A1 Team Malaysia focus of attention in Sepang

The opening day of the A1GP World Cup of Motorsport, Sepang, Malaysia began with two rookie sessions and the first official practice session, and Aaron Lim and Alex Yoong representing their nation at the home event of the season for A1 Team Malaysia.

Lim is a young rookie driver who has the privilege of representing his nation in the A1GP Series, gaining valuable experience of the powerful A1GP car and benefiting from working with a highly professional team. In the first part of the rookie session Lim undertook the standard procedures at the start of a race weekend, with bedding in of the brakes and systems checks. He ran consistently well to finish sixth quickest. In the second part of the session he dropped to 15th, but as always in these sessions it is the role of the rookie to assist the team and not necessarily push hard to the limits of the car.

Lim said of his run today, "It's quite special to be driving in front of the home crowd and I really enjoyed experiencing the Sepang track in the A1GP car today. It's a track that suits the A1GP car with its fast, flowing corners and it was a pleasure to drive here. I hope that I have been able to make a positive contribution to the fortunes of our team this weekend, as it would be great to deliver a strong result for our fans."

Yoong took over the driving duties for the afternoon and after running 19 laps had produced the 17th fastest time. The data showed that the car was quick, with Malaysia recording sixth highest top speed, but the overall lap time did not reflect the pace in the car.

Yoong says, "I don't think today's quickest lap was really representative of our capabilities, and it was really the middle sector of the lap where we were losing time.  We have another session tomorrow and overnight we'll review all the data to make further progress. We made a couple of changes today and these improved the car, so we'll be looking to find more in it tomorrow and need to get into the top ten in final practice.

"The track, having been resurfaced since our last visit, has lots more grip, so it's very different from the one that we drove in last year's race. I enjoyed being out there today, it feels good to be at home."

Jack Cunningham, Chief Executive, A1 Team Malaysia, reviewed the day saying, "This is the start of a very busy weekend for us. With all our new sponsor announcements, many guests visiting the team and the thousands of fans we're expecting, it is the biggest event of the season for us and we are very proud to be representing Malaysia here at home.

"Both Aaron and Alex are excellent ambassadors for A1 Team Malaysia. We're pleased to be able to provide a unique driving experience for Aaron and assist him in his career through his efforts for us. Alex knows that he has Malaysia watching, and I know he, as with all our team, will be doing their best to bring pride to the nation."

The A1GP World Cup of Motorsport, Sepang, Malaysia, continues tomorrow with final practice and qualifying tomorrow. The Sprint and Feature races will be held on Sunday, 25 November and tickets are available for purchase at the circuit.