A1GP news

Enge excited about Durban

Tomas Enge is quietly confident that he can pick up the threads of his last year performance in Durban and fight at the front. Meanwhile, Filip Salaquarda will make his A1GP debut in the rookie session.

The street track in Durban proved to be the highlight of last year due not only to the exciting racing but also the breathtaking view of the Indian Ocean. South Africa was an enjoyable experience and offered great hospitality to all teams with unforgettable moments. The Czech team left last year with mixed feelings after Enge was one of the quickest around the tricky street track but bad luck deprived them of top results. Enge was third in the sprint after he hit the debris of the Chinese car and a late puncture cost him two places, whilst a stalled engine put him out of the feature race.

Enge is, however, positive ahead of the weekend and believes that he can challenge the front-runners. The acclimatization went according to plan and was spiced up with an opportunity to learn about local fauna and especially about one of the African symbols - lions. The experienced leading driver of the Czech team will be joined by Salaquarda who will take part in the rookie session. He successfully raced in selected races of the F3000 International Masters series last year after several years in formula BMW and F3.

Tomas Enge: "I think that we can look forward to the weekend because we were quick there last year. It could be a bit of advantage that I raced there but our competitors showed that they are able to learn quickly, so we will see. I like the street tracks they add a bit of excitement to both drivers and public. The layout is same as last year and although you can see it to recall your memories you will really feel it only after you will drive the race car around again. It is quite hot here and while it can be nice to escape from winter Europe and enjoy some warm sun it is not that easy in the cockpit!"

Antonin Charouz: "We are going to Durban in a positive frame of mind for several reasons. First of all, Tomas raced very well there last year and we also believe that we are on the top of our qualifying problems but only the weekend itself will show if our adjustment was the right one. We have drafted Filip in at the last moment because we did not want to miss the rookie session. We changed the engine and other parts and they need to be run in. Lap times will not be our focus and we just want to give him an easy opportunity to sample the car because our other drivers - Jarek and Erik Janiss, Jan Charouz and Tomas Kostka - are unfortunately not available this weekend for various other commitments."

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