24/10/2008
NEWS STORY
Adam Carroll and Niall Quinn (right) enjoyed a successful test for A1 Team Ireland at the Silverstone National Circuit yesterday, Carroll setting the fastest time in the 6-car test with a lap of 45.554s to head the reigning A1GP World Cup of Motorsport Champions Team Switzerland by 0.15s. Team France's Nicholas Prost, son of four-times World Champion Alain Prost, was third.
The test gave Adam Carroll the opportunity to shake down the car prior to it being shipped to Chengdu, China, for the second round of the A1GP World Cup of Motorsport series scheduled for November 7th-9th. For Niall Quinn this was his long-awaited first test in the A1GP 'Powered by Ferrari' car, the 20 year old from Dunboyne quickly acclimatising to the new 600bhp Ferrari V8 engine, chassis and Michelin tyres.
Quinn was the first to drive, completing 19 laps with a best time of 47.523s set on used tyres, a strong performance in the conditions. Carroll took over and completed a further 32 laps, setting the quickest overall time and giving the team a further confidence lift in the run up to the race in China.
"The car feels really good, it's much quicker than the previous one and I was able to get the hang of it very quickly," said Niall. "I've been looking forward to driving this car and it's certainly much more sophisticated, very quick in the high speed corners and the tyres and carbon brakes are more impressive."
The reigning 2007 Motorsport Ireland Young Driver of the Year winner impressed the team in this first outing in the new car, and it proved good preparation for Quinn's weekend ahead when he races in the Formula Palmer Audi Autumn Trophy. A1 Team Ireland is providing support for Quinn's campaign, underlining its commitment to supporting Irish talent.
Adam Carroll was very happy with his test, commenting; "Today was really good, the car felt strong and I found a lot of grip. After the bad conditions in Zandvoort it was good to get out on a dry track at Silverstone and start pushing again, so I enjoyed it and feel happy that we have the car well set up prior to heading to China. I am confident we will be on the pace again in Chengdu."