Hinchcliffe tops the timesheets for A1 Team Canada at Silverstone (04-05)

A1GP World Cup of Motorsport - Official Pre-Season Test, Silverstone, England

Hinchcliffe tops the timesheets for A1 Team Canada at Silverstone

Silverstone, England -30th August 2006 - A1 Team Canada wrapped the 
first day of official A1GP World Cup of Motorsport pre-season testing 
by topping the time-sheets at Silverstone, England courtesy of a fine 
performance from Toronto's James Hinchcliffe.  The 19-year-old 
rookie, driving on Silverstone's 2.249-mile International Circuit for 
the very first time today, enjoyed a solid afternoon behind the wheel 
of A1 Team Canada's A1GP car, setting a flying lap of 1m10.738s to 
close the first day of testing eighth hundredths of a second faster 
than former F1 driver Jos Verstappen of A1 Team Netherlands.

Vancouver's Sean McIntosh was first out on track this morning, back 
in A1 Team Canada colors for the first time since his victory for the 
team back in Round 8 in Indonesia last February.  Currently a 
front-runner in the World Series by Renault, McIntosh was quickly 
back up to speed in A1GP as 20 nations participated in the first of 
two days of pre-season testing.

Hinchcliffe took over from McIntosh just before lunch and returned 
for the entirety of this afternoon's running under near-perfect 
conditions at Silverstone.  The Champ Car Atlantic Series race winner 
picked up the circuit quickly then set to work further learning the 
A1GP car following his maiden test last month at Pembrey.  Armed with 
a fresh set of tires Hinchcliffe bagged the fastest lap of the 
afternoon as the session drew to a close.  Both drivers are scheduled 
to be back in action tomorrow.

James Hinchcliffe:
  "Sean put down a good baseline this morning and this afternoon I 
started off on an older set of tires to see if we could work on 
set-up based on the end of a race.  We were pretty happy with the 
progress made so decided to slap on a new set of tires to see what we 
could do.  That run went well, we made some changes and went faster 
again.  Towards the end we decided to run another new set and I found 
a space on the track and put in the quickest time.  Everyone's happy 
with the outcome of the day, not least myself as it was my first day 
at the track and only my second time in an A1GP car!"

Sean McIntosh:
  "I had a few good runs over the course of the morning but new tires 
definitely make the difference.  It was great to be back working with 
the team and ultimately we were on the pace throughout the day which 
bodes well with the new season rapidly approaching.  I'm looking 
forward to some more running tomorrow and continuing to work through 
our pre-season test program."

The second season of the A1GP World Cup of Motorsport kicks off 
before a sell-out crowd on the 1st October with Round 1 hosted at 
Circuit Park Zandvoort in Holland - www.a1gp.com

Copyright free images of Hinchcliffe and McIntosh at Silverstone 
today are available for download at www.a1gp-photo.com/can

ENDS - www.a1teamcan.com

For further information please contact:
Stuart Morrison - A1 Team Canada PR & Media Manager
Cell: +1 514 945 3253 / Email: stuart@a1teamcan.com