A1 Team Ireland will start today's USA A1 Grand Prix from eighth place on the grid after Ralph Firman suffered an accident on his third qualifying run in California yesterday, damaging the front left-hand suspension.
Highly competitive over the first two qualifying runs when he was second fastest overall, Firman caught a puddle on the inside of Turn Four and went off the track, breaking the front left-hand steering arm and damaging the lower wishbone.
He was able to return to the pits where the mechanics repaired the damage in just over 15 minutes and the Englishman completed a fourth qualifying run, setting his fastest time of the day.
Firman's morning practice session was also affected by suspension problems, the upper left-rear wishbone and track control arm assembly suffering from a manufacturing fault. This was spotted after practice and the assembly was replaced in time for qualifying.
Mexico's Salvador Duran took his first pole position, while France's Nicolas Lapierre, out to clinch the series this weekend, was relegated to second place in the closing minutes of qualifying. Switzerland, the only team able to deny France the championship, are 16th on the grid.
Firman said afterwards: "The car was very good over the first two qualifying runs and we were in a very competitive position. Unfortunately on the third run I caught a puddle just where the kerbing meets the track at Turn 4 and went off, bounced across the grass and hit the barrier a glancing blow. It's a shame and I am sorry for the team who did a great job repairing the damage and getting me out again. At least I know that we have a competitive car for tomorrow's race."
Technical director Andy Miller said: "Initially we were very relieved to find out what the problem was this morning, which apparently is a suspension defect A1GP has come across before, so to recover from that and be highly competitive at the start of qualifying was very satisfying. Unfortunately, a potential front row qualifying time was crashed away on the third run and it wasn't possible to fully recover. A tough day for us really."
Team Principal Mark Gallagher added: "We had a front row qualifying opportunity today but the off on the third run meant we lost the momentum and couldn't set an aggregate time with two final runs in the 1m15s bracket. Ralph is disappointed, as is the whole team, but once again the pit crew did a superb job to repair the damage and get the car out again."
