Switzerland

A1 Team Switzerland clocked respectively eighth and ninth fastest times under the heavy rain which disrupted today's two free practice sessions in Monterrey today.

In the first session, under heavy rain, A1 Team Switzerland completed 21 laps on the wide Mexican track and concentrated on finding the right set-up for tomorrow's qualifying with a third quickest time of 1'39.335.

In the second session, Neel Jani finished in ninth position after twelve laps and a time of 1'40.155

Neel Jani comments: "It was very wet out there on the track. It is always interesting to discover a new track. I had to be really cautious. This track is as slippery as ice and there is no need to take any risks on such a wet surface. The rain and a few red flags made it difficult to learn much. Let's hope for improvement for a good qualifying session tomorrow"

A1 Team Switzerland team principal, Max Welti commented: "After the rain in South Africa and Indonesia we were not expecting this wet weather here at all. It wasn't so easy to work on the car set-up. We did not want to take any unnecessary risks. We will fight for a good qualifying result to-morrow."

France

A1 Team France drivers Alex Premat and Nicolas Lapierre landed only late morning in Monterrey straight from the GP2 tests in Paul Ricard to prepare for the ninth round of the new A1 Grand Prix Series at the historical Parque Fundidora Monterrey in Mexico.

For the first practice session, under very wet conditions, at the wheel of the 520-hp Formula racer, Alexandre Prémat covered 21 laps and finished in 1'38.300, 0.233s behind New Zealand Matt Halliday (27laps) who clocked 1'38.067. In the second session, which was just as wet, Alexandre Premat grabbed the headlines with the quickest time of 1'38.926 after 14 laps. He also spun, stalled his car on the curb and caused a red flag.

Alexandre Prémat : "It is quite unusual to arrive that late at a Grand Prix. It was a quick transition from the plane to the track! I had never seen this track before except on TV. I find it interesting with a number of tricky chicanes and interesting curves. The rain and lack of grip did not bother me. Our car has an excellent set-up in the rain but it did not keep me from spinning. In the morning, I wanted to set my quick time earlier, but there was traffic on the track. Anyway, in the afternoon, I managed to be quicker despite the rain without taking too many risks. It is very slippery on the track. I hope that the weather will improve to-morrow."

Jean-Paul Driot, team principal, A1 Team France commented: "The session today under these conditions was challenging. We just arrived from the GP2 testing session in Europe. Alex must be cautious under these driving conditions and remain very focused to prepare for a good qualifying session to-morrow."

Germany

A1 Team Germany made a good start to the ninth A1 Grand Prix series race weekend in Monterrey. Timo Scheider drove the powerful 520 hp single-seater race car, entered by Willi Weber's team, into the top five in the 21 nation field during the first two free-practice sessions.

The 27-year old professional race driver got to grips with the Mexican circuit immediately in the opening free practice session. During the course of 28 laps the team familiarised itself initially with the unusual circuit before posting third fastest time with a 1:38.969 lap. Owing to the bumpy track surface and, more importantly, the various types of tarmac the tyres generate very little grip. "I don"t think I've ever encountered a track with so little grip", confessed Timo Scheider. "As it had also rained, there were a few sections around the track that were so slippery that you just had to roll around. You really don't want to have to brake, accelerate or even steer on these patches."

In the second hour-long session the team worked on fine tuning the set-up of the one-make monoposto. A1 Team Germany recorded a 1:39.524 to finish in fifth position after completing a further 18 laps around the 3.386 kilometre circuit in Nuevo Leon state. The team used only a single set of rain tyres throughout the two sessions and scrubbed a second set in preparation for qualifying.

"That was a very productive day," remarked a pleased Timo Scheider. "We tried several different set-up options, to which the car reacted very sensitively. Also, my new race engineer and were on the same wavelength from the word go."

New Zealand

The New Zealand A1 Grand Prix team has set the pace in practice for Sunday's 9th Round of the World Cup of Motorsport in Monterrey, Mexico.

Matt Halliday was quickest in the day's opening practice session and was the second-fastest, behind championship leaders France, in the second one-hour session. Black Beauty's lap time in the first session remained the fastest of the day.

A1 Team.NZL manager Mike Ewan said continuous drizzle made the track greasy and treacherous, but Halliday was impressive from the outset.