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61-579: Motorsport started in Zhuhai when it hosted a race on its street circuit in 1993. Racing continued there until 1996 when the motor racing circuit was constructed and became China's first permanent motor race track with Formula One in mind. The circuit was designed by Australian company Kinhill Engineers Pty Ltd, the same group which created the Formula One circuit in Adelaide . The project manager for

122-448: A Lola A1GP on the fourth round on December 16, 2007 during the 2007-08 A1 Grand Prix season . However, this is not considered the lap record since lap records are taken from racing laps and not qualifying. The fastest unofficial lap ever at the circuit was set by a 2007 Panoz DP01 Champ Car on November 30, 2006. Driven by Roberto Moreno , it managed a lap of 1:23.612 during a demonstration run. The fastest unofficial GT1 lap time

183-653: A Ferrari 1–2, and Frentzen finished third. Round eleven took place in Hungary and Häkkinen took pole as usual, with Irvine alongside him and Coulthard third. Häkkinen and Irvine quickly raced away, while Coulthard got passed by Giancarlo Fisichella and Frentzen. Coulthard jumped both drivers in the stops and then chased after Irvine. The Ulsterman cracked under the pressure with eight laps left, by running wide and thus settling for third position. Häkkinen cruised to victory and Coulthard completed McLaren's 1–2. The field went to Belgium next and Häkkinen took his tenth pole of

244-561: A Grand Prix driver. Pedro Diniz left Arrows for Sauber . Johnny Herbert , whose Sauber seat was taken by Diniz, joined Rubens Barrichello at Stewart . Stewart's drivers from 1998 were both absent from the Formula One grid this year: Jan Magnussen moved to the American Le Mans Series , while Jos Verstappen became the test driver for the Honda F1 project, which was later aborted. Finally, Minardi also fielded

305-558: A completely new driver pairing: Luca Badoer (who had last driven for Forti in 1996 but became Ferrari test driver in the following years) and the third rookie driver, reigning Open Fortuna by Nissan champion Marc Gené . Their previous drivers Shinji Nakano and Esteban Tuero became a test driver for Jordan and driver in the Argentinian TC 2000 Championship , respectively. A wrist injury to Luca Badoer led to Prost test driver Stéphane Sarrazin making his F1 debut at

366-497: A place when Häkkinen went up an escape road at Mirabeau , but soon after, Coulthard retired from third with a mechanical failure. Schumacher won by half a minute, with Irvine making it a Ferrari 1–2, and Häkkinen had to be content with the last podium spot. With a quarter of the season gone, Schumacher led the championship with 26 points and teammate Irvine was second with 18. Häkkinen was third with 14, 12 points behind Schumacher, and only one point ahead of fourth-placed Frentzen. In

427-467: A slight drizzle fell and Häkkinen pitted for rain tires . He was the only one and it turned out to be a mistake. He lost a lot of time when he had to pit again for dry tires and he rejoined a lap down. Irvine had a slow stop of 30 seconds when his team couldn't find the fourth wheel to put on and with half of the race gone, Frentzen was leading Coulthard and Ralf Schumacher . Frentzen's race cruelly ended with an electrical failure after his first stop and

488-448: Is 4.319 km (2.684 mi) long and has 14 turns. 9 of them are right turns and 5 are left turns and the circuit runs clockwise only. The shorter straight is 0.500 km (0.311 mi) long. The longest straight is the start/finish straight which is 900 m (0.56 mi) long and 14 m (15 yd) wide at its widest. Alexandre Imperatori, A1 Team Switzerland 's rookie driver, suggested that there are many overtaking places in

549-463: Is set by Porsche 911 GT1 with Porsche AG team in 1996 4 Hours of Zhuhai . The time was 1:30.401. The fastest unofficial lap ever on a motorcycle was set at a Pan Delta 1000cc Superbike race, taken by splitlath team. Winning all 6 races, Splitlath rider Mark Aitchison smashed the ZIC Superbike lap record 1:33.725 on an EBR RS 1190 As of October 2024, the fastest official race lap records at

610-485: The 1997 champion Jacques Villeneuve , moved to the newly founded British American Racing (BAR) team. He was partnered with McLaren test driver and FIA GT1 champion Ricardo Zonta , one of three F1 rookies on the grid at the beginning of the season. 1998 Tyrrell driver Ricardo Rosset had retired from racing, while his teammate Toranosuke Takagi moved to Arrows . He was joined by Jordan's test driver from last year, Pedro de la Rosa , who also made his debut as

671-578: The 2007 DP01 Champ Car on track at the Zhuhai Circuit, marking the first time a Champ Car had run in China . Then the series had problems with its promoter, which settled in a court in the US, and was replaced. The new promoter did not have enough time to organize the race on the original May date and so the race was provisionally moved to October 2007. When the series failed to get F.I.A. approval for

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732-698: The 2011 Intercontinental Le Mans Cup season. In 2004, the GT Association, the organizer of Super GT , announced on 23 May that an All-Star race in China, scheduled for 4 to 6 October at ZIC. But on 5 August 2004, JGTC announced that the race was cancelled, for reasons related to the Chinese organizer. A multi year deal was announced in 2006 that brought one of the American racing series to China . On 30 November 2006, Roberto Moreno made history as he took

793-582: The BPR Global GT Series , Asian Formula 2000 and South East Asian Touring Cars Challenge were held at the circuit. After completion of the Zhuhai International Circuit, the street circuit has been discontinued. All the pits, paddock, VIP suites, guest stand and race control are situated at the start/finish straight at Jiu Zhou City. The circuit ran clockwise. The start/finish line was at Jing Shan Road ( 景山路 ), at

854-528: The Brazilian Grand Prix . It would end up being the Frenchman's only ever race in the series. Mika Salo , driving for Arrows in 1998 , was left without a full-time drive for 1999, but he later served as an injury replacement for both Ricardo Zonta for three races (after his accident during practice of the Brazilian Grand Prix ), and Ferrari's Michael Schumacher for six races after

915-815: The China Superbike Championship , established in 2007 and sanctioned by the China Motorcycle Sports Association, CMSA. ZIC also organizes the Circuit Hero and Circuit Hero GT race series, which allows citizens of the People's Republic of China to participate. The Hong Kong Touring Car Championship and the Macau Touring Car Championship both run the majority of their races at ZIC since they began. The Asian Festival of Speed

976-409: The safety car periods, Coulthard tried to overtake Irvine, but they collided and spun off. Coulthard's miseries ensued when he ignored the red light at the end of the pit lane and was handed a stop-go penalty . All this left Heinz-Harald Frentzen in second, only for him to crash heavily with a brake failure 4 laps from the end. This brought out the safety car until the end of the race, thus making it

1037-537: The 1999 Formula One World Championship for Constructors, which were contested concurrently over a sixteen-race series that commenced on 7 March and ended on 31 October. Defending champion Mika Häkkinen was again awarded the World Drivers' Championship . His team McLaren just missed out: it was Ferrari that clinched the World Constructors' Championship by a margin of four points. It would be

1098-509: The 2004 FIA GT Championship season. The circuit has also been simulated on the racing simulator Project CARS . In March 2018, the track was released for Raceroom Racing Experience . The ZIC has a bus stop which is served by routes 3, 3A, 10, 10A, 66, 68 and 69 of the Zhuhai bus network. It is also served by the Guangzhou–Zhuhai Intercity Mass Rapid Transit , as Tangjiawan Station is within walking distance of

1159-580: The Constructors' Championship, Ferrari with 44 points had a big lead over McLaren with 20, and Jordan with 16. For the next race in Spain , Mika Häkkinen took pole position as usual ahead of Eddie Irvine , teammate David Coulthard and Michael Schumacher . Both Ferraris got away poorly, Irvine was passed by Coulthard and both were passed by Jacques Villeneuve in the BAR . The McLarens disappeared into

1220-517: The Ferrari's tire and damaged his front wing, which forced him to pit for repairs. Häkkinen was cruising, but his refuelling equipment malfunctioned during the stops, and the delay pushed him down to fourth. He repassed Frentzen and set off after the Ferraris, only to suffer a puncture and crashed into the wall . Irvine was let through by Salo and took his second consecutive win, with Salo making it

1281-452: The German jumped his rival in the stops to win, sending the tifosi wild. Coulthard came home in second and Barrichello took third after Irvine retired with an engine failure. Häkkinen took pole again at Monaco , but this time, Schumacher prevented a lockout of the front row. Schumacher actually beat Häkkinen on the run to the first corner and then pulled away. Both Irvine and Coulthard gained

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1342-580: The October date the 2007 race was cancelled. The series was looking to race in Zhuhai for the 2008 season until the unification with Indy Racing League but most of the speculation had died down. On 2 October 2003, Dragon Hill Corporation Ltd, part of LBS Bina Group , exercised its option to buy Lamdeal Investment Ltd, which is involved in managing Zhuhai International Circuit Ltd (ZICL), for US$ 1. LBS managing director, Datuk Lim Hock San said LBS believed in

1403-477: The Zhuhai International Circuit are listed as: Zhuhai International Circuit Co Ltd was also a prominent motorsport event organizer and promoter in China. It organized and promoted the FIA GT Championship in China and in 2007, it also signed a contract with China Motorcycle Sports Association to promote the inaugural China Superbike Championship . Zhuhai International Circuit was the promoter of

1464-648: The championship, at the cost of Coulthard, and his sixth place brought Eddie Irvine level with Häkkinen at the top of the standings. At the European Grand Prix , Frentzen took his second and last career pole, ahead of Coulthard and Häkkinen. After two aborted starts, Frentzen led Häkkinen and Coulthard into the first corner, but at the back of the pack, Damon Hill got away slow because of an electrical failure. This caused Alexander Wurz to hit Pedro Diniz . The Sauber driver rolled upside down and his rollbar failed, but Diniz escaped uninjured. After 15 laps,

1525-404: The circuit because of the combination of straights, hard braking areas for hairpins, tight corners, followed by and accelerating for long straights. The most successful driver on the circuit is the best one who can manage their brake wear. Zhuhai International Circuit is an FIA Grade II certified circuit. The fastest qualifying lap ever at the circuit was 1:23.203, set by Michael Ammermüller on

1586-458: The circuit for November 15, 2009. However, the series had more races cancelled, with an announcement made on 5 November 2009 stating that races in China and Malaysia were not taking part. The 2010 1000 km of Zhuhai was held at the circuit in November 2010, forming a round of the 2010 Le Mans Intercontinental Cup . In November 2011, the circuit hosted the 2011 6 Hours of Zhuhai , the finale of

1647-561: The circuit's west grandstand. Zhuhai Street Circuit Zhuhai Street Circuit was a 4.200 km (2.610 mi) street circuit used in 1993–1995 in Zhuhai for motorsports events before the completion of the permanent Zhuhai International Circuit in 1996. The circuit was opened in March 1993, and only races run by the Hong Kong Automobile Association was held at the track that year. In 1994 and 1995,

1708-463: The circuit, as the battle for car sales in China heats up. Auto dealers and manufacturers try to lure more customers by allowing them to drive freely on the track and pampering them off it. A kart circuit was added to the ZIC facility in 2004. In 2011, Sunny Racing Club was established. The club uses a one make Sunny Kart chassis and 2-stroke 100cc Yamaha engine. GTR2 has the circuit simulated based on

1769-661: The circuit. The race was won by GMT 94 Racing. In 1997, the circuit hosted a race in the inaugural FIA GT Championship . It hosted further races in the series in 1999, 2004, 2005 and 2007 . The 2007 event was postponed from October 2006 to March 2007, in order to avoid a clash with the Shanghai F1 Grand Prix in early October and the Macau Grand Prix in the middle of November. The race was won by All-Inkl.com racing's Lamborghini Murciélago R-GT, driven by Christophe Bouchut and Stefan Mucke . GT2 class

1830-551: The distance and cruised to a 1–2 finish (Häkkinen before Coulthard), while the Ferraris finally got by Villeneuve at the pit stops , Schumacher finishing third. It was at the Canadian GP that Häkkinen's string of poles was broken, the Finn being pushed to second by Schumacher. The front two maintained their positions at the start and pulled away. Schumacher led until he hit the infamous Wall of Champions and retired. After one of

1891-501: The end of the straight it turned right at 120 degrees into Hai Bin Road ( 海濱路 ), it followed the road until it reaches Ji Da Road ( 吉大路 )where it turns 90   degrees right. Then it turned 90   degrees left to Jing Yuan Road ( 景園路 ) and then left again for Yuan Lin Road ( 園林路 ). There it turned right and rejoined Hai Bin Road. It then turned right for Jiu Zhou Road ( 九州大道 ), then another right for Jing Le Road ( 景樂路 ). After that

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1952-459: The entire race was run in wet conditions. Barrichello led for the first few laps until Coulthard passed him, only for the Scot to retire with a gearbox failure. Häkkinen quickly charged up to second, only to spin and undo his hard work. Schumacher was now second, and soon passed Barrichello to take the lead. He pulled away, but then suffered an electrical problem, which cost him a lot of time and handed

2013-532: The first ever race to finish behind the safety car. Häkkinen won from a surprising Giancarlo Fisichella and the recovering Irvine. Qualifying for the next race in France was disrupted by rain, and it resulted in Rubens Barrichello taking pole ahead of Jean Alesi 's Sauber and Olivier Panis 's Prost . Coulthard was fourth, Schumacher sixth and Häkkinen way down in 14th. The race was no drier, and

2074-460: The front row. Ferrari 's Michael Schumacher qualified in third. Just like last year's final race , however, Schumacher stalled on the warm-up lap and had to start at the back of the grid. So the McLarens were first and second into the first corner and pulled away, until both suddenly broke down: Coulthard when his gearbox failed and Häkkinen with electrical trouble. This left Eddie Irvine in

2135-570: The last Drivers' title for a McLaren driver until 2008 . It was Ferrari's first Constructors' title since 1983 , but would also mark the first of six successive titles up to 2004 . It was the final season for 1996 world champion Damon Hill . It was also the last Drivers' Championship for McLaren until Lewis Hamilton in 2008 . The following teams and drivers competed in the 1999 FIA Formula One World Championship. All teams competed with tyres supplied by Bridgestone . All engines were 3.0 litre, V10 configuration. After three decades in

2196-459: The latter broke his legs at Silverstone . He scored one second place and one third for Ferrari. The 1999 FIA Formula One World Championship comprised the following 16 races. For 1999, there were only minor changes to the technical regulations. The first round of the championship was in Australia and, unsurprisingly, the two McLarens of Mika Häkkinen and David Coulthard started on

2257-419: The lead at the start, while Irvine was fourth behind Olivier Panis . Häkkinen and Schumacher got away, while Panis held up the others. At the first round of stops, Irvine got in front of Panis but then had to deal with Coulthard. The McLaren slowed his pace and held Irvine up to increase the gap to Häkkinen. Irvine was finally released when Coulthard spun off, but was well over a minute behind the lead. Schumacher

2318-529: The lead back to Barrichello. Nearing the end of the race, Häkkinen completed his comeback by passing Barrichello to lead, but then both of them, with most other front-runners, had to stop for extra fuel. Frentzen started with a full tank and took the second win of his career, ahead of Häkkinen and Barrichello. It seemed that normal service resumed in Great Britain , with Häkkinen on pole ahead of Schumacher and Coulthard. Häkkinen started well, but Schumacher

2379-399: The lead to Irvine for the championship and slowed down to keep both McLarens behind. Coulthard finally got in front, only for his car to break down. Schumacher kept Häkkinen behind to complete a Ferrari 1–2 finish, giving Irvine a four-point lead going into the last race. After the race, the Ferrari cars were found to be illegal by an FIA official and were disqualified, which would make Häkkinen

2440-530: The new leader Coulthard spun off into retirement when the rain truly arrived. This handed the lead to Ralf until he suffered a puncture and fell back to fifth. Giancarlo Fisichella inherited the lead, but he also spun off and retired, so Johnny Herbert in the Stewart gained first place. And on a drying track, he held on to finish ahead of Jarno Trulli in the Prost and teammate Rubens Barrichello . Marc Gené

2501-400: The potential of the ZIC circuit land, adding the acquisition "has come at an appropriate time. Upon completion of the exercise of the option, Dragon Hill will hold 100% of the entire issued and paid-up share capital of Lamdeal and Lamdeal will own 60% of ZICL," he said. Since 2005, the circuit has become a hive of track activities, with a large number of auto-related launches and events held at

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2562-429: The project was Michael McDonough. The first international race held at the circuit was the BPR Global GT Series . The circuit soon became the hotbed of local motorsports with teams from Hong Kong and Macau setting up their bases inside the circuit garages. The original circuit contained 16 corners. But corners 7, 8 and 9 were eliminated and made into one corner, after a track change request from FIM . The circuit

2623-421: The restart, Häkkinen pulled away from Irvine and Coulthard and looked set to win until one of his rear wheels suddenly became detached. This led to his retirement and handed the lead to Coulthard, who had jumped Irvine in the stops. Coulthard went on to take a victory on home soil, ahead of Irvine and Ralf Schumacher . With half of the championship complete, Häkkinen led the championship with 40 points. Schumacher

2684-406: The season took place at Imola , and even though the tifosi were out in full force for Ferrari, McLaren locked out the front row of the grid for the third successive race. Schumacher and Irvine were confined to the second row. Häkkinen, who was on a two-stopper, raced away from the field early on, only to lose control and crash on the 18th lap. This left Coulthard and Schumacher to battle it out, and

2745-503: The season with an all-new driver pairing: Ralf Schumacher (driving for Jordan in 1998 ) and Alessandro Zanardi . The Italian had last driven in F1 for Lotus in 1994 . In the years between, he had won the 1997 and 1998 CART championships for Chip Ganassi Racing . Heinz-Harald Frentzen completed a straight swap with the younger Schumacher, taking the vacant seat at Jordan alongside 1996 champion Damon Hill . Frentzen's 1998 teammate,

2806-547: The season, ahead of Heinz-Harald Frentzen and David Coulthard . He led into the first corner and pulled away, helped by Alessandro Zanardi , who got up to second but then held up his rivals. Häkkinen was set to win until he spun off at the first corner on lap 30, handing the lead to Frentzen who went on to win ahead of Ralf Schumacher in the Williams and Mika Salo in the Ferrari . This promoted Frentzen to third place in

2867-411: The season, with Coulthard in second and Frentzen third. At the start, Häkkinen got away slowly and opened the door for Coulthard. The McLarens touched, but Coulthard came out on top. He was never headed and eased to victory, with Häkkinen finishing second and Frentzen third. Irvine finished fourth. With three-quarters of the season complete, Häkkinen led the championship with 60 points, but Irvine with 59

2928-519: The second Ferrari to take his first ever win ahead of Jordan 's Heinz-Harald Frentzen and Ralf Schumacher in the Williams . After the cancellation of two proposed races left an unusual five-week gap in the calendar, the Grand Prix circus struck down in Brazil . Häkkinen and Coulthard started 1–2 again, with home hero Rubens Barrichello in third for Stewart . This time, Coulthard faltered at

2989-603: The sport, the Tyrrell team was sold to British American Tobacco and its entry was used by the new British American Racing (BAR) team, with Supertec engines replacing the Ford - Cosworth units of the previous season. In 1998, Goodyear supplied tires to five teams, but when the company withdrew from the sport after 34 years, it left Bridgestone as the sole tire supplier. The Mecachrome engines used by Williams in 1998 were rebadged as Supertec units. Williams entered

3050-493: The start and he had to be pushed into the pitlane . He rejoined three laps down on the rest of the field. Häkkinen looked dominant, but when he got stuck in third gear, he was passed by Barrichello and Michael Schumacher. Barrichello was on a two-stopper and pitted early, leaving Schumacher in first, only to be jumped by a recovering Häkkinen during the pit stops . Häkkinen won ahead of Schumacher, and Frentzen took third after Barrichello's engine blew up. The first European race of

3111-459: The world champion instantly. However, Ferrari won their case of appeal and their results were reinstated. In the Constructors' Championship, Ferrari led with 118 points, in front of McLaren with 114; Jordan with 58 were a lonely third. The championship decider took place in Japan . Häkkinen qualified in second, behind Schumacher, while Irvine crashed in qualifying and was only fifth. Häkkinen took

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3172-424: Was another 90   degrees left turn for Yuan Lin Road before another sharp right for Jing Shan Road. It followed Jing Shan Road and then a slight right turn back to Jiu Zhou Road and the finish line. 1999 Formula One World Championship The 1999 FIA Formula One World Championship was the 53rd season of FIA Formula One motor racing. It featured the 1999 Formula One World Championship for Drivers and

3233-499: Was held at the circuit from October 20, 2006 to October 22, 2006, when a record 33,000 people turned up to watch the races. AFOS has been held at the circuit many times since its inception in 1994. The Asian Formula Three Championship is also hosted by the circuit in 2002, 2005–2008. In addition, the FIM Asia Road Racing Championship race at ZIC regularly in 2001–2002, 2004–2012, 2019, 2023. ZIC

3294-624: Was included in the provisional 1999 F1 calendar , but the circuit subsequently lost its place in the calendar after failing to meet the international standards set by the FIA. F1 subsequently raced in Shanghai International Circuit . In May 2004, the Endurance World Championship Zhuhai 6 Hours race was held at the circuit. This was the first time an international motorcycle race was held at

3355-518: Was only 1 point behind him. Coulthard was third with 46, and in with an outside chance. Frentzen was fourth with 40 and Schumacher, not having raced since the British GP was still on 32. In the Constructors' Championship, consecutive 1–2 finishes had given McLaren the lead with 106 points. Ferrari with 97 was only 9 points behind them. Jordan was third with 47. In Italy , Mika Häkkinen took his eleventh and what would be his last pole position of

3416-410: Was passed by Coulthard and Irvine. Although the race was suspended, because two cars were stalled on the grid, Schumacher raced down to Stowe corner and tried to retake Irvine's place, when his brakes failed and he was pitched him into the tire barrier at 320 kph (200 mph). Schumacher sustained a broken leg and thus his potential as a Drivers' World Championship contender was cut short. After

3477-711: Was second with 32, but he was expected to miss the rest of the season. Irvine also stood on 32 points and suddenly had to become the new team leader. Frentzen was fourth with 26 and Coulthard was fifth with 22. In the Constructors' Championship, Ferrari led with 64, two ahead of McLaren with 62. Jordan were third with 31. The news before the round in Austria was that Mika Salo was hired as Michael Schumacher 's replacement. The two McLarens were dominant in qualifying per usual: Mika Häkkinen on pole with David Coulthard second. Eddie Irvine started in third and Salo in seventh for his debut with Ferrari . Häkkinen got off well, but

3538-422: Was set for an evenly shocking points finish for Minardi , but he suffered a gearbox failure. Häkkinen finished fifth and Irvine sixth, separating them by two points in the championship. The first ever Malaysian GP was the host of the penultimate round. Michael Schumacher had recovered and replaced Salo. He took pole ahead of Irvine, with Coulthard and Häkkinen third and fourth. At the start, Schumacher handed

3599-673: Was tipped into a spin at the second corner by his teammate. He sustained no damage, but was demoted to last place. Coulthard led for most of the race, but Irvine jumped him in the second round of pit stops to take the win ahead of the Scot . Häkkinen charged back to finish third. The German GP saw Häkkinen taking his eighth pole of the season. This time, Heinz-Harald Frentzen split the McLarens to start in second place. Häkkinen raced away and Coulthard passed Frentzen, but Salo, starting in fourth, actually got in front of both of them. Coulthard put Salo under pressure and tried to pass, but hit

3660-511: Was within five seconds of Häkkinen, and piled on the pressure, but Häkkinen kept him at bay to win the race. Reigning champion Häkkinen was awarded the 1999 Drivers' Championship with 76 points, two points ahead of Irvine. Frentzen was third (54 points), ahead of Coulthard (48 points) and Michael Schumacher (44 points). In the Constructors' Championship , Ferrari beat McLaren by four points. Jordan ended up in third. Points were awarded to

3721-606: Was won by AF Corse's Ferrari F430 GT2 , with Dirk Müller and Toni Vilander at the wheel. Zhuhai International Circuit staged the fourth round of the 2007-08 A1 Grand Prix season on December 16, 2007. The Sprint race was won by Michael Ammermüller of Team Germany and the Feature race was won by Narain Karthikeyan of Team India . On October 13, 2009, Executive Deputy General Manager of Zhuhai International Circuit, Stewart Tan, said he welcomed A1 Grand Prix's return to

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