11 March 2006

BEIRUT: A1 Team Lebanon is heading for California to compete in this week's penultimate Grand Prix round at Laguna Seca. According to a statement from the team, drivers Khalil Beschir, Basil Shaaban and Graham Rahal "are looking forward to racing at the famous and challenging Monterey, California circuit."

The team's newest driver, 17-year-old Rahal, has a special reason to be excited, as the circuit features a straightaway named after his father, Bobby. The naming of Rahal Straight honored Bobby's four back to back Indycar victories from 1984 to 1987.

"It's special to drive on a track which holds so much family history - I've a long way to go to beat my dad's record, but every time I race at Laguna that's my goal!" Rahal said in the statement.

The circuit also features one of the classic, best-loved corners of motor-racing circuits around the world, the "corkscrew." This signature of the California track drops nearly 50 feet, with the elevation change from the start of the corkscrew to turn 11 being equivalent in height to a three-story building.

"This is one of my favorite tracks. It has everything a racer wants, with long, sweeping corners, elevation changes, and, of course, the awesome corkscrew. The A1 car will be well-suited to the circuit with plenty of horsepower which is needed to get the best from it," Rahal said.

Basil Shaaban tested at the circuit two weeks ago for the first time. "It's a great circuit. The corkscrew is everything that you've been told and more. It's difficult to describe the commitment you need with the blind crest, the drop as you go through the corner, the fast exit awesome!" he said, and added: "I'm sure Laguna will produce very exciting racing and let's hope A1 Team Lebanon is in the thick of the action."

A1 Grand Prix's visit to Laguna Seca will be third team-mate Khalil Beschir's first experience of the American circuit.

"I've heard so much about this circuit and particularly the corkscrew, that I feel I already know it. I've driven the track on the PlayStation but I don't think it'll be anything like the real deal," he said.

"I hope that A1 Team Lebanon can have a strong weekend of racing at this venue and I'll certainly enjoy being at Laguna."

The A1 Grand Prix series culminates in Shanghai, China, at the end of March.

As A1 Team Lebanon is preparing for the California race, other drivers are gearing up for this week's Bahrain Grand Prix. In the second free practice session for the race, Briton Anthony Davidson, 27, yesterday showed that Honda intends to put up a fierce challenge for victory by setting the fastest time. Davidson's time of one minute 31.353 seconds was due largely to a cooler track temperature than in the morning session and a light fuel load in the test driver's car.    

Ferrari's Michael Schumacher, 37, was the second-place finisher, completing the course just 0.398 seconds behind Davidson. Williams' Austrian test driver Alex Wurz, 32, ended up third. - With agencies