13 February 2008

The streets of Durban in KwaZulu-Natal are set to reverberate to the magnificent sound of high-tech racing V8 engines once more as South Africa hosts round seven of the third season of the A1GP World Cup of Motorsport on the weekend of 22 to 24 February.

Launched in 2004, with the first season running from September 2005 to April 2006, the A1GP World Cup of Motorsport is more than just another racing phenomenon; it's an entirely new concept that pits driver against driver and country against country.

Competition as equals
A1GP brings together 22 countries to compete as equals, without financial or technological advantage.

With three days of on-track action, an A1GP event offers a rare opportunity for fans to interact with teams and drivers, bringing the thrill of international motorsport to millions of fans around the world.

Countries competing are: Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, Czech Republic, France, Great Britain, Germany, Indonesia, India, Ireland, Italy, Lebanon, Malaysia, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Pakistan, Portugal, South Africa, Switzerland and the United States of America.

Zaugg full of confidence
Team South Africa's Adrian Zaugg heads into Durban full of confidence after winning the feature race at the last round of the championship, held in Sydney.

It's been a good season for the South African team so far. After six of the 10 rounds, Team SA occupies fourth place in the standings on 79 points, behind New Zealand (96), France (96), and Switzerland (93).

Zaugg opened the season with a win in the first race of 2007/08 at Zandvoort in the Netherlands, when he scored a comfortable victory in the sprint event. He followed that up with second spot in the feature race to get Team SA off to a roaring start.

In the next round, in Brno in the Czech Republic, Zaugg was fourth in the sprint, but only 16th in the longer feature race.

At Sepang in Malaysia, things didn't go well for Team SA as Zaugg managed only 10th in the sprint, and then 19th in the feature race after crashing out while fighting it out with the Netherlands for seventh place.

Podium
In Zhuhai, China, Zaugg was knocked out of the sprint on the first lap after a three-car accident. He recovered brilliantly to grab third place in the feature race after starting from ninth on the grid.

Next up, in Taupo, New Zealand, Team SA continued to score points as Zaugg took fourth in the sprint and seventh in the feature event.

That was followed by a 7th place in the sprint at Eastern Creek, just outside Sydney, Australia, and, then, Zaugg's win in the feature race, the first ever by Team SA in the A1GP World Cup of Motorsport over the longer distance race.

Technical team
Since the first season of the A1GP, South Africa and France have shared a technical team, with the French enjoying far greater success. However, the gap has closed significantly this season; the French are just 14 points clear of SA with four stops still left on the schedule.

In the inaugural 2005/06 season, the gap was huge, with France topping the standings on 172 points and South Africa mired in 17th place with only 20 points. In 2006/07, France finished fourth with 67 points and South Africa 14th with 24.

On the all-time points' scoring chart, Team France is number one with 355 points, far ahead of second-placed New Zealand on 266 points. South Africa is in 10th position on 123, with 79 of those points having come in the current season; as a percentage, that is just over 61 percent.

Reasons for improvement
There are likely two reasons for Team South Africa's much improved showing in the current season. Firstly, Adrian Zaugg has started every race for the team and the 20-year-old is clearly maturing into one of the best drivers on the circuit; his performances in qualifying, which have seen him record more top-three places than any other driver, is proof of this.

Secondly, the technical team took on a new race engineer for the season, 58-year-old Briton Humphrey Corbett, and his addition to the technical ranks has occurred at the same time as Team South Africa's jump up into the top level of challengers.

Corbett's impressive resumé includes working as a test and race engineer for Formula One teams Simtek, Pacific, Ligier, Prost, Jaguar, and Toyota. He has worked with, among others, Jean Alesi, Olivier Panis, Jarno Trulli, Eddie Irvine, Pedro de la Rosa, and Ricardo Zonta.

Durban A1GP
So far, in two previous A1 Grands Prix in Durban, Team South Africa has flattered only to deceive. In the 2005/06, Stephen Simpson finished 20th in the sprint and fifth in the feature race, while last year Zaugg took seventh in the sprint and 17th in the feature.

With the success the team has enjoyed in the 2007/08 championship, such results would be considered disappointing, and they will be going all out for victory to give the home fans the result they desire.

The Durban A1GP has traditionally been among the best supported races on the schedule, attracting crowds of over 100 000, many of them from out of town; in 2005/06, Durban's street race was voted the best A1GP race of the season.

The cars
A1GP uniquely features identical cars with custom-made chassis and 3.4-litre V8 engines that produce 530 bhp. The six-speed sequential gearbox is activated by paddles mounted on the steering wheel. With the same bodywork, engine and tyres, and minimal driver aids, winning is due to the skill and commitment of both driver and team working together.

Each car is equipped with a PowerBoost system, operated by a button mounted on the steering wheel that allows the engine to produce an extra 30 bhp for a brief period. The driver may only use the PowerBoost four times in the short sprint race and eight times in the longer feature race.

The events
Each event is held over three days - Friday through Sunday - and consists of three one-hour practice sessions (two on Friday, the first being reserved for rookie drivers and developing nations, and one on Saturday), four 15-minute qualifying sessions with a 5-minute gap between each on Saturday, and two races (a 20-minute sprint and a 70-minute feature with two compulsory pit stops) on Sunday.

Teams may complete a single flying lap in each qualifying segment with the best time in the first two determining the team's position on the starting grid for the flying start sprint race, and the best time in the second two deciding grid positions for the feature race.

Points
Points are awarded for the first 10 places in each race (15,12,10,8,6,5,4,3,2,1) with a bonus point going to the team that sets the fastest lap time in each race.

Local television coverage will be provided by SABC3, with Saturday's qualifying live from 14:00 to 16:00, and Sunday's races from 14:00 to 16:30 (delayed recording of the sprint race at 14:00 and the feature race live from 15:00).

Championship standings

1. New Zealand - 96*
2. France - 96
3. Switzerland - 93
4. South Africa - 79
5. Germany - 77
6. Great Britain - 58
7. Netherlands - 55
8. Ireland - 50
9. Brazil - 38
10. Canada - 37

Additional reporting: A1GP World Cup of Motorsport

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	Team South Africa driver Stephen Simpson in action in the 2006 Durban leg of the A1 Grand Prix of Nations (Photo: A1 Grand Prix)

	Durban hosts the only street race in the A1GP World Cup of Motorsport (Photo: A1GP.com)

	A1 Team SA rides high in Sydney SA's Zaugg on A1 GP podium Zaugg, A1 GP Team SA on fire Germany dominates A1 GP Durban Zaugg stuns with debut A1GP win Formula 1: Jody Scheckter

	A1GP World Cup of Motorsport  A1 Team South Africa  Adrian Zaugg

Hosting the big events - The Rugby World Cup, Cricket World Cup, World Cup of Motorsport, Women's World Cup of Golf, African Cup of Nations ... If you think we'll have any trouble pulling off the 2010 Fifa World Cup, look at our track record for hosting major sporting events - and think again.

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