2005–06 A1 Grand Prix season

The A1GP 2005/2006 season was held on 23 September 2005 to 2 April 2006, a total of eleven tracks. As a world champion France emerged.

Overview

The 2005/2006 season represented the first in the history of A1GP dar. At the opening race weekend at Brands Hatch was able to achieve a double victory at the wheel of Team Brazil Nelson Piquet Jr., in the episode but did to France as the dominant team out, which with could reach its drivers Nicolas Lapierre and Alexandre Prémat total of 13 victories (of 22 possible ) and therefore easily won the title. The runner-up went to the once winning team Switzerland, Third overall was Team UK. Other race winners were the team from the Netherlands, Canada, Mexico ( twice ), Malaysia and the Czech Republic.

During the race weekend at the Dubai Autodrome was the first and only time the so-called A1 Recovery System used a tow method in which had an accident or defect left standing race car to be recovered using a 50 -meter-long steel cable by helicopter. A to the end of the series is also unique process provided permission for the Italian rider Enrico Toccacelo is to be able to replace at the event in Durban the injured at the back and the left hand Pakistani regular driver Adam Khan in the race, although he no points authorized had. Unequalled was to the end the chase Team Canada in the main event of Sentul, where Sean McIntosh Canadians from 23rd (and thus from the last position ) could achieve victory starting. In the season 2005/2006 the A1GP series also saw her today serious accident when the main race of Eastern Creek the car of the Japanese team of unknown causes in the fast left-hand corner after the start / finish off the track, a rollover fully led and the airbox forward crashed into a concrete wall, where it broke between the engine and monocoque into two parts. Pilot Hayanari Shimoda remained virtually unharmed despite badly damaged roll bar.

Car

As a unit of the Lola - Zytek car with Cooper Tires tires was used, see A1GP cars. He proved from the outset to be reliable, but it came with pit stops in the first part of the season often cause problems with canted wheel nuts, thus well-positioned teams declining as many places.

Team

On the season, 25 teams took part (see team and driver overview), but not all of which competed throughout.

Team Indonesia was the fourth race weekend at Eastern Creek far as regular driver Ananda Mikola stayed in a race of the Asian Formula 3, where he gave the preference due to its local championship chances, and a suitable replacement driver could not be found. The Pakistani team was missing at the events in Sentul and Monterrey due to a back injury the regular driver Adam Khan. Team Japan took over the race weekend at Estoril, did not participate because Ryo Fukuda and Hideki Noda were prevented due to World Series by Renault and Formula Nippon race and a replacement driver was not determined in time. In Durban it was missing again, because there is no substitute for Shimoda could be found, whose contract had expired at that time. Even in the last two race weekends at Laguna Seca and Shanghai joined the team not to. The team from India had the last three race weekends out because of internal squabbles. Team Russia did not participate in the event on the Euro Speedway Lausitz due to an internal restructuring. After the race weekend at Eastern Creek it finally came no longer in publication.

Team and driver overview

* Points not entitled

• Explanation: Small -written drivers took only part in the training.

Race Calendar

The calendar of the season 2005/2006 contained eleven race weekends, including one in Germany.

Before the season two official tests were held. They found in Silverstone (3rd / 4th August) and on the Circuit Paul Ricard ( August 24 to 26 ) instead.

Over time, various changes were made to the race calendar. So the first published calendar contained twelve race weekends, including runs were on a street circuit in Singapore or Indonesia ( by Sentul replaced), in Cape Town (replaced by Durban ), in San Antonio / Texas and on the Gold Port Motor Park in Beijing ( by Shanghai replaced) planned. The event in San Antonio was replaced by a race weekend in Curitiba (Brazil), which, however, was deleted in the course of the season from the calendar because the course did not have the required safety standards. In addition, the race weekend in Sentul was originally on 13 - set 15 January 2006, but was due to the death of Maktoum bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Prime Minister of the United Arab Emirates and uncle of A1GP founder Sheikh Maktoum sensationalist Maktoum Al Maktoum, on the former date of Curitiba weekend ( 10 to 12 February 2006) moved. The race weekend at Laguna Seca was also before the cancellation, after heavy rains had affected the route, but eventually was able to take place as planned.

Rules

The weekend consisted of three training sessions, a qualifying session, a warm-up and two races - a shorter, the " sprint ", and a longer, the " main event ". The training sessions, of which the first two on Friday and the third was held on Saturday, each lasted 60 minutes. The Saturday discharged qualifying consisted of four 15-minute sessions, which were separated by 10 minute pauses. In each of these sessions, a driver was allowed to drive a maximum of one timed lap ( so he completed a total of three rounds: run- round, timed lap, down lap ). From the ideally four lap times were the two best added at the end, the resulting time determined the starting position in the sprint race. The starting grid for the main race corresponded to the final outcome of the sprint race. The warmup was held on Sunday and lasted 15 minutes. The two also held on Sunday's race were each discharged through a certain number of rounds. The sprint race was limited to 30 minutes, was a flying start and did not contain a mandatory pit stop; the main event was limited to 60 minutes was started standing and contained a mandatory pit stop, which could be made ​​at any time. The break between the end of the Sprint race and the start of the feature race was 60 minutes.

Both the Sprint and in the main race, the first ten teams were given points according to the principle 10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1. In addition, the team that had the fastest lap at the end of both races got an extra point.

The prize money of one million dollars per race weekend was divided among the top ten teams of the feature race. In this case, the winner received $ 300,000, second place $ 200,000, and the third $ 150,000.

In the sprint race was the Power Boost button, which caused a temporary power increase of 30 hp, four times used in the main race eight times. In qualifying, he stood, as well as in the training sessions and in the warmup, not available.

Technical driving Hilften such as ABS and traction control were completely banned. Tests with the A1GP cars were, apart from the official test days, also not allowed. Also test drive other cars on routes on which the series still guesting would have been prohibited in the course of the season.

At the beginning of the season, all teams had besides the use - even a spare car available, this was no longer allowed from the race weekend in Sentul.

Results

Reporting

In German-speaking only the pay-TV channel Premiere broadcast the series. He showed live qualifying, the Sprint and the main race.