02/05/2008
NEWS STORY
Brazil
Xandi Negrao took to the Brands Hatch circuit in Kent, United Kingdom, for A1 Team Brasil today as free practice got underway for the final round of the 2007/08 A1GP World Cup of Motorsport.
As Xandi is still classed as a rookie, A1 Team Brasil was able to run the 22-year-old in both the rookie practice and main practice sessions today. He completed 14 laps in the first 25-minute rookie segment, setting a fastest lap of 1:17.325, which was eighth fastest. He was seventh in the second segment after completing 12 laps, with a fastest time of 1:16.604, just five tenths off the quickest lap recorded by New Zealand.
In this afternoon's one-hour practice session the team continued to work on developing the car throughout the hour and focused on Xandi getting as much track time as possible. He completed a further 24 laps, setting a fastest time of 1:15.917. However, in an extremely competitive session in which the top 15 cars were separated by just one second, Xandi was 15th fastest overall.
A1 Team Brasil will have one further hour of practice tomorrow morning before the afternoon's qualifying session.
Xandi Negrao: "Today was all about getting as much time in the car as possible so I've just been working with the team to learn the circuit and feel good with the car. The times were very close this afternoon so our position didn't really reflect where I think we are. Tomorrow morning we'll just do more development work and aim to be in good shape for qualifying."
Canada
A1 Team Canada racers James Hinchcliffe and Daniel Morad made their respective debuts on the Brands Hatch Grand Prix Circuit in the United Kingdom Friday as the tenth and final round of the 2007-08 A1GP World Cup of Motorsport got underway at the renowned Kent track.
Morad wracked up 21 laps on the 2.62-mile circuit in the morning's ‘Rookie-Only' session, his best a 1m16.102s – good for ninth on the timesheets, before the 18-year-old handed over to fellow Toronto-native James Hinchcliffe for the rest of the event. Hinchcliffe logged 23 tours in the afternoon's hour long practice session, the 21-year-old back in the A1GP saddle for the first time since the second round of the current season last October in the Czech Republic.
While he placed 17th from the 22 nations entered, with a quickest lap of 1m16.257s, the Canadian worked on building his track knowledge and re-acclimatizing himself to the 550bhp A1GP car. Great Britain's Robbie Kerr, an A1GP winner at Brands Hatch last season, delighted the home crowd with the fastest practice lap, a turn of 1m14.891s.
"My first day back was a bit of a baptism of fire," Hinchcliffe said. "It's a challenging circuit and obviously I haven't been in this car since October so there was a bit of reacquainting going on. That said, things slowly came to us over the session and at the end of the day our position on the time chart doesn't look great but it's not a true reflection on our pace. I actually don't think we're that far off the front-running pace. There's definitely more to come from both me and the car and I'm looking forward to a good day tomorrow!'
"There was quite a bit of traffic out there this morning," reflected Morad after his final rookie outing of the season. "I got caught up in a bit of it in the first session and just as I managed to find a decent gap the checkered flag came out. We continued to make adjustments to the car throughout the session. The car was great on some parts of the track and not so great on others so there's room for improvement. I really liked the track, it's not too dissimilar from Mosport back home with lots of fast corners, my kind of circuit!"
Team Manager Simon Cayzer commented; "This morning was pretty straightforward with Daniel doing a solid job providing us with the required feedback. We knew the first session back with James would be a case of dialing back-in. We know the areas that need to be addressed and we'll work on that tonight with him. Really, as James alluded to, we're in a stronger position than the times perhaps reflect and with a bit more track time we'll be up there!"
France
Today, Friday, A1 Team France began preparing for the 2 races on the Brands Hatch circuit in England, the final round of the 2007/2008 A1GP World Cup of Motorsport. Nicolas Prost set the 11th-quickest time of the rookie drivers, and then handed over to Franck Montagny for the final run. Franck set the 10th-fastest time only 0.536s off the best time of the day. The gaps between the cars are tiny and the drivers in 2nd to 11th places are grouped in less than 0.4 seconds!
In these conditions, the team is feeling quietly optimistic for tomorrow. Thanks to the work carried out today it reckons that it will be among the front-runners in qualifying.
Olivier Panis, sporting director: "Today, we were working on fine-tuning the car's set-up on a track that Franck doesn't know. We still have a little more to do: above all we have to improve our performance in the first sector, but overall we're happy with Friday's results."
Franck Montagny: "I'm feeling pretty confident about tomorrow as we made a lot of progress throughout the day. In addition, I now feel at home in the car. The fact that I don't know the circuit is an advantage as I haven't come here with my mind full of F1 settings, and I can adapt to it at the rhythm required by the A1GP car. I think we'll be able to get into the first five in tomorrow's qualifying. That's my aim"
Nicolas Prost: "I used the first session to bed in the brake discs and pads and to learn the circuit. In the second, I began to run through the set-ups and the engineers and me found a few interesting paths to explore. The car wasn't great in the opening runs, but we managed to improve its handling on each outing. This is the last meeting and I'm staying with the team until Sunday to give it my support."
Germany
Concentrated and logical set-up work formed the foundation for Willi Weber's A1 Team Germany for the A1GP World Cup of Motorsport season finale at Brands Hatch (Great Britain). During free practice nominated driver Michael Ammermüller determined the set-up for Saturday's qualifying and the sprint and feature race on Sunday. With one eye on the rest of the event A1 Team Germany, which enters this weekend's finale as current champions, sacrificed a better result for a good technical basis after recording 16th fastest time around the 4.22 kilometre track in Kent.
"For me, the focus of attention today was to learn the circuit. After all, it is my first visit to Brands Hatch," says the 22-year old professional racing driver from Pocking. At Brands Hatch the two-time race winner this season competes in his seventh event for A1GP Team Germany. "Since we are no longer eligible for the Rookie session we concentrated on collecting as much data as possible during free practice. We now have a good basis and some more ideas which should see us move up the time sheets in free practice and qualifying on Saturday."
The final weekend only started for A1 Team Germany after the so-called Rookie sessions were finished. These sessions enable newcomers to the series to familiarise themselves with the track and the 550 hp A1GP race car. The one-hour free practice session, in which Michael Ammermüller made his first acquaintance with the traditional circuit of Brands Hatch, was disrupted frequently due to yellow flags before being interrupted once because of a rival team's off track excursion. "We were nevertheless able to complete several laps and collect plenty of data. However, it wasn't possible to improve our time at the end because of the well-used tyres," says Ammermüller. "We still have quite a bit in reserve for tomorrow. As before, the target for qualifying is to clinch a top five position. I think that this is possible."
Great Britain
A1 Team Great Britain gets off to the best possible start at Brands Hatch with Robbie Kerr topping the timesheets in free practice
A1 Team Great Britain won round one of the battle of Brands Hatch today when Robbie Kerr scored the fastest time in the afternoon's free practice session as the season finale weekend of the 2007/08 A1GP World Cup of Motorsport got underway.
The day began with the rookie practice session this morning with James Winslow at the wheel of the GBR car. Winslow returned to the team after performing rookie duties at the Taupo, New Zealand and Sydney, Australia rounds earlier this season. He arrived fresh from an Australian Formula 3 victory last weekend and, during the 50-minute session, needed to reacclimatise himself to the A1GP car and the Brands Hatch circuit. The team struggled with some balance issues during the rookie session and, as a result, was unable to get the lap times out of the car.
Robbie Kerr took over driving duties this afternoon as he began his preparations for the weekend as the team get ready to fight for third place in the championship. Despite the fact that Robbie was in P1 after his opening laps, he experienced some initial problems with the balance of the car and the team opted to bring the car in to address the issue. While he was in the pits, China and USA were able to set faster times until Robbie went back out and was once again right on the pace, setting another fastest time with a lap of 1:14.891. This put him back at the top of the timesheets, three tenths ahead of second-placed China, and made him the only driver to break into the 1 minute 14's.
Robbie Kerr: "The car was reasonable at the start but there were a few issues initially so, despite going quickest, we decided not to waste time on laps trying to solve the issues, but come in and take time to go through everything properly. We took our time and unfortunately a few teams went faster, but they were drivers who knew the circuit well. We got the car back together and went out there again, setting the fastest lap. We're fairly confident but there is definitely room for improvement and more time to come – we just have to keep working at it and make sure everything is a hundred per cent for qualifying as that is key in A1GP. If you're not there at the top end of the first flying lap, it can be an uphill struggle."
James Winslow: "It was quite a good session - we managed to get all the jobs done but weren't quite as quick as we could have been. Jumping from an F3 to an A1GP car is a big difference so it took me a few laps to adapt and having had a look at the data we found that I was driving like I was in an F3 car. So I reckon the key to being quick in A1GP is possibly not to drive any other race cars for a while! But overall I'm pleased with the way the session went, we did what we needed to do, and Robbie has done a fantastic job this afternoon. Hopefully things are looking good for the weekend."
Katie Clements, Team Principal: "It's been a positive start but we cannot be complacent. The competition is so tight and you only have to look at today's practice results to see just how competitive this weekend will be. I'm very happy with the way we have started, but there is a long way to go yet, so we are now working hard ahead of tomorrow's final practice and qualifying."
Ireland
Belmayne A1 Team Ireland finished today's practice sessions sixth and fifth getting the team off to a flying start at the A1GP World Cup of Motorsport season finale at Brands Hatch, UK.
Rookie driver Niall Quinn got Ireland off to a great start this morning posting a 1m 16.511s to put the team sixth straight out the box. His time was only 0.409s off New Zealand's rookie Chris van der Drift and his feedback was invaluable in getting the car ready for Adam Carroll in the afternoon.
As the sun continued to shine, Adam Carroll took to the track and was immediately on the pace going P1 with a 1m 15.524. After a couple of red flags interrupted proceedings Ireland ended P5 eventually clocking 1m 15.308. After setting the time with 20 minutes still to go, Adam's final laps were hampered with traffic. Ireland ended the day only 0.417s off home rivals Great Britain in P1 and the team is confident there is more time in the Celtic Tiger heading into tomorrow.
Niall Quinn: "It's definitely a good start to the weekend and I'm glad my feedback helped prepare the car for Adam. I haven't been here for over a year but I remember it well and it's great to be back. It's really nice to drive the GP circuit in an A1 car and I have a good feeling for the weekend ahead!"
Adam Carroll: "The car felt really good straight away so we didn't really change anything during the session. It's interesting to get back on the GP circuit in an A1 car as it's really quick and good fun to drive! The times are unbelievably close so its all going to come down to who can put the best lap together on new rubber in qualifying. It's going to be tough but I'm looking forward to it!"
Dan Walmsley, Race Engineer: "We are feeling positive. It was quite busy this afternoon on track but we cut our running short slightly to save the tyres for tomorrow. Niall got us off to a promising start and Adam kept us at the front end this afternoon, so now we just need to make sure we stay there."
Mark Gallagher, Team Principal: "That was a very solid day. I think both Adam & Niall have showed we are going to be running in the top six all weekend which is our objective. If Adam had had a clear run towards the end of the session I think we would have probably knocked a little more time off but it's a very good start and we go into tomorrow pretty confident that we will be at the right end."
Lebanon
A1 Team Lebanon began the final weekend of A1GP racing at Brands Hatch today, with the opening sessions of practice at the Kent circuit. In the morning Khalil Beschir, driver for the team, was 15th fastest of the rookie and developing nations drivers. This was his first experience of the track since the first season, one of A1GP's historic events, not only as the first ever A1GP race weekend, but also for Beschir putting the Series firmly on the map with a dramatic ‘flying through the air' accident, in which, thankfully, he was unharmed.
In the afternoon session the team recorded 22nd quickest lap, although Beschir's session was curtailed with an electrical problem. The Lebanese driver had been making steady progress, reacquainting himself with the track and undertaking preparations for the race weekend. These will continue tomorrow in the final morning practice session.
The Brands Hatch circuit is the venue that hosted the first A1GP race event in September 2005, kicking off the first season with a record audience of 70,000 fans trackside. Since that time the Series has travelled the world in three seasons of competition, with this finale bringing it to a conclusion at the historic British motorsport venue.
The team arrived in Kent earlier this week in preparation for the A1GP Sprint and Feature races with Beschir taking part in the pre-event PR activity, trying his hand at one of the traditional English sports, cricket. As one of the members of the A1GP Allstars, playing against a Kent County Cricket team, the motor racing celebrities were narrowly beaten, but enjoyed this light hearted diversion from the serious business of racing.
Following this, Beschir travelled to Brands Hatch and spent the afternoon with the engineers, walking the circuit to have a close look at each challenge that this track presents. At each corner the drivers learn the characteristics of the track from the engineer and driver coach which assists their preparations for the weekend.
Beschir said of the sessions today, "I'm really pleased to be driving in this last race weekend of the season, although it's not easy as the only race driving I've done is Brno in Czech Republic in October last year and Durban, South Africa earlier this year. Brands Hatch is a big challenge for me, but I'm taking it steady and building up my pace as the weekend progresses. It was unfortunate that we lost the last ten minutes of track time this afternoon as track time is so valuable for me, but I'm sure the team can sort it and we'll be out for practice tomorrow morning."
Trevor Bale, Team Manager, A1 Team Lebanon added, "This circuit is one of the most difficult on the calendar, and with many drivers already having experience here, it's a tough job for Khalil. He's had very little running in the A1GP car, while many other drivers have been in the race seat all season, so I think we all appreciate that it will take some time for Khalil to be closer to the pace."
Mexico
During his first day of practice as the main driver for A1 Team Mexico, David Martinez had a hard day during the first day of activity in preparation for the A1GP World Cup of Motorsports season finale, which is held at the 4.22-Km. circuit of Brands Hatch.
In the rookie session, Martinez was 14th fastest with a time of 1'18.028 and in the second practise with all the field together, the Mexican improved his times, but only enough to take the 21st position with a lap of 1'17.601.
"We definitely didn't end up where we would have liked today. Today the priority was to learn the track which is very tricky. I have a problem with my seat which is really keeping me from gaining speed. The seat is very low and I can barely see out of the car, and most corners here have a blind apex. Then, I really think that when we raise the seat we should be able to pick up quite a bit of speed," David said.
"The balance of the car is pretty close for what we need, but we still need to find more speed. Today we'll sit down and figure out what we need to do to make a big jump on Saturday," the Mexican driver said.
Gustavo del Campo, Motor Sport Director of A1 Team Mexico said: "Fortunately, we had practises under dry conditions, and David was able to complete 46 laps. After that we have enough information to make a plan for Saturday. The car rolled with no issues, but towards the end of the second session there was a small problem with the fuel pump. Nevertheless, it didn't affect us very much. For Saturday we will improve the seat and we will work on the aerodynamics. It seems to be that is going to rain on Saturday, which is good because we would not like to get Sunday without testing the track under wet conditions."
Netherlands
On the first day of the A1GP Brands Hatch A1 Team Netherlands has shown itself amongst the front runners again. In the afternoon free practice Jeroen Bleekemolen was in the top three for a long time. In the end A1 Team Netherlands had to settle for seventh though,with the whole field being very close together.
In the Rookie session this morning Arie Luyendyk jr was less fortunate. In his final outing in the car of the season his session ended prematurely after he made a mistake at Paddock Hill bend and shot into the gravel trap. At that moment Luyendyk jr was in twelfth, with a fastest lap of 1'17.503. During the first 25 minutes Luyendyk jr. had given the newly built car a short shakedown and also bedded in a new set of brakes. After this he was able to do some timed runs on the 2.67 mile track.
Arie Luyendyk jr had enjoyed himself out on track; "Brands Hatch is an amazing circuit, the rookie session was definitely a learning experience for me. Straight away I could feel an improvement with the different chassis and began the first session working on the engine install lap and brake bedding procedures. The flow of Brands Hatch makes it such an impressive track with big elevation changes and very fast blind corners. In session 2 I really got to get a feel for the circuit and was improving every lap, learning the difficult blind turn in points and where you could really push. Unfortunately that came to a halt when on lap 7 I tried to improve on the entry to Paddock Hill bend (turn 1) and turned in too late missing the apex and went off track into the sand trap. Its a shame because I was improving and was about to come in to make a set-up change, but sometimes you have days like these. Brands Hatch is a great circuit and it would of been great to get as many laps as possible but today with limited laps we had to settle for 12th overall.""
In the free practice of the afternoon Jeroen Bleekemolen clearly showed that the problems with the car should now really be resolved. A1 Team Netherlands went quickest for a short while, was in third for a long time and finished the session in seventh. The gaps between the teams were very small though. The difference with the second fastest was just two tenths of a second. During the entire practice, which was stopped twice with a red flag, it stayed dry, although dark clouds passed the circuit very closely. Bleekemolen had no problems during this practice and set a fastest lap of 1'15.340.
Jeroen Bleekemolen was also happy with the result; "It went well. I am glad that we at least have a car again that works properly. We have tried a lot of things and done very much. We were quickest straight away, were in the top three for a long time and finished in seventh in the end, but less than three tenths from second place, so we are competitive again. Now it is important that we make the right steps with the car tonight. Then we should really be in contention for the front rows tomorrow. It is really competitive at the moment. Now we have to do our homework very well and get the absolute maximum. The gaps are really small, even smaller than usual. When you manage to make just a few small steps you are there. We are sharing data with China, that is interesting, because they were 15 hundreds quicker and are in second. That is also helping us. Let's hope that we will be a bit stronger tomorrow."
Jan Lammers was glad that the Netherlands seems to has got the front runners within reach again. "Now we at least have got the confirmation that we had a huge problem in Shanghai. The other thing is that now we have found the connection to the top again. We are halfway there. Often on Friday we have been there, at the start of the session it looked like that again as well. Now we are competing again, but now and then it is hard for us to hold on to that progress on Saturday. That is our main challenge now, making sure that we still have the leaders within reach. I am confident about this. Everyone in the team is working well, now we are in seventh. It is really close together, if you gain a tenth you are in third. There is not a lot that needs to happen, but I think that we should be quite competitive."
New Zealand
New Zealand's final push for the A1GP World Cup of Motorsport has started strongly with rookie driver Chris van der Drift topping the timesheets ahead of the 10th and final round at Brands Hatch.
Van der Drift, who had only been in the car once before, at an official pre-season test around Silverstone 19 months ago, set the fastest rookie time by the barest of margins – .001 of a second.
"He was very impressive," said A1 Team.NZL team manager John Sears. "Not only has he helped in setting the car up, he has set a tone for the entire weekend."
Black Beauty had a thorough work-out when Jonny Reid stepped in for the first official practice session, completing 31 laps within the one-hour timeframe as Reid managed the 8th fastest time.
"Jonny has had very little experience at Brands Hatch and is keen for the track to become second nature as quickly as possible," Sears said. "He isn't completely on the jagged edge at the moment, but he knows the sectors where he can improve. He'll sleep on it and be right for tomorrow's qualifying."
Pakistan
A1 Team Pakistan was back on track today, for the first day of the A1GP Brands Hatch, Great Britain. Taking part in the final round of the 2007/08 season, Adam Khan was behind the wheel of the Pakistan car, representing his nation alongside drivers from 21 other countries. Having completed nine rounds in eight different countries since the season opener in the Netherlands last September, A1 Team Pakistan are keen to add to their points tally in Great Britain this weekend.
Adam Khan was back at the wheel of his A1GP machine to take part in practice for the UK round of the season. The Pakistan driver completed 32 laps around the twisting 4km long track to set the 19th fastest time of the afternoon. Speaking about the team's practice session Khan said, "I think we made some good progress in the practice session today. As I'm unable to take part in the rookie session I took the opportunity to walk to the other side of the track with my driver coach Danny Watts and watch some of the other drivers. It's always useful to see what the others drivers are doing and who is quickest. In the practice session this afternoon we bedded in new brakes and I reacquainted myself with the circuit. We've gathered some very useful which will help us improve tomorrow and I'm confident that we'll see quite a big improvement in our times before the qualifying sessions."
Team Manager John Allen added, "It was a useful day today, Adam was getting to grips with the circuit and we gathered lots of good data. This is a very complex and technical circuit, and I think there are a couple of corners where we are losing some time, but we've identified what improvements need to be made and should be able to make up quite a bit of time tomorrow."
South Africa
Host nation Great Britain drew first blood by posting the fastest time in this afternoon's free practice for the final round of the third season of the A1GP World Cup of Motorsport on Sunday. A1 Team Great Britain's Robbie Kerr set the fastest time around the 4,22-km Brands Hatch circuit at 1 min 14,891 sec.
China's Congfu Cheng, who knows the Brands Hatch circuit well, set the second fastest time of the day while Jonathan Summerton, who scored USA's maiden A1GP win in Shanghai (China) two weeks ago, was third fastest.
Championship- leader Switzerland's Neel Jani finished in a comfortable fourth place, followed by Ireland's Adam Carroll and India's Narain Karthikeyan. The first nine cars were covered by less than half a second, with the top 14 on the same second. South Africa's Adrian Zaugg was 12th, 0,764 sec behind Great Britain.
In this morning's first free practice, reserved for rookie drivers and developing nations, South African rookie Wesleigh Orr was fifth fastest, 0,337 sec behind pace-setting New Zealand (Chris van der Drift).
"The A1GP World Cup of Motorsport is providing incredibly tight racing at the moment – before Robbie Kerr (GBR) found two tenths of a second to distance himself form the tight pack, we had 17 cars in the first second!" said Mike Carroll, general manager of A1 Team South Africa.
"We didn't get the best possible lap strung together, so are not too concerned about practice results today. We do need to acknowledge that qualifying will be extremely tight tomorrow and ensure we get the maximum out of our package on the new tyres. The team learnt a bit about the conditions today and made some improvements, but with the continuously changing weather conditions here in the UK, who knows what we will face tomorrow?"
Switzerland
In first practice for the season finale in the A1GP World Cup of Motorsport at Brands Hatch (UK), Switzerland ended up fourth with Neel Jani among 22 drivers. This is encouraging with respect to the decision in the battle for the title on Sunday. Going into the final two races, Switzerland has a margin of 29 points over New Zealand.
Neel Jani was 0.411 seconds down on the fastest driver of the day, Briton Robbie Kerr. The only other countries quicker than Switzerland were China (with Cong Fu Cheng) and the USA (Jonathan Summerton), who, just like Great Britain, don't play a role in the race for the title anymore. New Zealand, the only country that can still be a threat to Switzerland, didn't get on the pace yet either as Jonny Reid had to make do with eighth place. For him, the situation isn't very promising anyway: even when he wins both races and sets the fastest race lap while doing so, Switzerland only needs four points, for instance for a seventh-place finish either in the sprint or in the feature race.
"We are happy with the results of the first day", team principal, Max Welti reported. "Neel Jani didn't push it, like he had planned. He has focussed on the set-up of the car instead. Here, we can't take any risks and therefore we have set other priorities for once. For us, Brands Hatch is not about race wins, but about winning the title. Today, Neel has impressed me with his calm and collected way and his professional approach in developing the car. In any case, I am positive."
Neel Jani judged his results to date as "average" and compared first practice with that in Shanghai: "After it didn't totally work out initially, we have made some good progress later on. The car was a little bit nervous all the time, but I am sure that we will get that fixed until Sunday."
In the rookie practice session, Alexandre Imperatori did a good job for the team. All in all, the driver ended up being fifth fastest from 18 drivers. "Technical preparations of the car went according to plan", said Max Welti. "Alex could have been quicker towards the end of the second session, had he not been held up in traffic. The most important thing is that he brought the car back in one piece after the 27 laps."
USA
A1 Team USA's Jonathan Summerton was third fastest among 22 drivers Friday in practice for the A1GP World Cup of Motorsport at Brands Hatch.
"The setup on the 'We the People' car is going in the right direction," Summerton said. "We have a good baseline setup and then you tune it to the track to get the most out of it. The car was good, but you can always improve it and that's what we'll be trying to do Saturday in practice and qualifying."
Summerton ran a lap of 1:15.243 around the 2.6-mile Grand Prix circuit. The 20-year-old from Kissimmee, Fla., completed 27 laps in the one-hour session.
"Over the past few races, I've started to feel real comfortable in the car," Summerton said. "I've gotten in a routine again. We had run well, but our win in the Feature race at Shanghai has built up our confidence and made quite a bit of difference in me and the team."
Summerton will have a one-hour practice Saturday to prepare for qualifying and the races. Qualifying is Saturday and the 20-minute Sprint and 70-minute Feature races are Sunday.
"We're off to a solid start," A1 Team USA Holdings owner Rick Weidinger said. "It's clear by our performance level that our team has peaked in the stretch run of the season. We've qualified well in the previous two rounds and we expect to qualify well Saturday."
Summerton qualified A1 Team USA second for the Feature and sixth for the Sprint at Shanghai and third for the Sprint and seventh for the Feature at Mexico City. In addition to the win, A1 Team USA finished third in the Feature and fifth in the Sprint at Mexico City.