A1GP Team China- 08.10.2008
Qualifying Report Chengdu 08-09 November

Disappointment for local hero

A1 Team China driver Ho-Pin Tung has ended up at the wrong end of the grid for the two races for his home event at the Chengdu International Circuit.

Tung, who travelled to China with high hopes after showing strong form in the opening round at Zandvoort, will line up on the last row but one, in 18th, for the Sprint race, then one position further forward for the Feature race.

“We had been really confident after Zandvoort and a good test at Silverstone,” he told A1GP.com, “but we lost track time when our car stopped on the circuit twice yesterday and once this morning too, each time with electrical problems.”

Team manager Marcus Sarach explained: “In trying to find what the problem was, we changed the steering wheel and twice changed the ECU. It was really frustrating.”

The problem was made all the more acute because A1 Team China doesn’t presently have a rookie driver also losing out on Friday morning track time. With this in mind, the team opted for a cautious approach in qualifying.

“We fitted old tyres for the first qualifying session,” explained Tung, “saving a new set for Q2. But Q2 was cancelled after Italy went off, so that’s why we ended up 18th for the Sprint. This meant that I had new sets of tyres both for Q3 and Q4, but I made a mistake in Q3, which ruined my lap.

“Then, in Q4, I couldn’t start my flying lap because Nicolas Prost had had his crash and brought out the red flag. That meant I had to start all over again when the session restarted, and then I made another slip-up.

“All I can do for the races is to be careful and wait to see what happens. There are sure to be incidents and the Feature race, in particular, is long so it will be very physical over the bumps and some drivers will tire.

“We will have to be patient and see if we can work our way forward to score points. I only wish now that I had had enough track time in practice to try and run behind another car up the start/finish straight to rehearse how to overtake into Turn 1.”