even steer on these patches."
In the second hour-long session the team worked on fine tuning the set-up of the one-make monoposto. A1 Team Germany recorded a 1:39.524 to finish in fifth position after completing a further 18 laps around the 3.386 kilometre circuit in Nuevo Leon state. The team used only a single set of rain tyres throughout the two sessions and scrubbed a second set in preparation for qualifying.
"That was a very productive day," remarked a pleased Timo Scheider. "We tried several different set-up options, to which the car reacted very sensitively. Also, my new race engineer and were on the same wavelength from the word go."
New Zealand
The New Zealand A1 Grand Prix team has set the pace in practice for Sunday's 9th Round of the World Cup of Motorsport in Monterrey, Mexico.
Matt Halliday was quickest in the day's opening practice session and was the second-fastest, behind championship leaders France, in the second one-hour session. Black Beauty's lap time in the first session remained the fastest of the day.
A1 Team.NZL manager Mike Ewan said continuous drizzle made the track greasy and treacherous, but Halliday was impressive from the outset.
"We had good lap speed from the time we left the garage and, apart from one small off when trying to go around Lebanon, Matt was in great form," Ewan said.
"We started on the front foot and simply carried on that way. We did a lot of laps, 49 in total, so it's been a superb day."
Halliday had a head-start in getting to know the circuit, purpose-built in former steel works at Fundidora Park, as Champ Car connections in the USA gave him plenty of information on the track, where Champ Car has raced since 2001.
"It's nice to be setting the pace in practice and it's certainly a boost to the team's confidence, but this isn't the day you win championship points," Halliday said.
"We have to build on what we've done today throughout the weekend and gun for podium finishes on race day."
Brazil
A1 Team Brasil got its A1 Grand Prix of Nations, Monterrey, Mexico underway today when driver Christian Fittipaldi undertook two one-hour practice sessions for the team in treacherous conditions after the Fundidora Park Circuit saw its first rainfall since October.
Several teams decided to run limited mileage in the first session due to the weather conditions, but Christian chose to use his time to continue learning the car, which he drove for the first time two weeks ago in Indonesia. He completed 23 laps of testing in the first hour, recording a fastest lap of 1:40.813, which placed him 11th in the standings. In the second session he completed a further 23 laps, finishing 14th with a fastest time of 1:40.837.
Tomorrow will see Christian able to test for a further hour before participating in the four-part qualifying session in the afternoon, which will determine the grid line-up for Sunday's sprint race.
Christian Fittipaldi: "We had a decent day, we learned a lot about the car and hopefully the times will come tomorrow. We didn't go the right way with the car in the second session but it was good in that I ran a lot more miles and we had no mechanical problems. The weather was difficult today with both wet sessions, but I'm happy I didn't make any mistakes and we just look forward to tomorrow now."
Emerson Fittipaldi: "I can't believe the weather here in Mexico, it's raining and cold! It was a difficult day today. We tested a lot of different things and in the first practice we were quite quick but in the second we didn't improve and other teams did. We will try a different set-up tomorrow and I am sure we will be much faster."
Austria
A1 Team Austria got off to a solid start today at the A1 Grand Prix of Nations, Monterrey, Mexico. New team driver Patrick Friesacher put in an impressive performance in his first outing for the team, up against much more experience competition. In difficult weather conditions, Patrick finished 13th fastest in each of today's two one-hour free practice sessions.
The Fundidora Park Circuit, the venue for this weekend's action, saw rather surprising weather conditions today, as it rained through both practice sessions, the first rainfall in the city of Monterrey since October. This made running more difficult, and several teams chose to limit their mileage.
Patrick completed 18 laps in the first session, his first opportunity to acclimatise himself to the car. He nevertheless got to grips with the A1GP car quickly, finishing 13th quickest with a lap time of 1:41.118. He could only complete a further 10 laps in the second session after a small accident in the treacherous conditions. However, he still finished 13th in the standings, improved his gap to the session leaders from over 3 seconds in the first practice to 1.861 seconds in the second hour.
Tomorrow morning will see Patrick able to get one further hour of practice under his belt before taking part in the innovative A1GP four-part qualifying session.
Netherlands
On the first day of the A1 Grand Prix at Fundidora Park Circuit in Monterrey, finding grip was the magic word for A1 Team Netherlands. The whole day it drizzled at the circuit and during both sessions the conditions were tricky. Both free practice sessions of today were stopped regularly with a red flag, after spins of a number of drivers.
On a soaking wet track A1 Team Netherlands set a fourteenth time in the first session. A1 Team Netherlands driver Jos Verstappen drove a total of 22 laps, setting a fastest time of 1'41.133. Just like many other teams A1 Team Netherlands didn't end the session completely unscathed. Verstappen slid off track, but luckily this remained without serious damage.
Although the conditions in the second practice improved slightly, it remained very slippery on track. After the session was stopped a few times, the practice was ended with nine minutes remaining, after a new code red. In the end A1 Team Netherlands ended in eleventh, with a fastest lap of 1'40.710.
Jos Verstappen; "Certainly in the second session we tried a lot of things, to go as quick as possible. We just didn't have the grip. We have some idea why that is and we will change some things for tomorrow. It took too long to do that today. It was difficult, you could see that. You even heard coming onto the start finish straight, nothing but wheelspin. It didn't go our way. The track is very slippery and there is lots of sand. You saw that by the way the cars looked. At least we have got an indication of the grip levels of the circuit and we will have to adjust the car to that".
Jan Lammers; "We will have to work hard to adjust the car. The weather of today we didn't expect here in Mexico. We based the set up of the car on a warm track, like in Indonesia and South Africa. We will have to adjust the car to cooler conditions and that's were we are going to work on tonight".
Lebanon
A1 Team Lebanon took to the track today with the attractive parkland setting of Parque Fundidora hosting round nine of the A1 Grand Prix series, the A1 Grand Prix of Nations, Mexico. The team's new recruit to the driver lineup, Graham Rahal, was given his first taste of the A1 car, with team mates Khalil Beschir and Basil Shaaban on the pitwall supporting him.
In the first practice session the wet weather that greeted the drivers resulted in a slippery track, but Rahal drove well and quickly got to grips with the challenging circuit. Running comfortably within the top ten for most of the session, he finished twelfth fastest. In the second one- hour session, the persistent rain kept the track very slippery. In these conditions Rahal used the time to further acquaint himself with the A1 car and the Mexican track. In this session he recorded nineteenth fastest time.
At the end of his first day with A1 Team Lebanon Rahal said, "It's been a good day. The first session was better than the second, but I've really enjoyed driving the car. It's a really powerful car and good in the rain. In the second session there were a lot of red flags, which made it difficult to get in a rhythm. I'm looking forward to driving the car in the dry, so I hope it'll be dry tomorrow."
Tony Snook, Team Principal, A1 Team Lebanon added "The team has had a good first day in Mexico and it's very encouraging to see how quickly Graham has got to grips with the A1 car, despite the appalling weather. I hope he has a chance to experience the car in the dry at some time this weekend. Although he is the youngest driver in the field, Graham has already shown maturity in his handling of these conditions. He has had only two hours in the car so far, but is already demonstrating his talent."
Canada
Patrick Carpentier received a wet weather welcome to the A1 Grand Prix of Nations as he made his track debut driving for A1 Team Canada in today's official practice sessions at Parque Fundidora, Monterrey ahead of Round 9 of the ‘World Cup of Motorsport' this Sunday, 26th February.
Stepping into the Canadian entry, piloted to victory at the previous round by Vancouver's Sean McIntosh, Patrick faced less than perfect conditions to debut in as a constant drizzle throughout the day kept the 3.38km track ultra-slick. As a result both hour-long practice sessions were littered with red flags as a variety of drivers were caught out by the damp.
With four career Champ Car starts at Fundidora, Patrick needed no introduction to the circuit but despite his previous experience today marked the 34-year-old from Québec's first taste of the track in the wet. Recording 20 laps in the first session, Carpentier made an immediate impression placing seventh overall on the timesheets with a lap of 1m39.939s. In the second outing he was limited to just 16 laps setting a best time of 1m41.623s before the session was cut short with 10 minutes remaining.
Patrick Carpentier: "The car's pretty similar to what I've driven before, it's perhaps a little more nervous at the rear but we were up there in first practice. I think I spun the tires too much though and that had a definite impact in the final session. There was no back-end grip which was too bad as I wanted to keep us up there on the timesheets. We'll give it another shot tomorrow and see how it goes!"
Czech Republic
The Czech Republic team had a reasonable first day at Monterrey track that was affected by rain. Despite the weather Tomas Enge did 40 laps together and was in the top 6 in both practices.
Nice and sunny weather from the beginning of the week was like a distant memory today. Both sessions were run in the wet and slippery track caused many spins. Enge was learning the track in both session and the team was working on wet weather setup. The Czech driver did 20 laps in each session and finished sixth in the first and fourth in the second practice.
Tomas Enge: "I like the surroundings of the circuit it is definitely interesting - the old unused steelworks combined with relatively newly built park. I hope to find some time to look around after the weekend. Rain pretty much dictated the work in both today's sessions and we are relatively happy with what we have done although we still have to improve. The track has some interesting and challenging combinations of corners and I am enjoying driving here. There is one stark contrast to Sentul - the surface here is so smooth that even light rain can make it very slippery while in Indonesia the track had even during light drizzle the same grip as when it was completely dry. Especially off line it is like driving on ice. Other thing is that the spray from the cars is very heavy and it is difficult to see even if the car ahead is few hundreds metes in front of you. I did a lot of laps today but I need few more just to get the right feeling with the track."
Antonin Charouz, seat holder: "The track has an unusual background and its facilities are modest comparing to the circuits that we visited this year. Tomas did a good job today and we were close to the top in both sessions. We know that the setup of the car can be a bit better and there is still one practice tomorrow. We will see what weather will bring to us in the rest of the weekend but I personally hope for sun and a bit higher temperatures!"
Malaysia
Rain greeted the A1 Grand Prix field for the first practice session at the A1 Grand Prix of Nations, Parque Fundidora, Monterrey, Mexico today.
Alex Yoong, with previous experience at the track from his time in the American-based Champ Car series, was able to run strongly from the first time out in the A1 car.
In the first practice session Yoong used the time to reacquaint himself with the characteristics of the track, particularly with the wet conditions creating areas of standing water. Lying 10th quickest after the first hour of practice, Yoong was comfortable with his performance. In the second session he concentrated his efforts on car setup rather than quick times, finishing 18th quickest at its conclusion.
Yoong reviewed his day saying, "We're satisfied with our opening practice sessions. This morning the car felt good, but it was difficult in these weather conditions to really get the best from the car. This afternoon we weren't really going for a time, but putting our efforts in to making car setup changes, so our time is not representative of our potential performance on Sunday."
Jack Cunningham, Team Principal, A1 Team Malaysia adds, "Alex's knowledge of the track gives us a small advantage which are able to use to positive effect – so he doesn't need to run just to learn the track.
Due to the poor weather conditions and how dirty the track was today, we decided we wouldn't run that much in today's sessions and certainly wouldn't push for a time. We ran only fourteen laps this morning and sixteen this afternoon, using the sessions to learn an appropriate set-up for the car for the races just in case these are the conditions that we have on Sunday. We understand, from our research, that it's likely to be wet on Sunday.
In any case we're confident that there's more to come from Alex and that our overall position will be improved in the session tomorrow morning and in qualifying. We are back on track tomorrow morning at which time, weather permitting, we will push a little harder."