SHANGHAI, China--A1 TEAM USA's Jonathan Summerton was eighth fastest in practice Friday for the A1GP World Cup of Motorsport at Shanghai International Circuit.
"It was a pretty good day for us considering the balance of the 'We the People' car wasn't right," Summerton said. "Our data indicates it came from a shock absorber problem and we're going to put on a different set for Saturday's practice and see if that fixes it. Even with the car oversteering in the left-handed corners and understeering in the right-handed corners, we were only six-tenths of a second off the fastest time. If we can get the balance corrected, we can make that six-tenths disappear and make a run for the pole for both races.
"'The most promising part was how we ran on worn tires. We were able to maintain our lap times throughout the entire (one-hour) session and were the second fastest car on the track in the final 10 minutes."
Summerton, of Kissimmee, Fla., drove around the 2.9-mile circuit in 1:35.822. He ran 22 laps.
"Our team worked at a high level today," A1 TEAM USA Holdings owner Rick Weidinger said. "We were in the top-10 with a competitive lap with a car that wasn't perfect. Identifying a problem is the first step to correcting it and we have a pretty good idea of how to do that.
"We have tremendous leadership and knowledge in team manager Marc Lawrence and race engineer Leon Gutfreund. We are optimistic of a strong run in qualifying."
Summerton will have a one-hour practice Saturday to prepare for qualifying and the races. Qualifying is Saturday and the 20-minute Sprint and 70-minute Feature races are Sunday.
Live streaming of qualifying (1 a.m. EDT) and the Sprint and Feature races (1 a.m. EDT) are available at A1GP.com.