Shanghai International Circuit Company, A1Grand Prix Co Ltd China
and the Grand Prix organization told a press conference in Durban,
South Africa, on Tuesday that Shanghai has been selected to host
the China round of the A1 Grand Prix on April 2.
"Although it's the first time we set up a team to represent
China at A1 GP events, lacking experience and technology, we'll do
our utmost to compete at the China stage," said Liu Yu, CEO of
A1Grand Prix Co Ltd China and head of the China Team.
The Shanghai leg will be the finale of the 12-race A1 GP, dubbed
the World Cup of motor sports, and will bring racers from 23
countries to compete at the Shanghai International Circuit, where
the Chinese Formula One Grand Prix has been held in the past two
years.
The A1 China Team was founded on April 6. Five months later,
20-year-old driver Jiang Tengyi finished 12th at Brands Hatch in
the UK, the first stage of this year's A1 Grand Prix.
With the popularity of F1 in China, drawing 2.6 million and 2.7
million of spectators in 2004 and 2005 respectively, officials from
the China Autosports Federation (FASC) and A1 Grand Prix are
optimistic that A1 will also be a huge hit.
Yu Zhifei, deputy general manager of Shanghai International
Circuit Company said the 2006 Shanghai race is expected to attract
more than 300,000 spectators.
"The series will start in the autumn and winter when F1 is idle.
And there are no other serious motor sports events taking place
from December to March. It is a chance for A1 to fill in this
period and offer the fans another big motor sports party," said Shi
Tianshu, FASC president.
More importantly, unlike F1, MotoGP and V8, the A1 GP has its
Chinese shareholders, which means China has more influence on A1
decision-making with more commercial benefits.
The China leg of the F1 GP series will take place on October 1
next year, prior to Japan (October 8) and Brazil, which has moved
from a late September slot to season finale, a position previously
held by Shanghai.
(China.org.cn by Li Xiao, December 8, 2005)
