2006-07 A1 Grand Prix of Nations, Beijing, China

A1GP race summary
empty=
race=China
race no=3 of 11
season=2006-07
date=November 12, 2006
circuit=Beijing International Streetcircuit
city=Beijing
country=China
weather= Dry
pole_

---

pole_team=The Netherlands
pole_driver=Jeroen Bleekemolen
pole_time=1:00.093
pole_time1=no pole time1
pole_time2=no pole time2
sprint_1st_

---

sprint_1st_team=The Netherlands
sprint_1st_driver=Jeroen Bleekemolen
sprint_2nd_

---

sprint_2nd_team=Mexico
sprint_2nd_driver=Salvador Durán
sprint_3rd_

---

sprint_3rd_team=Italy
sprint_3rd_driver=Enrico Toccacelo
main_1st_

---

main_1st_team=Italy
main_1st_driver=Enrico Toccacelo
main_2nd_

---

main_2nd_team=Great Britain
main_2nd_driver=Oliver Jarvis
main_3rd_

---

main_3rd_team=Australia
main_3rd_driver=Karl Reindler
FL_

---

FL_team=Canada
FL_driver=James Hinchcliffe
FL_time=58.107
FL_l

FL_mainOrsprint=Feature

The 2006-07 A1 Grand Prix of Nations, China was an A1 Grand Prix race, held on November 12, 2006 at Beijing International Streetcircuit, Beijing, China. It was the third race in the 2006-07 A1 Grand Prix season and the first ever meeting held at the circuit.__FORCETOC__

Report

Practice

The first day of practice was canceled because of safety concerns, specifically a very tight hairpin. A revised track layout was devised for extended Saturday practice session [http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/55590] .

Qualifying

The field was set by morning practice times, giving The Netherlands' driver Jeroen Bleekemolen pole position for the Sprint race.

print race

The width of the track was also an issue in the Sprint race, as South Africa's Adrian Zaugg spun and stalled his car, blocking half of the track. The safety car was deployed, as a flatbed truck came to remove the stricken vehicle and blocked the entire track, halting the remaining cars.

With more than half the race under the safety car, Jeroen Bleekemolen won the race for The Netherlands, with Salvador Durán of Mexico and A1 Team Italy's Enrico Toccacelo in second and third.

Main race

Results

Qualification

Qualification was cancelled due to track problems. Accordingly, the grid was set from the times set in the 25 minutes of the morning practice session (Practice 3) before it was red-flagged, under article 144 of the Sporting Regulations.

A1GP Beijing

The first Chinese round of the 2006/07 A1GP took place on the streets of Beijing. However, due to various safety concerns, the circuit was shortened, races started behind the safety car, and the Sprint Race was run mostly behind the safety car, as noted above. These incidents led to questions about the management and organization of both the event and A1GP in general.

imilar problems in China

Similar problems have occurred before in China. The 2004 DTM race around the streets of Pudong in Shanghai was hampered by crashes due to manhole covers becoming undone; the 2005 Chinese Grand Prix on the Shanghai International Circuit was interrupted when the safety car had to be deployed when a water runoff drain became open. The same problem also occurred in the Australian V8 Supercars race on the same circuit a few months before.

References