A1 Team Mexico drivers Salvador Duran and Juan Pablo Garcia arrived to New Zealand this Tuesday for the next round of the A1GP series which will take place this weekend in Taupo Motorsport Park.

”We were at the track today (yesterday), it is a track that I already know because I raced here in 2007. It is a difficult circuit, I walked around it and the track looks dirty. Later I had a chat with the team about the strategy,” said Salvador Duran. “It is going to be a little difficult because there is not much information or data from the new car. A few things have changed since the last race but I think we can expect a good result, we want to work hard for it”.

Salvador’s last race with the team was in Zandvoort, Netherlands, in 2007, where he was one spot short of the podium and finished fourth in both races but earned the first points of season 2007/2008 for the Mexican team.

“I am very happy to be back in the series. I’m starting to feel again all the excitement about these cars. People here are talking about the race, there are banners all over the city and I am very excited and thankful to all the guys in A1 Team Mex for their effort and for having me here. I also want to thank Escuderia Telmex for giving me their support to participate in this event,” Duran finished.

Salvador has been the team’s most successful driver and the only Mexican who has reached podiums (9), race wins (2), or pole positions in the series. Among his podium finishes the most relevant have been a third place in the first race of the series which took place in 2005 in Brands Hatch, Great Britain, and a double win in Laguna Seca, USA, where he also got a pole position and the fastest lap of the race for the first time.

The successful Mexican will have Juan Pablo Garcia as his teammate. Like Salvador, Juan Pablo is a Telmex driver too, and together they will represent Mexico and face the challenge of doing it for the first time with the new A1GP car powered by Ferrari.

About the subject, Juan Pablo Garcia said: “Today (yesterday) was my first day in Taupo. We arrived here in the morning and went to the track in the afternoon. I met the team and walked around the track to try and learn the layout as fast as I can. This will be my first time on this track and with this car, so I feel very excited about it and for being back with the A1 Team Mex”.

“I liked the new car from the very beginning. I am grateful to the team for giving me this opportunity. I am really happy to be back here as rookie driver, which is an important role during the weekend because I am the first driver who gets to the track and have to make sure everything is going well with the car and help with the set-up for Sunday’s race”.

About his performance, Juan Pablo said: “My first session is going to be difficult because the track is slippery and I have to get used to the car. He’s been helping me and my questions get clarified much faster”.

“I’m looking forward to next Friday. I really want to be back driving a single seater and I want to thank all the people who made this possible,” added the Mexican driver, who finished 14th in Brands Hatch in his only race with the team back in 2007.

Canal SPEED will broadcast the event live. January 24th.
7:00 p.m. Mexico, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua.
8:00 p.m. Colombia, Peru, Ecuador, Panama.
8:30 p.m. Venezuela
9:00 p.m. Bolivia, Puerto Rico, Dominican Republic
10:00 p.m. Chile, Paraguay
11:00 p.m. Argentina, Brazil