Narain warms up for race this weekend at Chengdu, China

The testing session for the A1GP race at China began with great thrills and frenzy as the on track action saw the drivers getting acclimatized to the circuit. For some like A1Team India it was also the first time they tested the new A1GP Powered by Ferrari Cars.

The on track action saw the drivers scorching the tracks and getting a first hand experience of the Chengdu track.

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As a first impression of the track; most drivers found it to have enough challenges to pose for an interesting race this weekend. It is quite bumpy and has some sharp turns which kick up a lot of dust.

A1 Team India driver Narain Karthikeyan had four practice rounds today including the rookie session where he was on P1. He however clocked his best lap time in the second round of the official practice session where he clocked at 1:16.474 minutes putting him on P3.

Speaking post the testing session he said: “It was a great feeling to finally get my hands on the new powered by Ferrari car. The car this season is a huge improvement across all aspects. It has better brakes, a more powerful engine and better aerodynamics. It was a challenge for the team to grasp so much about the new car just before the race since we have only got to test the car for the first time today. Despite this, we performed beyond my expectations today. The new team is looking good and we hope to bring back a good amount of points.”

Also speaking on the occasion, rookie driver Armaan Ebrahim who was closely observing the teams operations said, “I have raced at the Chengdu circuit before and it is quite a challenging track with many bumps and turns. It was a great experience to observe the cars performance for the first time. I am now looking forward to get behind the wheel at Sepang.”

This is the first time that the Chengdu International Circuit is holding an A1GP race and it will provide a challenging proposition to the drivers being 3.367-kilometres (2.019 miles) long and featuring 14 turns. The circuit runs in a clockwise direction with an 820m straight and the total length of the circuit is 3,331m. Some parts of the track are 22-metres its widest point, with the narrowest sections about 12-metres wide, which should allow for plenty of room for wheel-to-wheel action.

The testing will be a facilitator for the qualifying race which will take place on Saturday which in turn will give an indication to the main race that will be held on Sunday.

Watch the qualifying session live on ESPN Star Sports on Saturday 11:30 am live and repeated at 6:30 pm.