| Race: Australia | Round 1 | ||
| Location | Surfers Paradise Australia [Street] | |
| Track length | 4.47km (2.79 miles) Anti-Clockwise 12 Turns | |
| A1GP Lap record | None | |
| S1: 2005/06 [E.Creek] | Sprint: France – Lapierre | Feature: France – Lapierre |
| S2: 2006/07 [E.Creek] | Sprint: Germany – Hülkenberg | Feature: Germany – Hülkenberg |
| S3: 2007/08 [E.Creek] | Sprint: France – Duval | Feature: South Africa – Zaugg |
| S4: 2008/09 | No Race | |
| S5: Schedule [to be confirmed] | ||
| Location TimeZone: GMT / UTC +10 Hours [All times listed are local times] | ||
| Thursday, 22 Oct, 2009 | Full Practice 1a: 10:15 – 11:40 | Full Practice 1b: 13:55 – 15:20 |
| Friday, 23 Oct, 2009 | Full Practice 2: 09:55 – 10:55 | Full Practice 3: 15:00 – 16:00 |
| Saturday, 24 Oct, 2009 | Qualifying: 09:30 – 10:10 | Sprint Race: 13:05 – 13:30 |
| Sunday, 25 Oct, 2009 | Warm-Up: 09:20 – 09:40 | Feature race: 13:10 – 14:20 |
A1GP World Cup of Motorsport will be racing on one of the most exciting street circuits in the world when it returns to Australia for Season Five.
The series has signed a five-year deal with the organisers of the street circuit in Surfers Paradise and will go there in 2009 for its first race.
“We wanted to go back to Australia and this is the ideal venue for our series,” said A1GP Chairman, Tony Teixeira. “A lot of people have worked hard on putting this deal together, and now it has come to fruition it is very exciting. I am aware we are being given a perfect opportunity to showcase our series to the Australian fans, who have been great supporters of both the series and their own team.
“Australia has a rich motorsport heritage and I know our tv fans worldwide will be delighted to have this spectacular race on our calendar.”
The first race on the Queensland track, which has hosted 18 ‘Indy’ Car races since 1991, will be on the weekend of 22-25 October.
This is a very welcome addition to the track for one particular Gold Coast resident, A1 Team Australia Seat Holder, Alan Jones.
“It has been a big hole in the A1GP calendar this year not being in Australia,” said the former F1 world champion.
“To say I am thrilled about this deal is an understatement. Having the chance to race in my own back yard is something special for me and the team. We are looking forward to it and I can warn all the other teams now I aim to make sure we have a home win in Surfers.”
The deal has come about thanks to the tireless efforts of the Queensland Government and their partners in the event, IMG.
“Both the Government and IMG have offered us every courtesy in putting this together, and I reckon we must have set a record in doing such an important deal in such a short space of time,” said Teixeira.
“I’m excited to announce that A1GP will now be racing on the streets of Surfers Paradise and that we’re able to bring the World Cup of Motorsport to the Gold Coast and Australia,” said Greg Hooton, General Manager Gold Coast 300.
“We view the new partnership with A1GP as a great opportunity to continue to further develop the event and a wonderful attribute for the Gold Coast. It is critical for us to continue to produce a world class motorsport event and being able to combine the uniqueness of A1GP within Australia’s most popular motor racing festival gives us a great platform for future growth.”
While A1GP is making its debut on the Gold Coast of Australia, the World Cup of Motorsport is no stranger to Australia.
A1GP visited the Eastern Creek circuit in Sydney for three consecutive seasons from 2005/06 to 2007/08.
France’s Nicolas Lapierre won both races in the circuit’s first A1GP meeting in 2005, although he might have been beaten by Portugal’s Alvaro Parente if he hadn’t been given a jump-start penalty in the Feature.
Germany’s Nico Hulkenberg also took a double victory in 2007, but the race was perhaps more memorable for China scoring their best result to date.
Ho-Pin Tung drove around the outside of Jeroen Bleekemolen’s Netherlands car at the flat-out first corner, to secure third place in the Feature race.
In Eastern Creek’s final season, Loic Duval took his maiden win for France, before Adrian Zaugg dominated a race in the pouring rain.