A1 Team Ireland began preparation for round 4 of the A1 World Cup of Motorsport with a solid fifth fastest time at the conclusion of the first day of practice in Taupo, New Zealand. In an incident packed session Adam Carroll overcame three harmless spins to eventually record third quickest time on his final run which was bettered by two other cars before the chequered flag.

Yellow flags and stoppages characterised the day’s running at the picturesque lakeside circuit and piecing together a complete lap was a problem for both Irish team drivers.

Earlier Niall Quinn had begun the preparation work for tomorrow’s qualifying session and Sunday’s races but his session was truncated by a fuel pressure problem which necessitated a lengthy visit to pit lane where the fuel system was repaired in double quick time by the Irish crew.

Niall got out right at the end of the session and his split times indicated that he would have been amongst the quicker drivers but for the delays.

Adam Carroll – Official Practice 1, P5, 1m16.537s: Today was good, the car was fine and the boys had solved the earlier fuel pressure problem. I feel sorry for Niall – again he did not get a clear run, but then it shows just how worthwhile the rookie session is in terms of helping the team find its feet and ironing out any problems and Niall does a good job.

The track was dusty, so it’s going to improve, and I had a few spins while trying to find the limits – but nothing serious. Having looked at the data, and seen what Neel (Jani, Team Switzerland) is doing, it’s clear we have some work to do in terms of braking, but nothing too major. Tomorrow morning we’ll continue the set-up work, then bolt the new tyres on for qualifying and go for it.”

Niall Quinn – Rookie Practice, P15, 1m20.421s: “The fuel pressure problem really affected my session as I’d spent the first part of it getting back into the groove and working the track which was very dusty and slow to begin with. In the second part I was going quicker and quicker, but I just cant catch a break! I did feel much better in the car though, and when I did the 1.20.4 the pace was at 1.19.4, so I was definitely pulling in the gap. It’s all experience though, and better that it happened in the Rookie session and not later!”

Team Technical Director Gerry Hughes was satisfied with the progress that the team made given the restrictions placed by the various stoppages.

“We steadily worked our way through the programme today although both sessions were plagued with yellow and red flags. Adam adapted well to the circuit despite a couple of spins which were the order of the day on the dusty track surface. We’re fairly confident of putting it all together for tomorrow and we’ll be focusing on qualifying and race preparation throughout final practice.

“Unfortunately, Niall’s run in the second session was thwarted by fuel pressure issues which we have now rectified but it’s a shame that he has once again encountered mechanical issues. He was improving all the time and at the time he was running properly in the session he was clearly well in tune with the performance of the car.”

Tomorrow’s programme begins with one hour of practice at 11am local time, 10pm Irish time Friday while qualifying gets under way at 2.15pm local, 1.15am Irish time.