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24 November 2007../A1 Team Lebanon completed final preparations for tomorrow’s third round of the A1GP World Cup of Motorsport, Sepang, Malaysia. The two qualifying sessions produced 20th and 18th fastest laps. The team will start in 20th for the Sprint race, but will be in 22nd place for the Feature race after technical irregularities demoted the team to the back of the grid.
The morning practice began a little later than the team had hoped, with the extreme heat causing cooling problems for the A1 Team Lebanon car. It delayed the start of Alajajian’s final runs before qualifying, but he was untroubled and set about continuing with preparations for the race. He was quickly settled into a strong pace, turning 15th fastest lap by the end of the session. Afternoon qualifying began well for the team, with Alajajian posting his best lap position in the first segment, with 12th quickest lap. His second run was at a similar pace, but with the more experienced drivers dropping their lap times, the Lebanon team finished 20th fastest overall to line up in this position for the Sprint race.
The best lap of the second two segments of qualifying determine the grid position for the Feature race and Alajajian was anxious to improve on his Sprint race position for this main race of the weekend. He finished his two flying lap runs with 18th fastest time, but due to the scrutineers deeming the car to be under the minimum weight, the teams’ times for the Feature race were disqualified and the Lebanon entry relegated to the back of the grid.
Alajajian said of his second A1GP qualifying day, “We had a good first segment and I thought we had the potential to make further improvements, but that didn’t really happen. We did get held up in one of our segments, which was unfortunate, but overall I think we’re making progress. It’s a little bit easier having had experience at the first round in Zandvoort (Netherlands), but the flying lap format makes it quite a challenge. You only have one lap to get everything right and if you don’t you’ve missed it for that segment. I hope with more experience I can continue to improve in these sessions.
“I also use new tyres in qualifying for three of the four sessions, and these always give you the best lap times, so I have to try and get the best lap out of these.We only run one set in the practice sessions, so we don’t have much experience of how they will differ until we get to qualifying. It’s still a learning curve for me, but I think we’re making progress.”
Trevor Bale, A1 Team Lebanon Team Manager added, “Chris put in a good effort today and we’re pleased with the progress that he’s making as we move through the sessions, despite the challenges he’s faced with the mechanical issues we’ve suffered. We’re disappointed to have been penalised for a minor technical issue, but we’ll put this behind us and all work hard for a strong finish tomorrow.”
The A1GP World Cup of Motorsport, Sepang, Malaysia concludes tomorrow with the Sprint and Feature races. The Feature race includes two mandatory tyre change pitstops which adds to the excitement and thrills of A1GP racing.
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