2006-07 A1 Grand Prix season

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2006-07 A1 Grand Prix of Nations
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The 2006-07 A1 Grand Prix season was the second season for the A1 Grand Prix series. It began on 1 October 2006, at Circuit Park Zandvoort, and the season ended at Brands Hatch on 29 April 2007. A1 Team Germany won it with 128 points, 35 points lead ahead Team New Zealand.

Contents

Teams

24 teams, each representing a different country, signed up for the second A1 Grand Prix season. All teams used a control chassis (Lola), engine (Zytek) and tyre (Cooper Avon). The following teams competed in the 2006-07 championship:

Country Team Race team Seat holder Race drivers Rookie drivers
 Australia A1 Team Australia Alan Docking Racing Alan Jones Ryan Briscoe
Ian Dyk
Karl Reindler
Ryan Briscoe
Ian Dyk
Karl Reindler
 Brazil A1 Team Brazil Charouz Racing System Emerson Fittipaldi Bruno Junqueira
Raphael Matos
Vitor Meira
Tuka Rocha
Ruben Carrapatoso
Raphael Matos
Alexandre Negrão
Vitor Meira
Luiz Razia
Tuka Rocha
 Canada A1 Team Canada John Village Automotive1 Wade Cherwayko Sean McIntosh
James Hinchcliffe
Kevin LaCroix
Sean McIntosh
James Hinchcliffe
 China A1 Team China Team Astromega2 Liu Yu Congfu Cheng
Ho-Pin Tung
Congfu Cheng
Ho-Pin Tung
 Czech Republic A1 Team Czech Republic Charouz Racing System Antonin Charouz Tomáš Kostka
Tomáš Enge
Jaroslav Janiš
Filip Salaquarda
Jan Charouz
Jan Charouz
Jarek Janiš
Filip Salaquarda
 France A1 Team France DAMS3 Jean Paul Driot Loïc Duval
Nicolas Lapierre
Jean Karl Vernay
Loïc Duval
Nicolas Lapierre
Jean Karl Vernay
 Germany A1 Team Germany Super Nova Racing Willi Weber Nico Hülkenberg
Christian Vietoris
Nico Hülkenberg
Christian Vietoris
 United Kingdom A1 Team Great Britain Arden International Tony Clements
John Surtees
Darren Manning
Robbie Kerr
Oliver Jarvis
Robbie Kerr
Oliver Jarvis
 Greece A1 Team Greece Arena Motorsport Stathis Basios Takis Kaitatzis
Nikos Zakos
Takis Kaitatzis
Nikos Zahos
 India A1 Team India Arena Motorsport Atul Gupta Armaan Ebrahim
Narain Karthikeyan
Parthiva Sureshwaren
Armaan Ebrahim
Narain Karthikeyan
Parthiva Sureshwaren
 Indonesia A1 Team Indonesia A1 Team Indonesia N/A Ananda Mikola
Moreno Soeprapto
Ananda Mikola
Moreno Soeprapto
 Ireland A1 Team Ireland A1 Team Ireland Mark Kershaw4 Michael Devaney
Richard Lyons
John O'Hara
Richard Lyons
 Italy A1 Team Italy Team Ghinzani Piercarlo Ghinzani Alessandro Pier Guidi
Enrico Toccacelo
Alessandro Pier Guidi
Michele Rugolo
Enrico Toccacelo
 Lebanon A1 Team Lebanon Carlin Motorsport Tameem Auchi Basil Shaaban
Khalil Beschir
Alexander Khateeb
Allam Khodair
Basil Shaaban
Khalil Beschir
Alexander Khateeb
Allam Khodair
 Malaysia A1 Team Malaysia A1 Team Malaysia Alex Yoong Alex Yoong Fairuz Fauzy
Alex Yoong
 Mexico A1 Team Mexico Teamex5 Juan Cortina
Julio Jáuregui
Salvador Durán
Sergio Pérez
Juan Pablo Garcia
Salvador Durán
Sergio Pérez
Juan Pablo Garcia
 Netherlands A1 Team The Netherlands Racing for Holland6 Jan Lammers Jeroen Bleekemolen
Renger van der Zande
Jeroen Bleekemolen
Renger van der Zande
 New Zealand A1 Team New Zealand Super Nova Racing Colin Giltrap Matt Halliday
Jonny Reid
Wade Cunningham
Jonny Reid
Chris van der Drift
 Pakistan A1 Team Pakistan Performance Racing Arif Hussain Nur B. Ali Nur B. Ali
 Portugal 7 A1 Team Portugal Team Astromega Luis Vicente Álvaro Parente
João Urbano
Álvaro Parente
João Urbano
 Singapore A1 Team Singapore West Surrey Racing8 --- Christian Murchison
Denis Lian
Christian Murchison
Denis Lian
 South Africa A1 Team South Africa DAMS3 Tokyo Sexwale3 Alan van der Merwe
Stephen Simpson
Adrian Zaugg
Gavin Cronje
Jennifer Murray
Alan van der Merwe
Adrian Zaugg
 Switzerland A1 Team Switzerland Max Motorsport Max Welti Sébastien Buemi
Marcel Fässler
Neel Jani
Sébastien Buemi
Marcel Fässler
Neel Jani
 United States A1 Team USA West Surrey Racing9 Rick Weidinger Philip Giebler
Ryan Hunter-Reay
Jonathan Summerton
Philip Giebler
Ryan Hunter-Reay
Jonathan Summerton

3 A1GP Teams did not participate in all races.

Jennifer Murray, from South Africa was the first ever woman to enter in a A1 Grand Prix weekend. She drove in the rookie session of her home race in Durban round11.

Races

The second A1 Grand Prix season is scheduled to consist of 11 races, held in 10 different countries. Each race is to be run over a three day weekend, including a practice session on each of Friday and Saturday before a qualifying session on Saturday, and then two races on Sunday.

There are some changes in weekend program for second season:

  • Gap between races will be increased to almost three and half hours.
  • Sprint race will be about 20 minutes and Feature race about 70 minutes.
  • Only top six nations score points in sprint race.
Round Date Country Circuit Sprint Winner Main Winner Report
1 1 October 2006 Flag of the Netherlands Netherlands Circuit Park Zandvoort Flag of South Africa South Africa Flag of Germany Germany Report
2 8 October 2006 Flag of the Czech Republic Czech Republic Auto Motodrom Brno Flag of Malaysia Malaysia Flag of Malaysia Malaysia Report
3 12 November 2006 Flag of the People's Republic of China China Jingkai Street Circuit, Beijing Flag of the Netherlands The Netherlands Flag of Italy Italy Report
4 26 November 2006 Flag of Malaysia Malaysia Sepang International Circuit Flag of Switzerland Switzerland Flag of Germany Germany Report
5 10 December 2006 Flag of Indonesia Indonesia Sentul International Circuit Flag of New Zealand New Zealand Flag of New Zealand New Zealand Report
6 21 January 2007 Flag of New Zealand New Zealand Taupo Motorsport Park Flag of Germany Germany Flag of Germany Germany Report
7 4 February 2007 Flag of Australia Australia Eastern Creek Raceway Flag of Germany Germany Flag of Germany Germany Report
8 25 February 2007 Flag of South Africa South Africa Durban street circuit Flag of Germany Germany Flag of Germany Germany Report
9 25 March 2007 Flag of Mexico Mexico Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez Flag of Malaysia Malaysia Flag of the United Kingdom Great Britain Report
10 15 April 2007 Flag of the People's Republic of China China Shanghai International Circuit Flag of the United Kingdom Great Britain Flag of New Zealand New Zealand Report
11 29 April 2007 Flag of the United Kingdom United Kingdom Brands Hatch Flag of the United Kingdom Great Britain Flag of Germany Germany Report

A 12th race had been scheduled to have been held in Brazil however on 17 January 2007 the A1GP organisation announced that as a result of a delay in obtaining a local terrestrial television agreement then the event would be cancelled.12

Season Standings

Points in the 2006-07 season are distributed as follows:

  • Six through one points for first through sixth place in the Sprint Race.
  • Ten through one points for first through tenth place in the Main Race. (which also pays prize money.)
  • One point for the fastest lap of either race.
Sprint Feature
Pos. Points Points Prize
1 6 10 $300,000
2 5 9 $200,000
3 4 8 $150,000
4 3 7 $110,000
5 2 6 $80,000
6 1 5 $60,000
7 4 $40,000
8 3 $30,000
9 2 $20,000
10 1 $10,000
Fast lap 1

Standings

Pos Team Drivers  NLD  CZE  CHN  MYS  IDN  NZL  AUS  RSA  MEX  CHN  GBR Pts
spr fea spr fea spr fea spr fea spr fea spr fea spr fea spr fea spr fea spr fea spr fea
1 Flag of Germany Germany Nico Hülkenberg 4 1 Ret 4 5 Ret 2 1 5 2 1 1* 1* 1 1* 1 3 3 2 1 128
Christian Vietoris Ret 9
2 Flag of New Zealand New Zealand Matt Halliday 6 11 10 9 3 3 16 8 93
Jonny Reid Ret 7 3* 8 1 1 3 3 2 2 16 6 2* 1
3 Flag of the United Kingdom Great Britain Darren Manning 5 7 92
Robbie Kerr 9 6 5 2 3* Ret 8 Ret 19 10 9 2 1 2 1* 2
Oliver Jarvis 7 2 2 1
4 Flag of France France Nicolas Lapierre 3 Ret 3 Ret 17 4 6 3 7 3 67
Loïc Duval 2 2 3 9 2 Ret 4 7
Jean Karl Vernay Ret 20 Ret 8
5 Flag of the Netherlands The Netherlands Jeroen Bleekemolen 9 4 11 9 1 Ret 7 9 13 DSQ 4 5 5 4 4 6 17 6 5 57
Renger van der Zande 9 9 4
6 Flag of Malaysia Malaysia Alex Yoong 12 17 1* 1 14 12 4 7 12 5 19 11 7 6 Ret 8 1 5 6 11 5 9 55
7 Flag of Italy Italy Alessandro Pier Guidi Ret 6 14 20 52
Enrico Toccacelo 3 1 Ret 13 11 4 9 8 15 12 12 Ret 7 4 10 7 3 3
8 Flag of Switzerland Switzerland Sébastien Buemi 10 8 8 10 5 4 4 7 4 9 Ret DSQ 50
Neel Jani 9 Ret 1 4 10 8 5 4
Marcel Fässler 10 14
9 Flag of the United States USA Philip Giebler 7 2 6 17 11 Ret 9 6 4 9 8 8 42
Ryan Hunter-Reay 11 10
Jonathan Summerton Ret Ret 5 2 5 Ret 9 6
10 Flag of Mexico Mexico Salvador Durán 2 5 7 3 2 Ret 11 Ret 2 6 12 Ret 11 15 Ret Ret 17* Ret 35
Sergio Pérez 15 Ret
Juan Pablo Garcia 18 14
11 Flag of Canada Canada James Hinchcliffe 8 13 2 5 4 10* 6 6 13 Ret 13 Ret 13 15 33
Sean McIntosh 8 5 8 Ret Ret 6 10 12
12 Flag of the Czech Republic Czech Republic Tomáš Kostka 17 Ret 27
Tomáš Enge 5 2 8 6 Ret 14 17 12 9 5 11 Ret
Jaroslav Janiš 16 7 12 12
Filip Salaquarda 17 10
Jan Charouz 13 15
13 Flag of Australia Australia Ryan Briscoe 13 3 12 17 6 10 25
Karl Reindler 15 16 12 3 14 13 14 14 16 Ret
Ian Dyk 3 8 16 Ret 14 Ret
14 Flag of South Africa South Africa Adrian Zaugg 1* Ret Ret 5 13 12 7 Ret 4 3 15 Ret 24
Stephen Simpson Ret 11
Alan van der Merwe 9 Ret 7 16 16 Ret 8 12
15 Flag of the People's Republic of China China Congfu Cheng 11 9 4 8 13 Ret 10 16 11 15 Ret 10 22
Ho-Pin Tung Ret 13 13 9 6 3 14 Ret 6 10
16 Flag of India India Armaan Ebrahim Ret Ret 17 18 18 11 16 19 18 Ret 13
Narain Karthikeyan 10 7 15 9 11 18 7 17 7 4
Parthiva Sureshwaren 18 16
17 Flag of Portugal Portugal Álvaro Parente 8 5 14 7 11 11 10
João Urbano 19 13
18 Flag of Brazil Brazil Tuka Rocha 14 12 10 14 15 14 Ret 11 9
Raphael Matos 6 7 19 18 16 14
Bruno Junqueira 17 7 Ret 13 12 Ret
Vitor Meira 14 19
19 Flag of Ireland Ireland Michael Devaney 15 14 13 13 20 Ret 14 10 8
Richard Lyons 17 12 Ret 19 10 Ret 6 Ret Ret 16 12 5 8 DSQ
20 Flag of Singapore Singapore Christian Murchison Ret 16 16 8 15 11 Ret 15 12 Ret Ret Ret 3
Denis Lian 18 19
21 Flag of Indonesia Indonesia Ananda Mikola 19 10 16 15 15 Ret Ret 15 14 11 15 Ret 17 13 10 Ret 8 11 13 16 1
Moreno Soeprapto 17 16
22 Flag of Pakistan Pakistan Nur B. Ali 20 Ret 20 Ret 21 Ret 18 21 20 15 18 18 20 Ret 18 10 15 21 20 18 Ret 17 1
23 Flag of Lebanon Lebanon Basil Shaaban 16 Ret 12 12 19 13 19 Ret 0
Khalil Beschir 17 20
Alexander Khateeb Ret 17 Ret 17
Allam Khodair 19 Ret 18 19 18 14 Ret 13
24 Flag of Greece Greece Takis Kaitatzis 18 15 Ret 0
Nikos Zakos 19
Pos Team Drivers  NLD  CZE  CHN  MYS  IDN  NZL  AUS  RSA  MEX  CHN  GBR Pts
spr fea spr fea spr fea spr fea spr fea spr fea spr fea spr fea spr fea spr fea spr fea
Colour Result
Gold Winner
Silver 2nd place
Bronze 3rd place
Green Finished, in points
Green Retired, in points
Blue Finished, no points
Purple Did not finish (Ret)
Not classified (NC)
Red Did not qualify (DNQ)
Black Disqualified (DSQ)
White Did not start (DNS)
Withdrew (WD)
Blank Did not participate
Injured (INJ)
Excluded (EX)
Bold Pole position
* Fastest lap
spr Sprint Race
fea Feature Race

Notable 2006-07 season happenings

Beijing Incident

The first Chinese round of the 2006/07 A1GP took place on the streets of Beijing. However, the tight hairpin at the end of the backstraight was far too tight for the cars to negotiate safely, as there was literally, a 180 degree left turn. Cars were running wide and stopping mid corner, therefore the sessions were red flagged.

A shorter circuit was created, creating another less tighter hairpin halfway up the straight, bypassing most of the old straight. This corner was still not perfect as drivers still ran wide despite the corner being wider, and had to avoid the pitlane entry barrier. It had to suffice, though, because otherwise the race would have to be cancelled.

However, another problem arose in qualiying, when manhole covers on the roads were coming undone due to the racing cars' high downforce and low center of gravity. Grid positions were decided based on practice times. Some advertising banners also came loose around the circuit.

It was announced the races would start behind the safety car, as the first corner was also deemed unsafe.

Both races were uneventful, particularly the Sprint Race which took place almost entirely behind the safety car after course officials failed to remove a single spun car in a timely fashion.

April Fools' hoax

On 1 April 2006, during the penultimate round of the 2005-06 A1 Grand Prix season in Shanghai, a fake timetable of the 2006-2007 season was published13. This schedule included a night time race in Lapland, an A1GP USA race in Baghdad, a race in Middle-earth at 'The Ring', a Venice Street Race as well as a Tibetan hill climb. In addition, it outlined special regulations, such as requiring only the Cornettos be catered for the Venice race, that "cars will arrive flatpacked for the Ikea Cup race in Narnia, so extra time will be required for their assembly", and that for the hill climb, half the cars will start from the top, and half will start from the bottom. A race in South Los Angeles was to have drive-by penalties.

References

  1. ^ A1 GP Calendar - 2006/7 team-jva.com
  2. ^ Team history team-astromega.com
  3. ^ a b c A1GP makes a return motoring.iafrica.com (September 26, 2006)
  4. ^ A1 Team Ireland has secured a title sponsor for 2007/08 season motorsport.com (September 12, 2007)
  5. ^ Duran and Perez for Mexico pitpass.com (September 29, 2006)
  6. ^ A1 Team Netherlands signs sponsorship agreement cranialcavity.net (July 1, 2006)
  7. ^ a b "A1 Team Portugal returns to A1GP World Cup of Motorsport". Retrieved on 2007-02-24.
  8. ^ Murchison's Singapore pledge channelnewsasia.com (September 8, 2006)
  9. ^ Team USA and WSR announce partnership crash.net (August 31, 2006)
  10. ^ "Course concerns in Beijing". Retrieved on 2006-11-10.
  11. ^ Jennifer Murray results.a1gp.com
  12. ^ "Brazilian race withdrawn from the 2006/07 calendar". Retrieved on 2007-01-17.
  13. ^ April 1 press release a1gp.com (April 1, 2006)

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