A1 GP of Nations: Durban, South Africa, 29 January
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Race Track: Durban (street circuit)
Location: South Africa
Race Day: Sunday, 29 January 2006
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The all-new Durban street circuit that has been built especially for the seventh round of the inaugural A1 Grand Prix series centred on Durban's elegant ocean frontage looks set to provide drama aplenty at the first corner.
The 3.2 kilometre layout has its start/finish line opposite Natal Command in Snell Parade, lying between Natal Command and the beach. Running in a clockwise direction, the circuit offers a blast down to a very tight first corner. This is a right-hand hairpin out of which the cars will then accelerate flat-out back up Snell Parade and then snap left into Argyle Road with a left/right chicane breaking its westward flow.
A faster right-hand corner feeds the cars onto what is normally NMR Avenue for the longest straight on the course. This kinks to the right just before its conclusion, then the track turns sharp right and thus east onto Battery Beach Road, ducking under the M4 freeway. Another right follows, with the track then entering a long, arcing left past the Suncoast Casino, complete with a chicane just before it starts to arc. Finally, the lap is completed with an openish right onto the start/finish straight on Snell Parade.
Much like at the world famous Monaco street circuit, the amount of space available around Durban's temporary street circuit is limited by the downtown landscape, but still the organisers have fitted in temporary grandstand seating for 22,000.
SOUTH AFRICA'S MOTORSPORT HISTORY
South Africa has a long and strong motorsport heritage that would be stronger still but for its period of near sporting isolation during the years of apartheid.
The country's first motor race was at East London in 1934, around a 15-mile long lay-out around the outskirts of the city, with American driver Whitney Straight winning that first South African Grand Prix in a Maserati. The circuit was gradually shortened and the grand prix remained there until a new circuit was built closer in to town in 1959, its setting in a natural amphitheatre making its exceedingly popular. This attracted a round of the F1 World Championship for the first time in 1962, with Graham Hill triumphant for BRM.
However, after two more visits, the World Championship moved inland for its visit in 1967, alighting to the Kyalami circuit on the outskirts of Johannesburg. And there is stayed through until 1985 when Nigel Mansell won for Williams. After a seven-year hiatus triggered by the teams being uneasy about South Africa's prevalent system of Apartheid, the World Championship was back again in 1992 and Mansell won again. But this return was shortlived and South Africa hasn't hosted a grand prix since 1993, although this has largely been for economic grounds, as well as the fact that the Kyalami circuit has been chopped in size and much of its original layout is now under a housing development.
Through the 1950s, there were also circuits at Grand Central in Johannesburg, Gunner's Circle in Cape Town and the Roy Hesketh circuit in Pietersmaritzburg. The first two failed to last through the 1960s and have long since been replaced by the Killarney circuit near Cape Town, the Phakisa Raceway at Welkom in the Orange Free State, Aldo Scribante outside Port Elizabeth and the Zwartkops circuit.
A POTTED HISTORY OF SOUTH AFRICA
The Republic of South Africa is the richest country on the African continent, a country whose component forms are best illustrated by the national flag on which the black, green and yellow segments are the colours of the African National Congress and its red, white and blue segments are the colours of the former Dutch republics.
The Dutch East India Company established a colony at Cape Town in 1652, using it as a port of call for its ships as they rounded the Cape of Good Hope on their way to the East Indies. France then displaced the Dutch before the British laid claim to the Cape in 1795, going on to buy the hinterland from the Dutch in 1814. The indigenous Zulus rose up to defend their lands, but the might of the Dutch was shown between 1836 and 1838 as 10,000 Boers (Dutch for farmer) made the Great Trek inland to escape British rule. British influence increased in 1843 with the formation of the colony of Natal and the power struggle between British and Dutch continued through the remainder of the 19th century, culminating in the Boer War in 1881 in which the Boers came out on top. War flared out again in 1899, but this time the British came out ahead and took over Transvaal and Orange Free State, with the Union of South Africa being formed in 1910.
While all this battling was going on, the black majority was being repressed and the African National Congress was formed in 1912, something that became all the more important when South Africa's population became classified by race in 1950, with segregation according to colour ensuing. South Africa was expelled from the Commonwealth in 1961 and massed relocation led to the formation of black homelands. By 1986, the rest of the world had imposed economic sanctions on South Africa.
The tide turned in 1989 when FW de Klerk replaced PW Botha as president and political prisoners were released, with some such as former ANC leader Nelson Mandela having served as many as 25 years behind bars. With Apartheid having been repealed by 1991 and the ANC winning the 1994 general election, the nation's economy has blossomed with the population of more than 40 million people benefiting thanks to the combination of South Africa's considerable natural resources - it's the world's leading producer of gold, coal, diamonds, natural gas and agricultural products - as well as inward investment. South Africa's burgeoning tourism industry also brings in a considerable amount of money.
Durban itself has two main functions. It's a holiday resort and it's the nation's principal port, the point of egress for the goods produced by its province of KwaZulu Natal as well as the heavy goods and mined products from the Orange Free State and Transvaal. -
And Verstappen's thrown it away on the last lap of the sprint race!
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wahahaa... me watching while surfing
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wtf... india nose on a holland car
and the airgun stucked to the team GB car -
Team Lebanon's right rear wheel became seized on the hub.
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w00ts, the multi coloured car won... beating swiss
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29/01/2006 - Durban – The A1 cars sped off the grid a little later than scheduled this afternoon after crowds in a restricted area forced A1 Race Director, Tim Schenken to delay the start. Excitement built in the packed grandstands which currently line the streets of Durban and as the pace car pulled off for the race’s rolling start, the action began immediately.
On the approach to turn one, the bright orange car of the Netherlands slotted in between France and Great Britain, challenging for second place while further down the grid Indonesia and Italy collided bringing out the safety car and pushing the two teams into early retirement.
Great BritainÂ’s Robbie Kerr held his position but as he made his move on France heading into turn nine, he locked the front wheels giving space for both the Netherlands and Czech Republic to pass. Clipping a curb lost A1 Team MalaysiaÂ’s Alex Yoong his front wing and space on the grid he pitted to repair the damage.
As the safety car, caused by the turn one incident, came in at the end of lap five, A1 Team France was leading with the Netherlands, Czech Republic and Great Britain following closely behind. A drive through penalty was given to A1 Team USA for overtaking Portugal in the safety car period, taken at the end of lap seven.
The racing continued but disappointment was visible amid the crowd as Vulindlela, the car of the home team, pulled into the pits at the end of lap 10 with electrical failure. A1 Team South Africa got straight to work and the car will be back out on the grid for the start of the Feature race.
It was the final stages of the Sprint race when the action climaxed beginning when Nelson Piquet Jr of A1 Team Brazil clipped the inside wall on the hairpin, taking a spin in the early stages of lap 17. China was the next to go, again spinning into the middle of the track where Lebanon, following closely behind, collided with the red dragon taking both cars out of the race.
With the Netherlands sitting on the tail of the leading French, Jos Verstappen seized the opportunity to make his move in the final stages of the last lap. Pulling alongside the race leader on the approach to turn nine, Verstappen went wide, clipping France’s rear wing and puncturing his own left rear tyre putting him out of the race. ‘The chance was there but I ran a little bit too wide. When the chance is there you go for it and that’s what I did!’ Verstappen said.
After narrowly avoiding the spinning Dutch car, Great BritainÂ’s Robbie Kerr took his turn at challenging for pole but the chequered flag dropped with Great Britain just two tenths of a second behind the pole sitter.
Race winner, A1 Team France’s Alexandre Premat said: ‘I was obviously lucky not to have had a problem when Jos Verstappen tried to overtake me on the last lap. Luckily my car is perfectly okay and now I have to concentrate on making a good start in the Feature race and then stay in front.’
Gaining from the failed Dutch challenge, Great Britain’s Robbie Kerr continued: ‘That was close. Jos had to have a go and it was unfortunate the cars hit and it put him out. Second position is not one to be chucked away by trying anything.’
A1 Team Driver Time
1 France Alexandre Premat 31.06.730
2 Great Britain Robbie Kerr 31.06.973
3 Switzerland Neel Jani 31.12.580
4 Ireland Ralph Firman 31.12.890
5 Czech Republic Tomas Enge 31.15.236
6 New Zealand Matt Halliday 31.16.353
7 Germany Timo Scheider 31.16.842
8 Portugal Alvaro Parente 31.20.796
9 Australia Will Davison 31.28.829
10 Mexico David Martinez 31.39.510
11 Pakistan Enrico Toccacelo 31.43.305
12 Canada Sean McIntosh 31.45.990
13 USA Philip Giebler 31.48.861
14 India Armaan Ebrahim 32.32.445
15 Austria Mathias Lauda 32.33.866
16 Netherlands Jos Verstappen 19 laps
17 Lebanon Basil Shaaban 18 laps
18 China Tengyi Jiang 17 laps
19 Brazil Nelson Piquet Jr 16 laps
20 South Africa Stephen Simpson 13 laps
21 Indonesia Ananda Mikola 0 laps
22 Italy Massimiliano Busnelli 0 laps
23 Malaysia Alex Yoong 0 laps -
29/01/2006 -
Durban – A1 Team France has been given a 25 second penalty for taking their drive through penalty during a safety car period. The original drive through penalty was given as a result of two engineers working on one tyre during their compulsory pit stop taken at the end of lap two in today’s Feature race.
A revised results table and series points table can be found below.
A1 Team Driver Time
1 Netherlands Jos Verstappen 1.00.46.099
2 Switzerland Neel Jani 1.00.47.873
3 Portugal Alvaro Parente 1.00.48.064
4 New Zealand Matt Halliday 1.00.50.451
5 South Africa Stephen Simpson 1.00.55.532
6 Italy Massimiliano Busnelli 1.00.56.834
7 Austria Mathias Lauda 1.01.16.222
8 France Alexandre Premat 1.01.23.316
9 Brazil Nelson Piquet Jr 1.01.49.730
10 Canada Sean McIntosh 36 laps
11 Germany Timo Scheider 35 laps
12 China Tengyi Jiang 35 laps
13 Pakistan Enrico Toccacelo 31 laps
14 Mexico David Martinez 30 laps
15 Lebanon Basil Shaaban 27 laps
16 Malaysia Alex Yoong 25 laps
17 Ireland Ralph Firman 14 laps
18 India Armaan Ebrahim 10 laps
19 Indonesia Ananda Mikola 10 laps
20 Great Britain Robbie Kerr 9 laps
21 Czech Republic Tomas Enge 7 laps
22 Australia Will Davison 2 laps
23 USA Philip Giebler 2 laps
Series Points to date – A1 Grand Prix of Nations, Durban, South Africa
29 January 2006
1 France 119
2 Switzerland 92
3 Brazil 63
4 Great Britain 58
5 New Zealand 54
6 Portugal 50
7 Ireland 44
8 Netherlands 44
9 Malaysia 33
10 Canada 32
11 Czech Republic 30
12 Australia 29
13 Italy 26
14 Mexico 20
15 South Africa 20
16 Germany 15
17 USA 13
18 Indonesia 10
19 Austria 8
20 China 6
21 Japan 6
22 Pakistan 4
