A1 GP Ready for First Group Test

Fifteen countries will have cars present at tomorrow's test at Silverstone National circuit, which will be the first time many of the 550bhp Lola Zytek cars will run in anger.

While GP2 suffered problems with braking, gear-shift, and rear wing mountings when they debuted their Dallara back in Paul Ricard last February, Wickham reckons their A1 Grand Prix cars will be fully reliable tomorrow.

Wicombe told Autosport-Atlas: "We have run the development car for 4,500kms without any problems. We've completed race distance in Dubai and several more days in Jerez and the production cars are the same technical specifications as the test car.

"There is an issue with getting used to the gearbox settings, but that will not destroy the gearbox. It is just something for the team to get used to."

A1 Grand Prix has promised to publish times from the tests, giving an early form guide for pace for the inaugural World Cup of Motorsport, which begins at Brands Hatch on September 25.

The teams present at the test include: Australia, Brazil, China, Great Britain, France, Lebanon, Netherlands, New Zealand, Malaysia, Mexico, Pakistan, Portugal, South Africa, Switzerland and the United States.