23/01/2008
NEWS STORY
Testing resumed under grey skies today at the Dubai Autodrome ahead of this week's inaugural GP2 Asia first round.
QI-MERITUS.MAHARA wrapped up a positive fourth day of testing at Dubai on Wednesday, two days before the new season begins at the same circuit. Luca Filippi and Hiroki Yoshimoto continued working on the team's development program before the first race and went through a fourth day of intensive work with engineers covering over 80 laps just in the morning.
Despite forecasts of wet weather for this fourth day of test, the track was dry and although conditions were overcast and cooler than normal.
Luca Filippi commented: "These four days working with Qi-Meritus.Mahara were very helpful for preparing for our first season of GP2 Asia. As a driver I am never happy with the results and always want to go quicker. All drivers competing are very strong and it should be a good fight between us and the other teams. We have a lot of potential and are continually learning. The team has a great reputation in this part of the world and I'm determined to help the team build on that in GP2 Asia."
Team mate Hiroki Yoshimoto commented: "It's been a busy few days testing, but we have now established a good working basis with the mechanics and engineers. The surprise is that I was not expecting the track to be so bumpy. But all teams and drivers have the same constraints and conditions. We have run the car in a number of different configurations and I'm happy with our progress. I'm looking forward to racing again and hopefully the weather will be good."
Peter Thompson, team principal commented: "It has been a good four days. The cars have been finishing in the top ten of the classification. The drivers and the rest of the team are blending very well. The results are clearly visible on the track after 200 laps with each car. If you base it on observing testing position we are the second highest placed team over the four days. Let's see how it goes in the race."