A1 Team France i ready for battle !

Two weeks ago, A1 Team France had an encouraging weekend on the Zandvoort circuit in Holland. A fortnight later the team will be doing battle on the Brno circuit in the Czech Republic with a single aim: its first victory. A1 Team France’s 2007-2008 season got off to a promising start in the first round on 30th September. Loic Duval came home second in the Sprint Race and fifth in the Feature Race.

This performance has put A1 Team France in third place overall in the provisional classification only one point behind Great Britain. This week, Loic will be racing in Japan and Nicolas Lapierre has agreed to replace him. The French driver, who has just finished his GP2 season, has already defended the team’s colours in the first two A1GP championships. He knows the car and the A1 Team France like the back of his hand.

This coming weekend will also mark Nicolas Prost’s A1GP debut. Two weeks after another win in the Spanish F3 Championship, the son of the four-times F1 world champion will be the team’s « Rookie »: he will take part in free practice on Friday and will help the team optimise its set-up for the race.

Finally, Olivier Panis will be on hand in the A1 Team France’s garage to give valuable advice and put his considerable experience at the disposal of the team. Everything is in place to enable A1 Team France to show its competitiveness once again and continue its assault on the championship this weekend. Its aim is finish first and to win the World Cup of Motor Sport next April.

Nicolas Lapierre: "I wasn’t going to race in the A1GP Championship this year. The 2008 season is looking very busy for me, and I’d decided to recharge my batteries during the interseason. But the French team needs me for the second round of the championship to fill in for Loic. I’ll do my best to continue the series of good results that began at Zandvoort. After that I’ll hand back to Loic, and I hope that I’ll have placed the team in a good position in the championship."

Nicolas Prost: "Thanks to the two test sessions on the Silverstone circuit during the summer I’ve been able to get to grips with the handling of the A1 GP car. It seems to me to be very pleasant to drive. During the test my lap times kept improving and the team did everything it could to make me feel at ease. So even if it’s my debut in a new branch of motor racing I feel confident. On Friday, my sole aim will be to help A1 Team France to prepare for the coming weekend in the best possible conditions."  

- A1 Team France -  photos A1GP