A1 Grand Prix of Nations, Estern Creek, Australia
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Race Track: Eastern Creek International Raceway
Location: Australia
Race Day: Sunday, 6 November 2005
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Built and owned by the New South Wales Government to host the 1991 Australian Motorcycle Grand Prix, Eastern Creek International Raceway is the only international race circuit in Sydney. It is currently operated by the Australian Racing Drivers Club (ARDC)
Located just 40 minutes from the Sydney CBD, Eastern Creek is the hub of motorsport in New South Wales, also combining the world's largest karting facility and Australia's leading drag complex.
Eastern Creek International Raceway annually plays host to a number of Australian motorsport's biggest events, including annual rounds of the Australian V8 Supercar Championship and motorcycle racing.
The facility offers motorsport fans and competitors a year round world standard motor racing facility.
This includes a 4,000 seat covered grandstand over looking the start finish line providing a view of 80% of the circuit.
The pit facilities provide 52 roll-in / roll-out garages, all with power and immediate access to the support paddock area.
VIP suites are located above the competitor?s garages, serviced restrooms are near by. The air-conditioned suites have closed circuit TV, computerised lap scoring screens and their balconies overlook the start/finish line, main straight and pit lane.
In addition a purpose built media centre is also located on this level.
The roof of the pit building is capable of hosting a further 1,500 corporate guests in marquee style suites.
The planned works to bring this circuit up to Grade 2 status, as required to host an A1 Grand Prix event will result in this facility being the highest graded permanent circuit in Australia.
The A1 Grand Prix of Nations represents a welcome return of international motorsport to Eastern Creek International Raceway.
The ARDC has promoted motorsport in NSW for over 50 years. Commencing in 1952 at Parramatta Park ARDC has conducted events for cars and motorcycles at Mount Panorama Bathurst, Mt Druitt, Castlereagh, Catalina Park Katoomba, Amaroo Park and at it's current home Eastern Creek International Raceway in the booming suburbs of Western Sydney. -
Qualifying grid for Sunday's race:
A1 Team Driver Aggregate Time
1 France Nicolas Lapierre 2.37.036
2 Portugal Alvaro Parente 2.37.526
3 Switzerland Neel Jani 2.37.636
4 Brazil Nelson Piquet Jr 2.38.082
5 Great Britain Robbie Kerr 2.38.122
6 Ireland Michael Devaney 2.38.627
7 Canada Sean McIntosh 2.38.636
8 Netherlands Jos Verstappen 2.38.669
9 Malaysia Alex Yoong 2.38.720
10 Mexico Salvador Duran 2.38.959
11 Italy Enrico Toccacelo 2.39.184
12 Germany Adrian Sutil 2.39.379
13 Australia Will Davison 2.39.402
14 New Zealand Jonny Reid 2.39.514
15 South Africa Stephen Simpson 2.39.895
16 Czech Republic Tomas Enge 2.40.109
17 Pakistan Adam Khan 2.40.397
18 Russia Roman Rusinov 2.40.671
19 Japan Hayanari Shimoda 2.40.889
20 China Tengyi Jiang 2.41.781
21 Lebanon Basil Shaaban 2.42.014
22 USA Bryan Herta 2.42.133
23 Austria Mathias Lauda 2.42.142
24 India Armaan Ebrahim 2.42.546 -
I watched one race of it and was so absolutely disappointed with the quality. If you prefer F1 racing, this is not one you want to catch.
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Sometimes I wonder if the poor QC is on purpose. Wheel nuts get stuck, fuel nozzles get stuck and the cars stall so often. Every pitstop you're waiting for the commentator to say, "OH! He has a problem!"
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Yeah, it seriously makes you wonder if they're actually putting in effort. Just seeing the pit crew work gives one the chills. So folks who are religious with F1, don't watch A1.Originally posted by Kuali Baba:Sometimes I wonder if the poor QC is on purpose. Wheel nuts get stuck, fuel nozzles get stuck and the cars stall so often. Every pitstop you're waiting for the commentator to say, "OH! He has a problem!" -
I dun mind watching it. got more accidents. very funny to watch!
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True 2 form, an accident on lap 1 brings out the safety car (a Chrysler 300C Hemi!)...after it goes in, another accident!
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whoooo ha!Originally posted by Kuali Baba:True 2 form, an accident on lap 1 brings out the safety car (a Chrysler 300C Hemi!)...after it goes in, another accident! -
stupid thing is tt they get only 1 person per wheel to do the job... wer got fair
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Sprint race results:
06/11/2005 - Eastern Creek, Sydney – Nicolas Lapierre took his third A1 Grand Prix victory today, making it five straight wins in a row for A1 Team France. He was followed across the finish line by A1 Team Portugal giving them their first podium of the season, while third place went to A1 Team Brazil.
When the cars crossed the start finish line for the rolling start it was pole sitter France who powered into turn one first, followed by Portugal and Brazil who had moved up from fourth on the grid. However, it was in turn two that the first mishap of the day occurred when the cars of the Czech Republic and South Africa went off into the dirt. South Africa managed to get back on the track but the Czech Republic didnÂ’t and so the safety car was deployed to remove the stricken car.
After the safety car came in at the end of lap three, racing started again but then turn two claimed its second set of victims. This time it was Germany and Mexico who locked wheels and pirouetted off into retirement. The lucky car this time belonged to Italy as the blue machine managed to avoid this accident and continue. The safety car came out again, the cars were retrieved and it was called in at the end of lap seven.
As racing started again, the Netherlands and Switzerland were battling but it was the battle between South Africa and Lebanon on lap nine that saw South Africa pit at the end of the lap with what looked like rear-suspension damage after they banged wheels and Lebanon come in a lap later.
By half way through the race, France had built up a lead of over three seconds but Brazil was trying everything to pass Portugal with just a few tenths separating them. As the race drew to a close it was obvious that the safety car periods had taken its toll so the chequered flag was brought out at the end of 19 laps instead of the full 20. Two cars who failed to pass the flag were Austria and Japan who spun off in unison without contact but the USA car that was following them closely did take the flag despite having to go off the circuit and pass between the stricken cars on the dirt.
Taking pole position for the Sprint race is A1 Team France with Nicolas Lapierre, commenting he said ‘We had fresh tyres for the beginning of the race so I was able to push and open up a gap. The second race will be more difficult as there will be pit stops and a standing start so I have to keep pushing. There is quite a lot of pressure to do well in the next race, but even if we don’t get a win it is important to get a good finish as there isn’t much of a point difference between first and second.’
Taking his first podium of the series, A1 Team Portugal’s Alvaro Parente said: ‘The car was oversteering quite a lot and was hard to drive. We will have to find more grip for the second race. It is hard to keep up with A1 Team France as Nicolas had good speed and new tyres, but we will work on it for the Feature race.’
A1 Team Brazil’s Nelson Piquet Jr said: ‘The car was better than I thought it would be; as we were suffering from a lot of oversteer during practice. I had a good start, but it is a very difficult track and hard to overtake. I wasn’t in sixth gear for very long – only for a short time on the pit straight. I couldn’t get past Alvaro but think that if I had, I would have been a lot closer to Nicolas as there was quite a lot of speed left in the car.’
A1 Team GermanyÂ’s Adrian Sutil suffered a dislocated thumb in the incident with A1 Team Mexico but once it was put back into place and strapped by the medical staff, he was pronounced fit to start the Feature race.
The results of the Sprint race are provisional pending ongoing investigations into the various incidents.
A1 Team Driver Time
1 France Nicolas Lapierre 30.32.582
2 Portugal Alvaro Parente 30.41.281
3 Brazil Nelson Piquet Jr 30.41.677
4 Ireland Michael Devaney 30.45.067
5 Great Britain Robbie Kerr 30.50.055
6 Switzerland Neel Jani 30.52.566
7 Netherlands Jos Verstappen 30.57.138
8 Malaysia Alex Yoong 30.59.418
9 Canada Sean McIntosh 31.00.468
10 Italy Enrico Toccacelo 31.02.402
11 Australia Will Davison 31.03.008
12 Pakistan Adam Khan 31.10.694
13 Russia Roman Rusinov 31.11.600
14 New Zealand Jonny Reid 31.12.646
15 USA Bryan Herta 31.22.492
16 China Tengyi Jiang 31.23.701
17 India Armaan Ebrahim 31.25.335
18 Japan Hayanari Shimoda 18 laps
19 Austria Mathias Lauda 18 laps
20 Lebanon Basil Shaaban 11 laps
21 South Africa Stephen Simpson 8 laps
22 Mexico Salvador Duran 3 laps
23 Germany Adrian Sutil 3 laps
24 Czech Republic Tomas Enge 0 laps -
Feature race results and team standings:
06/11/2005 - Eastern Creek, 6 November – A1 Grand Prix proved, for the second time, safety is one of the most important factors in the build of its 3.4 litre V8-engined race cars. At Eastern Creek it was the car entered by A1 Team Japan that suffered a crash that totally destroyed the car but left the driver Hayanari Shimoda unhurt. It was on lap 26 that the car, travelling at high speed, went off the track and crashed into a wall in turn one.
For a few heart-stopping moments while the rescue crews arrived at the scene the driverÂ’s condition was unknown but it rapidly became clear the tub of the car had held up amazingly to the force of the accident. Shimoda was momentarily knocked unconscious but by the time he was extracted from the cockpit and taken to the medical centre he was conversing with the medical staff. A preliminary examination by Dr Paul Trafford, the A1 Grand Prix Medical Delegate, found no further injuries but the Japanese driver was transferred by helicopter to Westmead Hospital for a CT scan and further precautionary checks.
Dr Trafford complimented CAMS, the circuit medical staff, Meditrak and the marshals for their professional handling of the incident.
The race itself was won by A1 Team France, bringing their tally of victories up to six out of eight. A1 Team Great Britain matched their previous highest place from EuroSpeedway Lausitz with a second in Australia and A1 Team Switzerland claimed the final podium position.
At the start of the Feature race, it was the Portuguese car from second on the grid that was away first leading into the turn one. A bad start from France meant that at the end of lap one they were lying second with Brazil third.
The first retirement of the race came from A1 Team South Africa when their car went off the track after swerving to avoid A1 Team Italy on lap one and hit the barrier. The teams started their obligatory pit stop sequence quite early with Ireland pitting first at the end of lap two, having dropped down from fourth on the grid to twelfth. The order at the top of the pack stayed the same until A1 Team Portugal incurred a drive through penalty on lap eight for a false start, a mistake which cost them the lead as France took the opportunity to re-gain the top spot.
Turn two struck again on lap 8 when Mexico and Russia clashed and both went off. A1 Team Lebanon narrowly avoided them, going off the track but managing to continue the race. The safety car was deployed and those who had not pitted at the start seized their chance. At the end of lap nine A1 TeamÂ’s France and Great Britain both went into the pits putting Lebanon in front. With no overtaking under the safety car, they withheld their position until the safety car peeled off at the end of lap 12 and then the teamÂ’s moment of glory was over as France and Great Britain overtook but they were still in the top three at the end of lap 13.
A1 Team Brazil were then the subject of a drive through penalty for a pit lane infringement, dropping them from eighth to tenth, but the safety car was due to be deployed yet again when the Austrian and Czech Republic cars collided on lap 18. When racing resumed again at the end of lap 21, the Irish car was too quick off the mark starting to overtake before crossing the start finish line. For this the team received a 25 second penalty which was applied after the end of the race and dropped them down from eighth to fourteenth.
France was again able to increase its lead at the front of the field and was pulling away from A1 Team Great Britain when the Japanese car had its accident on lap 26. The safety crews worked as hard as they could to remove the damaged car but when the safety car pulled off at the end of lap 33, the one hour rule would only allow for two further laps which meant a 35 rather than a 40 lap race.
The fastest race lap of the weekend, setting a new lap record for the Eastern Creek Raceway, was recorded in the Sprint race by A1 Team France with a time of 1.19.751 and a top speed of 177.4kph. The fastest lap in the Feature race was also set by A1 Team France with a time of 1.21.015 and a top speed of 174.6kph.
A1 Team France’s Nicolas Lapierre said: ‘The start was not too bad, and I was surprised to see Alvaro on the left so soon, but then the team told me that he had a drive through penalty for jumping the start. I made a small mistake in the first corner as the track was so dirty and Nelson overtook me. Thankfully I managed to get past him again under braking. It was a very exciting race. It went right today, it wasn’t easy but we had a good strategy.’
On sharing the driving with team mate Alexandre Premat, Lapierre commented; ‘It is quite difficult not to be in the car, but we decided at the beginning that we would alternate, so I can’t complain, and I’m really happy with the situation.’
A1 Team Great Britain’s Robbie Kerr said: ‘I had a lock up on the last lap but thankfully, Neel was too far behind to take advantage. It was an interesting race and a good start, I went to the inside of the corner and managed to come away in front and then I was just chasing down Nelson. Nelson gave me room when I overtook, which was fair of him, and then it was a case of being consistent.’
Rounding up the top three, A1 Team Switzerland’s Neel Jani said: ‘In the end I’m just really happy to finish. There were so many safety cars that I’m very happy to finish where I did. The first race was not what we wanted, but the second race was good. We had a good strategy, buy unfortunately Jos (A1 Team Netherlands) was on the same strategy and was always behind me. The first corner is very hard and there was a lot of pressure during the race, but we finished third so it is ok.’
A1 Team Driver Time
1 France Nicolas Lapierre 1.00.54.068
2 Great Britain Robbie Kerr 1.00.56.547
3 Switzerland Neel Jani 1.00.57.086
4 Netherlands Jos Verstappen 1.00.57.593
5 Malaysia Alex Yoong 1.00.58.955
6 Australia Will Davison 1.00.59.499
7 Portugal Alvaro Parente 1.01.00.070
8 New Zealand Jonny Reid 1.01.02.989
9 Brazil Nelson Piquet Jr 1.01.03.108
10 USA Bryan Herta 1.01.03.896
11 Pakistan Adam Khan 1.01.05.010
12 Lebanon Basil Shaaban 1.01.07.071
13 India Armaan Ebrahim 1.01.08.343
14 Ireland Michael Devaney 1.01.26.140
15 Canada Sean McIntosh 26 laps
16 Japan Hayanari Shimoda 25 laps
17 China Tengyi Jiang 22 laps
18 Austria Mathias Lauda 17 laps
19 Czech Republic Tomas Enge 17 laps
20 Russia Roman Rusinov 7 laps
21 Mexico Salvador Duran 7 laps
22 Germany Adrian Sutil 7 laps
23 Italy Enrico Toccacelo 6 laps
24 South Africa Stephen Simpson 1 lap
Series Points to date – A1 Grand Prix of Nations, Eastern Creek, Sydney, Australia (6 November 2005)
1 France 71
2 Brazil 52
3 Switzerland 47
4 New Zealand 32
5 Great Britain 30
6 Portugal 27
7 Australia 26
8 Netherlands 26
9 Ireland 23
10 Malaysia 23
11 Canada 23
12 Mexico 16
13 Czech Republic 8
14 Germany 8
15 USA 8
16 Japan 6
17 South Africa 6
18 Indonesia 5
19 Italy 5
20 Pakistan 4
21 Austria 1
The fifth round of A1 Grand Prix, the World Cup of Motorsport will be held at the Sepang International Circuit in Malaysia on 18 – 20 November 2005. -
Notice most of the time, the car moves off even before the fuel line gets disengaged. I always get a good laugh seeing the sod fumbling with the wheels during pit change. They trained, but really not enough.
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Japan's Hayanari Shimoda has cheated death after a horrific 165mph(264km/h) crash. The Japanese driver oversteered off the track into the gravel, where his right rear dug into the gravel and launched the car into a barrel roll. The car then missed a nearby protective wall and smashed into an unprotected concrete wall at full speed.
The top of the car hit the concrete wall head on, and this impact was violent enough to detach the roll-hoop, before the engine and gearbox section was also jettisoned. The section containing the driver continued to spin alongside the wall and came to a rest the right way up. The car's safety cell remained intact.
What's left of the car
Although he was unconscious briefly, Shimoda was able to talk to A1GP's medical crew, and waved to the crowd as he was being stretchered away. He was in the car for 15 mins while medics examined him for neck and spinal injuries, but Shimoda only suffered a slight concussion. He was kept overnight in nearby Westmead Hospital for observation and was discharged on Monday.
article from autosport magazine
pictures courtesy of www.crash.net -
i dont understand why tehy dun let teams workout their own bodyworks... everyrace sure got accident 1
