28/08/2007
NEWS STORY
A1 Team Malaysia was eighth quickest in the first day of the official A1GP pre-season test session at the 2.6km Silverstone International Circuit in Northamptonshire with regular driver, Alex Yoong, setting his quickest time during the afternoon session at the overcast British track. Aaron Lim, the team's rookie driver, was also present for the team at the test and gained valuable track time in the Malaysian car.
The test was the first time the drivers had been in the A1GP car since the last round of the second series at Brands Hatch four months ago, making it a good opportunity for the drivers to reacquaint themselves with the 550bhp Zytek powered A1GP car.
Yoong and Lim shared testing duties throughout the two, three hour sessions to work on set-up and development of the car ahead of the looming third season of A1GP. In last year's official test A1 Team Malaysia set the fastest overall lap of an A1GP car at Silverstone, recording a lap of 1m 10.507s, however this was narrowly beaten today by the South African team in the afternoon session as they went quickest with a 1.10.484.
During the morning test session the Malaysian team were ninth quickest overall, with season one champions France, topping the time sheets. During this session the Malaysian team weren't without problems however, as Lim had a trip across the gravel trap, causing the session to be stopped momentarily for the car to be rescued. The team then quickly remedied the issue before rejoining the track before the lunch break.
Commenting on the performance of the team on the first day of the test, Jack Cunningham, Chief Executive A1 Team Malaysia, said; "Today has gone well, the team and the drivers have both worked hard and consistently. Our programme for the test is to develop the car ahead of Zandvoort to get the best result possible at the start of the season. I'm pleased with how well both drivers ran in the car, and we look forward to making more progress tomorrow."
Yoong was pleased to be back representing his nation, saying: "It's been a productive day. We didn't get a clear lap to set a quick time, we had lots of traffic, but that's not what today is about, these tests are to work on set up ahead of the new season. We are certainly within the top five teams this year and we hope that tomorrow we can continue to improve. Its good to be starting the season again and I can't wait to go to Zandvoort."
Rookie driver Aaron Lim commented: "Being back in the car felt really good, especially because I had the chance to do a proper run in the car. Last year I only did seven laps during the test for the team as it was just a taster session, so this year I'm able to spend more time learning the track and working on set-up. I'm glad to be back with A1 Team Malaysia and I'm really looking forward to tomorrow."