03/11/2005
NEWS STORY
Built and owned by the New South Wales Government to host the 1991 Australian Motorcycle Grand Prix, Eastern Creek International Raceway is the only international race circuit in Sydney. It is currently operated by the Australian Racing Drivers Club (ARDC). Located just 50 minutes from Sydney, Eastern Creek is the hub of motorsport in New South Wales. It also contains the world's largest karting facility and Australia's leading drag-racing complex. Eastern Creek International Raceway annually plays host to a number of Australian motorsports' biggest events, both on two and four wheels. The facilities include a 4,000 seat covered grandstand which overlooks the start finish line providing a view of 80% of the circuit. The pit facilities provide 52 garages, all with power and immediate access to the support paddock area.
Air-conditioned VIP suites located above the competitors garages have closed circuit TV, computerised lap scoring screens and balconies which overlook the start / finish line, main straight and the pit lane. The purpose built media centre is also located on this level. The roof of the pit building is capable of hosting a further 1,500 corporate guests in marquee style suites. The upgradation work carried out prior to this weekends A1 Grand Prix event has brought this circuit up to Grade 2 status, resulting in this facility being the highest graded permanent circuit in Australia.
The A1 Teams of 25 countries from the far reaches of the globe start to arrive on the Monday or Tuesday of the race week in order to get acclimatized to the different weather conditions and time zones. The cars and equipment are handed over to all teams on the Wednesday morning at 9 am to start work, and testing begins on Friday morning.
A1 Team India arrived in Sydney on Tuesday. Work on both the cars has now been completed and the final set up on the car is being done by the Race Engineer Patrick Roberts, in consultation with the driver Armaan Ebrahim, and the Team Manager.
A1 Team India, had a post race debriefing in Portugal, headed by its Chairman Mr. Atul Gupta and the Engineers of the team. They have decided to pursue with Armaan Ebrahim as the engineers and the rest of the team were highly impressed by the youngsters performance, technical feedback and physical fitness levels. They all felt that he would continue to improve with every race, and also the fact that the team recognizes the abundance of talent and potential in this youngster.
The Eastern Creek International Raceway is 3.9 km long and is a very technically challenging track. On first glance and by following the track diagram many may get mislead that it is a slow and medium corner track. In fact, after walking the track, a few corners are blindingly fast with a few very technical high speed 3rd and 4th gear corners. In fact the entry speed to the first corner should be in 6th gear at around 250 kmph, commented Team Manager Akbar Ebrahim.
A1 Team India will start with a similar car set-up to what was raced in Portugal, but will be running their new engine and gearbox which was delivered with the 2nd car. The race car will be the original car that was raced in Portugal. This is to equalize the engine mileage on both engines, in order to have better mileage management for the whole season. The car set-up is a little bit towards the stiffer side at present, and as we understand the track better after the first practice session, we may lean towards a softer set-up, said Akbar Ebrahim.
The team will be without the services of their Data Engineer and Driver Coach Andy Pardoe who injured his back after Portugal. His duties will be shared by Race Engineer Patrick Roberts and Team Manager Akbar Ebrahim.