Ireland discover car problems

The team secured permission from A1GP officials to have their car returned to Lola after two disappointing rounds so far this season, and the manufacturer found that there were some defects with the chassis.

The Irish team haven't scored a point yet this year, and have been a lot further down the order than they were last season.

Team boss Mark Gallagher said: "The results in the opening races were unusual because we were significantly off the pace.

"It was also noticeable that in the wet conditions at Zandvoort we were a lot more competitive, which suggested some degree of chassis flexing or movement.

"Thanks to the support from A1GP and Lola we have been able to pinpoint problems and we will know during practice in Beijing to what extent we have closed the performance gap."

Michael Devaney was relieved to hear that there were problems with the car after a disappointing start to his second A1GP campaign.

"It was good that they found some issues with the car," he said. "It would have been more of a worry if it had been found to be perfect."