A1 Grand Prix of Nations, California, USA 12 March
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Race Track: Laguna Seca
Location: USA
Race Day: Sunday, 12 March 2006
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A fortnight on from visiting Monterrey in Mexico, A1 Grand Prix movesnorth and west to the Pacific coast of the United States, to Monterey at the southern end of Monterey Bay. The first ever capital of California,it's now home to 35,000 inhabitants and is the largest centre of poulation in the vicinity of the Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca. Some two hours drive south of San Francisco and an hour or so south of San Jose,Monterey owes its existence to fishing, as a former fishing and whaling port, with its Cannery Row made so famous by John Steinbeck from nearbySalinas with his novel of the same name now a relic of the way it was inthe early 20th century when it was the world's largestsardine-processing centre. Today, artists and writers outnumber fishermen, with the annual Monterey Jazz Festival a major event and the Monterey Bay Aquarium a particular attraction.
Just south of Monterey lies Carmel, the upmarket, village-sized resort of which actor Clint Eastwood was so long the mayor. Its a complete contrast with neighbouring Monterey, with all buildings kept on a residential scale, mostly surrounded by coastal pines.The drive along the coast from Monterey, known as 17-Mile Drive, passes the ultra-exclusive Pebble Beach golf course, home to the world's mostprestigious concours d'elegance for vintage cars.
For surfing enthusiasts, the Californian coast is a must, with world famous Big Sur the biggest draw along the rugged coastline.
California itself was terra incognita to explorers from Europe until the Portuguese arrived by sea in 1542 in what is now known as San Diego Bay. Francis Drake was next to arrive, claiming California or Nova Albion as he called it, for Britain in 1579. Sebastien Vizcaino landed at Monterey in 1602 and continued the pattern of simply naming what he'd found, such as headlands and harbours, then moving on again.Settlement by Europeans took considerable time to follow, with the King of Spain ordering a string of Franciscan missions and accompanying presidios for the troops to protect them along the Californian coast, with Monterey as the administrative. The first of these was up the coast at San Diego in 1769. But, sadly, they brought more than religion as the measles and smallpox that came with them decimated the native Indian population. By 1776, the United States had elected to break away from British rule and gained independence after a seven-year war.
The Monterey Peninsula's love affair with world-class racing traces its beginning to 1950 and the inaugural running of the Pebble Beach Road Races. Those sports car events through the winding roads of the Del Monte Forest became immensely popular and brought prestige, fans and money to the area. But as the cars got faster and the crowds grew larger, it was decided that the race was too big for the open road. Rather than see the event, with its fans and financial impact go elsewhere, a group of civic-minded business leaders decided to build a permanent, world-class racing facility.
This was the impetus behind the formation of the Sports Car Racing Association of the Monterey Peninsula (SCRAMP) on November 1, 1956. The non-profit group's mission, which remains unchanged today, is to benefit local charitable and non-profit organizations and to promote the economic vitality of Monterey through motorsports events. The group leased Fort Ord land from the Army, built the circuit and staged its first race on November 9, 1957.
Since that day, events at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca have generated more than $1 billion in revenue for area businesses, while providing over $10 million for more than 100 charitable and civic groups. Today, SCRAMP is the most important economic and charitable organization in Monterey County.
Originally part of the former Fort Ord military base, Laguna Seca was turned over to the County of Monterey in 1974. The County in turn handed its responsibilities to the parks department. SCRAMP operates and maintains the race track, and handles the racing events and track rentals that generate funds of over $1 million for the county parks department.
The SCRAMP "family" consists of thousands of volunteers, including a 25 member volunteer board of directors, whose names are listed below. These dedicated volunteers come from all walks of life and all across the tri-county area to make up the work force needed to stage motor sports events at Laguna Seca. The largest group of volunteers is comprised of over 70 charities and civic organizations with their membership numbering in the thousands.
In 1988, in the hope of attracting Formula 1 racing after the demise of the Detroit Grand Prix, SCRAMP agreed to lengthen and upgrade the circuit from 1.9-miles to the present 2.2. This was done by creating an infield area which did away with the daunting old Turn Two. In the end F1 never went to Laguna but it still remains a popular track for racers and spectators. The access roads are not great and it is a long way from major population but it is a place where racing cars can be seen at their best. There is a 300-ft change in elevation which includes the infamous Corkscrew, an incredible curling downhill series of turns. It was exiting the Corkscrew in 1996 that Alex Zanardi pulled off a breathtaking overtaking maneuver on the last lap of the race to beat Bryan Herta. The death of Gonzalo Rodriguez in 1999 led to major safety changes at Laguna and a naming rights deal with Mazda has provided the funding for other development including new access routes and proper pits. -
11/03/2006 -
California, USA – A1 Team Mexico snatched its first pole position in the closing minutes of qualifying today, unsettling Series’ leaders France, out to claim the World Championship title this weekend. Lapierre’s job will now be slightly tougher tomorrow despite his team’s only rival A1 Team Switzerland, who had its second segment time disallowed for failure to comply with weighing procedures, sitting sixteenth on the grid.
While the battle for first is now a two horse race, competition is heating up for third place. Contenders A1 Team Malaysia, put in its best qualifying session ever, taking fourth place on the grid, behind A1 Team New Zealand, another possible for third place. Great Britain, Netherlands and Brazil, lying sixth, twelfth and nineteenth respectively, will also be putting the pressure on Malaysia as they fight for crucial, championship deciding points.
With Graham Rahal behind the wheel, A1 Team Lebanon also achieved its best ever qualifying results. On a track that boasts a straight named after his father, Rahal secured eleventh place on the grid, putting the team in a strong position to score its first ever points.
First time pole sitter Salvador Duran said: ‘It has been great so far, everything went right. We have good competition from France, but I think we have a car to win, we have been fast in qualifying and we can be fast in the race. We have the car now, and we have the team, I think we have the best team in the Series now.’
Salvador is not intimidated by the more experienced drivers lining up behind him on the gird. ‘It is very difficult to pass here, but I am racing with experienced drivers and it is easy to race with them. I hope to get into the turn one first, I’m confident that these guys have a lot of experience and I respect them. But I think I can be as quick as them.’
Asked if he was surprised to lose pole position in the last session, second place man Nicolas Lapierre said: ‘Not really. My last lap was not that good. I made a mistake in the last corner which cost us pole. But we are here to win the championship, and we qualified in front of Switzerland which is the main thing. But I am disappointed to lose pole after leading in the first three sessions. As a driver, of course I want to win every race I take part in, so it will be a compromise between winning the race and getting the points to win the championship.’
Speaking about his qualifying session, Matt Halliday, third on the grid for A1 Team New Zealand said: ‘The track is difficult in places, there is a bit of water on the kerbs but we have a good package and a good starting set up. We are looking for a good result tomorrow.’
Asked if having raced at the circuit in 2001 in the Indy Lights competition was an advantage, Matt commented: ‘It is more important to have a good set up than know the circuit. We are a team here on our own, if we get lost on set up, we can’t share data with another team.’
A1 Team
Driver
Aggregate Time
1
Mexico
Salvador Duran
2.30.744
2
France
Nicolas Lapierre
2.30.895
3
New Zealand
Matt Halliday
2.31.596
4
Malaysia
Alex Yoong
2.31.810
5
Australia
Ryan Briscoe
2.31.964
6
Great Britain
Robbie Kerr
2.31.970
7
Portugal
Alvaro Parente
2.32.042
8
Ireland
Ralph Firman
2.32.098
9
Germany
Timo Scheider
2.32.307
10
South Africa
Stephen Simpson
2.32.535
11
Lebanon
Graham Rahal
2.32.560
12
Netherlands
Jos Verstappen
2.32.571
13
Italy
Max Papis
2.32.745
14
Czech Republic
Tomas Enge
2.32.838
15
Indonesia
Ananda Mikola
2.33.249
16
Switzerland
Giorgio Mondini
2.33.299
17
USA
Bryan Herta
2.33.602
18
Canada
Patrick Carpentier
2.33.641
19
Brazil
Christian Fittipaldi
2.33.686
20
Austria
Mathias Lauda
2.34.338
21
Pakistan
Adam Khan
2.36.325
22
China
Tengyi Jiang
2.37.715
Despite a regulation which allows A1 Teams to switch drivers between Qualifying and the Sprint race, all teams have decided to retain their qualifying selection and there will be no driver changes.
The Sprint race will be contested over 50 miles lasting up to 30 minutes in duration. With a rolling start at 13.30 PST, tomorrowÂ’s race will be run over 22 laps of the 3.6 km circuit. The outcome of the race determines the grid positions for the Feature race which will start at 15.00 PST with a standing start. The Feature race will be run over 100 miles (44 laps) lasting up to 60 minutes in duration. -
haha..
yr statments is kinda long..
dont feel like reading it.
but..
go MALAYSIA!
hehe -
12/03/2006 - California, USA – A1 Team France have been crowned World Champions, winners of the first World Cup of Motorsport after finishing second in an exciting A1 Grand Prix of Nations Sprint race at the Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca. As the Teams head into the Feature race, the fight is now on for valuable championship points as four A1 Teams battle for third place.
The action began as soon as the pack moved off the grid with New Zealand’s Matt Halliday overtaking France and then Mexico, slipping ‘Black Beauty’ into the top spot. Despite the heavy rain and slippery conditions, all 22 A1 cars made it through the first corner in A1 Grand Prix’s first-ever wet race. The early overtaking continued with Mexico making its move on New Zealand on the uphill approach to the famous Corkscrew turn, regaining the lead lost as they left the grid but just seconds after, new driver Max Papis lost control of the Italian car bringing out the first safety car of the race.
The rain eased as the safety car pulled in at the end of lap three with Mexico now leading the pack ahead of New Zealand, France, Malaysia, Portugal and Ireland with Italy re-joining the back of the pack. As Mexico increased their lead, FranceÂ’s Nicolas Lapierre kept the pressure on New Zealand but battles further down the field ensued as teams fought for valuable championship points.
Third place outsiders A1 Team Malaysia came under a string of attacks, first from Portugal’s Alvaro Parente – their closest rival in the points table – and then from Great Britain’s Robbie Kerr and then Ireland’s Ralph Firman on lap six.
As the clouds opened and the rain began to fall again, New ZealandÂ’s Matt Halliday was obviously struggling with the lack of grip. France kept up the pressure and finally on lap seven, Lapierre took the chance pushing the tricolour car past New Zealand, recovering from a major slide himself.
The slippery conditions were a common problem and A1 Team Germany was the next to go, spinning off the track but managing to get back and remain in the top 10 with only CanadaÂ’s Patrick Carpentier squeezing past.
The safety car was deployed again at the end of lap eight as A1 Team MalaysiaÂ’s bright yellow car was recovered from the gravel trap after a solo spin. The clock ticked on and despite the predicted 22 lap race, with 15 minutes to go only nine laps had run and it became clear that the race would be run by the clock. With the safety car still out, A1 Team Lebanon lost their point scoring position, heading into the back of A1 Team Germany on the start/finish straight.
With only 10 minutes remaining the safety car came in and racing resumed. The NetherlandsÂ’ Jos Verstappen was the first to attack taking on Australia with new driver Indy Racing League and Toyota Formula One test driver, Ryan Briscoe behind the wheel. The move failed and as the two cars touched, the bright orange car spun off the track, sliding in the run-off and heading the wrong way down the track before spinning again and rejoining the race.
But that was not the last that was heard of Jos Verstappen as a second collision with BrazilÂ’s Christian Fittipaldi saw both cars leave and re-join the track twice on their way through the Corkscrew. A1 Team Switzerland, with new driver Giorgio Mondini behind the wheel, also fell victim to the Corkscrew cutting both corners, damaging his nose cone and ensuring that the only team who could unseat France finished outside of the points.
Winning his first race in A1 Grand Prix, nineteen year old Savaldor Duran said: ‘I lost some gears at the start, and Team New Zealand got past and then France as well. When Italy spun and the safety car came out I managed to recover a few positions. It was difficult to get on the power and very very difficult to pass, and when I was behind New Zealand I couldn’t see anything at all.’
Speaking about his prospects in the Feature race, Salvador Duran said: ‘Nicolas is very experienced, he will be trying to win the next race. Having won the championship now, he has nothing to lose. I will be conscious of that. But we will be out there trying to make up a few positions in the championship.’
Speaking on behalf of new World Champions, A1 Team France, Nicolas Lapierre said: ‘I feel great, it was a team job, Alex, the mechanics and engineers and Jean Paul. I might be in front of the camera now, but it really was a team effort. It will be difficult in the next race because obviously the team is excited and wants to celebrate, but we have to concentrate on the job, and I think we can win the next race.’
Finishing the race in third place, from seventh on the grid, Alvaro Parente said: ‘The race was very hard. I couldn’t see a lot. I had quite a few good overtaking moves and I’m really happy to be in third. It was very hard to see braking points and other cars in such wet conditions, but you just have to follow your instincts.’
A1 Team
Driver
Time
1
Mexico
Salvador Duran
31.07.422
2
France
Nicolas Lapierre
31.09.193
3
Portugal
Alvaro Parente
31.15.462
4
Great Britain
Robbie Kerr
31.20.213
5
Ireland
Ralph Firman
31.31.812
6
Canada
Patrick Carpentier
31.33.449
7
Germany
Timo Scheider
31.33.838
8
New Zealand
Matt Halliday
31.37.896
9
USA
Bryan Herta
31.38.456
10
Australia
Ryan Briscoe
31.42.069
11
South Africa
Stephen Simpson
31.43.393
12
Austria
Mathias Lauda
31.59.182
13
Brazil
Christian Fittipaldi
32.01.622
14
Netherlands
Jos Verstappen
32.02.688
15
Pakistan
Adam Khan
32.05.098
16
Switzerland
Giorgio Mondini
32.07.900
17
China
Tengyi Jiang
32.20.430
18
Czech Republic
Tomas Enge
15 Laps
19
Italy
Max Panis
15 Laps
20
Indonesia
Ananda Mikola
12 Laps
21
Lebanon
Graham Rahal
9 Laps
22
Malaysia
Alex Yoong
7 Laps -
didnt know there was a race... checked cable and it showed got live at 6 am...Originally posted by contact:haha..
yr statments is kinda long..
dont feel like reading it.
but..
go MALAYSIA!
hehe
so rush now -
didnt know there was a race... checked cable and it showed got live at 6 am...Originally posted by contact:haha..
yr statments is kinda long..
dont feel like reading it.
but..
go MALAYSIA!
hehe
so rush now -
haha..
A1 alwasy got coverage in asean region one..
how is sg doing?
better than msia?
or are they in the a1 thingy?
hehe// -
California, USA – A1 Team Mexico became only the third team to win a double header over an A1 Grand Prix of Nations weekend when Salvador Duran took victory in the Feature race at the Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca. The team started with a gamble by using slick tyres on a track that still had damp patches. The only other team to take the same decision was A1 Team Brazil and at the end of the day it proved to be the right one.
It was A1 Team France that got the best start leading Mexico into turn one and building up a 2.7 second lead by the end of the first lap. The pit stops started early with the leaders France coming in at the end of lap three followed by teams that included Portugal, Great Britain and Germany. Germany had the best stop and leapfrogged both Great Britain and Portugal during the stop.
The first safety car period came when A1 Team South Africa slid off in turn six on lap five. This period gave Mexico the opportunity to pit but the lead they had at the beginning of their 42.2 second pit stop was lost when they came out just behind France whose earlier stop had taken 40.1 seconds. However, it was not the new champions who were leading the race as A1 Team Lebanon had still to make its pit stop so Graham Rahal was able to lead until the safety car came in at the end of lap 10 and he was beaten into turn one by France.
The Lebanese driver did not however succumb to pressure from the third place Mexican team and in fact stayed there until lap 23. A bad day for A1 Team Netherlands continued with a drive through penalty for overtaking during a safety car period which Jos Verstappen took at the end of lap 13 but this was swiftly followed by even more dramas when he was black flagged again, this time for speeding in the pit lane. For the driver, this was one penalty too far and when he came in at the end of lap 18, he got out of the car and had no further part in the race.
Although all the cars were changing on to slick tyres there were still damp patches on the track which were catching several of them out including Malaysia on lap 15 when a spin dropped the team down from thirteenth to twenty-first and A1 Team China on lap 17.
A1 Team Brazil was still in with a shout for third place in the championship before the race but when the car was seen to cruise slowly round and pit at the end of lap 20 that chance evaporated. While the team kept sending the car out again it was not for championship points. They are now only in with a mathematical chance of winning the race, lying 18 points behind current third place sitter A1 Team Great Britain.
On lap 26, Mexico at last got by A1 Team Lebanon and A1 Team Germany also attacked, although with not so much success as they were kept at bay for several corners and it was only after a wheel-banging incident that Lebanon were relegated to third. It was a short-lived third as on lap 27 the car spun but continued letting Germany, Great Britain and Portugal by although they were all lucky not to have a collision. The Lebanese car took this opportunity to pit for new tyres and after a 41 second pit stop, re-joined at the back of the field. It was only a short time later when the car arrived at turn three on lap 28 and it was all over for A1 Team Lebanon as a spin left the car stranded half-way across the track and the safety car had to be deployed again so that it could be removed from this dangerous position.
The safety car pulled off at the end of lap 32 but this was by no means the end of incidents on the track although it was not deployed again. On lap 33, New Zealand spun and dropped from seventh to fifteenth. On lap 35 the Czech Republic spun from ninth and while everyone took avoiding action, A1 Team China arrived at the scene of the incident already going backwards. Both cars were left on the edge of the track while racing continued with France leading.
It was then at the end of lap 36 that the situation at the front of the field took a dramatic turn when Mexico overtook France and it became obvious the new champions had a technical problem which turned out to be the car stuck in third gear. France tried to struggle on but eventually had to pull off the track on lap 38 while lying fifth. Due to safety car periods, the chequered flag came out early at the end of lap 40 with Mexico leading Germany and Great Britain across the finish line.
A1 Team Mexico are one of only three teams to win both a Feature and Sprint race at the same circuit. Speaking about his second win of the day, Salvador said: ‘It was a nice race, I was on slicks which I think was the right choice. We figured if there were no yellow flags we could pull out a gap and if there was a yellow flag we could go into the pits and change the tyres. Unfortunately France got past me in the pits, and then it was difficult to get past people on track.’
Finishing his last race for A1 Team Germany on the podium, Timo Scheider said: ‘It was a good race, but in difficult conditions. This was my last race in A1GP before I go back to DTM, and I’m happy for the team that we got a podium. Thankfully we benefited from Nicolas not finishing the race. Overall I’m very happy I did A1GP. I hope I can do A1GP again, so many people have said to me that it is a spectacular series, and great to watch. There is real racing and real overtaking, not just in the pits like in Formula One.’
Also finishing his last race of the season in A1GP, Robbie Kerr said: ‘I’m a bit disappointed that Timo was able to pass in the pits, and its unfortunate to go out without a win. But generally the season has been brilliant, and I must thank the team, John Clements and John Surtees. Hopefully I will be back next year, it’s been great to represent Great Britain. It was unfortunate that Nicolas had problems, but obviously I was quite pleased because I benefited from it. France have done a great job all season and congratulations to them for winning the Series.’
Nicolas Lapierre was leading the Feature race when technical problems forced him to retire. ‘We had trouble with the battery. The gear box was stuck in third and then the engine stopped. But this is racing and it was our first problem in 20 races. The team has been brilliant. We have had a great season, with 13 wins and winning the Series two races early.’
Asked if he would race in the second series of A1GP, Nicolas answered: ‘If I can I will. It’s been a great winter for Alex and I in A1GP. It’s been a lot of fun and the series is really nice. The qualifying sessions are very exciting, the PowerBoost idea is great, the format is basically really good. Being in A1GP has kept us racing over the winter and now we are ready for the summer season.’
A1 Team
Driver
Time
Gap first
1
Mexico
Salvador Duran
1.00.52.974
2
Germany
Timo Scheider
1.00.55.016
+2.042
3
Great Britain
Robbier Kerr
1.00.56.091
+3.117
4
Portugal
Alvaro Parente
1.01.03.394
+10.420
5
Canada
Patrick Carpentier
1.01.07.157
+14.183
6
Ireland
Ralph Firman
1.01.13.779
+20.805
7
Italy
Mac Papis
1.01.16.173
+23.199
8
Australia
Ryan Briscoe
1.01.17.210
+24.236
9
Austria
Mathias Lauda
1.01.22.203
+29.229
10
Malaysia
Alex Yoong
1.01.23.046
+30.072
11
Pakistan
Adam Khan
1.01.24.365
+31.391
12
New Zealand
Matt Halliday
1.01.24.951
+31.977
13
Switzerland
Giorgio Mondini
38 laps
2 laps
14
France
Nicolas Lapierre
37 laps
3 laps
15
USA
Bryan Herta
37 laps
3 laps
16
Czech Republic
Tomas Enge
34 laps
6 laps
17
China
Tengyi Jiang
33 laps
7 laps
18
Brazil
Christian Fittipaldi
29 laps
11 laps
19
Indonesia
Ananda Mikola
28 laps
12 laps
20
Lebanon
Graham Rahal
27 laps
13 laps
21
Netherlands
Jos Verstappen
17 laps
23 laps
22
South Africa
Stephen Simpson
3 laps
37 laps
The bonus point for the fastest race lap of the day went to A1 Team France who recorded a time of 1.17.951 on lap 27 of the Feature race, with a speed of 166.4kph. -
they werent racing...Originally posted by contact:haha..
A1 alwasy got coverage in asean region one..
how is sg doing?
better than msia?
or are they in the a1 thingy?
hehe//
malaysia currently is at the 10th position... -
Series Points to date – A1 Grand Prix of Nations, California, USA
1
France
163
World Champions – Winners of the first World Cup of Motorsport
2
Switzerland
121
3
Great Britain
88
4
Brazil
70
5
Netherlands
69
6
New Zealand
67
7
Portugal
66
8
Ireland
61
9
Canada
55
10
Malaysia
54
11
Mexico
48
12
Italy
44
13
Australia
41
14
Czech Republic
41
15
Germany
38
16
USA
22
17
South Africa
20
18
Austria
14
19
Indonesia
10
20
Japan
8
21
China
6
22
Pakistan
4
The final round of A1 Grand Prix, the World Cup of Motorsport will be held at the Shanghai International Circuit, China on 31 March – 2 April 2006. -
I find A1 getting more and more boring.
-
so boring that i forgot there was a race this morningOriginally posted by Gazelle:I find A1 getting more and more boring. -
F1's betterOriginally posted by Gazelle:I find A1 getting more and more boring. -
Its the grand daddy of them all...Originally posted by contact:F1's better
