19/01/2007
NEWS STORY
Brazil
The A1GP World Cup of Nations Taupo round kicked off today with two free practice sessions. A1 Team Brasil fielded Raphael Matos in both sessions, and although the first session was a positive start for the team, this afternoon's practice proved more challenging, leaving the team with some work to do to prepare for tomorrow's qualifying.
With Raphael still eligible to participate in the rookie session, the team took advantage of all track time available to the 26-year-old, and he performed well in both 25-minute segments. He improved his times, finishing 8th in the first segment and 7th in the second, just over a second off the pace of Team France's Loic Duval.
After such a promising morning, the team ended the afternoon disappointed after Raphael was only able to finish the session in 14th position. He had run in the top ten for the first half of the session but then suffered a couple of minor spins. He eventually set his fastest time of 1:16.315 on his final lap.
Teams will have the benefit of a final one-hour practice session tomorrow morning before the afternoon's qualifying gets underway.
Raphael Matos: "I think the rookie practice this morning went quite well. In the first segment I was not pushing, I was just learning the track, but in the second part I was able to push and get a feeling for the car. We made some changes for this afternoon's practice and some of them worked and some didn't but I am still learning to work with the team and engineers. We did make some progress this afternoon and I think we learned that we should have gone out a little later in the session, but it was okay. We just need to try to get a good car for qualifying tomorrow."
Emerson Fittipaldi, Team Principal: "I arrived in New Zealand today and I have to say what a wonderful event we have here and what a fantastic job the organizers have done. The track has been put together in a short time and it is very technical, difficult track with fantastic places for spectators and it looks beautiful on the television. This is the kind of event that A1GP deserves - every event should be like this. Looking at the team's performance today, I'm a little disappointed. This morning was quite good but this afternoon we did not perform as well as I expected. We seem to have a problem with the tyres graining a lot so we have to do some work tonight to try to improve for tomorrow."
France
On the 3.5km track in Taupo, which hosts the sixth round of the 2006-07 A1GP World Cup of Motorsport, Team France rookie driver Loic Duval will make his debut in both the sprint and feature races. Duval completed his program during the rookie practice session where he set the pace right away with the fastest lap of all in 1.16.214. He went even faster on a 1.15.601 in the second session.
The day went well for Duval's first ever visit to the New Zealand circuit and in the afternoon, for the official practice session 2, Loic finished third fastest with 1.15.368 behind Tomas Enge (CZ) and Narain Karthikeyan (India).
Loic Duval explained: "I’m really excited to have come to New Zealand for the first time. What I have seen yesterday from the country was really interesting. The people are really warm and welcoming. The brand new circuit facilities at the renovated track are really excellent although the track is more bumpy than expected. The car is good. Even though I did not know what to expect on the new track, I managed to do a number of good laps even when we were not on new tyres. I went a bit off line and on the gravel in the first part of the rookie session. But I was happy to clock the fast time in the two rookie sessions. I now know what the track is like and how to get the best out of it although it is easy to make a mistake. We worked well with the team and the track went constantly faster. The red flag and the traffic hindered us a bit, but third fastest is satisfying for a Friday. Let’s concentrate on tomorrow because the positions are very close and the level of competition high."
Eric Boullier, Managing Director A 1 Team France commented: "We are quite satisfied with the overall results today. Loic Duval had a very constructive day. The track is difficult and technical. It does not forgive any mistake. The competition is growing with new drivers. We're finalizing our set-up and strategy which will be vital to qualifying and two good races on Sunday on this interesting new track"
Germany
"Star of tomorrow" driver Christian Vietoris celebrated his debut in the A1 Grand Prix series in the black-red-yellow A1 Team Germany car on the other side of the world: The 17-year old young talent from Gönnersdorf in Germany's Eifel-region drove his first stint in the powerful 520 hp formula race during the "rookie session" at the sixth round of the A1 GP World Cup of Motorsport in New Zealand.
"I'm well impressed", explains last year's delighted Formula BMW Germany Champion after his first laps around the Taupo circuit. "The change between 140 and 520 hp is enormous. The A1 Grand Prix car is also physically very demanding because the muscles are put to work a great deal more. The steering in particular requires much more effort than a smaller formula race car. The shifting gear with the steering wheel mounted paddles is fantastic."
Christian Vietoris did a valuable job for the David Sears Motorsport team during the "rookie session". Part of the task was to determine the gear ratios best suited to the A1 Grand Prix car, which is identical for all teams in the series, around 3.5 kilometre circuit on New Zealand's North Island. In the process, the newcomer posted the sixth fastest lap in the field of 19 nations with his time of 1:16.712 minutes.
"Christian did an excellent job", confirmed Nico Hülkenberg, who has competed in every race of the 2006/2007 season to date for Willi Weber's team and is therefore forbidden from participating e in the "rookie session". Hülkenberg, who lives in Emmerich, Rhineland-Palatinate (Germany), got back behind the wheel for second practice. "After completing a Formula 3 test it took a little time to find my feet again in the A1 Grand Prix car", explained 19-year old future talent. "It was recommended that I left-foot brake in the Formula 3 car. I also wanted to use this technique in the A1 GP Series, but it didn't work quite as I'd expected, so I went back to braking with my right foot. The ‘old' feeling soon returned in the A1 GP-racer."
Hülkenberg set the fifth fastest time of 1:15.407 minutes in practice, only 0.159 seconds behind. The starting grid for the first of the two races on Sunday is determined in the well-known four-part qualifying on Saturday.
Great Britain
New Zealand's all-new Taupo Motorsports Park came alive with the roar of 22 550bhp A1GP V8 engines today as official practice was held ahead of the sixth round of the 2006-07 A1GP World Cup of Motorsport on Sunday. A1 Team Great Britain's Robbie Kerr capped his first day at the 2.17-mile North Island facility with the tenth fastest lap time in practice, a 1m15.799s, compared to the Czech Republic's timesheet topping 1m15.248s courtesy of Tomas Enge.
Without the services of Oliver Jarvis to participate in the morning's rookie-only session, the British team, currently in second place in the A1GP Nations Standings, maximized the official hour-long practice session with Kerr learning the anti-clockwise layout while working on a competitive set-up.
Robbie Kerr: "Today's practice went fairly well, we obviously spent some time learning the track and getting back into the swing of things following the lengthy Christmas break. There were a couple of little issues that became apparent as the session went on but we'll get them sorted ahead of qualifying. I'm happy with where we're at given we didn't run this morning. We obviously missed out on a lot of data and time to bed things in which we had to do this session. We showed we had pace but there's more to come tomorrow."
A1 Team GBR Team Principal John Surtees: "Robbie obviously sat out the Rooke Session and came out not knowing the circuit at all which was some disadvantage compared to those that had done the earlier session. Overall we took a fairly conservative approach and there was a problem with the brake pads, they didn't start to work properly until Robbie completed around 20 laps, the reasons for which are being explored. After some adjustments though he set some extremely competitive laps and we're hopeful for another good showing in qualifying."
India
Narain Karthikeyan showed blistering pace on his first outing in an A1GP car today, at the Taupo Motorsport Park in New Zealand. The Williams F1 test driver finished the day second overall, just 0.055 behind the fastest man, after only 54 laps of running.
Czech driver Tomas Enge, a former F1 driver, was the only man to keep Karthikeyan from the top of the time sheets at the end of his first day in A1GP.
Speaking about his first experience in the car, Karthikeyan commented, "The A1GP car requires a completely different driving style to an F1 car. The gearbox, the braking, the tyres, it's all very different to F1, so it's like going into a completely different category. I suppose today was a good start, I've only had two sessions in the car, and there is still a lot to do. We'll have to see what changes we can make. It would be great to get into the points and give India a head start."
Karthikeyan had praise for his new team saying, "I think the team is doing a good job, there's no doubt about that, the car was not that far off really."
Despite finishing in the top three consistently throughout the day, the A1 Team India driver is cautious about his chances over the weekend, "I think a podium is asking too much really. Most people here have done a season or a season and a half, and it's quite a lot to ask to come into your first race and finish on the podium. The important thing is not to get carried away. We still have a lot to do. If I can help send the team in the right direction, it will be a good start."
After setting a quick time which put him at the top of the time sheets early in the final session, Karthikeyan had a couple of off-track excursions. "When you have such a limited amount of time to get used to the track and the car, you have to learn as much as possible, very quickly, which means pushing the car to the limit and possibly going over it. I went off a couple of times, but it was only minor and there was no damage to the car."
Speaking about the importance of A1GP in his home country, Karthikeyan said, "There has been quite a lot of interest my joining A1 Team India. Motorsport is still developing there at the moment, so A1GP will hopefully raise its profile. I'm really pleased to be here this weekend, I think the nation versus nation concept is great."
Team Seatholder, Yohann Setna added, "The team is really happy with how it went today. Being at the top of the time sheets is a great experience. But we still have a lot to do, and Narain thinks there is still a lot of time left in the car. I think qualifying will be important tomorrow, as the track is narrow and there aren't a lot of places to overtake. The reaction in India has already been amazing and I think if we get a good result here this weekend, it will draw attention to A1 Team India."
Ireland
A productive day for A1 Team Ireland saw the team set the 4th fastest time in the final practice session of the day as Hillsborough driver Richard Lyons familiarised himself with the redeveloped 3.5km/2.17 mile circuit in Taupo.
Today was the first opportunity for Gary Anderson to apply his considerable experience to engineering the A1GP car, after the former Formula One Technical Director took over engineering duties. A methodical approach to the day had the team working through a variety of different setups and improving the cars speed and balance.
Richard Lyons: "Today has been very productive and we spent much of this morning working through our programme on what was a very dirty track to begin with. A couple of changes we made to the car in the 2nd session made a big difference and it was a little frustrating that we weren’t able to get a clear run in after encountering traffic all day. There is still a lot of work to do and I am hoping that we can continue to improve in tomorrow’s final practice session before qualifying.”
Mark Kershaw, Chief Executive Officer: "Gary and Richard are working well together and it has been an encouraging first day for the team. There is still a lot of work to do but it’s good to see us running competitively and I hope we can continue to improve throughout the weekend."
Lebanon
Clear blue skies and bright sunshine greeted the grid of nations competing this weekend in Taupo, the new motorsport venue for the sixth round of A1GP racing.
Alex Khateeb is representing Lebanon this weekend and after his initial ‘rookie' session in which he finished 15th quickest, he completed a further hour of practice, finishing in 21st place.
The Taupo circuit is a challenging 3.5km of long corners, sweeping curves and undulations. It is a test of driver skill and fitness, running in an anticlockwise direction, unlike most circuits. Khateeb coped well with the high temperatures and demands of the scenic venue.
He said at the conclusion of the day, "I'm excited by the opportunity that the team are giving me this weekend and it's a big challenge for me. I've only had three hours of track time in the A1 car, so it's still a steep learning curve for me. The circuit is quite demanding. It's tight and twisty, and because it is fairly narrow, there's only a small margin of error. Each time I'm out on track I'm able to gain experience and work with my engineers to understand what is needed to improve my performance. I'm taking it step by step and focusing on doing the best job I can for the team."
Martin Dixon, Team Manager, A1 Team Lebanon, added, "This is the first full weekend of running for Alex and after the first day he's put in a solid performance. He lacks the experience of most of the A1 GP drivers here in New Zealand and acquitted himself well alongside these other racing talents. It was a day of learning, with Alex using the practice sessions to get to grips with the track, adapt the car set up to suit the conditions, and gradually make changes to improve our overall performance. We'll continue with our race preparations tomorrow morning before the afternoon qualifying."
Mexico
A1 Team Mexico had a difficult day in their first outing at the 3.5-Km. (2.17-mile) circuit of Taupo. In the practice sessions, Sergio Perez was ranked 14 in the rookie session, while Salvador Duran was 11th fastest.
A1 Team Mexico test driver Sergio Perez was the first driver of the Mexican team to go out to the track to participate in the rookie practice and he said: "In the first segment of the practice session I spun and they could not push me back to the track, with this situation I've lost this part of the practice. It was my mistake, but this is part of my learning (curve). This only motivates me to improve my performance. In the second segment of the session I was not able to complete a good lap -at the limit, as I would like to. However, we were able to get good information to improve the car. I hope this weekend everything will go well."
Salvador Duran participated in the last practice session and he commented: "The session was hard. We did not do a good lap and the top-12 drivers are within one second. We have problems with the set up and we are working on that. We know we can be competitive and I think tomorrow we are going to be all right. We are working hard to improve our performance."
Netherlands
A1 Team Netherlands has had a good first day of the A1GP Taupo. In the Rookie session this morning Renger van der Zande set a very decent third fastest time. After that it was Jeroen Bleekemolen's turn, he set a seventh fastest lap time in the free practice session, being just a few tenths of a second off the fastest time of the day.
On a for both A1 Team Netherlands drivers completely new circuit Renger van der Zande was the first to go out on track in the Rookie session of two times 25 minutes. In the first half Renger set a sixth fastest time but a number of changes on the car enabled him to improve on his lap time with more than a second, ending his session with a fastest lap of 1'16.344.
Naturally Renger van der Zande was very pleased with his performance today; "Yes, it was good. Today I was able to really get some mileage and make some big steps. Every lap it went better and I got used to the car more and more. Really super. I think the car was really good, we made a change which immediately paid of, and where Jeroen can work on further. The track itself is fun, there are slow and fast corners, there is some elevation. And today the weather was nice again, so a very good day. It was too bad though that I encountered some traffic during my last lap, otherwise I maybe could have been in second".
Jeroen Bleekemolen set a fastest time of1'15.529 during his first free practice on the 3.5 km circuit and, with that time, was just three tenths of the fastest time of the day. Just like in the Rookie session the free practice ran without any problems for the team.
Jeroen Bleekemolen was also very positive about this first day of the A1GP Taupo and expects a fierce battle during qualifying tomorrow; "Really super. We are competitive, it's only three tenths from the fastest time and there is still some more room for improvement. But everyone else will also have the same. We are competing up front again. There were a lot of drivers that already drove this morning and who also went out this afternoon, they had some advantage. Considering that, you are that close to the fastest time, it is just perfect. If we are able to find a few tenths of a second we can really compete amongst the top runners. It is going to be very close, now there are 15 drivers inside a second. You can go to the front row here, but if everything is not working completely smoothly you can easily end up in 15th. The qualifying will be very exciting and close. It is really competitive, there are a lot of drivers who can be in front, it will be a nice battle. The track itself is easy enough to go fast, but it is also easy to loose one or two tenths, and that is a lot here. That is also why it is difficult the get the absolute maximum out of qualifying. But this I like, of course it is part of the game:"
New Zealand
New Zealand driver Jonny Reid is pleased with his first taste of the revamped Taupo circuit.
The 23-year-old set the 8th fastest time in the first Official Practice, just 3/10ths of a second off the pace-setting Thomas Enge of the Czech Republic, with new Indian driver Narain Karthikeyan impressive in setting the second fastest time and Loic Duval of France completing the top three.
It was Reid's first competitive drive on home soil since 2003 and he described his outing, completing 28 laps, as "pleasing".
"I learnt a lot out there," Reid said. "It's a technical circuit and it's quite trying when you're off the racing line in the dirty part of the track."
The narrow nature of the circuit will make tomorrow afternoon's Qualifying crucial as teams battle to be up front for Sunday's points-scoring races.
Reid says having his home fans cheering him on will give him a major lift, but he isn't about to predict a fourth successive front row position. "I don't want to put any pressure on myself, but I'll be giving it my best shot. We still have a few things up our sleeve we can trial tomorrow and we'll just see how it goes."
Earlier in the day Wade Cunningham was solid in the Rookie Session, setting the 8 th fastest time among 19 nations, but – most importantly – helping warm up the car and provide some advice on set-up.
"I enjoyed it and the track was challenging," Cunningham said. "It would be nice if it was a little wider, but the circuit is fun to drive and I'd like to think I've helped with the car's set-up."
Cunningham said if he was in the hot seat this weekend he'd be requesting a car that stayed low in the corners in order to quickly navigate the tricky infield. "If you have a car that does well through the corners I'm sure you can defend a lead and stay in front."
South Africa
A1 Team South Africa, with Alan van der Merwe at the wheel of Vulindlela, finished ninth in the opening practice session for Sunday's A1GP at the impressive new 3,5-km circuit which is the focus of the new NZ$12,5 million Taupo motor sport park.
The 25-year-old South African, competing in only his second A1GP weekend after making an impressive debut in Indonesia six weeks ago, struggled to obtain an optimum set-up for Vulindlela in the opening official practice session which is reserved for rookie drivers.
"The circuit is pretty narrow – it is going to be tough to pass here. The first session the circuit was very dirty. I battled with graining of the front tyres and am not happy with our pace. We'll have a good look at the data and hopefully will be faster in the next session, said Van der Merwe.
A1 Team South Africa's technical and sporting manager Mike Carroll commented: "Loic Duval's pace in the French car was very impressive which bodes well for the DAMS-prepared entries (which include Vulindlela) for the weekend. Alan set his best lap right towards the end of the session when the tyres were at their worst, so he should be higher up in the next one provided he and the engineers manage to choose set-up changes that provide a more favourable balance for Alan with the new tyres we will run."
Duval's best time, which saw him top the charts at the end of the one-hour session, was 1 min 15.60 sec, 1,27 sec ahead of Van der Merwe.
Session two, later in the afternoon saw the South African again in ninth place overall, but this time he had closed the gap to the fastest time, set by the Czech Republic's experienced ex-Formula One driver Tomas Enge to just half a second.
"We made good progress, but we should be able to get higher up," said Van der Merwe. "Qualifying will be very close tomorrow and so we need to find some more performance, but I am confidant I will find a bit in myself."
Mike Carroll: "As in the rookie session, Alan did his best lap right at the end of the session when his tyres were not at their best, so hopefully that will translate into a higher position tomorrow. Bruno (race engineer) made a good change to the car late in the session that helped find a little time and Alan feels the change will work on new tyres, too, so let's see what qualifying brings."
Switzerland
Rookie driver Marcel Fässler was in action today clocking the fourth fastest time (1.17.203 and 1.16.412) after completing 30 laps during the two sessions. In the two official practice sessions Buemi completed 37 laps overall and clocked a 16th fastest time in 1.16.370.
Marcel Fassler: "In a way, I consider it is my first real time as a rookie. In Bejing, China, the conditions were very tricky and the session was cut short by officials and I didn’t get a chance to enjoy it much as I only managed to get in two runs in between the red flags. I was expecting a lot from this weekend. I had two good sessions and also demonstrated good, consistent laps. In a way, this session was my real start. I am very pleased because I had not driven in a single-seater since September 2006. I would still need to adjust to braking conditions and I like the reaction of the car. But you need to handle it with care."
Sebastien Buemi: "We did a lot of work over these 37 laps and I used part of the session to learn the track. We should have started right away to try to get a strong time as we started on the new tyres at the beginning of the session. Later on, the track changed constantly and it became difficult to go quicker. We still have one session tomorrow morning before the qualifying session to improve and fine-tune the car."
Max Welti added: "A good working day for both drivers, Marcel Fässler and Sebastien Buemi, that shows the potential of the car. Marcel’s results brought good data to the team, and Sebastien Buemi and his engineer Franck Funke are preparing well with the team on this very technical track where mistakes are not forgiving. We are confident for a good weekend ahead. The New Zealand officials have really done well accommodating us at this outstanding facility."
USA
On a hot, dry, and sunny day in Taupo, New Zealand, A1 Team USA took an opportunity to fine tune their car and break in their new driver, Ryan Hunter-Reay. The twisting turns of the new Taupo race track tempt every driver to push too hard. As car after car slid off the circuit, Team USA adopted a "slow and steady" approach which helped them in accomplishing the day's goals.
A new engine was mounted in A1 Team USA's "We The People" car prior to the week's action, so Friday's practice began with slow laps to allow Zytek to check the installation and performance. Hunter-Ready was then free to push the car, logging consistent laps with steady improvement. A1 Team USA finished 15th in the first practice and 18th in the second.
"All-in-all, this was a day for me to get re-acquainted with the A1 Team USA car," said Hunter-Reay, following the practice. "We got through a lot of testing - tried several different adjustments - and I think we learned a lot. Unfortunately, I flat-spotted my tires late in the session. When you do that, the wheel keeps locking up in the same spot every time you brake, so you just can't brake as hard as you'd like. We're only a couple of tenths off of several race winning cars, so we're not miles off. Of course, there's still a lot of work to do tomorrow."
A1 Team USA Owner Rick Weidinger commented, "Actually we had a good day. Although the final practice sheets for today don't reflect it, we got progressively better and better as Ryan and the 'We the People' car got to know each other. The practice times were all very competitive. As a team, we have learned a lot today and will certainly apply that information tomorrow for qualifying. New Zealand is a beautiful country and we have really enjoyed our time here. Its not often you can land a 24 inch Rainbow Trout out of a nearby stream right after lunch. We expect to land another good result at the track tomorrow right after lunch."
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