25/03/2007
NEWS STORY
Malaysia - Pole
A1 Team Malaysia stunned its rivals with a blistering pace in qualifying to take pole position for tomorrow's A1GP World Cup of Motorsport Sprint race in Mexico City. Alex Yoong recorded his second pole of the season and fourth A1GP career pole with this outstanding effort.
In morning practice the Malaysian team were continuing with race preparations, making a number of set up changes in efforts to continue with the high performance level that the team enjoyed yesterday. The session was unfortunately curtailed for Yoong after an electrical problem left the Malaysian driver stranded on track. Without the benefit of a full hour of running the team had not been pushing for a fast time, so a 13th quickest lap was satisfactory for the session.
Yoong's first qualifying run set the target for the rest of the grid, with a stunning 1'26.490 lap time the best of the weekend so far. With new tyres, the Malaysian team car was the quickest of the field in the first segment. This excellent performance continued into the second session with Yoong comfortably ahead of his rivals to maintain his place at the head of the table. A stunning third segment saw the Malaysian team improve further, lowering the lap time still further, with a performance so strong that no other team could realistically beat his lap time and Yoong had sealed pole position with still one qualifying lap segment to complete. This early unbeatable performance allowed the team the luxury of putting race fuel mileage and old tyres on to the car to ascertain the car's handling in race conditions.
Yoong said after qualifying, "A great result today. The guys did a fantastic job on the car today. This morning we weren't on the pace, but we realised we had graining on the tyres, but we didn't panic and concentrated on qualifying, and the car was very strong. Now we just need to make sure the car is strong for tomorrow's race. We had a handling imbalance yesterday and this morning, and this grained the tyres, so we just couldn't go any faster, but we worked through this. Now, my hope is that we can win both races."
Jack Cunningham, Chief Executive, A1 Team Malaysia, added, "I'd like to congratulate everyone in the team for this excellent result today. Arriving here and being on the pace immediately was the start we needed, and to follow it up with such a commanding performance in qualifying is an excellent continuation of these efforts.
Of course, there are no Championship points for pole position, so our aim is to stay on this pace and to turn this into the podium-winning finishes we're looking for. We are looking to deliver our sponsors and supporters a good result tomorrow."
Germany - 2nd
A1 Team Germany, managed by Willi Weber, achieved a surprisingly good start position for the ninth round of the eleven-race A1 GP World Cup of Motorsport in Mexico City: Christian Vietoris, contesting an entire race weekend for the team for the first time, claimed second position on the grid in his debut qualifying session. As a result, the 17-year old young talent from Gönnersdorf in the Eifel region of Germany continued the exceptional series started by previous cockpit occupant Nico Hülkenberg, who started four times from the front row in the previous eight rounds – the last three occasions from pole position.
At the "Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez", Christian Vietoris recorded the third fastest lap time of 1m27.221s in his first qualifying run behind Malaysia and Great Britain. He set a lap of 1m27.382s in his second outing giving him the second best time behind Malaysia and also second overall in the provisional rankings. In the third section, initially interrupted by a red flag, A1 Team Germany once again set second fastest lap with a time of 1m27.155s. However, Briton Oliver Jarvis squeezed Christian Vietoris down to third place in the overall standings. In the final qualifying segment the German newcomer struck back: with a lap of 1m26.828s he not only recorded his personal best qualifying time but also the fastest overall time in the fourth segment. As a result he claimed second position on the grid alongside the former Formula 1 driver Alex Yoong.
Christian Vietoris: "After languishing down in eleventh place in free practice this morning, we set-up the car again like it had been on Friday. In the first qualifying run on new tyres I immediately posted third fastest time, and second in the second run on the same tyres. I made a small mistake on new tyres during the following attempt. In the final segment I pushed to the absolute limit on new tyres and snatched second place. It goes without saying that it is a fantastic result in my first qualifying run in an A1 GP race car. Furthermore, New Zealand who is our closest rival in the championship only qualified 14th."
Great Britain - 3rd
A1 Team Great Britain's 'rookie' racer Oliver Jarvis continued to impress today in Mexico City as he qualified third fastest for tomorrow's ninth round of the 2006-07 A1GP World Cup of Motorsport, hosted at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez.
The front-running pace demonstrated by the British team through Friday's timed sessions carried seamlessly into Saturday morning's final practice outing with Jarvis storming to the top of the timesheets courtesy of a hot lap of 1m27.641s around the 2.74-mile track.
Encouraged by the 23-year-old's form, Great Britain headed into qualifying as one of the favorites to secure pole for Sunday morning's 20-minute Sprint race. Jarvis, participating in his first A1GP qualifying session having been denied the opportunity back in Round 3 in Beijing due to track issues, proved himself adapt at the one-lap format immediately banging in a tour of 1m27.101s to set the second fastest time of the first 15-minute segment.
Utilizing the same rubber he followed that up with a 1m27.738s to remain firmly planted in the top-three with half the qualifying session gone. The third session produced another flying lap from the 2005 Formula Renault UK Champion as he set a 1m27.170s to move back up into second overall. Oliver's fourth and final run produced a 1m27.279s and with the last of the 22 competing nations taking the chequered flag Great Britain ended the session third overall and in good shape for tomorrow's Sprint and Feature races.
Alex Yoong snared pole position for A1 Team Malaysia, the former Grand Prix racer producing a stunning aggregate time of 2m53.138s to lead Germany's Christian Vietoris on the front row.
"I'm confident we'll be in contention tomorrow," predicted Jarvis after qualifying. "Our pace on old tyres was pretty competitive which bodes well for the races. This is certainly one of the most physical race tracks I've ever been to and it's hard to be consistent with the bumps on track. That said, this was my first attempt at A1GP qualifying and while it was tough to make the extra gains on new tyres I'm pretty pleased with third on the grid, hopefully we can make up a couple of spots tomorrow!
France - 5th
A1 Team France qualified in the top five for the sprint race as Jean-Karl Vernay delivered a strong performance for his first ever qualifying in the series Following a trouble-free final practice session on Saturday morning where
A1 Team France finished ninth fastest with a time of 01:28.327. A1GP France had good reason to be satisfied about this third practice session of the season as the gap to the fastest car of the session, A1 Great Britain's Jarvis was only +0.686s ahead. Later, Jean-Karl Vernay put his car in fifth place on the grid for the start of his first sprint race in A1 Grand Prix.
Jean-Karl Vernay explains his day and the qualifying session: "The track was dry and the weather slightly overcast as I took the car to the track. I felt comfortable in the car and on the track and well prepared for the afternoon qualifying session. I was afraid to loose time in the fast esses section. In the afternoon, my first lap was fifth fastest with 1.27.402 and I had the feeling that the track fitted my car. Then, I left amongst the last drivers with only six minutes to go for the second flying lap. I did not run wide, but finished in 13th place with 1.27.900. That left me seventh overall at that point of the qualifying session. Then I got a bit unlucky after the red flag caused by Pakistan car and I did the third outing after the red flag once the traffic was a bit better. I clocked a time of 1.27.489 and that brought me to sixth overall. Later in the fourth part of qualifying I did a clear lap and clocked a 1. 27.418 that protected my fifth place on the grid for the start of the sprint race. To know that I was amongst the 90 new drivers brought to the series during the two first seasons, and fifth in my first ever qualifying I felt pretty good with this result."
Jean-Karl Vernay qualified fifth overall with an aggregate result of his two best times Q1 and Q4.(2.54.820). The team is now working to prepare a good race strategy and fine-tune the car's balance for tomorrow's races.
Eric Boullier, Managing Director A1 France added: "Jean-Karl Vernay experienced his first ever A1GP qualifying session today on the Mexican track and delivered a strong performance. Data collected today will now be analysed carefully by the team in order to improve the car's balance for tomorrow's sprint and feature races. The engineers and the team did a great job guiding him for his first race appearance."
Brazil - 7th
A1 Team Brasil made a big improvement in performance today in Mexico City, to put in a strong showing in final practice, and then go on to qualify on the fourth row of the grid for tomorrow's sprint race, in seventh position - the team's first top ten qualifying this season. With Bruno Junqueira at the wheel, the team put in consistently fast times in practice, finishing fifth in the standings. Qualifying could have proved to be better, but the team is happy with a solid top ten grid slot, and is looking to impress in tomorrow's races.
Despite qualifying the Team Brasil car in its best position of the season, qualifying was a mixed bag for Bruno, and the team was slightly disappointed not to have scored a higher grid slot. Bruno abandoned his first qualifying sector after making a mistake and running wide after braking too late, and then ran the second segment on old tyres. In the third sector, he was on for a lap time in the high 1:27's, but made an error in the middle sector, which cost him around half a second.
Everything was down to the final segment, with Bruno heading into the all important session in 14th. An outstanding lap of 1:27.160 elevated him up the standings, putting him in seventh place overall at the chequered flag. Without his error in Q3 on new tyres, Team Brasil would have been looking at a third or fourth place, which gives the team confidence heading into tomorrow's races. The sprint race begins at 11am local time, with the feature race kicking off at 3pm.
Bruno Junqueira: "I'm quite happy with the improvement that we have made since yesterday. This morning in practice we were pretty fast, and we maintained that pace in qualifying. Unfortunately I made mistakes on my first and third runs and my second run was on old tyres. My last run was pretty good but because I didn't get two good laps together, I wasn't able to put us any higher, which is a real shame. I lost at least half a second in my mistake on the third lap, which could really have put me ahead into P3 or P4. However, I'm quite excited because it gives me confidence for tomorrow, and the car is proving really good on hold tyres. I'm happy I stepped up and pushed hard. Team Brasil is getting better in every session, so I hope we can do well tomorrow."
Emerson Fittipaldi: "I'm very happy with the last qualifying lap that Bruno did. It was the third fastest lap overall in qualifying and the second fastest in that session and that is a fantastic achievement. Bruno made a mistake on sector two in the third run, and if it wasn't for that we would be P3 or P4. It's a big improvement. The team has improved and we are getting back the feeling like it was with Nelson [Piquet Jr] at the start of last season. We have race pace for tomorrow, so I'm looking forward to seeing what we can do. I also just have to say congratulations to my grandson Pietro Fittipaldi! He's ten years old, and won his two karting races today out of 50 drivers in the state championships held in Ocala, Florida."
USA - 8th
A1 Team USA's Jonathan Summerton will start from eighth position on Sunday in the A1GP sprint race at Circuit Hermanos Rodriguez in Mexico City.
Saturday morning's practice session, the last of the weekend, was a struggle. With only an old set of tires available, Summerton was forced to hang on tight. On each run, the car would show a different problem with the handling-understeer would turn into oversteer and the car would slide unpredictably. At the end of the session, A1 Team USA settled with a P15 (1:28.74).
"I really struggled there," said Summerton following the practice. "Those tires were just worn out."
The qualifying round, however, went much better for A1 Team USA. Despite his troubles in the morning, Summerton stepped up to the plate with a 1:27.555-good enough for 8th place in first qualifying. Second qualifying was on used tires. The times were closely packed and every fraction cost a place. A 1:28.111 equaled 15th place for Team USA.
For the third qualifying session, it was critical to make a good run on new tires. Summerton dug deep, and pushed for all he was worth. 1:27.363 was the result for 5th place in third qualifying. This put Team USA in position for a shot at a top five qualifying result with an equally good run in segment four. Summerton set off at a pace. Sector 1 was good enough to get the job done. Then, while entering turn four, the car hit a bump and spun off the track. Car and driver emerged unscathed, and Summerton was able to return to the racing surface and bring the car home. The fast time, however, was gone, but eighth place on the grid proved to be a fair reward for the efforts of driver and crew over a long weekend.
"I'm pretty frustrated," said Summerton. "The times are so close. Just a couple of hundredths would be enough to gain a spot. Fourth place was easily within sight. Still, it's easy to pass on this track, so we can definitely get to the front tomorrow. I think my car is capable of being very fast in the race."
"The day definitely had its frustrating moments, especially that fourth qualifying segment," said A1 Team USA owner Rick Weidinger. "Still, we've witnessed an amazing effort out of our team and driver so far this week. With that kind of tenacity on our side, I have no doubt that we will be able to move up the grid quickly and successfully tomorrow."
New Zealand - 14th
The New Zealand team has plenty of ground to make up after qualifying in a lowly 14th place for tomorrow morning's opening Sprint Race in Round 9 of the A1GP World Cup of Motorsport in Mexico.
A dominant display by former Formula 1 driver Alex Yoong earned Malaysia pole position on the bumpy 4.46km Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez circuit in Mexico City.
Seventeen-year-old rookie Christian Vietoris guided series leader Germany into second on the grid, with Great Britain and host nation Mexico tucked in behind on the second row.
Kiwi driver Jonny Reid was off the pace in all four qualifying segments, finishing 11th, 9th, 13th and 9th. His two best times came in the 3 rd and 1st segments, but the average of his two best times was well off the pace of the front-runners.
It is the first time this season that Black Beauty will not be perched in the front two rows.
A1 Team.NZL Engineering Director David Sears says the result was "hugely disappointing" after being the quickest car in practice yesterday. "We obviously went in the wrong direction in terms of setting up the car and the frenetic nature of the qualifying meant we didn't have the time to rectify the situation," Sears said. Given the talent in the team we can still retrieve something out of this round, but it's going to take a lot of hard work."
Sears said Reid was frustrated with the times that were set. Given the success of the team this season Reid had not had to work his way through the field on many occasions, but Sears was adamant the Black Beauty driver had the ability to make up ground, especially if the car set-up was spot on.
A1 Team.NZL spokesman Bob McMurray said the team had now been forced into a position where it needed to protect second place in the championship.
"We would much rather have been attacking Germany and looking to cut into their series lead, but now it's a case of ensuring we don't let France wrest our second position away from us," McMurray said.
McMurray said Black Beauty would be stripped down overnight to ensure the car is mechanically sound.
Earlier in the day Reid emerged with the 4th fastest time in the second official practice session, completing 24 laps in the hour-long shakedown which was headed by Great Britain, the Netherlands and India.
Netherlands - 16th
After A1 Team Netherlands had finished in second during the final free practice this morning, it did not come together during the qualifying at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez this afternoon. The team had to settle for sixteenth on the grid for the Sprint race. In his very first A1GP qualifying Renger van der Zande set an aggregate time of 2'55.711 (1'27.645+1'28.065).
In this morning's free practice session A1 Team Netherlands showed that they were very competitive by ending up only 53 thousands of a second behind Great Britain.
After the first qualifying run A1 Team Netherlands was in ninth. In the end the 1'27.645 set by Van der Zande proved to be the fastest lap of the four qualifying runs. After the second and third run, where times were slower the team was in sixteenth and in the fourth and final run there was no possibility for Renger to improve his time. During qualifying Van der Zande increasingly had more trouble with handling the car.
A1 Team Netherlands Rookie Renger van der Zande off course was not very happy with this result; "This is very disappointing though. This morning things looked very good. With similar tyres I was in second. Also, that lap time I was able to drive quite easily. The whole weekend we have had understeer. From the first moment of qualifying right until the end I had more and more oversteer. You can see it in the data, there even might be something broken inside the car. Now we will have to find out where the problem is. In the final run I almost went off a couple of times, it was getting worse and worse. Now I will have quite a battle ahead of me tomorrow. There are a few spots where overtaking should be possible. We will just have to give our best and get the most out of this for the Feature race".
A1 Team Netherlands engineer Tim Wright could not pinpoint the problem yet shortly after qualifying; "It is obviously very dissapointing. We had a pretty good weekend so far. I think that the work that we did on the car with both drivers was quite productive. Unfortunately in qualifying the balance of the car changed a huge amount in the other direction. Even going back on the things we did earlier this weekend did not help".
A1 Team Netherlands team principal Jan Lammers; "For now we as a team and Renger as a driver will have to settle for sixteenth. Tomorrow we will see how Renger will perform during the race. Of course it cannot be the case that a good second place in practice is solely because of the driver's performance and that only the team, engineering or the car is responsible for a sixteenth place in qualifying. As always in racing it is a combination of car, team and driver".
India - 17th
Narain Karthikeyan was back on track today, qualifying for the Mexican round of the A1GP World Cup of Motorsport. The team struggled to find their form around the challenging and bumpy 2.7 mile circuit, posting the 17th quickest time, the position the team will take for tomorrow's Sprint race.
A1 Team India continued with their race preparations this morning, with driver Karthikeyan completing a total of 23 laps. Just ten minutes from the end of the hour long session, the Chennai born racer set the third fastest time, just one tenth from front running A1 Team Great Britain.
Conditions remained warm and dry for the afternoon's four segment qualifying session, with the track temperature rising to 43°C. Karthikeyan completed his first flying lap on old tyres, before putting new rubber on the car for his second lap to set the team's quickest lap of the weekend so far. A final set of new tyres in segment four, saw Karthikeyan post his second fastest qualifying time.
Karthikeyan said after qualifying, "We couldn't make the car work at all, we were struggling on both new and old tyres. The car feels very bouncy and we're suffering from severe traction problems; the changes we made yesterday don't seem to be helping as much as we'd expected.
"We were immediately on the pace at my first race in New Zealand, and set the second fastest lap of the race, so we thought the car was good. Since then we seemed to have struggled and running a spare car in South Africa and different tub here, seem to have exaggerated those problems.
"We might make a few changes before tomorrow, but it's hard to make changes at this stage in the weekend, as we won't have chance to test them before the first race. It is possible to pass here, so I think we'll have the opportunity to make up some places during the Sprint race and get a better position for the Feature race."
A1 Team India Seatholder, Yohann Setna added, "Obviously this grid position is not what we hoped for. We didn't expect to struggle this much with the car. However, the team are working hard to try and resolve the problem before the first race, and will go through all the data in detail with Narain.
"The Sprint race will give us the opportunity to make up some places before the longer Feature race and Narain is a very experienced driver, which will help us over a race distance.
"This is our first season with this team/car package, while the majority of teams in the pit lane have nearly two year's experience of the A1GP car. I think that is hurting us slightly, but that's the situation we are in, and we need to make the best of it for these final three races."
Switzerland - 18th
In the final practice session at the Hermanos Rodrigues track in Mexico on Saturday morning, A1 Team Switzerland Marcel Fässler finished eighteenth fastest with a time of 01:29.120 and covered 23 laps.
Later Marcel Fässler put his car in 18th place on the grid to start the sprint race with Malaysia Alex Yoong in pole.
The weather conditions were dry but slightly overcast in the morning and later sunny and warm. Fässler explains: "We worked a lot last night to understand the track as I have never driven here and never experienced race conditions either. In the morning third practice session I tried to get a clear lap. But it is difficult here on the Mexico track and we still had to change a few things on the car before qualifying".
Fässler placed his car in 18th position for the start of the ninth race of the A1 GP season. The Swiss driver set his personal best times in the third and fourth runs (respectively 1:27.942 and 1:28.060 ) with an aggregate time of 2.56.002,2,864 s behind Alex Yoong, Malaysia in pole.
Data collected today will now be analysed carefully by the team in order to improve the car's balance for tomorrow's races.
Fässler commented, "I was proud to do my first qualifying with Team Switzerland. But this 18th place does not reflect the potential of the car and I am disappointed.
I pushed very hard from start to finish but there was not much I could do on the very dirty track and I always have a problem passing the bumpy second section with the fast "S". In the first part, I finished 15th with 1.28.322. Then, I left amongst the last driver with only six minutes to go for the second flying lap. I scored a 17th fastest with 1.28.237. I got a bit unlucky after the red flag caused by Pakistan car and we lost a bit of time and could only start with three minutes to go I could not set a better time than 27.942 for the third session. Finally, I lost a bit of time again in the second section of the fourth part and I also ran a bit wide in the grass at turn 13 and finished with 1:28.060. It looks like we have found the right balance on this challenging and glorious track but I just have to go quicker in the second section.Let's see tomorrow. The long feature race will be certainly be interesting and challenging for everyone on the bumpy track and that something good can come out of it."
Max Welti, team principal, A1 Team Switzerland commented, "Marcel's results do not reflect the potential of the car. But the team is working hard around him to prepare the car well for the long and difficult races on this tough track. We need a good start tomorrow and a good strategy in the races to finish in a good position."
Canada - 19th
Qualifying for Round 9 of the 2006-07 A1GP World Cup of Motorsport, hosted at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez in Mexico City this weekend, proved to be a tough affair for A1 Team Canada with Toronto's James Hinchcliffe a disappointing 19th on the timesheets at the end of Saturday's session.
Having sampled the 4.42km Mexican circuit for the first time in Friday practice, Hinchcliffe was hoping to build on that experience with a strong run in Saturday's final practice but the 20-year-old ended the hour-long session down in 17th place from the 22-strong field of nations lined up to compete.
The afternoon's qualifying session saw the team fare little better as Hinchcliffe battled a loose car throughout his four timed runs to set an aggregate lap time of 2m56.120s, placing him on the tenth row of the grid for Sunday's 20-minute Sprint race, those results forming the start order for the afternoon's 70-minute Feature race.
Hinchcliffe opened up his qualifying effort with a 1m28.462s lap time, good for 16th overall before opting to remain on the same set of tires for his second run, improving his time to 1m28.242s. With another fresh set of tires for his third run he recorded a lap of 1m28.659s. Armed with one final set of tires, the Champ Car Atlantic racer bagged his best of the day with a 1m27.878s.
Pole position went to Alex Yoong in the Malaysian entry with the ex-Formula One driver joined on the front row of the grid in Mexico by German rookie Christian Vietoris.
"It's been a crushing day if I'm being honest," stated Hinchcliffe. "The car was really loose all day and as a result I just couldn't get the exit speed off the corners. Getting back on the power is key here but we just had no balance in the car and that's reflected in our qualifying result. It's tough to take as we're running a similar set-up to the British squad but I guess there's a difference in the driving styles which meant we didn't exploit the configuration. We'll keep working on it and hopefully we can find a workable solution that'll allow us to compete tomorrow!"
Ireland - 20th
Team Ireland endured a difficult qualifying in Mexico City today with driver Richard Lyons 20th fastest after struggling to find a set-up on the car capable of producing a good lap time over the demanding Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez circuit. Despite a recent upturn in performance that saw Team Ireland among the top four fastest cars in qualifying in the most recent event in South Africa, the team was unable to find a competitive set-up here in Mexico, leaving Lyons and engineer Gary Anderson with a major task ahead of tomorrow's A1GP of Mexico.
Friday practice saw Team Ireland's Reserve Driver John O'Hara back behind the wheel for the first time since Malaysia, setting the 16th fastest time, while Lyons then took over for official practice. Final practice this morning saw the Irish car lose time in the pits due to a broken gearbox component. In qualifying Lyons ran new tyres on his first, third and fourth runs, setting an individual best lap time of 1m28.492s, compared to the fastest lap of pole sitter Alex Yoong of Malaysia who produced a lap of 1m26.490s.
Richard Lyons; Qualified 20th, 2m57.300s on Aggregate; "It has been a very frustrating weekend so far and we just haven't been able to get on top of the car. We've tried a number of different set-ups but the problem has been the car's behaviour over bumps and also a level of understeer that it's just not been possible to drive through. I have a big job ahead of me tomorrow to score points from this position, but we are going through everything with the team this evening and will try our best to come up with a solution for the race."
Gary Anderson, Technical Director; "It's been a confusing day because although we have tried a number of things the speed hasn't been there. We've acted on the basis of what the car is doing and how Richard is finding it to drive, but clearly we're a long way off at the moment as qualifying showed. There may be a deeper problem we haven't yet found, but we'll whatever possible to cure it."
Lebanon - 21st
The final practice and qualifying sessions of the A1GP World Cup of Motorsport, Mexico, were completed today at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez, with Allam Khodair flying the flag for A1 Team Lebanon and the Arab world. The team will line up on the 11th row of the grid for tomorrow's Sprint race after a highly competitive qualifying session.
In morning practice the team continued with its race preparations, running on used tyres and concentrating on qualifying set up, making a number of changes to improve the balance of the car for the afternoon Sprint grid-setting session.
Afternoon qualifying took place in hot conditions with the track temperature reaching 43°C. The unique A1GP style of qualifying requires drivers to complete four 'flying laps', with one in each of four 15 minute segments. The best two lap times are then aggregated to determine the grid positions for the Sprint race tomorrow.
Khodair drove consistently through each of the four segments, recording his best lap time of the weekend on his final flying lap run.
He said of his day, "Qualifying was a tough afternoon for us; the track conditions had changed since this morning and we had to adapt to this. I think of most importance is that we improved our lap times since the start of the weekend, and are making gains in our overall performance."
Martin Stone, Racing Manager, A1 Team Lebanon, adds, "Allam has dropped his lap time by around one second over the course of the sessions this weekend, and we need to keep making this level of progress. He has only completed two races in A1GP so far, and those were at a temporary street circuit. This is a very different proposition; a much faster track, a very technically demanding one and one that isn't easy to learn quickly."
Pakistan - 22nd
A1 Team Pakistan continued to make progress today, at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriquez circuit, on the outskirts of Mexico City. The team made further improvement in final practice, before setting their fastest lap of the weekend in qualifying. After completing the four segment qualifying session this afternoon, the team will line up on the 11th row of the grid for tomorrow's Sprint race.
The complex circuit is a new venue for the A1GP series. The 2.7 mile track features a series of slow and fast corners as well as a long start/finish straight, making set up difficult.
Ali continued to make progress in final free practice, moving to within three tenths of A1 Team Lebanon. The team completed a total of 29 laps during the one hour session, making some alterations to the car in preparation for qualifying.
The sun shone for A1GP's Mexican qualifying session, with the track temperature reaching 43°C. In a system unique to A1GP, teams complete four flying laps across four segments, with the two fastest times aggregated to set the team's overall grid position.
Ali was first on track in segment one, reacting well to the pressures of the one lap qualifying system, to set his fastest time of the weekend. Ali went a step better on his second flying lap, improving by a further tenth of a second. While preparing for his third flying run, Ali hit a bump which sent him off track, forcing him to abort the lap.
Commenting on his qualifying performance, Ali said, "Our first two segments went well, the guys were happy and I felt confident in the car. However, on my third segment, I hit a bump on my out lap, which spun me round and I went onto the grass. I was scared that it was going to hit the wall, but thankfully we just tapped the tyre barrier and the car wasn't damaged. For my fourth flying lap, I was on the same set of tyres, which were quite dirty, so we lost some advantage there. I'm frustrated that we effectively lost the last two laps, because I think we could have improved even further."
A1 Team Pakistan team manager, Bobby Issazadhe added, "We were doing quite well in the first two segments, we were setting times pretty close to Lebanon, and thought we could even beat them. We put a new set of tyres on for the third run, but unfortunately, Nur hit a bump and lost the car. We were very lucky that it didn't hit anything and there was no damage, but it meant we had to sit out the rest of the session. We were back on track for the fourth segment, but I think Nur had lost a bit of confidence by then, as he didn't drive as well as he had in on his first two runs.
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