FIRST DAY PRACTICE MALAYSIA A1 GP 2008

TOP TEN OPENING DAY FOR MALAYSIA AT HOME EVENT

A1 Team Malaysia completed the first day of practice for the A1GP World Cup of Motorsport, Malaysia, with the tenth fastest time of the day. In the morning rookie practice, Aaron Lim clocked a fantastic fourth quickest lap and Fairuz Fauzy recorded the tenth fastest lap overall in the afternoon practice.

The A1GP teams were ready for a strong day of running at the Formula One Championship circuit and A1 Team Malaysia and 19 other national teams enjoyed the wide, sweeping track with fine weather throughout the sessions.

In morning rookie session, Lim was able to work through a planned programme of car set-up and engineering developments in preparation for the weekend. Handing over the Malaysian car to Fauzy for the afternoon, the team was able to continue with the work of Lim and try a number of set-up options ahead of final practice and qualifying tomorrow.

Lim said on his return to the A1GP car, "I'm quite pleased with our performance this morning; it didn't take me long to get back on the pace after my first run in Chengdu. I didn't expect to be so quick this morning and I really enjoyed driving the new car at this track not only because it is my home track, but also because it is the type of track that suits the new A1GP car. It's good to help the team and share my experience so that A1 Team Malaysia can be highly competitive."

Fairuz said of his opening practice hour, "Aaron did a good job this morning to end up fourth fastest and showed that we have competitive car but during the break the temperatures went up and I was struggling with the grip this afternoon. Throughout the session we made changes and the car was going quicker particularly towards the end of the session and we're certainly going in the right direction. It's difficult to find the right stiffness for the car, particularly with the smooth surface of this track, but there's more to come from the car and we'll improve our pace tomorrow. We're certainly in the zone."

Jack Cunningham, Chief Executive, A1 Team Malaysia, adds, "We're up there in the mix of the top times and I think there's more to come from the team. Fairuz and Aaron work well together and our overall package is very strong now. We're feeling very positive for qualifying tomorrow, and will certainly be aiming for an improvement on today's position."

The A1GP World Cup of Motorsport, Malaysia, is the third round of the fourth season of the Series. A1 Team Malaysia lies first in the Championship standings after two events, having already scored a pole position and two podium finishes including victory in the first A1GP race with the new generation A1GP Powered by Ferrari car.

Track action at the Sepang circuit continues tomorrow with final practice and official qualifying tomorrow, followed by the Sprint and Feature races on Sunday.

SOURCE