A1GP news

Netherlands upbeat with practice pace

The first day for A1 Team Netherlands was a good one, despite engine trouble in the first free practice session this afternoon. The team was able to make the necessary improvements on the set up of the car and showed that they were competitive. Renger van der Zande started the day with the two 25 minute Rookie sessions. In trouble free sessions Van der Zande put A1 Team Netherlands in eighth in the first half and then managed to improve in session two, finishing in fourth with a fastest lap of 1'29.840. It was the first time on the 4.4 km long circuit for Renger. 

Tomorrow the real work for the A1 Team Netherlands Rookie starts, as he will drive the qualifying for the first time. Jeroen Bleekemolen went out this afternoon for his first and also only practice session this weekend, before he will step in on Sunday afternoon for the A1GP Feature race. Bleekemolen immediately proved to be quick and was in second
halfway through the session, but engine trouble forced the A1 Team Netherlands driver to go into the pits. With that the session ended prematurely for the team. In the end A1 Team Netherlands ended in fifth, three tenths behind New Zealand. 

Renger van der Zande was positive about the first day; "It went well. I think that we were going in the right direction step by step. The Rooke session was already a good start. We were able to make some good adjustments to the set up straight away. We were able to continue improving the car with Jeroen in the second session. We have got a very competitive car. It was too bad though that Jeroen had to stop halfway through the session, that did cost us some time for improving the set up further. I think that we have got a solid foundation for the rest of the weekend. Tomorrow I can make some more miles before I really have to perform in qualification. It would be absolutely great if we could end up with a nice result this weekend. The track itself is particular, you only have three real braking points. The rest is all fluent sweeping turns and straights. It is a fun track for sure with some typical corners where you can win a lot with the right set up and I do think we know where we can find that."

Jeroen Bleekemolen was pleased, nevertheless frustrated with the engine failure "It went great, we were fastest on track halfway through the session. We were second, not bad considering Germany already drove this morning, thus being able to get the full potential from the new tyres right in the beginning of the second session, while I still had to get acquainted with the track. There was a lot more potential in the car. But then the engine failed, it probably was an electronics problem. For me that is even more unfortunate
because I only had very limited practice this weekend. We were really competitive and then it is a big shame if you cannot continue. Nevertheless, I will get in the car Sunday afternoon with a positive outlook and, as I already mentioned, we showed that we are well inside the top and that is where I want to finish, no matter where I will have to start from. If this means overtaking people or not that does not matter, we will go flat out".

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