A1 Team Canada - Carpentier solid in China practice

Official Practice, Round 11 - A1 Grand Prix of Nations, Shanghai, China

A1 Team Canada's Patrick Carpentier racked up a total of 40 practice laps today at the Shanghai
International Circuit in China as he prepares to compete in the 11th and final round of the inaugural
A1 Grand Prix of Nations this Sunday, 2nd April.

Making his third consecutive start for A1 Team Canada, following points scoring runs in both Mexico
and the USA, Carpentier's trip to China is a first for the Québec-born racer but he was quickly up to
speed in the first of two hour-long practice sessions on the 5.45km Shanghai circuit, setting the fifth
fastest time with a 1m52.989s lap.

While the weather looked somewhat menacing during the second session, Patrick kept Canada in the
front-running pack, setting the seventh fastest time as he continued to familiarize himself with the track
searching for a balance of grip for the corners and speed for the long straights. With a changeable
forecast set for tomorrow's qualifying runs, the team was satisfied with today's running in the dry.

Patrick Carpentier:
"I'm very happy with today's practice results. For me it's a large improvement and we're just four
tenths off the fastest cars. It's a beautiful, fast circuit and I'm looking forward to racing here on
Sunday. Our objective is to qualify in the top-ten so then there will be ten less cars for me to pass from
previous races! We've started the weekend well and if we keep the momentum going we'll be up with
the leaders by the end of it!"

Official Practice 1
1 Mexico Salvador Duran 1:52.513
2 Malaysia Alex Yoong 1:52.721
3 France Nicolas Lapierre 1:52.733
4 Ireland Michael Devaney 1:52.919
5 CANADA Patrick Carpentier 1:52.989
6 Australia Ryan Briscoe 1:53.229
7 Great Britain Darren Manning 1:53.314
8 South Africa Stephen Simpson 1:53.452
Official Practice 2
1 France Nicolas Lapierre 1:51.972
2 Great Britain Darren Manning 1:52.079
3 Mexico Salvador Duran 1:52.321
4 Australia Ryan Briscoe 1:52.355
5 Malaysia Alex Yoong 1:52.371
6 Ireland Michael Devaney 1:52.376
7 CANADA Patrick Carpentier 1:52.388
8 China Tengyi Jiang 1:52.436

Sunday's A1GP races can be viewed live in Canada or later on demand at www.a1gp.com
ENDS - www.a1teamcan.com

From: A1 Team Canada Media Relations: Stuart Morrison - PR Manager