Ralph Firman will make his A1 Grand Prix series debut this weekend at the EuroSpeedway in Laustiz, Germany, when the 30 year old former Jordan Formula One driver takes the wheel of A1 Team Ireland's entry. Firman, who missed the opening race of the series due to his commitments for Team Honda Racing in the Japanese SuperGT series, was delighted to see Irish team mate Michael Devaney score A1 Team Ireland its first championship point in the Sprint Race at Brands Hatch. The team is focused on adding to that score this weekend and specifically a top 10 finish in the main Feature Race.
EuroSpeedway is one of Europe's most impressive race tracks, boasting a variety of circuit configurations but perhaps best known for its high speed oval track designed for US-style Indy Racing. The circuit being used by the A1GP teams this weekend is 2.81494 miles/ 4.53 kms long and features at the heart of the circuit Germany's and Europe's unique two-Miles-Superspeedway. Although Michael Devaney is not racing for A1 Team Ireland this weekend, competing instead in the final rounds of the German Formula 3 Championship in Osherscheliben, Germany, some two hours drive from Lausitz, the 20 year old Dubliner is able to provide some insight to the circuit since he has raced there in Formula 3.
"The track is very technical with a mixture of tight hairpins and fast corners. Set up wise is could be difficult to try to find a balance between the high and low speed corners" says Michael Devaney.
Ralph Firman's return to powerful single seater racing comes almost exactly two years after he made his final appearance for Jordan Grand Prix at the 2003 Japanese Grand Prix where he out qualified highly rated team mate Giancarlo Fisichella. Since then he has raced sports cars, most notably in the 2004 Le Mans 24 Hours and this year's Japanese SuperGT series, as well as being one of the drivers used in the development of the A1 Grand Prix car last year. His recent experience of the A1 car came when he took part in the major Paul Ricard test in August, setting the fastest time for A1 Team Ireland on the final day.
"I am really looking forward to this weekend and to driving for A1 Team Ireland," says Firman. "The team is very professional, the car looks great and I am looking forward to working with Andy Miller as he was my engineer when I won the British Formula 3 Championship and FIA Formula 3 World Cup in Macau back in 1996. Since winning the Formula Nippon Championship in Japan in 2002 I have been hungry to win again in single seaters. The A1GP series is terrific, the competition is fierce and from what I heard the opening race in Brands Hatch was a great success. My objective this weekend is very simple - to be outright competitive and push for a top result because that's what we are here to do. I do not know the circuit, but pretty well everyone will be in the same boat and I see no reason why we cannot get to grips with it after practice on Friday."
"We are really looking forward to the weekend at Lausitz," said Technical Director Andy Miller. "We are in a good position to carry on the good work Michael did for us at Brands Hatch. The track at EuroSpeedway is new to a vast majority of the field but should not be a problem for experienced drivers such as Ralph Firman".
Since the opening race of the season at Brands Hatch A1 Team Ireland technical staff have been busy building the team's second car which will be provided to Firman as a spare car this weekend. The two cars, in their striking green livery, are of course identical and can be used by Firman at any time throughout the weekend and mean that he has back up should one of the cars have a technical problem or suffer any accident damage.
Firman is currently scheduled to compete in 10 of the 12 events comprising in the inaugural A1GP series, his next commitment to Team Honda Racing in Japan coming on the same weekend as the Australian A1 Grand Prix of Nations scheduled to be held in Eastern Creek, Sydney, on November 6th. A1 Team Ireland will announce the identity of its driver for that event one week prior to the race and, contrary to media speculation, has not signed a contract with anyone other than Ralph Firman to date. The team was delighted with Michael Devaney's performance in Brands Hatch and, once his commitments in the German Formula 3 Championship are completed, discussions will continue with him and other potential drivers from Ireland regarding racing and testing opportunities throughout the balance of the season.
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