A1 Team GB Drops Arden For Season Two

12/04/2006 - Despite ranking third overall in the inaugural A1 Grand Prix series, A1 Team Great Britain has told Arden International that it will not be requiring its services for the second A1 Grand Prix series that kicks off at Zandvoort in Holland on 1 October.

"We were pleased with third overall," said Team Principal John Surtees, "but you go racing to win, not come third. There's no doubt that we were beaten by two extremely good teams, but Seat Holder Tony Clements and I felt that A1 Grand Prix is big enough and important enough to warrant the services of a team that gives A1 Grand Prix its full attention. Arden are an extremely professional and very well managed team, but their involvement with both GP2 and the Red Bull Racing Formula 1 team made for the occasional conflicts of interest, such as personnel allocation and A1 Team GBR management believes A1 Grand Prix should not be subordinated to other series.

We had an option with Arden to sign up for Series Two, which we decided not to exercise".

For Series Two, A1 Team Great Britain will form its own team of personnel to run its car rather than paying an established team to do the job.

A1GP Release

Starter Motor Woes Stopped RfH While Second On Lap 62

Start of the Istanbul 1000km...(click image to enlarge) - Photo (c) Planetlemans.com

Yoong's 2 hour stint in Dome Mugen proved encouraging for the team

The RfH team of Jan Lammers and Alex Yoong made an early exit in lap 62 during the inaugural Le Mans Series race in Istanbul while lying in second spot behind the eventual winner Pescarolo Sport near the two-hour mark. The reason was a broken starter.

Pescarolo Sport with E. Collard and J-C Boullion won the race which was cut short from six to four hours because the organisers had made a calculation mistake in the amount of fuel to bring to Istanbul.

Yoong had set the fastest time at the one and a half hour mark then and was making good progress towards the 2 hour mark driver change pitstop until their exit, racing just behind the Pescarolo.

Despite the early exit, Jan Lammers was satisfied with the first LMS weekend: "We have learned a lot and gathered a lot of information. At the start the car was doing great, we were only half a second per lap behind the Pescarolo and our top speed was very high. We had to retire because vibrations had killed off the starter. The same thing happened to our other starters earlier on. We faced this problem all weekend together with some electronic issues. We couldn’t find the cause but we think that we have found it now."

"We have another engine this year, a Mugen. Engine vibrations affected the subframe where the gearbox and the engine are located and this damaged the starter. We let Alex start the race today because I wanted him to get the competitive time on our car and was concerned about reliability. It was very important that we came here. The information we have gathered matches our findings from the test at Paul Riccard and that is very encouraging for Le Mans.”

Yoong who had driven nearly two hours by the time of the team's exit was happy with his experience gained from Istanbul, saying, "The car is fun to drive and in the quicker corners feel similar to an F1 car because of all the downforce they generate. It’s only in the slow corners that you really feel the extra weight but can still be aggressive with it. I like to thank Jan for the opportunity as well as the team members who had all worked very hard despite the difficulties we were facing with the car's electricals and starter."

The next round of the Le Mans Series will be at the famous Spa-Francorchamps circuit in Belgium on the 12th to 14th of May 2006. It will be another six hour long 1000km race where RfH will field Jan Lammers with Alex Yoong again.

Max Revson

Full race results available HERE.

RfH Duo of Jan Lammers and Alex Yoong Qualified Third

Photo (c) Planetlemans.com

With Dome Mugen In the Istanbul 1000km of the 2006 Le Mans Series

Saturday, 08 April 2006 - Istanbul Park, Turkey - The RfH Dome Mugen of Jan Lammers and Alex Yoong secured third position at the Le Mans Series opening round's qualifying in Istanbul, Turkey today.

The duo has quietly been improving each of the three free practice sessions with sixth in the first session, fifth in the second and fourth in the third earlier on Friday and Saturday.

Having put the team in the second row, pundits are now predicting a strong finish for the Dome Mugen as the RfH team is blessed with two matched drivers who are equally quick, "This team could make it onto the top step of the podium tomorrow if their run is trouble free.", predicted some lead media covering the Le Mans Series.

RfH team boss and principal driver commended Yoong on his efforts in the team so far, "Alex has done a good job with the team and he will be the team's driver to do the warm-up session and also start the race tomorrow."

Yoong, a front runner with the just concluded A1GP inaugural series was pleased with the qualifying by the team, saying, "We are happy with third as we had a little problem with the front damper of the car so tomorrow we should be better. Its great for me that Jan is sending me out for the first stint in the car."

The LMP and GT split qualifying sessions provided great action on the track with an added twist when raindrops started to fall on the Istanbul Park circuit. Nevertheless, just seven hundredths of a second separated the top two starters in Sunday’s 1000km race. Nicholas Minassian in the Creation and Frenchmen Emmanuel Collard in the Pescarolo battled throughout the session, with the Pescarolo pilot came out on top.

“It took a long time to get heat into the tyres, and then I had a small flat-spot on a front tyre when I made the time” said Collard.Nicolas Minassian was characteristically honest about the outcome of qualifying. "When you miss out by so little, it's disappointing! But I'm really pleased we managed to be so close to the Pescarolo which, at the end of the day, is the benchmark for Hybrids.

Fourth and fifth in the LMP1 category went to the two new Courage LC70’s – the works entry of Shinji Nakano, Haruki Kurosawa and Jean-Marc Gounon edging out the Swiss Sport entry of Marcel Fassler and Harold Primat. Sixth went to the new Chamberlain-Synergy Lola B06/10 of Bob Berridge, Peter Owen and Gareth Evans.

The 36 strong field is set for the 1000km race tomorrow. The weather being unpredictable, the teams will be asking if rain will play a factor in the race. But whatever comes it looks like a really great opening race for the 2006 Le Mans Series.

Max Revson

Le Mans Series - Istanbul, TurkeyQualifying Results (Top 10)Pos/Class/No./Entrant/Nat/Car/Drivers/Nat/Time

1 LMP1 17 Pescarolo F Pescarolo C60 Judd E. Collard (F)/J-C Boullion (F) 1:40.266

2 LMP1 9 Creation GB Creation CA06/H-002 N.Minassian (F)/F.Ortiz (CH) G.Gabbiani (I) 1:40.336

3 LMP1 14 Jan Lammers/RfH NL Dome Mugen Jan Lammers (NL)/Alex Yoong (MAL) 1:42.140

4 LMP2 25 RML GB MG Lola EX264 M. Newton (GB)/T. Erdos (BR) 1:42.336

5 LMP1 13 Courage F Courage LC 70 Mugen J-M Gounon (F)/S.Nakano (J)/H.Kurosawa (J) 1:42.672

6 LMP1 5 Swiss Spirit CH Courage LC70 - Judd H. Primat (F)/M. Fassler (CH) 1:42.883

7 LMP2 22 Roll Centre GB Radical SR9-Judd J.Barbosa (P)/M.Short (GB)/T.Greaves (GB) 1:43.359

8 LMP2 32 Barazi-Epsilon F Courage C65-AER M.Vergers (NL)/J.Barazi (F) 1:43.820

9 LMP2 37 Paul Belmondo F Courage C65-Ford P. Belmondo (F)/D.Andre (F)/Y.Clairay 1:44.336

10 LMP1 19 Chamberlain GB Lola B06-10 Bob Berridge (GB)/G.Evans (GB)/P.Owen (GB) 1:44.976

Full results of 36 starters available HERE.

Le Mans Series: Fourth fastest time for RfH In Final Practice

RfH set a fourth fastest time with 1:43.383 in the final free practice for the Istanbul 1000 km.

Jan Lammers and Alex Yoong drove a total of 10 laps in this final practice 3.

Earlier, Lammers and Yoong drove 29 laps in the one hour free practice 2 and finished fifth in the session with a time of 1:43.969.

This afternoon at 15.30 hours local time the qualifying session will be run. In a 20 minute session the grid will be set for the race tomorrow, the opening round of the 2006 Le Mans Series.

Top 10 In Practice 3:
Pos. Class Team Car Drivers Time
1 LMP1 Pescarolo Sport Pescarolo C60 Judd Collard, Bouillon 1:40.625
2 LMP2 RML MG Lola EX264 AER Erdos, Newton 1:43.032
3 LMP1 Courage Competition Courage LC70 Mugen Gounon, Nakano, Kurosawa 1:43.125
4 LMP1 Racing for Holland Dome S101hb Mugen Lammers, Yoong 1:43.383
5 LMP1 Swiss Spirit Courage LC70 Judd Primat, Fassler 1:44.641
6 LMP1 Chamberlain Synergy Lola B06/10 AER Berridge, Owen, Evans 1:45.141
7 LMP2 Barazi Epsilon Courage C65 AER Vergers, Barazi, Belloc 1:45.547
8 LMP2 Paul Belmondo Racing Courage C65 Ford Belmondo, Andre, Clairay 1:46.164
9 LMP1 Lister Storm Lister Storm Hybrid Keen, Moller, Kiesa 1:46.969
10 LMP2 Paul Belmondo Racing Courage C65 Ford Ojjeh, Ragues 1:48.113

Le Mans Series: Jan Lammers/RfH Team 6th In Istanbul Friday Practice

Photos (c) Planetlemans.com
After only running 9 laps due to electrical problems

Malaysia's Alex Yoong arrived at Istanbul on Thursday morning and immediately settled down to study the Istanbul circuit by walking it and conferred with the RfH team boss Jan Lammers and the engineers in preparation for this Sunday's Le Mans Series Istanbul 1000km in Turkey.
With Yoong and Lammers driving, the team managed only 9 laps in the one hour practice session on Friday due to problems with a starter and the ECU - the team only managed 2 flying laps and had to settle for sixth fastest with a time of 1:47.711.

With rain being forecast for Saturday, the team hopes to have the electrical bugs solved before qualifying.

For the full entry list of 38 cars and Istanbul programme, click HERE.

For full results of Friday practice, click HERE.

Max Revson

2006 Le Mans Series - Rd.1 Istanbul

The five-round 2006 Le Mans Series kicks off with round 1 in Istanbul, Turkey this weekend.
We will keep up to date with the latest news on the Jan Lammers/RfH team which Malaysia's Alex Yoong has been engaged to drive alongside the team's boss Jan Lammers.
Meanwhile here are the full entry list of 38 entries for Istanbul.
2006 Le Mans Series - Rd.1 Istanbul
Full List of 38 Entries
N°/LM P1 Teams/Nat/Car/Drivers
5 Swiss Spirit CH Courage LC70-Judd H.Primat (F) M.Fassler (CH) Tba
6 Lister GB Lister Storm Hybrid A. Belicchi (I) S. Zonca (I) J. Moller (DK)
9 Creation GB Creation CA06/H - 002 N.Minassian (F) F.Ortiz (CH) G.Gabbiani (I)
13 Courage F Courage LC 70 Mugen J-M Gounon (F) S.Nakano (J) H.Kurosawa (J)
14 Jan Lammers/RfH NL Dome Mugen J.Lammers (NL) A.Yoong (MAL)
17 Pescarolo F Pescarolo C60 Judd E. Collard (F) J-C Boullion (F) Tba
19 Chamberlain GB Lola B06-10 Bob Berridge (GB) G.Evans (GB) P.Owen (GB)
N°/LM P2 Teams/Nat/Car/Drivers
20 Pierre Bruneau F Pilbeam MP93-01PB-Judd M.Rostan (F) P.Bruneau (F) Tba
22 Roll Centre GB Radical SR9-Judd J.Barbosa (P) M.Short (GB) T.Greaves (GB)
25 RML GB MG Lola EX264 M. Newton (GB) T. Erdos (BR) Tba
28 Ranieri Randaccio I Lucchini R.Randaccio (I) F.Mancini (I) G.Collini (I)
32 Barazi-Epsilon F Courage C65-AER M.Vergers (NL) J.Barazi (F) Tba
35 G-Force B Courage C65-Judd E.Morris (GB) J.F.Leroch (F) F.Hahn (D)
36 Paul Belmondo F Courage C65-Ford C-Y Gosselin (F) K. Ojjeh (SA) P.Ragues (F)
37 Paul Belmondo F Courage C65-Ford P. Belmondo (F) D.Andre (F) Y.Clairay (F)39 Chamberlain-Synergy GB Lola B05/40-AER M.Amaral (P) M.A.Castro (E) A.Burgueno (P)N°/LM GT1 Teams/Nat/Car/Drivers
50 Larbre F Aston Martin DBR9 P.Lamy (P) G.Gardel (CH) V.Vosse (B)
51 B-Racing D Lamborghini Murcielago GTR N.Walchhofer (USA) B.Leuenberger (CH) M.Bartyan (I)
61 Russian Age RUS Aston Martin DBR9 N.Kinch (SCO) A.Garcia (E) Tba
62 Russian Age RUS Aston Martin DBR9 P.Hardman (GB) C.Vann (GB) Tba
67 Convers Menx RUS Ferrari 550 Maranello P.Kox (NL) R.Pergl (CZ) A.Vasiliev (RUS)
70 PSI Experience B Corvette C6-R P.Kuismanen (FIN) J.Menten (NL) M.Palttala (FIN)
72 Luc Alphand F Corvette C5-R J.Policand (F) P.Goueslard (F) A.Beltoise (F)
N°/LM GT2 Teams/Nat/Car/Drivers
73 Ice Pol B Porsche GT3 RSR Y-E Lambert (B) C.Lefort (B) R.Iannetta (F)
75 Thierry Perrier F Porsche 996 GT3 RSR N.Smith (GB) P.Hesnault (F) Tba
76 Autorlando I Porsche GT3 RSR M.Lieb (D) J.Camathias (CH) Tba
77 Seikel D Porsche GT3 RSR T.Burgess (CDN) P.Collin (USA) T.Bergneister (D)
78 Autorlando I Porsche GT3 RSR G.Kristensen (GB) J.Edamann (GB) A.Simonsen (AUS)80 Farnbacher D Porsche GT3 RSR L.E.Nielsen (GB) M.Seefried (D) Tba
81 LNT GB Panoz Esperante GTLM W.Hughes (GB) R.Bell (GB) Tba
82 LNT GB Panoz Esperante GTLM L.Tomlinson (GB) R.Dean (GB) Tba
84 ICER Brakes E Ferrari F430 GT J.D.Villarroel (E) P.Sunberg (E) D.Romero (E)
85 Spyker Squadron NL Spyker C8 Spyder GT-2R J.Bleekemolen (NL) M.Hezemans (NL) Tba
86 Spyker Squadron NL Spyker C8 Spyder GT-2R J.Kane (GB) D.Crevels (NL) Tba
90 Farnbacher D Porsche 996 GT3 RSR P.Ehret (D) D.Farnbacher (D) Tba
92 IMSA Matmut F Porsche 996 RSR C.Bouchut (F) S.Dumez (F) R.Narac (F)
97 GPC Sport SRL I Ferrari F430 GT L.Drudi (I) G.Rosa (I) J.Melo (BR)
99 Virgo GB Ferrari F430 GT D.Eagling (GB) T.Sugden (GB) I.Khan (MC)

Istanbul Programme:
Saturday, April 8 2006
09:00 - 10:00 Le Mans Series Free Practice 60'
12:30 - 13:30 Le Mans Series Free Practice
15:30 - 15:50 Le Mans Series Qualif. - "LM"P1 +"LM" P2 20'
16:00 - 16:20 Le Mans Series Qualif. - "LM"GT1+"LM" GT2 20'
Sunday, April 9 2006
08:00 - 08:20 Le Mans Series Warm -up 20'
10:30 - 16:30 Le Mans Series Race 1000Km

Yoong Prefers A1 To F1

Former team-mates win on same day in opposite hemisphere...(click image to enlarge)
Yoong dominant in China...(click image to enlarge)
A brand new team coming good and feeling great...(click image to enlarge)

"It has to be a very good deal to pull me back to F1."

Malaysia's only F1 driver, Alex Yoong had 16 races in Formula 1 in 2001 and 2002 with a highest finish of 7th in the 2002 Australian GP - however, he was matched against two of the most highly touted F1 rookies for team-mates. Fernando Alonso who was his team-mate in 2001 is already the youngest world champion while his 2002 team-mate, Mark Webber, is now with Williams as their no. 1 driver.

Both these team-mates of Yoong had extensive F1 test experience before making their debut in F1 - Yoong, without any F1 test experience behind him, had huge odds stacked against him. It was his dream to be in F1 but it wasn't smooth sailing for him by any measure as he had to contend with an underfunded minnow team in addition to a complete lack of testing opportunities with the Minardi team.

A year in the inaugural A1GP World Cup of Motorsport, however, had certainly turned Yoong around with a series of spirited top class drives in his Proton sponsored yellow bedecked A1 Team Malaysia car. Yoong had shown himself easily running with the top third of the 22 to 24 car field from six continents from the word go.

Before midway through the season Yoong had already shown himself capable of taking the podium and he followed up his second in the Indonesian Feature race with nearly a perfect weekend in the season finale in China by topping Friday practice, qualifying pole, fastest in the warm-up, winning the Sprint race and finishing second in the Feature race.

Yoong's stock has now shot up sky high...and he is slotted to pair with former F1 driver and Le Mans specialist Jan Lammers in not only the five-round 2006 Le Mans Series but also in the incomparable Le Mans 24 Hrs in June between the just completed A1 season and the start of the next.

When given a choice between A1 Grand Prix and Formula One, Yoong readily replied that A1 would be for him.

"You cannot compare F1 and A1GP, they are completely different," said Yoong shortly after his inaugural A1 win. "Formula One is the pinnacle of motorsport in terms of technology. It is about manufacturer against manufacturer, about engine deals and about money. A1GP is run by countries, the cars are identical, it is an equal playing field. The aim is to see which is the best team and driver, it is about the people.

"I would definitely stay in A1GP, it would have to be a good deal for me to move to F1. A very good deal!"

Max Revson

A1GP China: Alex Yoong Takes Malaysia To 5th In the Championship With A Splendid 2nd In Feature Race

Great day's work Alex!...(click image to enlarge)

Alex Yoong of A1 Team Malaysia staged another splendid performance in the Feature race with a solid second after the historic win in the Sprint race earlier today. Tomas Enge of the Czech Republic won the race by 6.7s from Yoong.

This performance catapulted Malaysia from 9th in the championship after the team's win in the Sprint race to 5th!

Yoong had led off the field with a good start in the 30-lap race. The safety car was called out in lap 3 after a spectacular crash between Ireland and Indonesia which saw the Irish car flipped a few times across the gravel trap. All the cars took advantage of the safety car period to dive into the pits for their compulsory tyre changes.

The Malaysian crew did a fantastic job at the pitstop and sent Yoong out in a very quick change to remain first behind the safety car.

Yoong had to grapple with handling problems after the safety car period and did well to keep Australia in third. He revealed at the top-three press conference after the podium ceremony, "After Tomas pulled a gap I tried to close up again but the car's handling detriorated and I drove to finish for the championship points."

Feature Race: Lap by Lap
lap1: manning has a very good start but so did alex...alex just managed to nip manning into turn 1...
lap2: alex defending from manning...then opens up a 4 tenths gap...
lap3: massive accident between rsa and ina...rsa flipped over ina...safety car...all into the pits...malaysia emerged first with a good pitstop...mal leads from cze and gbr third...
lap4: green flag...alex leads off with enge close behind...manning defending 3rd from duran...top 10: mal, cze, gbr, mex, aus, usa, nzl, pak, sui and can...
lap6: cze takes mal...gbr and usa given drive through penalty for jump start...sui pits with damaged nose...
lap7: cze leads from mal by 1.4s...top 10: cze, mal, aus, nzl, pak, can, ita, lib, rsa and ned...
lap8: mal closed up to 1.1s from cze who leads...
lap10: cze opens to 2.2s from mal in 2nd...mex takes aut for 13th...then gbr takes chn for 17th...ned up to 10th then locks up big time and lose a spot back to 11th...
lap13: mal keeping aus behind by 4s...and holding 2nd pretty ok...but cze is quick and now leads by 3s from mal...
lap14: mal in second now lies 5th in the championship if the race finishes in this position...fra, lib and mex.
lap15: gbr using power boost passed aut in the front straight in turn 1 to move up to 14th...alex (mal) in 2nd closed up a little to enge (cze) who leads and opens up further from aus in third...
lap17: alex closes up to enge again...it looks like alex eased off to rest the tyres or something...ned also takes a drive through penalty for jump start and drops further back from 11th...
lap19: cze upped the pace again and gap to mal in 2nd is back to 3.5s...fastest lap for mex...
lap21: top 10: cze, mal, aus, nzl, pak, can, fra, ita, mex and lib...lib in danger of losing that one point with usa breathing down his neck...
lap23: eight laps to go...mal looks like consolidating his 2nd position as alex maintains the gap of 3s from aus in 3rd...cze leads by 4.5s from mal...
lap24: cze takes fastest lap of the race!...usa takes 10th from lib...poor lebanon as they are still pointless...top 10: cze, mal, aus, nzl, pak, can, fra, ita, mex and usa...
lap26: if the race finishes in this order now malaysia will finish 5th in the championship...six laps to go...mex takes ita for 8th...and then ita spins but didn't lose a place...
lap27: new fastest lap by malaysia!...top 10: cze, mal, aus, nzl, pak, can, fra, mex, ita and usa...
lap29: 2 laps to go!...mal will stay in 2nd and not push apparently...this is good tactic to preserve the championship points...and cze takes fastest lap from mal...
lap30: top 10: cze, mal, aus, nzl, pak, can, fra, mex, ita and usa...fra takes can for 6th...can fights back...side by side and finally can yields 6th to fra...
chequered flag: alex of malaysia takes second behind tomas enge of cze with australia's ryan briscoe third...top 10: cze, mal, aus, nzl, pak, fra, can, mex, ita and usa...mex takes fastest lap in the final lap from cze!
championship top 5 are: champion-france, 2nd-switzerland, 3rd-great britain, 4th-new zealand and 5th-malaysia...

Full results of both the Sprint and Feature race are available HERE.

Max Revson

A1GP China: Alex Yoong Wins Sprint Race For Malaysia

A historic win for Alex Yoong and A1 Team Malaysia in China today

Alex Yoong, today, on the 2nd of April in the year 2006, gave the Proton sponsored A1 Team Malaysia a historic lights to chequered flag maiden victory in the China A1GP Sprint race in a cool and calculated manner.

He extended his lead in the 15 lap race from 1.5s in lap 1 to win by more than 9s from Great Britain's Darren Manning without any relief for the chasing pack.

Winner in USA, Mexico with Salvador Duran on board pressured Great Britain all the way to the finish for third.

All Malaysia will be watching with great anticipation for a repeat win from Yoong in the one hour long 30 lap Feature race which will start in an hour's time.

Max Revson

A1GP Shanghai, China - Sprint Race Results
Team/Driver/Time
1 Malaysia Alex Yoong 28:17.807
2 Great Britain Darren Manning +9.841
3 Mexico Salvador Duran +10.417
4 Ireland Michael Devaney +13.905
5 Indonesia Ananda Mikola +19.171
6 Czech Tomas Enge +20.815
7 France Alexandre Premat +25.341
8 New Zealand Matt Halliday +25.739
9 Australia Ryan Briscoe +26.670
10 Brazil Christian Fittipaldi +26.670
(Top 10)

Alex Takes Pole For Team Malaysia In China Finale!

A proud moment for Malaysia...(click image to enlarge)

Team Malaysia in qualifying in China...(click image to enlarge)

A1 Team Malaysia with Alex Yoong snatched their first pole position for the final Sprint race of the 2005/06 A1 Grand Prix season this afternoon after the flag had dropped in the last of the four Qualifying sessions. A1 Team Great Britain’s Darren Manning, who led from the word go, was denied the opportunity to head up the grid in his first A1GP race by Yoong.

While Manning used his new tyres early in the four sessions of qualifying, Yoong saved his 2 sets of new tyres for the third and final session to pushed his aggregate time ahead of A1 Teams France and Great Britain, with a 1.51.846 flying lap after leaving the pits in the last few minutes of the session.

First time A1GP pole sitter Yoong, was pleased with his performance: ‘Today was really good, the car was brilliant, we made a couple of small improvements from yesterday. It’s a great day for A1 Team Malaysia. The team is brand new, and was only put together for A1GP, it has been a big effort for a lot of people. This will mean a lot to the people in Malaysia, which, like China, does not have a motorsport background.’

When asked during the post qualifying press conference Yoong declined to reveal what are the set-up tricks for China, joking, "I'm not going to tell you in front of these guys (Manning and Premat)!" But revealed enough that, "We did some great work over the two days to find the balance needed for not only the fast corners but the slow ones as well."

Former Macau GP winner and F1 test driver, Manning praised the A1GP Qualifying system for the excitement that it added to the day. ‘I thought it was all over after I was quickest in the first session but this qualifying system is different, it isn’t over until the last car crosses the line. It’s a really good result for A1 Team Great Britain. I made a small mistake just before the back straight, and lost too much speed. The back straight is very long and I lost a lot of time. Without that I think I would have been even closer to Alex. I have little experience as to how the Series is run, but we are doing ok, and I will be going out to win the race tomorrow.’

Alex Premat took to the track for the first time today, after his team mate, Nicolas Lapierre drove yesterday’s practice sessions. ‘Just before Qualifying I managed to do a few laps during third practice. So I had to learn the set up of the car and the circuit quickly. I made a few mistakes, but for tomorrow I think it will be perfect.’

A1 Team Malaysia turned out in the Shanghai International circuit with new sponsorship brandings on their car with FTEC computers, Royal Selangor Pewter, Visit Malaysia 2007 and MBF cards joining principal sponsor Proton.

Max Revson

A1GP Shanghai, China - Qualifying Results

Team/Driver/Aggregate Time

1 Malaysia Alex Yoong 3.43.700

2 Great Britain Darren Manning 3.43.888

3 France Alexandre Premat 3.44.392

4 Mexico Salvador Duran 3.44.560

5 Indonesia Ananda Mikola 3.44.656

6 Ireland Michael Devaney 3.44.724

7 Netherlands Jos Verstappen 3.45.206

8 Czech Tomas Enge 3.45.554

9 Australia Ryan Briscoe 3.45.683

10 Switzerland Giorgio Mondini 3.45.965

11 Canada Patrick Carpentier 3.46.254

12 S. Africa Stephen Simpson 3.46.430

13 New Zealand Matt Halliday 3.46.455

14 Pakistan Adam Khan 3.46.458

15 China Tengyi Jiang 3.46.543

16 Brazil Christian Fittipaldi 3.46.737

17 Italy Enrico Toccacelo 3.46.864

18 Portugal Cesar Campanico 3.47.489

19 USA Phil Giebler 3.47.565

20 Lebanon Graham Rahal 3.47.714

21 Austria Mathias Lauda 3.48.036

22 Germany Sebastian Stahl 3.49.171