11/04/2008
NEWS STORY
Brazil
A1 Team Brasil's new race driver Xandi Negrão and rookie Felipe Guimaraes both drove for the first time today on the 4.6km Shanghai International Circuit in China to begin preparations for this weekend's races, round nine of the 2007/08 A1GP World Cup of Motorsport.
Guimaraes undertook driving duties for this morning's two 25-minute rookie-only practice sessions. The 17-year-old made his debut for Team Brasil last time out in Mexico City, and Shanghai is another new circuit and experience for the South American F3 race winner. As the team had installed a new engine to the A1GP car, Felipe spent the first half of the session completing necessary engine work. Following that he had the opportunity to get to grips with the track and made some changes to the set-up of the car, although he did suffer a problem with the dashboard which reduced his time on track.
Xandi took the reins for the afternoon one-hour session and began his work by learning the circuit. He began on a set-up based on changes made to the car from Felipe's earlier feedback and went onto the track on the compulsory new set of tyres. The team worked on set-up and car development throughout the hour and it was important for Xandi to get as much track time as possible, having only limited experience in the A1GP car. He achieved this by completing 25 laps of practice, finishing 13th fastest with a lap time of 1:36.482, just over a second off session leaders Team Portugal.
Tomorrow will see Xandi complete one final hour of free practice before heading into the afternoon qualifying to determine the team's grid positions for Sunday's sprint and feature races.
Xandi Negrão: "It's been quite a good day and I've learned a lot. The circuit is good but quite technical – the first sector is tricky with a very long first corner and then the blind chicane so it took me a little bit of time to get that right. I was improving on each outing for the whole session and we had a good pace at the end. I had traffic on my last lap or I could have set a more competitive time. Tomorrow morning both the car and I need to improve a little bit and at the moment we have a little problem with oversteer. I'll be aiming for a top eight in qualifying."
Felipe Guimaraes: "Practice was not bad; the first corner of the track is a little difficult but as a whole the track is very good. I didn't run as much as I would have liked as I was doing installation laps for the new engine and then we had a problem with the dashboard which left me in the pits for longer than planned. But we did some useful set-up work and now I will help the team as much as I can for the rest of the weekend."
France
Today, A1 Team France took part in the first practice sessions for the second-last round of the A1GP World Cup of Motorsport Championship on the Shanghai circuit in China. Nicolas Prost drove the car in the 2 rookie sessions, and then handed over to Franck Montagny for the final hour's practice.
Nicolas ran in a new engine and then bedded in brake pads and discs. He set the second- quickest time behind Portugal. Franck got down to the task of understanding the car, and in a series of short runs he went through the various chassis set-ups to evaluate its reactions and balance. He finished seventh overall 0.599s off the quickest time but only 0.222s off second place.
The aim is to take advantage of tomorrow's free session to fine-tune the car's qualifying set-up. The whole team is brimming with confidence and reckons that a good qualifying performance is within its grasp.
Olivier Panis, sporting director: "The whole team did a great job today. Nicolas showed that he now understands the car perfectly and his contribution is very useful. The speed with which Franck got to grips with how the car works is mind-boggling, and he's already among the front runners! We're feeling optimistic for the rest of the weekend, although we know we've got a lot of work to do to achieve the performances we're aiming at."
Franck Montagny, driver: "In my early laps in the A1 Team France car it was important to got down to basics to understand the chassis' reactions. It's very different to what I've been used to driving over the past six or seven years. I had to modify my approach slightly to cope with the low aero grip and the tyres' characteristics, but overall I'm happy. We've still got to fine-tune one or two things between now and tomorrow and I think we'll be on the pace. I already feel at home in the team, which has done everything in its power to make things easy for me."
Nicolas Prost, test driver: "A very positive day. After running in the engine in the first session I began evaluating the set-ups in the second. The car was quick right from the start and I felt very condifent. Finally, I set the second-quickest time on worn rubber 0.3s behind Portugal, which was on new tyres. It bodes well for the rest of the weekend."
Canada
A1 Team Canada's latest rookie recruit, Markham's Daniel Morad, enjoyed a full day of track time at the Shanghai International Circuit in China today with Friday practice kicking off Round 9 of the 2007-08 A1GP World Cup of Motorsport. The 17-year-old set the fourth fastest time in the morning's ‘Rookie-Only' session at the 4.6km track before going tenth fastest from the full field of 22 nations in the afternoon's hour-long official practice session.
With the team's regular racer, Robert Wickens, jetting to China following a test in Europe, Morad reveled in the opportunity to run in Friday afternoon's session – one where the top ten were covered by less than a second. Wickens assumes driving duties for Canada tomorrow having topped the timesheets in the final day of testing in the World Series by Renault in Spain on Thursday.
"Shanghai's without a doubt one of the smoothest circuits I've been to outside of the U.S.," Morad reflected after his first full day in an A1GP car. "It's really nice out there, the kerbs are really flat and you can use the whole of the track. The rookie session went well and we were fairly competitive.
"This afternoon allowed me to run on a new set of tires for the first time. It was a new experience for me as I didn't expect that they'd be that much better and by the time I'd picked that up I was already halfway around the lap. I then spent the rest of the session preparing the car for when Robert gets in tomorrow. We're definitely heading in the right direction. If I'd been on it a little earlier I think we could have had a better lap time in the afternoon but its all about learning I guess!"
"We've had a good solid day," said Team Manager Simon Cayzer. "We had a new engine to bed in this morning in the rookie session but we also had the opportunity to try a couple of things. This afternoon we limited our running a little bit so that we still had a good set of tires for when Robert gets in the car tomorrow. Daniel has done a good solid job providing us with good feedback on the car. We're very fortunate as the driving styles of both our drivers are very similar so we're confident that the changes that we've made, that Daniel has responded to, will carry over to tomorrow. Overall for Daniel to be tenth this afternoon is pretty good considering it was his first time out on new tires."
Germany
Willi Weber's A1 Team Germany started with the set-up work during Friday's free practice session at the penultimate round of the A1GP World Cup of Motorsport in Shanghai. Germany's nominated driver Michael Ammermüller completed 23 laps at the wheel of the powerful 550 hp A1GP race car and ended the session in fifth place.
The team constantly improved the car throughout the one-hour practice session. "First of all, we had to run an installation program to adapt the new engine to race condition," reported Michael Ammermüller. "Obviously, this has cost us some time. Also, it meant we have not been able to exploit the mandatory new set of tyres to the maximum extent. Still, we were reasonably fast at the end of the day." Also, the 22-year old race driver from Pocking knew the GP circuit in the Chinese port from a previous event.
The David Sears Motorsport team focussed on different aspects on the car's set-up when compared to other tracks. Apart from the usual mechanical aspects, aerodynamics have been on the team's programme as well. "Owing to the long straights, the set-up of the wings has a higher effect in Shanghai than elsewhere," added the German. Ammermüller set his personal fastest lap of 1:35.657 on his sixteenth lap. As a result the team were only 0.434 seconds behind Portugal, the quickest team in free practice.
"Thanks to the Rookies practice, the circuit was not that dirty. Still, the times set during our free practice were 1.3 seconds quicker than those set in the Rookie session," reported Ammermüller of the 4.6 kilometre long circuit layout used by the A1 GP cars in Shanghai.
Great Britain
A1 Team Great Britain's Robbie Kerr and Duncan Tappy took to the Shanghai circuit in China today for Friday practice.
Robbie Kerr and Duncan Tappy were both in action today for A1 Team Great Britain, as the squad began its preparations for the penultimate round of the 2007/08 A1GP World Cup of Motorsport in Shanghai, China. Tappy took to the circuit for this morning's rookie session before handing over driving duties to Kerr for the afternoon's official practice two.
Tappy took the wheel of the A1 Team GBR car this morning for the second event running, after joining the team at the last round in Mexico City. His first job was to learn the 4.6km state-of-the-art Shanghai circuit, before moving onto development work. He completed 20 laps of practice over the 50-minutes, setting a fastest lap of 1:37.504, placing him sixth fastest, nine tenths of a second behind session leaders Portugal.
Kerr returned to the cockpit for the first time since his podium finish in Sydney back in February for this afternoon's one-hour practice session. The team investigated alternative set-up options from those used in the morning session and made a series of changes throughout the session. Changes were also required when the track conditions saw a change in the wind direction. With 25 minutes remaining, Kerr posted the fourth fastest time with a lap of 1:35.699. He slipped to fifth with 18 minutes to go as Team Germany slotted into fourth with a fractionally faster time. Robbie remained in fifth until the chequered flag, although did improve his time with a lap of 1:35.689 four minutes from the end. Robbie's lap was just under half a second behind Portugal's Filipe Albuquerque, who once again set the fastest time.
Robbie Kerr: "I wasn't happy with the car when I first jumped - the set-up wasn't to my liking so we had to work quite hard on the car and modify the set-up. However, towards the end of the session we were consistently quick and up there with the teams around us, and also with the teams who got the best out of their new tyres and were initially in front of us at the start of the session. It's disappointing not to get the best out of the tyres and of course put in a good time at the start purely because we weren't happy with the set-up, but we cannot worry too much this and it's more important to focus on tomorrow!"
Duncan Tappy: "The A1GP car is certainly a lot different from any car I've driven before, but with it being my second time in the car I felt much more comfortable and knew what the car was going to do, so it was just a case of learning the Shanghai circuit and getting on top of the brakes again. Once everything was set-up, there wasn't a lot of time left to get a good lap in, but we did a good job in both sessions. I was a bit unlucky with traffic, but that's all part of it. However, I'm happy with how the session went and where we ended up. Hopefully I'll get another shot to represent Team GBR."
Katie Clements, Team Principal: "It was just a case of getting the job done in this morning's rookie session and, once again, Duncan did a solid job for us to get the car prepared for this afternoon. Robbie then got back into the car for the first time since Australia. He developed the car well during the hour and we know where we are with regard to set-up and the direction we want to go ahead of tomorrow. We're confident that we can be in a very strong position come tomorrow's qualifying sessions."
Ireland
Belmayne A1 Team Ireland kicked off its weekend in the Far East with seventh in the rookie session and 14th in free practice at the Shanghai International Circuit today.
Despite predictions of rain, the sessions remained dry with Niall Quinn out in the rookie practice getting to grips with the tricky 16-turn layout. Niall ended the session a happy seventh on old rubber, with a couple of the teams up ahead on new tyres. Lead driver Adam Carroll took over for afternoon practice and spent the first few laps feeling his way around the track, before trying a few set-up changes towards the end of the hour-long practice. With the best of the tyres gone, Adam clocked a 1m 36.523s putting him 14th.
Niall Quinn: "It was a lot tougher than Mexico as the track is much trickier to learn so I was happy to be the top 10. The first complex is particularly difficult as it's hard to find your markers and get the best line through it". Adam Carroll: "We tried a few set up changes while working through our program this afternoon. It's a hard circuit so it took a while to get into it and learn my way round. There are a couple of blind corners and fast entries where the corner tightens up. We'll get stuck in tomorrow and see what we can do".
Dan Walmsley, Race Engineer: "It's a promising start to the weekend. There were a couple of teams ahead of us who had new tyres left over from Mexico when we were on old rubber this morning, so that compromised our ultimate pace but Niall gave us some good feedback.
"It's quite a technical circuit so it took Adam a little time to find his way this afternoon. This meant that the best of the tyres had gone away from us so our times make us look less competitive than we actually are. I think we can comfortably be running in the top 10 and we'll be looking to find that extra pace tomorrow morning".
Malaysia
As the third season of the A1GP World Cup of Motorsport draws to a close, the Series began preparations for this weekend's penultimate round in Shanghai, China, with the cars taking to the track for the first laps of the impressive Formula One facility today. Alex Yoong is driving for the team in the Sprint and Feature races with rookie driver, Aaron Lim, playing an important role in the race preparations. Yoong recorded 15th fastest time in practice this afternoon, with Lim 13th overall in the rookie sessions.
Lim started the weekend driving in the rookie sessions this morning and acquitted himself well, continuing to impress the team with his focus, aptitude and driving skills. He completed the first session with the 11th fastest time and was 12th fastest in the second session. With many drivers much more experienced of both the A1GP car and competitive motorsport, Lim is showing great potential in these sessions, while his previous experience of driving here at last year's A1GP event adds to his confidence level.
He said of his morning, "It was interesting to drive this track with a different configuration, although you have to be careful on the kerbs. I enjoyed my time in the car, but I'm still not driving to 100% as I'm still getting used to the car. The team had a number of technical tasks for me to perform and everything I do gives me adds to my experience and it's great to be part of A1 Team Malaysia."
In the afternoon Yoong took over the car and started his preparations for qualifying and Sunday's races. He settled in slowly, reacquainting himself with the Shanghai circuit which he hasn't driven since last year's event. Conserving new tyres for the qualifying sessions tomorrow, the Malaysian team focused on setting the car up and trying different options in order to maximise performance.
Yoong said of his afternoon, "It was a productive day and we got through a lot of stuff we wanted to test. The lap times don't really reflect where we're at, but we plan to show that tomorrow."
Jack Cunningham, A1 Team Malaysia Chief Executive added, "The team worked through their programme today and weren't chasing lap times, so I think we have to wait until tomorrow for the reality of our performance level. We're obviously aiming for a strong top ten position in qualifying."
Netherlands
With a fuel pressure problem, an eleventh fastest time in the Rookie session and only a twelfth fastest time in the first free practice, A1 Team Netherlands has had a rocky start in Shanghai.
In the morning session Luyendyk jr managed to set a fastest time of 1'38.144 in the two times 25 minute Rookie session. On a new circuit and with a car that did not have a good balance it was not possible for Luyendyk jr. to move further in front. Added to that there was a technical problem in the second Rookie session that forced the A1 Team Netherlands to finish prematurely.
Jan Lammers; "It was a frustrating session for Arie, he is doing fantastic and important work for us. Many times the mental pressure on the Rookie is high, because he has to do the 'dirty' work outside the media's spotlight. Sometimes this is experimenting with things that benefit Jeroen Bleekemolen, our lead driver, later on in the weekend. We would love to have him drive more, but changing the car from Aries to Jeroens specifications takes too long, moving the seat belts and the pedals takes at least one hour. Jeroen knows what it's like to start as a Rookie, because he has done this in the inaugural season. He even was more of a reserve driver because Rookies did not drive at all then on Friday. We hope that Arie jr. can generate some PR and publicity for himself, which might benefit him later on in his career. His current contract with Andretti Green Racing in the Firestone Indy Lights hopefully is the first sign of this.
"Furthermore we do not really notice much of the commotion surrounding the Olympic Games at the moment and it is quiet on that end. It is the way it is supposed to be, because you have to keep sports and politics separated. But you also cannot blame both sides when they use the opportunities at hand, such is life.
Arie Luyendyk jr: "The Shanghai circuit was a joy to drive today, the rookie sessions were a challenge as our cars balance suffered from a lot of oversteer. In Rookie Session 2 I was only able to complete 6 laps due to an electric problem, as we were not able to restart the car after coming into the pits to make our first adjustment. It was a bit frustrating to watch the majority of the session from pit lane but I was still able to bed a set of pads and get an overall feel for the car, this is obviously the most important task in the Rookie Sessions. We ended up P11, not the result we were looking for but considering the balance of the car and the limited track time I am happy with the result. Hopefully the team can improve the car for Jeroen in the first session."
Unfortunately that improvement did not come. Usually A1 Team Netherlands is amongst the front runners on Friday. This time though Jeroen Bleekemolen had to settle for a twelfth place, 1.2 seconds behind Portugal which was fastest, just like in the Rookie sessions. As always everything will be checked and analyzed. The team tried different set ups for the front suspension, but without the desired result. So, there still is a lot of work to do before A1 Team Netherlands can mix with the fight up front.
Jan Lammers: "Ususally we are quite strong on Friday and does it get more difficult as the weekend progresses. I hope this time it will work the other way around, because today the car was very difficult to drive. Through the information we gather from our drivers and the on-board computer we have to find solutions, and also the wear patters from tyres and brakes do tell us something. The threat of rain is still there but even if it stays dry we can expect a better result during the
qualifying sessions tomorrow, that's especially important because that determines our grid positions. For now a 12th fastest time, 1.234 seconds off the leader. Portugal was quickest today with 1'35.223, with Jeroen setting a time of 1'36.467. We still have a lot to do for tomorrow! The ambition of Jeroen and the team is no issue, we are always hungry for success. A lot of pitstops have already been practiced and we are constantly trying different things to be faster and better. On Sunday we will see the result of this."
Jeroen Bleekemolen; "It is difficult to come up with something positive when the car does not feel good. On the other hand I am still learning the finesse of the circuit. Tomorrow will most certainly be better, the only question is how much. At the moment we are in sixth in the World Cup and there are still 16 other teams that envy us. I am holding on to that for the moment. I hope to return from China with enough points to gain a few places, normally speaking a 4th place should still be within reach. There are four races left to pull this off and two of those are this weekend.
New Zealand
New Zealand driver Jonny Reid has set the second fastest time in the opening practice for this weekend's 9th Round of the A1GP World Cup of Motorsport in Shanghai.
Reid was quickly back into the form which saw him win last year's Feature Race at the Shanghai International Circuit, trailing only Portugal's Filipe Albuquerque who had earlier set the fastest time in the Rookie Sessions.
Championship leader Switzerland, heading the Kiwi team by 15 points with 64 points on offer over the final two rounds, was among the frontrunners, with Neel Jani setting the fourth fastest time during his first outing at the futuristic circuit.
Reid said he felt right at home on the 4.6km track and believes Black Beauty is primed for an exciting weekend.
"The team provided me with a good car and we kept it smooth to post a solid time on new tyres before settling into the session," Reid said.
"We concentrated on car balance for the race and peeled off some consistent laps towards the end, so we're a happy camp given we weren't in full-on attack mode and we're confident we can still improve."
Qualifying takes place tomorrow night (finishing at 7.30pm) and the Sprint Race (3pm start) and Feature Race (7pm start) will be run on Sunday.
Earlier, Reid told a1gp.com that New Zealand can overhaul its Swiss rivals and win this season's A1GP championship.
"My intention is to win the championship for New Zealand," he said. "I believe in myself, I believe in my team and I have every chance to do this. I'm not putting any extra pressure on myself by saying what will happen, but I do believe I can do it."
Reid heads into this weekend's races in China knowing he should be one of the frontrunners, having won the Feature Race on the same circuit last season. He has promised again to go all out for victory, and not concern himself with Switzerland's position in the races.
"If the team come on the radio and say that Switzerland is in this position, then to me, that is like – cool, whatever," Reid said. "I don't care where they are, because I can't control this.
"I can only control me. Every little piece that I put into my motorsport I can control. Everything that Switzerland does I have no say over, so why would I worry about it what they are doing? I'll worry about my own game.
"I have fond memories of last year here in Shanghai and this title is definitely all up for grabs."
Pakiskan
A1 Team Pakistan driver Adam Khan was back on track at the Shanghai International Circuit today, the venue of his best ever result – fifth - in 2006. Taking part in the penultimate round of the 2007/08 season, Khan was behind the wheel of the Pakistan car this afternoon for the final practice session of the day around the impressive F1 circuit.
Unable to take part in the Rookie session due to a change in A1GP regulations, Adam Khan was forced to sit out the first hour of track action this morning. The lack of track time meant the 22 year-old driver was forced to bed in new brakes and set up the car in the second practice session of the day, putting Pakistan a few steps behind the majority of the A1GP teams.
Completing 26 laps around the 4.6km circuit, Khan reacquainted himself with the long and winding track without putting a wheel wrong. The British Pakistani driver completed the team's test programme, which included bedding in a new engine. With only a few minutes of practice left, the Pakistani car suffered a fuel pressure problem leaving Khan stranded on track. The team finished 19th quickest.
Earlier in the weekend, Khan took part in the customary A1GP PR event, which saw drivers from various nations try out some traditional Chinese games with local school children. Along with drivers from Brazil, France, Malaysia and the Netherlands, Khan was taught shuttlecock kicking, Chinese yo-yo and rope skipping.
Reflecting on the serious business of first practice, Khan said, "It was a little difficult out on track today as we didn't have the advantage of the rookie practice session this morning. That meant we had to bed in the new brakes and the new engine in second practice, when most of the teams we already starting to improve their set up.
"I really like this circuit and I'm confident that we can be more competitive tomorrow. Our pace towards the end of the session on old tyres was quite promising which is a good sign for the races. I'm feeling very positive about our chance of scoring points this weekend. Hopefully we will put on a good show for Pakistan."
Team Manager John Allen added, "This first practice session was very much about the shake-down of the car and bedding in the new engine and brakes rather than outright speed. We've gathered some useful data and can see the areas on track where we need to improve. Adam is doing a good job through the first part of the track, but I think we can make up some more time in the second sector of the circuit, which is quite technical. I think we'll see some improvements tomorrow."
South Africa
Practice day for Sunday's A1GP Shanghai, China saw Portugal topping the time sheets in both the morning session for rookies and developing nations and again in the afternoon session for the nominated race drivers.
South Africa, with 20-year-old Wesleigh Orr at the wheel of Vulindlela, was 12th in the rookie session, 1,76 sec behind 22-year-old Portuguese pace setter Filipe Albuquerque.
Adrian Zaugg, 21, finished 11th behind Albuquerque in the afternoon session, 1,20 sec off the pace.
"Wesleigh went fairly well in his first appearance at the Shanghai circuit - he ran top five for most of the first half of the session and only late in the session was pipped by more competitors," said A1 Team South Africa general manager Mike Carroll.
"In the second half of the session he was bedding in brakes and trying different aerodynamic set-ups for the engineers, so didn't have a chance to better his lap times and give a truer reflection.
"Adrian did what was expected of him in his first ever appearance here and we expect to be competitive in qualifying tomorrow. You have to keep in mind that some of the other nations' drivers get to do both the rookie and the second practice session and this gives them a huge advantage. Everyone goes out on new rubber in P2, so if you've already done laps in the morning you can take full advantage of the new rubber, while the drivers who didn't do the rookie session first have to get some laps under the belt and by then the best of the rubber is long gone.
"We suffered from some understeer in both sessions - there are some long, slow turns here and the car really is working the front tyres. Our technical alliance partners (France) experienced the same problem and between us we feel we may have found a solution for race day provided it doesn't rain. If it does, then set-up will become a bit of a lottery. For qualifying, if it is dry then with the new tyres the understeer shouldn't be a problem. If it's wet, then it's a lottery," said Carroll.
Zaugg was unperturbed. "We still have a whole hour of practice tomorrow morning to try some things and I'm confident we'll prove to be competitive in qualifying," he said.
USA
A1 Team USA's Jonathan Summerton was eighth fastest in practice Friday for the A1GP World Cup of Motorsport at Shanghai International Circuit.
"It was a pretty good day for us considering the balance of the 'We the People' car wasn't right," Summerton said. "Our data indicates it came from a shock absorber problem and we're going to put on a different set for Saturday's practice and see if that fixes it. Even with the car oversteering in the
left-handed corners and understeering in the right-handed corners, we were only six-tenths of a second off the fastest time. If we can get the balance corrected, we can make that six-tenths disappear and make a run for the pole for both races.
"The most promising part was how we ran on worn tires. We were able to maintain our lap times throughout the entire (one-hour) session and were the second fastest car on the track in the final 10 minutes."
Summerton, of Kissimmee, Fla., drove around the 2.9-mile circuit in 1:35.822. He ran 22 laps.
"Our team worked at a high level today," A1 Team USA Holdings owner Rick Weidinger said. "We were in the top-10 with a competitive lap with a car that wasn't perfect. Identifying a problem is the first step to correcting it and we have a pretty good idea of how to do that.
"We have tremendous leadership and knowledge in team manager Marc Lawrence and race engineer Leon Gutfreund. We are optimistic of a strong run in qualifying."