19/02/2008
NEWS STORY
Bruno Junqueira (right) and Alexandre 'Xandi' Negrao will take to the street of Durban for A1 Team Brasil as the A1GP World Cup of Motorsport heads to South Africa for round seven of the season. Both Bruno and Xandi have driven for the team previously, but will make their season three debuts this weekend.
Bruno competed in six races for the team in last year's championship, finishing seventh in the Durban feature race, the team's equal best feature race result of the season. Since his last outing at the season finale at Brands Hatch in May, Bruno has been competing once again in the Champ Car World Series, in which he achieved three brilliant podium finishes with the Dale Coyne Racing team.
Xandi has just completed three years in the GP2 Series, with the highlight coming in 2007 when he scored his first podium with a fine second-place finish in the sprint race at the Istanbul Park circuit in Turkey. The 22-year-old had his first taste of A1GP in October 2006 when he undertook rookie driver duties for Team Brasil in Brno, Czech Republic. However, due to a technical problem, he completed just 12 laps of practice.
The tricky Durban street circuit was designed specifically for A1GP and the series makes its third trip to the 3.28km track this weekend. The tight, twisty circuit is enclosed by walls, and has proved a difficult challenge for teams and drivers in the last two meetings. A1 Team Brasil holds the lap record of the track, with Nelson Piquet Jr setting a time of 1:18.178 in season one.
Bruno Junqueira: "I'm looking forward to Durban and competing in A1GP again. I raced in Durban last year so at least I know the track, although it's been a long time since I last drove the A1 car. Last year went reasonably well, but this year we have a more competitive car and team so I hope we can get onto the podium. I'm ready to go."
Xandi Negrao: "I'm really happy to be invited back to join A1 Team Brasil and it's a great opportunity for me. I know that the team is much more competitive since I last drove the car, but that was 18 months ago and I only did a few laps so I'm not used to the car. I will do my best to get up to speed as quickly as possible with the track and then help the team to develop the car during practice."