A1 Grand Prix China Race Preview (z04)

Round 3 of the 2006-2007 A1GP World Cup of Motorsport

CHINESE STREET CHALLENGE AWAITS CANADA'S HINCHCLIFFE

Thursday November 09, 2006 - A1 Team Canada's James Hinchcliffe is in 
Beijing this week for Round 3 of the 2006-07 A1GP World Cup of 
Motorsport, 10-12 November. Two years away from hosting the 2008 
Olympic Games, the Chinese capital presents its first ever motorsport 
event and A1GP's first street race of the season following road 
course starts at Zandvoort in Holland and at Brno in the Czech 
Republic last month.

Hinchcliffe, making his third consecutive start for A1 Team Canada, 
is relishing the prospect of a street race in the 550bhp V8-powered 
A1GP car but faces the same unfamiliarity as the rest of the 23-car 
field heading into this weekend as the 3.104 km layout in the south 
eastern section of Beijing. Located in the Economic and Technological 
Development Zone, the track is untested as a racing venue therefore 
leveling the playing field for the participating nations.

Having progressed through the North American open-wheel racing 
ladder, with wins in Formula BMW, Star Mazda and Champ Car Atlantic, 
the 19-year-old from Toronto is no stranger to the intricacies of 
street racing and hopes to further showcase his talents in Beijing 
following impressive rookie performances for the Canadian team in 
Zandvoort and Brno.

Steering A1 Team Canada to a second-place podium finish last time out 
in the Sprint race at Brno in the Czech Republic, Hinchcliffe came 
within five laps of backing that up with a maiden win for himself in 
the Feature Event where he led 26 laps in the race. Malaysia's Alex 
Yoong bumped the hard charging Canadian into a spin on lap 33 of 38, 
to an eventual fifth place finish at the flag. The team's strong 
showing opened their points account and heading into this weekend's 
event in China A1 Team Canada sits fourth in the Nations Standings 
with 11 points while Germany leads on 20.

  "I'm really looking forward to what's undoubtedly an exciting visit 
to a new circuit for both myself and the A1GP Series," explained 
Hinchcliffe. "Obviously, I'm used to street racing but the track in 
Beijing is new territory for us all. I'd like to think that my 
previous experience with this kind of racing will come into play not 
to mention the fact that this will be my third straight start for A1 
Team Canada. The continuity factor will hopefully play to our 
advantage. 

  "We ran really well last time out in the Czech Republic and put 
simply I hope we can keep that momentum going throughout the 
weekend," he continued. "It was great to get the team's first podium 
of the new season but the Feature win would have been sweeter! We've 
proved we can put together a competitive package so I'm hoping for 
more of the same come Sunday!"

Sunday's Sprint race starts at 11 am local time (10 pm EST Saturday) 
with the Feature race starting at 3 pm in Beijing (2 am EST Sunday). 
The races can be watched live in Canada or on demand later via the 
A1GP website - www.a1gp.com or on SPEED TV on Wednesday December 20 
at 4:00 pm.

ENDS - www.a1teamcan.com 

Photo Credit: "A1 Team Canada's James Hinchcliffe in Beijing, China" 
- Jakob Ebrey Photography

More Copyright-free A1 Team Canada images are available at 
www.a1gp-photo.com/can

A1 Team Canada Media Relations:
Stuart Morrison - PR & Media Manager
Cell: +44 (0)7962 469486 - Until Sunday 12th November
Email: stuart@a1teamcan.com