Narain gets ready for new A1GP season

Chennai, Nov 7 (UNI) The testing session for the A1GP race at China began with great thrills as the on track action saw the drivers, including Indian icon Narain Karthikeyan, getting acclimatised to the circuit, ahead of the main race on Sunday.

For some like A1 Team India, it was also the first time they tested the new A1GP Powered by Ferrari Cars.

The on track action saw the drivers scorching the tracks and getting first hand experience of the Chengdu track. The first impression among the drivers about the new track was that it had enough challenges to pose for an interesting race this weekend.

''It is quite bumpy and has some sharp turns which kick up a lot of dust''.

A1 Team India driver Narain had four practice rounds today including the rookie session where he was on P1, clocking his best lap time 1:16.474 minutes, which placed him on PC in the second round of the official practice session.

''It's a great feeling to finally get my hands on the new A1GP powered by Ferrari car. The car this season is a huge improvement across all aspects. It has better brakes, a more powerful engine and better aerodynamics'', a satisfying Narain said after the practice session.

''It was a challenge for the team to grasp so much about the new car just before the race since we have only got to test the car for the first time today. Despite this, we performed beyond the expectations today. The new team is looking good and we hope to bring back a good amount of points'', Narain added.

Rookie driver Armaan Ebrahim, who was closely observing the teams' operations said, ''I have raced at the Chengdu circuit before and it is quite a challenging track with many bumps and turns. It was a great experience to observe the cars performance for the first time. I am now looking forward to get behind the wheel at Sepang.'' This was for the first time that the Chengdu International Circuit would be holding an A1GP race and it will provide a challenging proposition to the drivers being 3.367-km (2.019 miles) long and featuring 14 turns.

The circuit runs in a clockwise direction with an 820m straight and the total length of the circuit is 3,331m. Some parts of the track are 22-metres its widest point, with the narrowest sections about 12 m wide. This should allow for plenty of room for wheel-to-wheel action as the stage is set for the main race on November 9.

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