A1 Team India dominated the final test session at Silverstone, in Bangalore, on September 19, 2007, in preparation for the new A1GP World Cup of Motorsport season, topping the time sheets early on and dominating for the remainder of the three-and-a-half-hour session.

India’s Narain Kathikeyan, who had limited track time at the last official test due to illness, clocked a sensational time of 47.809s and broke the lap record for an A1GP car around the national circuit by three-tenths of a second. The previous record was held by A1 Team New Zealand driver Jonny Reid, who set the time on the first day of the test.

Kathikeyan’s lap time puts him fastest overall at the end of the one-and-a-half day test session and the Indian driver is feeling confident as the team prepares to challenge its first A1GP race win at Zandvoort next weekend: "We did the majority of our work yesterday and a little bit this morning - we kept improving the car a lot and I think we’re going in the right direction. I’m looking forward to the season-opener at Zandvoort - I believe we have a decent car and a good package and we will be front-runners, that’s for sure."

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A1 Team India seat holder Yohann Setna said, “Yesterday we felt there was space for improvement and today we have proved it. We are very happy with the set-up of the car and very proud of Narain and the entire team that worked together to make this brilliant performance happen. It was a very close race, with the top 18 cars/ nations within one second of each other. Team India, with Narain Karthikeyan, has set the new A1 GP lap record for Silverstone national circuit!”

Jonny Reid, who set the fastest lap on the first day of the test for A1 Team New Zealand, was once again in strong form on Day 2. Reid set a best lap of 47.901s and was pleased with the team’s progress ahead of the start of the new season: "It was good. It was better than yesterday because the track was faster today with the wind and the temperature but it was also a rather challenging session. On my new tyre run there was a car spun but I was on my first flying lap and I didn’t actually get to complete a second. It’s such a short lap here so the tyres don’t really come back quick enough - I think we definitely had it all there to go P1 but a bit of luck didn’t fall our way. We’re happy with this though and it gives us quiet confidence heading into Zandvoort."

Hot on the heels of Reid was A1 Team Switzerland’s Neel Jani, who finished the session third fastest with a best lap of 47.932s and covered an impressive 89 laps. Jani, who might be welcoming a female rookie to the Swiss team this season, is looking forward to the first race: "Today was the first time I really worked with my new engineer and we progressed well and tried a lot of things and in the end we got a decent lap time. We have done some very good preparation for Zandvoort which was our main target for this test so I think we’re in pretty good shape and I’m looking forward to it."

The test session was incredibly close with just over a second separating India in the top spot and Mexico, in 22nd.

All 22 teams will now head straight to The Netherlands for the thrilling A1GP season-opener at Zandvoort on September 28-30.

Official Test Session Day Two

Launched in 2004, the A1GP World Cup of Motorsport is more than just another racing phenomenon; it’s an entirely new concept. Pitting driver against driver and country against country for the first time in history, A1GP brings together 22 nations in 11 races in 10 countries to compete as equals without financial or technological advantage. With three days of on-track action, an A1GP event offers a rare opportunity for fans to interact with teams and drivers. Exclusively inclusive, A1GP brings the thrill of international motorsport to 150 countries across the globe.

Now entering its third season and taking in a mix of established world-famous venues plus exciting new state-of-the-art facilities and tight, twisty street circuits, A1GP promises to deliver high-speed, adrenalin-fuelled action at every turn.

R Rangaraj

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