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BMW starts practice in Turkey in tricky conditions
By BMW Sauber F1 Team
May 9 2008
In the first free practice session for the Turkish Grand Prix, Nick Heidfeld completed the major part of the preparation work for the BMW Sauber F1 Team. While the German completed three stints comprising a total of 21 laps, his team-mate, Robert Kubica, made do with just one stint of seven laps.

It was an amazing first practice session at Istanbul. In rather cool conditions (air 15°C, track 25° C), the spectators in the grandstands of the "Istanbul Speed Park" witnessed countless power slides and off-track moments. On the cold track, the hard tyre compound couldn't deliver the grip the drivers wanted - and the teams didn't want to go out on mediums as they expect graining to be a problem in the cool conditions.

Nick Heidfeld was the busier off the two BMW Sauber F1 Team drivers, and on his 15th lap the German set a personal fastest lap time of 1:29.024 minutes to finish seventh on the time sheets. Robert Kubica, however, completed just one stint, in the early stages of the session. On his fastest lap, the Pole crossed the finish line in 1:29.330 minutes to secure twelfth position.

In the second free practice session, held from 14:00 to 15:30hrs local time (12:00 to 13:30hrs BST), the BMW Sauber F1 Team drivers will continue their preparations for the remainder of the weekend.

 

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