Silverstone test day two 2006-08-31

A1GP OFFICIAL TEAM TEST SESSION -- DAY TWO

The A1GP World Cup of Motorsport today completed another successful day of testing at the Silverstone Circuit in Great Britain. A1 Team Germany set the fastest lap time of the day with Niko Hulkenberg at the wheel, while A1 Team Great Britain took second spot on the time sheet with Darren Manning in the car. Johnny Reid for A1 Team New Zealand secured the third quickest time.

It was a day of firsts for 19-year-old Hulkenberg, one of the youngest drivers in the A1GP field, as he made his A1GP debut and his first-ever appearance at Silverstone. The 550bhp A1GP car is also the most powerful car the winner of the 2005 Formula BMW ADAC championship has driven in his short career. "This has been a great experience for me," Hulkenberg said. "I really enjoyed driving the car and especially using the paddle shift. I was able to get used to it quickly despite the fact the fastest car I have driven before is in F3. This is my first visit to Silverstone and I really like the track a lot. I don't know what the future holds, but I would love to be in Zandvoort as my home is very close to the Dutch border; the track is just an hour away."

Under grey, overcast skies A1 Team Great Britain's Darren Manning was just 0.312 seconds slower than Hulkenberg. The Englishman, who raced for his country at the 2006 season finale in Shanghai, commented, "Obviously I enjoyed today as it brought back great memories of my races for A1 Team Great Britain in China last year. I think everyone is looking forward to the second season and it would be great for the team to score its first win as early as possible."

Today was the last day of the official test session before the A1GP season opener kicks off in Zandvoort, Netherlands, on 1 October. 100,000 tickets have already been sold for the race weekend, which will follow the hugely popular Sprint and Feature race format developed last year.

-credit: a1gp