Top ten practice times for A1 Team Lebanon in Portugal 10.04.2009: The A1GP series arrived in Portugal this week for the Algarve event which is being held at the new Autodromo Internacional do Algarve, an impressive track close to Portimao. Jimmy Auby made his first appearance

The A1GP series arrived in Portugal this week for the Algarve event which is being held at the new Autodromo Internacional do Algarve, an impressive track close to Portimao.  Jimmy Auby made his first appearance this season in the A1 Team Lebanon car, his debut in the new A1GP Powered by Ferrari car which replaced the original A1GP Lola car He took part in the two rookie sessions, finishing seventh quickest in the first and 11th quickest in the second, 10th quickest overall. He handed the car to regular driver, Daniel Morad in the afternoon and the Lebanese driver quickly settled in, posting ninth quickest lap.

Auby had prepared for his first session in the A1GP car with plenty of training to cope with the physical demands of driving at this level. The first part of the rookie session was interrupted with a number of red flag stoppages, so the young Lebanese rookie had little time to make improvement. In the second part of the session some of the more experienced drivers joined the track, including former Formula One driver, Vitantonio Liuzzi.

Auby said of driving the A1GP Powered by Ferrari car for the first time, “It was a great car to drive. The biggest difference was the carbon brakes, as they need a different driving style and it took me some time to learn this. It handles really well, and I just wanted more time to enjoy it!”

Of the Algarve circuit he commented, “There’s so many corners and changes of gradient that it makes it quite a unique track, and certainly very different than any other tracks I’ve experienced so far in my career. The blind corners are quite difficult to master, so I found myself taking different lines each time. I was left just wanting more.”

Morad returned to the car for the first time since his stunning drive in South Africa when he carved his way through the field to sixth place and Lebanon’s best ever A1GP result. He continued to impress his peers with the ninth quickest lap of the field.

He said of his afternoon, “We had to learn the track while using new tyres so we didn’t make the most of them and there’s certainly more to come from the car. It’s a very hilly track, in fact I don’t think I’ve experienced a circuit quite like this. It’s awesome though! We were making improvements through the session and we’ll be looking to make more progress tomorrow, but we’re definitely heading in the right direction.”

This sixth round of the A1GP World Cup of Motorsport continues tomorrow with final practice and qualifying, ahead of the two races on Sunday.

 
-  Alison Hill-  photo A1GP