13/10/2007
NEWS STORY
Brazil
Sergio Jimenez: "I was really happy by Q4 compared to the start of qualifying. In Q1 we went the wrong way and the car was undriveable, it was a very difficult session for me. After that we changed the car a lot between each session. If I explained how much we changed, nobody would believe it. It feels now like I've started driving a racing car. Our pace on old tyres is good so I'm confident for the races. The sprint is short so realistically I think we can try to gain a position at the start and maybe one more in the race, and just go for some good points. In the feature, who knows, maybe we can get a podium. We've done a lot of hard work this weekend, so I'm looking forward to turning that into a strong race performance tomorrow."
Canada
James Hinchcliffe: "It's unfortunate that we effectively wasted this morning's practice working on a set-up with a questionable set of tires. Our theory about the tires was proved correct as soon as we started qualifying and we were up against it from then on. I have to give credit to Simon (Cayzer) and the team as they kept their cool throughout and we've emerged with a decent Feature start."
Czech Republic
Erik Janis: "Well, I am disappointed. I was quite happy with the car after the last practice but somehow it did not work in the qualifying. We put a new set of tyres and we had the same problem like yesterday and the rear oversteered a lot. Actually, I thought that the Q2 on used set would be quicker but it did not happened. We did some changes for Q3 and the car was much better. I tried to improve on the last run but was too quick at the first corner and spun. It is a shame but I had to try! I had known that it is going to be a difficult weekend because I am still lacking mileage. However, anything can happen in the races and I can promise that I will fight hard!"
Antonin Charouz, Seat Holder: "We have to me realistic. Erik has a talent but you can not expect that he would jump from Octavia do A1GP and will be in front immediately. He should improve in the second half of the season after will know the car better. Obviously, we would have preferred better result in our home event. I believe that Tomas with his experience would have done better but he is not fully fit. I know that Erik is disappointed and it is quite a trying weekend for him but I am sure that he will get through it will be stronger in the future as a result."
France
Nicolas Lapierre: "We were quick this morning but we weren't able to maintain the same pace with the new tyres when we went out this afternoon. Our race set-up is almost perfect. Maybe we lacked just that little extra bit of time to prepare for qualifying. We were a second off pole but the gap is much smaller in race conditions. Overall, I'm pretty confident for tomorrow. We've got nothing to lose for the Sprint race while the Feature race will allow us to make the best of the situation with a strategy well adapted to race circumstances."
Olivier Panis, Sporting Director: "Nicolas Prost and Nicolas Lapierre's work yesterday on worn rubber has borne fruit. The fall-off in tyre performance is enormous on this circuit, but we've managed to limit the problem in race set-up. We still wear our tyres, but less than the others. Of course, we'd have liked to do better in qualifying, but the performances of the cars are so close that the slightest little problem can have serious consequences. Nicolas Lapierre was a late replacement for Loic Duval, and we didn't have enough time to allow him to find his marks. Thus, he maybe didn't have enough confidence to really go for it this afternoon. We've got measured ambitions for the short race but in the other one anything can happen. We'll draw our conclusions after the chequered flag falls."
Germany
Christian Vietoris: "Unfortunately our set-up wasn't quite right today. After everything went perfectly on Friday and we set the fastest time, we had a lot of understeer this morning on the used tyres. For this reason we changed the set-up again before qualifying and, as it turned out, in the wrong direction. In the two qualifying sections for the sprint race I then had big oversteer. We then went back with the set-up step-by-step until it was the same as Friday, but it was only in the fourth session that it was as it should have been. Unfortunately, I had to overtake several cars on my last fast lap which cost me a lot of time. Ninth place on the grid for the main race was the best I could do. It'll be tough to make up places in the sprint race tomorrow. With a bit of luck a podium finish in the main race could be possible, because overtaking is possible in Brno."
Great Britain
Robbie Kerr: "Both the sprint and feature qualifying sessions went fairly well though we weren't exactly where we wanted to be - unless I'm on pole position, I'm not hundred per cent happy! We had a few issues earlier in the weekend with tyre graining but managed to fix this before qualifying. We will make a few minor adjustments ahead of tomorrow's races and I'm looking forward to going out there and challenging for some serious points".
Katie Clements, Team Principal: "Naturally pole position is always the aim, but the team and Robbie performed very well today and to line up 3rd for both races gives us an obvious opportunity for podium finishes – and perhaps the chance to win as we did in Zandvoort. The pit crew will have a lot of work to do tomorrow, but the team has already shown how well it is working so we are very much looking forward to both races."
Ireland
Adam Carroll: "P4 for the sprint is a solid result and good for the team but I'm frustrated that the Portuguese car blocked me on my best run and cost me the chance to be up at the front for the Feature. Despite this we've now got to focus on tomorrow, the car feels good and we'll certainly have a good chance to be on the podium in the Sprint. The feature will be more of a struggle but I finished sixth at Spa in GP2 this year from 22nd on the grid so there's always a chance and I'll be pushing hard to get the best possible result."
Dan Walmsley; Race Engineer: "I can only echo what Adam has said really, we felt we had a car that was good enough for the front two rows in both of tomorrow's races. Pit stop strategy for the Feature Race will be crucial and we'll be doing everything we can to help Adam gain positions. I think our race pace will be strong which will give us a chance to get into the top three in the Sprint and make up places in the Feature."
Mark Kershaw; Team Owner: "A mixed afternoon for us; Adam did a great job to get on the second row in his first A1GP qualifying session but it's a shame that we were robbed of the chance to equal or better that in the final run. As we've seen in the past a lot can happen in the Feature Race and we won't be getting despondent, we'll just have to fight that bit harder to get something out of the afternoon."
Lebanon
Khalil Beschir: "It's tough to do this format of qualifying when you have limited recent A1GP experience of running on new tyres and putting together a competitive time with only a single lap. I think with more opportunities I will be able to make progress with this, but now I'll focus on racing. As we've seen so many times in A1GP, there's a chance for every team to get strong results and, with the two Feature race pitstops quick team work can be beneficial to race position."
Trevor Bale, Team Manager: "Khalil hasn't been racing in A1GP since Malaysia last season; he's coped well with the pressures placed on him today. We'll review all the data tonight and look towards tomorrow. We know Khalil is a determined young racer and we'll all work together to bring the best results we can for Lebanon."
Malaysia
Alex Yoong: "We've just had all sorts of issues since we arrived here, and we haven't been able to resolve them today, although the crew worked really hard to try and sort the car during the session."
Jack Cunningham, Chief Executive: "We are suddenly having a run of technical issues that we haven't had in the previous two seasons. We had some kind of problem at Zandvoort that we couldn't get to the bottom of. In Brno we had a rear damper failure yesterday which we were unable to diagnose till this morning by looking at the data; we had a puncture which cost us 20 minutes today and then we changed the differential in qualifying.
"The limited track time of the three-day event in A1 is such that, if you lose time setting the car up, it's very difficult to recover. Changing the differential in qualifying, in itself a minor miracle performed by the technical crew, was our attempt to find that miracle. Sadly it hasn't worked for us. We need to try to get to the bottom of these technical problems, but that's a huge challenge now. We will try and recover as much as we can tomorrow but we can't be that hopeful starting both races from so far back, which is unusually far back for us."
Mexico
Michel Jourdain Jr: "I did well during qualifying if you take into consideration that I did not have driven a car of this type in such a long time. In addition, there are here a lot of drivers who have been driving this A1 car for a long time, they are with a team they race for during the year [in other series], who come from the GP2 series or they race in the World Series by Renault. Therefore, I think everything went well. Although, I definitely think that I need more seat time. I think that we surpassed a little bit the expectations, but we have to see on Sunday how we do."
Julio Jauregui, Executive Vice-President: "In the team we are very happy because Michel surpassed our expectations. We knew that it was going to be difficult due to the time that has passed Michel without driving formulas. The car has a good setting and Michel has adapted quickly to the car. That's why we think that probably we can get some points. The doors are open in the future for Michel and it's up to him, if he wants to return to race for us."
Netherlands
Jeroen Bleekemolen: "I am very happy that I was able to do it this time. We did take pole before, but that was not a real qualifying. It is looking good for us for the races I think, also on the used tyres we are amongst the front runners constantly this weekend. I see no reason why we should not be able to fight for the win tomorrow. We are going to give it all tomorrow and see where we end up. Q3 did not go completely as planned. We were still in first, but I was expecting the others to go much quicker. Fortunately we were able to set another very good lap time in Q4 which was enough for the pole position. During the Sprintrace qualifying I tried to push very hard on used tyres and lost the car entering the straight. The others used two sets of new tyres for the Sprintrace qualifying,we did not. After that spin we really did not change the car very much, so far this weekend we are competitive. We were already confident about being in the top for both races. Compared to last year we have grown quite a bit as a team and it shows here."
Jan Lammers: "Pole position is always a bit like victory without points, but it is super for the team's motivation. A superbly executed job as well. First you spin off track and as a driver you are then vulnerable and it can affect your confidence. Jeroen kept his cool perfectly as did everyone else. They also kept thinking sensibly and calm. It goes too far to say that we dominated, but this was a very convincing pole. Really on pace and on a track which last year did suit us the least all season. Now we have to do the hardest part though and translate this pole into victory tomorrow. We will keep doing what we were doing so far and hope that we can receive the most important prize tomorrow."
New Zealand
Jonny Reid: "It was pretty good," Reid said. "We had clear runs, the car was fantastic and I was happy with my own performance. We've got two pit stops, a quality pit crew and every chance to gain ground during the race, whereas the Sprint Race is so short and sharp it's more important to qualify well. I'm looking forward to the races. I really enjoy this circuit and I'm feeling extremely positive."
Pakistan
Adam Khan: "I just about managed to get a half decent run together on the new tyres on the second qualifying run. It was a very good lap considering how much slower we are on old tyres, so I'm pleased we'll be starting the Sprint race from 13th. We have really struggled to find a good set up for the car and to find the right balance so far this weekend. We are going to have to work very hard overnight to get a good position in the races tomorrow, simply because I know we will be suffering with a lot of understeer. I think really we are a little bit higher on the grid than what the car is currently capable of during the race, so it could be quite a challenging day tomorrow, but the team and I will do our very best to get a good result for Pakistan."
Bobby Issazadhe, Team Manager: "Our performance in qualifying was a bit confusing. Adam did a great job in Q2 to set the 13th fastest time, but unfortunately we weren't able to repeat that when qualifying for the Feature race. There are still some set up issues we have to resolve. We will be working very hard between now and the Sprint race tomorrow to see where we are losing the most time and make some changes. Unfortunately we won't be able to test whether these changes are beneficial until we are in race conditions tomorrow."
Arif Husain, Seat Holder: "It's a good result for the team ahead of the Sprint race. It's been a bit of a frustrating weekend so far, but I think it's a reflection of how strong the team is that our best qualifying since 2005 has come from such a difficult weekend."
South Africa
Adrian Zaugg: "We were confident we'd come back from the disappointing practice sessions. My qualifying lap for the feature race wasn't that great - I made a few small mistakes. We've got a good car for tomorrow's races, but the conditions here will make it difficult for all of us. Tyre wear is going to be critical."
Mike Carroll, General Manager: "Adrian's performance today was again phenomenal, particularly as he was up all night last night with stomach problems. He was able to go out and deliver despite struggling in practice with badly worn tyres. It was a brilliant effort. Humphrey (Corbett, South Africa's new race engineer) also did a great job. He had very little concrete information on which to base the qualifying set-up given the really abrasive track surface."
Switzerland
Neel Jani: "I am pleased overall. It was frantic in the qualifying sessions. Finishing sixth for the sprint race was not what we were hoping for because of my brake problems. There was a leak in the system and I had a very long pedal, so I had to be careful. But the mechanics did a great job fixing the brakes. In the qualifying for the feature race, there was a lot of traffic and it was not easy to find a clear lap as the times went quicker. Team CZ for instance never let me through and blocked my run. I feel I should have been higher on the grid. We will really have to work very hard tonight to define the strategy for tomorrow's races. I expect the sprint race to be tough: being such a short race, it will be difficult to overtake. However, should we be able to find the right set-up, then we have a chance for the feature race."
Max Welti, Team Principal: "Neel Jani and the mechanics did a really good job in qualifying for the two races. I feel we have been a bit unlucky. But the car is quicker than it looks, which is a good asset for the long feature race and we are not too pessimistic for Sunday's races."
USA
Buddy Rice: "We made the 'We The People' car better for the Sprint qualifying, but were prevented from starting closer to the front when I was held up in traffic by slower cars on my timed lap. It's very unfortunate, but at least we know we've made gains in performance for both races.
"Brno is a long (3.36 miles), wide track with hairpins and sweeping turns. It's like a combination of Sonoma (Infineon) and Road America and if you have a faster car, you have room to pass. It has a lot of passing zones."
Rick Weidinger, Team Owner: "Starts are a key in this series and I hope Buddy nails both of them and advances rapidly. Buddy will need to show his mettle and race hard to the front. We're still not performing as expected, well off the leader pace, but we showed progress today, going quicker from practice to Feature qualifying to Sprint qualifying. That's encouraging."
To check out our Brno Saturday gallery, click here